London–Asia Trainee Associate Programme

If you are native (or fluent to a native standard) in an Asian language such as Mandarin, Korean or Indonesian, you can apply for a training contract whereby you spend your first year in London and your second in an Asian office, giving you the best foundation for an international career and building your network and knowledge on both sides of the globe.

You'll be curious, commercially minded and keen to help the world's biggest brand names on their most challenging legal issues.

You’ll qualify as a lawyer in England & Wales after the two years. Where permitted by local bar rules and after a period of post-qualification experience, you will also be admitted in the country where you’ve been working. You'll work with the biggest companies in the world, at a top international law firm, surrounded by dedicated, supportive people who are ready to help you learn.

If you’re selected, you’ll be invited for a virtual assessment day and if you progress from that, we'll invite you to join us for a month's Summer vacation scheme at Freshfields – three weeks in Asia, plus one in London. Based on your performance during the internship, plus an interview and a language test, we could offer you a London-Asia training contract.

Qualifications

Key Requirements

You can apply from 1 August 2026 – 31 December 2026 if you are a law or non-law student in your penultimate or final year at university, or if you have graduated in any discipline.

Inclusion

Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered by the firm on the basis of their merit alone and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having/securing the right to work in the UK and providing the firm with evidence of that right (as required by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) prior to employment commencing.

Freshfields is a Ban the Box employer. We ask applicants to disclose criminal convictions only when a conditional job offer is made. A conviction does not automatically lead to withdrawal of the offer: we make decisions on a case by case basis and take a number of factors into account (eg the role you are applying for and the circumstances of the offence). You would have the opportunity to discuss the matter with us before we make a decision.