In yet another significant legal tech initiative from Allen & Overy, the magic circle giant has launched a new graduate scheme in London focused on legal technology and project management, with graduates “receiving exactly the same level of training and access” as trainee lawyers as the firm says “the future isn’t just about the lawyers.”
Applications are open until the end of March for the two year Advanced Delivery graduate programme. The international legal practice is seeking graduates with strong A-levels and ideally STEM or Economics degrees to be part of a team using the latest tools and software to bring legal expertise to the world “in new and surprising ways.”
The programme mirrors the structure of a training contract: beginning in September, four successful candidates will undertake four, six-month rotations in the Project Management Office and Legal Tech team, as well as projects in the other Advanced Delivery areas when required. The graduates will be based in Fuse, Allen & Overy’s tech innovation space, and will be supported and funded in gaining a recognised qualification in project and/or process management and understanding its application through the provision of legal services.
Louise Forrest, head of legal project management and a consultant in A&O’s flexible legal resource business PeerPoint, commented: “This is a really exciting opportunity for intellectually curious and entrepreneurial individuals. The law firm of the future isn’t just about the lawyers – we’ve launched this scheme now so that we can shape junior project managers and legal technologists into the professionals that A&O and our clients will need in order to manage the great risks and even greater opportunities that technology presents.”
Kevin Oliver, Head of Advanced Delivery Technology, added: “The Advanced Delivery graduates will grow up in A&O, receiving exactly the same level of training and access as our trainee lawyers, and building networks that will make them a key part of the business. Technology is only going to increase in importance and we expect that this group of people will play a crucial role in shaping the legal landscape of the future.”
A&O has distinguished itself as a leader when it comes to legal tech initiatives: in 2015 it relaunched its online derivatives services business as aosphere, offering a wider range of online compliance and legal risk products which provide detailed cross-border legal information. 2016 saw it build on its online derivatives offering with the launch of MarginMatrix; a new digital derivatives compliance system delivered in conjunction with Deloitte’s managed services team. And in 2017 it launched tech innovation space Fuse (see below), which is in A&O’s City office and houses a cohort of startups as well as A&O’s internal innovation team. A&O was also an early mover in launching PeerPoint in 2013.
See also:
https://legaltechnology.com//latest-news/allen-overy-fuse-an-update/
