Internship Scheme - Shanghai Office

Who we are

We are one of the largest international law firms in the world. With over 30 offices across the globe, we strive to exceed the expectations of our clients, providing them with the highest-quality advice and legal insight, which combines the firm’s global standards with in-depth local expertise.

Our firm, work and people span jurisdictions, cultures, and languages. We offer our clients a truly international perspective. We believe every career should be rewarding and stimulating - full of opportunities to learn, thrive, and grow. That’s why we’re so proud of our inclusive, friendly, and team-based approach to work.

Our one firm global strategy is focused on targeted growth led by the needs of our core clients, those who we can best support with the breadth and depth of Clifford Chance expertise, across the sectors and geographies, which matter most to them.

You’ll find our clients in commercial and industrial sectors, the financial investor community, governments, regulators, trade bodies, and not-for-profit organisations. But no matter who they are or why they’ve reached out to us, we provide a world-class service every step of the way. And that’s possible thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and conscientious approach to work that you’ll find across all of our teams.

Whichever area of the business you join, you’ll become an integral part an innovative, diverse and ambitious team of people. Clifford Chance is a place where the brightest minds and the best of colleagues meet.

The role

An internship is the perfect way to learn about working at Clifford Chance and meet our people.

We recruit students that we believe have the potential and interest to join us once their degrees whether an LLB or LLM are completed. Many of our interns have joined the Beijing and Shanghai offices as trainees.

During your internship, you will be available to work with all our practice groups, working with our lawyers on real client projects. You'll be treated as part of the team.

We will also assign you a mentor, an experienced lawyer one or two years ahead of you. Their job is to help you settle in and answer any questions you have.

You can apply for an internship at any time during your degree, but ideally we are interested in applications from law students in their penultimate or final year of their LLB or LLM studies.
An internship may last any time between 3-6 months depending on your performance and the need of the office.

Your experience

As well as the personal attributes explained above, to apply you will need: 

• A consistently strong academic record
• Excellent English language skills (written and spoken)
• Studying at a PRC / overseas university for an LLB and will graduate in 2027, or LLM student who will graduate in 2027/2028

Equal Opportunities

At Clifford Chance, we understand that our true asset is our people. Inclusion is good for our team and their families, our firm and society. 

We are committed to treating all employees and applicants fairly and equally regardless of their gender, gender identity and expression, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, social or economic background, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, or age.  This applies to recruitment and selection, terms and conditions of employment including pay, promotion, training, transfer and every other aspect of employment.

We have a variety of flourishing employee networks. These networks are a place for colleagues to share experiences and advocate for change wherever they see an opportunity for improvement.

Our goal is to deliver an equality of opportunity, an equality of aspiration and an equality of experience to everyone who works in our firm.

Find out more about our inclusive culture here.