Login
New BigLaw graduate scheme to focus on rapid growth in client delivery
One of Australia’s biggest firms has introduced a new graduate scheme designed with non-lawyers in mind to carve out skills in legal service delivery and encourage more students to get involved in the work behind client service delivery.
Naomi Neilson
The legal operations function behind Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) will soon invite five graduates across London, Asia and Australia to participate in an 18-month program designed for non-lawyers. The successful applicants will rotate through different specialist areas with a major focus on client delivery and new technologies.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Legal operations director Ian Gilbert said the industry is rapidly becoming an established methodology and skill set across the legal industry, bridging both private practice and in-house teams through common challenges and opportunities for efficiency and service improvement in an overly competitive space.
“By offering candidates the chance to train for a career in this rapidly evolving area of client delivery, we are not only demonstrating the importance of firm places in this area but also ultimately creating a workforce that organically understands how to work with our clients in a more streamlined and innovative way, ultimately providing them with even better service,” Mr Gilbert commented on the new graduate scheme. “This is a hugely exciting scheme for students and for us as a firm.”
HSF introduced its global legal operations function in 2018 to focus on helping clients by improving service delivery, developing collaborative working through the use of new technologies, identifying alternative resourcing options, applying innovative methods to solve issues and leveraging data analytics and insights.
The team also works alongside the firm’s alternative legal services team to develop holistic solutions to deliver more value and operational efficiencies to clients. The successful applicants will have the opportunity to complete a three-month secondment before moving into a full-time role within the legal operations function.
“This is a really exciting development for both the firm and the industry as we encourage more graduates to pursue a career in this area,” legal operations assistant director Libby Jarvis said. “This will also continue to strengthen the firm’s market leading legal operations function and broaden the network available to our lawyers and clients globally.”
