Norton Rose

Vision and valuesWe have been around for over 200 years. During that time we've given a lot of thought to what we stand for, the way we do business and our vision for the future. Our vision is to become one of the leading international legal practices that offers a comprehensive range of high level banking, corporate and business law services - both domestic and international - in key financial, industrial and commercial sectors from our offices around the world.We cover the whole range of financial and corporate activities, while our shipping and aviation practices give us a broader base than many of our competitors.Our style is informal and values both personality and professionalism. Our ongoing relationships with our clients are honest, collaborative partnerships based on trust.   Values and attributesOur values apply to all our activities and staff. They describe our corporate culture and personality, the way we work and what we stand for.   Our valuesClients come first. This means we are:    * Client focused. We are seen by our clients as being “on their team”. We aim to surpass our clients’ expectations in finding the right solution for their business needs. Our client relationships are outstanding because we put clients before ourselves.    * Commercial. We are pragmatic and results-orientated. We respond commercially to clients’ needs and provide a customised, not a commoditised, service.    * Industry experts. We understand our clients’ businesses, industries and markets. We are known for developing leading-edge industry solutions, particularly in our key specialisations of international corporate finance, transport, energy and infrastructure, financial institutions and technology.People matter. This means we are:    * An integrated team. We operate as one team, collaborating and cross-selling across disciplines and markets to achieve the best results for our clients and for the firm. We have a genuinely international perspective, servicing industries, and therefore clients, on a global basis.    * Supportive. We value the individual. Our culture encourages the individual to excel within a framework of co-operation and best practice.Knowledge is key to our business success. This means we:    * Value knowledge. We are committed to promoting and investing in a culture of shared knowledge, whether this knowledge is of a technical, commercial or social nature. We actively share this knowledge with our colleagues and clients. We reward and value those who contribute to the development of knowledge.We act with integrity and are professional. This means we:    * Observe the highest standards of integrity. We comply with the spirit and the letter of the law and are open and fair in all our dealings.      Adopt the highest professional standards. We aim to deliver work that meets the highest professional standards and that meets our clients’ highest expectations.Efficiency is key to our approach. This means we are:    * Cost conscious. We delegate to those who have the required level of knowledge and experience to service the needs of our clients and allocate the required resources at the required time, at the right levels to achieve our clients' goals.    * Organised. Our project managers focus on delivering exactly what our clients want, controlling the intricacies that can arise in the course of our work and using the most up-to-date technological tools to manage complexity. Our attributesOur people are chosen because they exhibit attributes that underpin our values. They are:    * pragmatic (realistic, efficient and commercial);    * pioneering (creative and original);    * passionate (confident, enthusiastic, positive and driven);    * people-orientated (team workers and players, interested in others, supportive, fair, collaborative, command respect);    * proactive (get down to business, take the initiative);    * persistent (unrelenting, dedicated and determined);    * principled (honourable and ethical, take responsibility, exercise judgement); and    * productive (efficient and time-conscious).We already offer a full business law service around the world. Our vision is to be recognised as one of the global elite legal practices. Our ClientsOur clients include banks and other financial institutions, international businesses, major public and private companies, government departments and individual sovereign states. They come to us with a variety of issues, challenges and requirements. But one thing they have in common is a desire for excellence.Our clients come to us for our expertise. We offer a full business law service across our international practice, but we're known particularly for our strength in the areas of international corporate finance, financial institutions, transport, energy and infrastructure, and technology. In each of these areas, we work primarily for international corporate clients and financial institutions on large, complex cross-border transactions.Our clients come to us not only for our technical expertise, but also for our understanding of their business and the business environment in which they operate. We place strong emphasis on industry expertise and were one of the first legal practices to organise itself into international business groups (IBGs). The IBGs reflect our business focus and work together with our team structure to improve the delivery of our service. These groups also allow us to share industry knowledge and sector-specific expertise across our international network.We actively encourage both trainees and associates to develop their industry knowledge and expertise through participation in one or more of these groups. Global practice areasWe operate in every market and every jurisdictionWe have a strong track record in the emerging and transition markets. Last year, we advised on transactions involving Emission Reduction Purchase Agreements in Brazil and Chile, a power project in Qatar, a gas pipeline in Kazakhstan and a wind farm in Sweden; a nickel mine in Finland and a copper mine in Zambia; mobile telecommunications in Egypt; a major IPO in Turkey and a private equity deal in India.We are also innovators in new technical areas of law: we lead the market in Islamic finance expertise and we have an award-winning climate change and carbon finance practice.We shall expect you to get up to speed quickly with industrial and commercial practice, and we'll give you plenty of support to do that.  Acquiring a specialism takes time, and commitment. Your trainee programme will allow you to lay the foundation for your future career.Living and working in London for the first time is an experience in itself for many of our trainees. You will have the opportunity to work in different jurisdictions during your trainee programme, choosing either a four- or eight- month international seat in, for example, Beijing, Milan or Dubai. Seats outside London outside significant responsibility and more client contact.After qualification, the opportunities continue; every year, a number of our associates are seconded to one of our offices or to a client's.  OUR PEOPLE & CULTURE Depth of fieldOur people are the bestAs we have grown, so our culture has changed. We have become more international, in practice and in outlook. What has not changed is our client focus and our emphasis on quality. We require everyone to follow best practice, to be accessible and responsive, and to concentrate on providing services which demonstrate our interest in our clients and their business.We value individuality as much as we do professionalism. And we make a point of being inclusive.From the start, as soon as you have accepted an offer to join us as a trainee, we will include you in invitations to social and other events. We always pair up our LPC students with current trainees to help you build your peer group.Your trainee programme starts with a three-week induction, which includes the Professional Skills Course. This covers financial and business skills, advocacy and communication, client care and professional standards. By the end of induction you will know how the practice is structured and how to use our knowledge resources and you will have met the key people responsible for your development, including your mentor. This is a partner who will be a point of reference as you move around the practice and offer independent advice.Teamwork is a large part of our culture. Each seat involves spending four months with a particular team: this will include a number of partners, associate solicitors, trainees, secretaries and specialist support staff. We encourage diversity and responsibility, and believe that teams are the best way to foster the quality of creative thinking that we need. Your role on the team will be varied and demanding.We have people of at least 44 nationalities working here. We are committed to equality and diversity in all our employment practices. In our experience, an inclusive culture creates more opportunities for people to excel, and to thrive.The work is hard: it's also fascinatingThe type of work you do during your trainee programme depends on your choice of seat and the clients you are assigned to work with.  Just before you qualify, you choose where you want to go in the Group, and the partners then choose you, or your peer, or whoever best fits the bill for that team. What's certain is that your new job will demand of you your full attention and complement of knowledge, resourcefulness and creativity. In return, we will give you the intellectual challenge and the international career that you set out to find.Our approach is to give you opportunities to take on responsibility at an early stage, to allow a good level of client contact and to develop your understanding of how the practice works as a business.Our clients are among the world's top corporate bodies and financial institutions, as well as governments and public bodies. Our job is to provide them with world-class legal advice. We routinely play a leading role in the kind of transactions that make headlines around the world. We also advise our clients on risk management and commercial dispute resolution of a highly complex and sensitive character.We place strong emphasis on industry expertise and were one of the first legal practices to organise ourselves into international business groups. We use these groups to share industry knowledge and sector-specific expertise, and we shall encourage you to participate in them.We have a  strong sense of communityYou will have many opportunities to get involved once you are a part of Norton Rose Group. That could mean signing up for lessons in jazz guitar or piano, volunteering at a law centre or joining the sailing group. You might end up doing a jog or a triathlon - or a trip across the desert basins of the Gobi - to raise money for Barretstown (our principal charity) or any other charity that we support. Or you could decide to join the weekly Russian class or improve your level in Mandarin. Sign up for numeracy or literacy coaching in one of the local primary schools and you'll see your work fro a different perspective when you get back to your desk. Join the environmental group and you'll see the earth from a different perspective.The workload is heavy a lot of the time. So doing something different every now and then is a great way to keep your life in balance. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of socialising. It helps when you already know each other. We run a trainee buddy scheme and we host social events, team-building and strategy sessions for prospective trainees while they are still studying for the LPC at BPP law school.Our state-of-the-art environment at More London Riverside gives us world-class facilities for work, for knowledge-sharing, for client receptions, as well as social gatherings, music classes and all the impromptu meetings that are part of the working week.Money is always a motivating factor, we understand that. Our salary and benefits package is highly competitive. We also offer comprehensive financial and lifestyle benefits. At present there are 22 sports represented within the sports club. You will be welcome to join any group you like, whatever your standard. New ideas are always welcomed and we consider it important that new members of the practice are invited to join in as early as possible. The sports club is open to all members of the practice and membership is free.    * Athletics    * Backgammon    * Badminton    * Chess    * Clay pigeon shooting    * Cricket    * Darts    * Football    * Ladies' football    * Golf    * Gymnasium    * Hockey    * Netball    * Riding    * Rugby    * Softball    * Squash    * Table tennis    * Tennis    * Trekking    * YogaFees, maintenance and grantsWe understand that once you've completed your degree, finances can be tight. Or if you're going from full time employment to full time education money can be a problem. Our maintenance and grant packages have been designed to help out.The training contract offer includes payment of fees for the courses you are about to undertake (LPC and if applicable, GDL) including examination and enrolment fees.We also provide a maintenance grant to all our prospective trainees undertaking the GDL and the LPC at law school. The maintenance grant for the GDL is £6,000 and for the LPC is £7,000. Salary and benefitsYou'll probably be wondering what kind of benefits and rewards package you'll receive if you win a training contract with us. If you join us, we want you to feel valued and well looked after. That way, we believe we'll get the very best from you.Our salary and benefits package is carefully designed and highly competitive. Trainee solicitors' salaries currently start at £35,700 per annum, rising to £40,200 during the second year of training. In addition, as part of our commitment to trainees we also offer comprehensive financial and lifestyle benefits.Lifestyle benefits are as follows:    * 25 working days' holiday each year as well as public holidays.    * Eligibility for life assurance and permanent health insurance.    * Eligibility to join our group personal pension scheme.    * An interest-free season ticket loan.    * An interest free new joiner loan of £800.    * Eligibility for membership of our private medical insurance scheme.    * Subsidised staff restaurant.    * Subsidised gym membership.    * Private GP Service close to the office.    * Childcare vouchers.    * Cycle to work scheme.    * Employee assistance programme.    * A wide range of subsidised sporting, social and cultural activities.