• Hugely popular virtual internship for university students will now be extended to offer younger age group of 16-18-year olds the opportunity to gain work experience
• The launch comes at a vital moment when students are being cut off from work experience opportunities due to Covid-19 restrictions in relation to office work
• The programme on the Forage platform aims to capture the minds of students from all backgrounds at a crucial earlier stage and inspire them to explore a career in law
• There will be the same free access for all to the new programme to create greater access and social mobility within the legal profession

This is the first virtual internship designed specifically for 16-18-year olds in the UK. Linklaters are today launching an extension of the popular virtual internship scheme (created with InsideSherpa, now called Forage), by opening a new programme on the platform for 16-18 year olds. This new offering, a first of its kind in the UK specifically designed for this age group, aims to encourage students at an earlier stage in their academic development to be inspired to consider a career as a lawyer. The platform is completely free, to encourage participation in the programme among students from all backgrounds, and the launch comes at a vital moment when students are being cut off from work experience due to lockdown restrictions in relation to office work.

As the first organisation in the UK to provide such an offering, students who are studying, or preparing to study, their A-levels or equivalent will now be able to get an introduction to the world of commercial law when starting to make career decisions. The internship will give them an inside look at a large City firm and the work of commercial lawyers. Through a variety of interactive and video content, students can hear from a range of Linklaters people including partners, associates and trainees. During the virtual internship, students will complete a number of tasks, including advising a client on insolvency issues, identifying key arguments to be used in a dispute resolution case, and helping the Linklaters team with the early stages of an M&A transaction.

The existing virtual internship programme aimed at University students launched by Linklaters in August 2019 saw over 1,000 students enrol in the first 24 hours and then saw that number increase to over 18,000 during the pandemic as the popularity for virtual programmes grew during the lockdown.

Fionnghuala Griggs, trainee recruitment partner at Linklaters, said:

“We are passionate about increasing access to the City to students of all backgrounds and enabling young people to learn more about what it means to be a commercial lawyer. We want to offer this free experience to young people from anywhere in the country to inspire students, regardless of their background, school, or location, that a career in law is open to them. Our innovative platform gives students a unique opportunity to have a go at tasks that a junior lawyer would do, to see some of our lawyers and get a virtual look inside the firm. We recognise that now, more than ever during these challenging times, it’s vital we find ways to keep the doors open to giving young people experience that can help them learn more about commercial law and the opportunities it offers, make informed choices about their future and get on the career ladder.”

The new programme is made up of five modules. Based on our Training Contract, students will get to rotate through our key practice areas; Corporate, Banking and Dispute Resolution, with an additional opportunity to gain insight into the work done within the firm’s Pro Bono practice. Students will also benefit from some of the firm’s market-leading training and development usually on offer to lawyers at Linklaters in the form of a module on time management, giving them tangible skills that they can use at school or college.

This programme is in addition to the firm’s Making Links Schools Challenge which is also aimed at school and college age students who wish to explore a career in law.

To find out more about the Forage platform, click here.