January 23, 2023
ACCESS is designed specifically to support you if you’re from a socio-economic background that’s under-represented in the legal profession. It includes 12 different components, each focused around specific core areas of your personal and professional development.

The programme

What can you expect from the 12 components?

  • A virtual launch event. Learn about what to expect over the following two years and meet former ACCESS students, trainees and the Clifford Chance Graduate Recruitment Team.
  • A four-day, virtual classroom-based placement. Find out about key practice areas and the range of legal careers, from barristers to in-house lawyers. You’ll also start to develop the business skills you’ll need to be a successful professional.
  • Access to a dedicated mentor. Get mentoring from a Clifford Chance lawyer, trainee or future trainee, who’ll be on hand to give you valuable advice throughout the programme
  • A unique five-day programme delivered by the Social Mobility Business Partnership. Spend time with five different companies across a range of industry sectors. Through immersive workshops, you’ll focus on how law, finance and other core business areas interact in that sector.
  • Targeted one-to-one tutoring in your chosen subjects. Choose any subject and get matched to a tutor with specialist knowledge in that area. You’ll then receive one-to-one online tuition, designed and delivered to suit your learning style, at the best times for you.
  • Make a difference in your community. Tender is a charity working to end domestic abuse, sexual violence and sexual harassment. You’ll attend a Tender workshop focused on creating healthy relationships and will have the chance to become a Tender youth ambassador, helping your peers. With full support and training in mentoring skills, you’ll be helping to change attitudes to respect and safety.
  • Learn about being a board member through ACCESS Board. Gain insights into different types of boards, their responsibilities and what it means to be a board member. With the opportunity to gain board experience on the ACCESS Advisory Board, you could also help to shape future ACCESS strategy and development.
  • Executive coaching. Benefit from a range of advice, from small group discussions on current affairs, to webinars offering application advice, hints and tips. You’ll also receive one-to-one interview coaching from Rare Recruitment, the UK’s leaders in diversity graduate recruitment.
  • Support for your transition from school to university. Receive valuable support from people who understand the challenges of going to university. From university admission teams advising on how to approach UCAS, to current students with tips on study, budgeting and more.
  • Continuous networking opportunities. Continue to be part of an exclusive ACCESS community throughout your career. So, each year of the programme, Clifford Chance will invite you to an in-person networking event where you can meet ACCESS alumni.
  • Career development coaching. Get access to one-to-one coaching from a member of the firm’s Graduate Recruitment Team to support your career development, as well as group skills sessions to help you prepare for your future career.
  • Work experience at Clifford Chance. At the end of the ACCESS programme, you’ll have an opportunity to join the ACCESS SPARK work experience programme during your first year at university. This five-day programme combines intensive classroom learning with opportunities to shadow lawyers in different practice areas. It’s a paid programme, so you’ll receive £450 per week salary. 

Following ACCESS SPARK, you’ll have the chance to attend a bespoke assessment day to secure your Training Contract at Clifford Chance.

About Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance values diverse thinking, opinions and ideas for both the firm and clients. The firm is a founding member of PRIME, an alliance of law firms committed to improving access to the legal profession for people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. ACCESS is designed to ensure that anyone who wants to enter the world of law has an equal chance to do so, regardless of their background.

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