Founded in Paris in 1920, Gide is a leading international law firm with 12 offices spread throughout the world.
Gide is physically present in six regions of the world, with 11 offices, enabling it to act on cases globally.
From recruitment to qualification, we give you the opportunity to learn as part of the team – from hands-on involvement in deals through in-house and external training courses to as much responsibility as you show you can handle.
Our trainees work with a variety of lawyers from different backgrounds, specialisms and experience. You will develop your skills and knowledge as you adapt to different working styles and personalities. The lawyers, in turn, develop management and leadership skills - all invaluable attributes to progressing their careers.
All our supervisors are chosen because they have a genuine interest in helping junior lawyers to develop into accomplished and well-rounded professionals. You will share an office with your supervisor who may be a senior associate or a partner, depending on the seats available. All have received firm-specific training on supervision to ensure that they are all aware of their roles and how to get the best from you.
A vital part of adult learning is the giving and receiving of feedback. Our supervisors therefore understand the importance and value of detailed, on-going feedback and you will be encouraged and empowered to discuss your progress generally and in relation to specific pieces of work as you go through your training contract.
You will have mid-seat and end-of-seat reviews so that you always know how you are doing and you will have a clear route map to developing the skills and experience we expect our newly-qualified lawyers to have.
Because Gide London is a small office, we do not run an official coaching and mentoring programme. We do, however, encourage existing trainees to meet up with new recruits so that when you join, you already have a good idea of how things work at the firm. You will also have met the lawyers at the various social events that we run throughout the year and we find that trainees naturally find their own coaches and mentors.
In addition to the hands-on experience of working with your supervisor on transactions, you will take part in training, alongside associates and partners, learning about legal developments and the nuts and bolts of our core practice areas.
You will be allocated your own budget to spend on training and business development activities, as well as being able to choose the Professional Skills Course (PSC) electives that interest you (so long as there is a link to the firm’s business).
The firm will, of course, sponsor you through the PSC and allow you time to attend other external courses and conferences that are useful for your long-term training and development. You will also be able to attend seminars run by the College of Law which are tailored for the Banking & Finance Training Consortium, of which Gide London is a member.
We actively encourage our trainees to attend conferences and seminars which deal with wider commercial topics. These include seminars organised by the Loan Market Association and the Financial Markets Group at the London School of Economics.
We have found that six-month training seats in our different practice areas give trainees the best training experience. Training contracts are therefore divided into four seats - with rotations in September and March - long enough for you to become fully immersed in a deal and to play an integral role in the transaction team.
