We're committed to giving you the best opportunities to build a long-term career with Clifford Chance - training, support, opportunities and responsibility.

Ongoing learning and structured development opportunities are a fundamental part of careers at Clifford Chance and we have developed an approach that enables us to provide consistent levels of training throughout our global network. The Clifford Chance Academy, which is a virtual global training academy, provides all of our people with the education, training and formal development activities needed to provide the best possible service to our clients, through a framework that is integrated with the different stages of your career. Courses are run locally, regionally and globally and are integrated with our competency framework to ensure all our people, at every level of development and at every stage in their careers, have the opportunity to reach the same standards of skills and knowledge.

The training you will experience as a trainee through the Clifford Chance Academy includes, among other things:

• Business awareness including professional standards, time management, financial awareness, risk management and anti money-laundering requirements
• Communication skills including legal writing and professional business communication
• Client focus
• Relationship building and networking including cultural awareness and working with international teams

After qualification, you will continue to access training and development through the Clifford Chance Academy and attend development centres. This will enable you to see how you are doing in relation to our global standards and what you need to focus on to move to the next stage of your career.

Soon after qualifying you will be assigned a career development partner (CDP). This will be a partner within your practice area who will discuss your performance, serve as a mentor, encourage you to take appropriate training, connect you with other people around the firm and work with you to ensure you receive the necessary exposure to take your career in the direction you wish. Ongoing development

As your experience develops you may decide to apply your skills to a specialist area, or to work overseas, particularly in the emerging markets where our expanding presence means many exciting new opportunities. Many of our lawyers go on a secondment to a client. Our clients realise how much our lawyers can add through secondments and we value secondments too, not just as a means of strengthening our relationships but also for the great experience they provide. Secondments enable lawyers to see things from a client's perspective, to develop new business skills and get involved in different kinds of work, adding a new dimension to their experience and ultimately enriching both their own careers and our firm.

As a junior lawyer you will continue to benefit from technical and business skills training. As you progress to senior associate levels you will be invited to attend our Lawyer Development Centre and then Senior Development Programme, all delivered through the Clifford Chance Academy. These will help you to acquire the skills and behaviours that you will need to progress your career still further. Your training will increasingly focus on the skills necessary to build and maintain client relationships, market the firm, lead meetings and make presentations and be involved in financial and personnel management. These are the skills that will enable you to contribute to the ongoing growth of our business.

Of course, there are many different futures ahead of our people. Clifford Chance has trained many lawyers who are today working within industries such as business, finance and law. The quality and impact of our alumni are testament to our emphasis on both professional training and personal development. Our international alumni programme, with over 1,000 registered members, provides a valuable link between former and current members of Clifford Chance.