Our clerkships

Our Clerks undertake real work, participate in training sessions, enjoy social activities such as sports events, volunteering and lunches, and get a feel for our firm.

They are teamed up with a buddy and a supervisor to make sure they have all the support needed.

While our Clerks are busy getting stuck into the work and meeting clients, we also provide fun experiences along the way, including volunteer work and a number of firm and social events – from team sports and dinners, to an orientation day.

Throughout their time in the firm, our Clerks build working relationships, receive great training and most of all, get involved in in-depth, meaningful work.

Read more about our different clerkships below.

Quick links: Winter clerkship / Summer clerkship / Law clerkship

Winter Clerkship

A brilliant one-to-two week* learning and immersion experience!

We take on approximately 10 Winter Clerks each year across our offices.

Our Winter Clerkship is a great opportunity to experience life at Chapman Tripp and figure out if working in a corporate law firm is for you. At the end of the programme, our Winter Clerks may be invited back to join our Summer Clerk programme.

Learning & Development

As you start your career at Chapman Tripp, we want to help you gain the skills and knowledge you need to succeed. Our induction programme covers important information that you will need to know early on and helps set you up for your time in the firm.

*depending on university inter-semester break dates.

Summer clerkship

Our 12-week Summer Clerk programme is a great way for students to immerse themselves in life at Chapman Tripp!

We keep our intake to approximately 20 Summer Clerks across our three offices, ensuring all of our Summer Clerks receive real-work, and have the potential to be offered a Law Clerkship at the end of the programme.

Our Summer Clerks rotate through two teams over the course of their clerkship. Before the programme begins, we provide information about each team, so Summer Clerks have all the details they need to make an informed decision about their rotation preferences.

Learning & Development

We run a comprehensive orientation day for Summer Clerks to give you a well-rounded introduction to the firm as well as training and information sessions throughout the summer. This covers topics such as our firm strategy, writing skills, an ‘ask me anything’ session with a panel of junior lawyers, and a presentation from our Community Director. Once you’ve settled in, we regularly check in with you over email and in person, as well as holding more formal reviews after each team rotation.

Law Clerkship

Our Law Clerks participate in a comprehensive programme from induction through to admission.

Generally, our Law Clerks are our previous Summer Clerks, however we occasionally hire people who haven’t worked with us before.

Learning & Development

We make sure our Law Clerks have all the training and support needed to have the best start to their legal careers.

Since 2016, we have enrolled our Law Clerks in a bespoke Professional Legal Studies Course (Profs) with the Institute of Professional Legal Studies. This full-time classroom-based course, which we helped develop, focuses on the common types of work our Law Clerks do and them develop the practical, day-to-day skills they will need as an entry-level lawyer. After completing Profs, Law Clerks will be eligible to apply for admission as a legal practitioner in New Zealand.

We cover the cost of Profs and pay your full salary while you’re completing the course. Rather than juggling work and study at the same time, our Law Clerks complete their Profs course onsite from late-January to April, then join the firm full time in April.

Throughout Profs, our Law Clerks spend time with their teams, attending training sessions and team events for a seamless transition once they join us. After profs, our Law Clerks have weekly in-house technical and skills training sessions, to help them develop the necessary skills and settle into their day-to-day roles.