Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly does a Trainee do? What kinds of benefits do we offer? Our FAQ section answers some of the most burning questions we get each year from students.
What makes for a good application?
A good application is carefully drafted, clear and concise. Your application letter should not be more than just one page long, and it should give us a clear indication of what motivates you and whether you are suited for the open position. Please remember to enclose a well-structured CV, any appendices we may require (e.g. a transcript of your studies) and any other additional materials (a video perhaps).
Recruitment
Yes, you can. One of our key values is working together. All Associate Trainees are assigned a personal tutor for the entire duration of their traineeship who also checks the trainee’s work. Our tutors are fully committed to sharing their knowledge and experience with our Associate Trainees. This enables trainees to develop their skills quickly under the guidance of the Partner responsible for the practice team to which the Associate Trainee has been appointed.
The purpose of our trainee programmes is to get to know students and to provide them with the opportunity to create connections that are crucial for their future careers. For this purpose, we seek to create long-term relationships with students and to provide them with the best professional development and leadership available in the market. Our mission is also to help our trainees grow into the lawyers of tomorrow and to discover excellent future talent to add to our practice teams.
- Submit your application: To apply for an open position, simply submit your application through our website. If you’d like to showcase your personality and provide additional insights about yourself, feel free to send us a video clip. Upon receiving your application, we will promptly send you a confirmation email containing further details about the recruitment timetable.
- Processing of applications: We will carefully review the applications we receive, following the order in which they are submitted. Therefore, it is recommended to submit your application as early as possible to ensure timely consideration. We will keep all applicants informed about the next steps in our recruitment process.
- Invitation to an interview: We conduct interviews with a carefully chosen group of applicants, which can take place either at our office or remotely. During the interview, our goal is to foster a mutual understanding and exchange relevant information and details about the position. This allows us to get to know each other better and determine if there is a good fit between you and the role.
- Language test & personal assessment: We will invite you to a separate remote English language test if you qualify from the interview stage. The test assesses your oral and written competence, and it takes about one hour to complete. (for lawyers and trainees only)Additionally, we ask you to participate in a personal assessment to further evaluate your suitability for the role. The personal assessment allows you to delve deep into your own abilities, strengths and development areas. (for lawyers and business services only)
- Recruitment decision: Our HR team and supervisors will be responsible for making the final recruitment decision, which marks the end of the recruitment process once your employment contract is signed. After the completion of the recruitment process, we offer all applicants the opportunity to feedback.
Combining Work and Studies
Our Associate Trainee programme provides students at the later stages of their studies with the opportunity to put everything they have learned about corporate law to use in practice. As our Associate Trainee programme lasts for six months, our trainees are not expected to suspend their studies for this duration. Our Associate Trainees have flexible working hours, and you will be assigned a tutor and a superior to support you for the entire duration of your traineeship.
Our Junior Trainees and KM Trainees work, on average, two to three shifts per week. Both our KM and Junior Trainees will organise their shifts together with their teams to ensure that no one needs to skip a class or an exam. In the summer, trainees are welcome to organise their shifts in a way that allows them to take more time off. In a nutshell, our shift system is very flexible in order to make it as easy as possible for our trainees to combine their studies with working part time.
Tasks
The most important aspect of any task entrusted to an Associate Trainee is that it provides them with practical experience of various different kinds of client assignments. During their Associate Trainee period, our trainees are given the same tasks as recently graduated Associates (e.g. drafting documents, translation and research tasks) and they contribute to the different phases of various assignments to give them a better understanding of what each step requires, but they work under the tutelage of more experienced colleagues. This helps our Associate Trainees develop their skills up to a level expected of recent graduates.
As an Associate Trainee, you will be provided with the opportunity to work as part of a specific team based on your interests and the focus of your studies. You will contribute to your team, participate in weekly team meetings and assist your colleagues on the various assignments received by your appointed team.
Our Associate Trainees primarily work for just one practice team, but you may sometimes be expected to take on duties from another practice team similarly to your more experienced peers. This could especially be the case when it comes to larger assignments.
Yes, our Associate Trainees get to participate in client meetings and various legal proceedings where our clients are present (such as court hearings) especially when it comes to larger assignments.
Junior Trainees get to see how a law firm functions while also learning the related processes and practices. A Junior Trainee’s workday generally consists of various administrative tasks. In addition to working as our couriers, Junior Trainees e.g. help out at the reception and assist with event preparations and office hosting services. In a nutshell: our Junior Trainees provide support services to our entire office. In exchange, we provide our Junior Trainees with the opportunity to create networks at the very beginning stages of their studies and careers.
Our KM Trainees are tasked with assisting our lawyers e.g. with information gathering for client assignments and with various research and translation tasks. Our KM Trainees get to experience working with many different practices and assist all of our teams. We provide our KM Trainees with the chance to experience working in different fields of law, which can help them figure out their future career path.
Support and Training Events
Each Associate Trainee undergoes a week of extensive induction training to get a sense of how we do things here at Borenius. The induction week also serves as a great opportunity to get to know your colleagues and the systems we use. In addition, during the induction training, the exiting Associate Trainees get the chance to brief the newcomers on any incomplete assignments and on the culture of each different practice team.
We have a wide variety of internal training videos available in our video library. We also provide various kinds of training through our Borenius Learning programme and our Senior Leadership Academy.
Yes, each Associate Trainee receives their own tutor.
Here at Borenius, we want to provide every Associate Trainee with a running start to their traineeship and to ensure that you learn as much as possible. This is why each trainee is appointed a tutor in addition to a superior. The purpose of the tutor is to support you in all kinds of matters related to your traineeship, such as how to find a good balance between your work and studies. The tutor also provides other support throughout the traineeship, and you will e.g. regularly have lunch together with your tutor to discuss how your trainee period is progressing.
Career Path
You could continue as a Thesis Trainee at Borenius, but these traineeship slots are very limited. If you are interested in a career at Borenius, the six months you will spend as an Associate Trainee will allow both of us to ensure that we are a good fit for one another, and you might get the chance to join the 18 Associate Trainees we have recruited as new Associates over the two-year period spanning from 2018 to 2020. In general, however, our trainee programmes prepare students for duties handled by junior lawyers and provide excellent work experience and references for future challenges.
Some of our trainees might stay on to complete another traineeship with us. Our trainee programmes are one of our recruitment channels, which is why several of our lawyers actually began their careers as trainees here at Borenius. We strive to create stable, long-lasting relationships with our employees and support everyone’s career development. Naturally, we cannot immediately offer positions to all of our trainees, but we strive to make it easy for our ex-trainees to return to us at a later stage in their careers.
We also offer students the opportunity to work as an Restructuring and Insolvency Trainee. In addition to general tasks, these positions also involve working on assignments that involve bankruptcy estates and corporate restructuring proceedings.
What’s the atmosphere like at Borenius?
We strive to maintain an encouraging atmosphere that complies with our values (respecting others, working together and taking pride in our work). We maintain our good atmosphere by organising various Borenius Sports and Borenius Social activities in addition to our annual Borenius Day and other events (e.g. our monthly breakfast event for all staff and our Christmas party). You are welcome to attend all of these events!
Borenius as an Employer
Most Borenians have their own office space or share a room with one other person. We maintain excellent meeting rooms e.g. for hosting client meetings, and we make use of the latest presentation technology.
Associate Trainees are primarily expected to work at the office together with their team in order to ensure that they receive the best possible support. However, all of our employees can work from home. We also provide our employees e.g. with a screen, docking station, keyboard and mouse to make it easier for them to work from home.
We use job shadowing at different phases of our trainee programmes. What this means at Borenius is that a lower level trainee (e.g. a Junior Trainee) shadows another trainee from a more advanced programme (e.g. a KM Trainee) for a few days to get a feel for the other trainee’s tasks and team. Experiences with job shadowing have been overwhelmingly positive, and we have seen an increase in the number of trainees who are considering applying for a position in the next trainee programme.
How does corporate responsibility manifest in the day-to-day functioning of Borenius?
We highlight the significance of corporate responsibility. Our core values revolve around respect for all individuals, whether they are colleagues, clients, or associates, forming the bedrock of our actions at Borenius. Adhering to a comprehensive code of conduct that places a strong emphasis on corporate responsibility, we also actively engage in pro bono cases, allowing our experts to contribute extensively to the betterment of the community.
Work-life Balance and Well-being
All trainees are invited to an event specifically intended for them to get to know their colleagues. Associate Trainees also organise their own events that are intended for Associate Trainees only.
Yes, you are free to join us!
We primarily abide by the 40-hour workweek. However, trainees may occasionally be expected to work more hours due to the nature of a specific assignment. In such cases, the trainee will agree with their superior on how they will be compensated for any extra hours worked.
Associate Trainees are entitled to almost all the same benefits as other Borenius employees, such as lunch vouchers, sports/culture vouchers and comprehensive occupational health services. Associate Trainees are also provided with a mobile phone and laptop as well as equipment they may need to work from home.
All Associate Trainees receive the same competitive monthly salary and benefits and the same equipment.
How long are your trainee programmes?
A new Junior Trainee will always first be offered a six-month contract. After the first six months, we will review the situation together with the trainee and proceed accordingly. The majority of our Junior Trainees will, however, stay on for another six-month period (and some for even longer). Our KM Trainees are offered a contract that lasts for approximately 12 months. Our Associate Trainee programmes last for six months.
Our Trainee Teams
Our Junior Trainee team is tasked with ensuring that the daily life at the office flows smoothly. The team is comprised of nine enthusiastic law students at the beginning of their studies. Our more experienced trainees are always eager to welcome new trainees and to provide crucial support at the beginning of their traineeships. The Junior Trainee team has a great and supportive atmosphere.
Our KM team is comprised of a KM Specialist and two lawyers (a KM Lawyer and a Knowledge Manager) in addition to four to five trainees. Our KM Trainees are usually about halfway through their studies.
Each legal team at Borenius usually employs one to four Associate Trainees at any given time. As an Associate Trainee, you get to work in the field of law that interests you the most. Associate Trainees’ work can be very independent, and each Associate Trainee works on different assignments, but we encourage you to keep in touch and see each other regularly e.g. over lunch or at Borenius events.
Interested?
More information on the variety of trainee programmes we offer for law students is available below.