Following last month’s announcement that Norton Rose has begun sending graduate trainees from Sydney to its Asian hub locations, Allen & Overy has started to offer those still finishing their law degree the opportunity to complete a portion of their clerkship in Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo or Hong Kong. Aaron Ko recently completed a clerkship with Allen & Overy in Sydney and was surprised to learn after the second round of interviews that he would have the opportunity to complete one week in Singapore. “It was very responsive timing, the firm didn’t want people to take the clerkship just because of the fact they would get overseas exposure. It was a case of ‘we will commit to you once you have shown your commitment’,” said Ko.

While the clerkship did mean he had to prove his commitment, Ko was still very impressed with everything he saw and how accommodating the firm was to his career aspirations. As an international clerk Ko was paired with a supervisor, in his case a senior associate from the corporate practice group, and he was able to ask questions and observe. While he is still waiting until the end of the month to find out whether he has secured a graduate placement, he said the experience has proved invaluable and opened his eyes to the international opportunities offered by a career in law from a very early stage.