Legal apprenticeship: when experience and potential walk hand in hand.

As an assistant attorney at Plesner, you will become acquainted with all aspects of working as an attorney. You will improve your theoretical knowledge and understanding, you will be involved in practical legal work, and you will meet clients from the largest business enterprises in Denmark – and you will have an experienced attorney by your side.

The concept of legal apprenticeship is central to us. It means that you will learn and gain experience from competent colleagues all the way through your training programme. Our attorneys participate in Plesner's award-winning leadership programme, and our working environment is therefore characterised by constructive and inspiring feedback and dialogue.

We take your training very seriously, and we make sure that you receive exactly the kind of feedback which will allow you to become the attorney that you want to be.

We will guide you safely through the assistant attorney programme.

You will have your own personal talent developer who will follow you closely throughout the programme. You will build your own network and acquire the commercial understanding and industry knowledge required to make you a competent attorney. You will receive training to enhance your advisory, communication and legal skills to allow you to create value for our clients, both in Denmark and abroad.

Introduction You will be introduced to Plesner's business, and you will acquire extensive knowledge of the legal industry. A partner or a senior attorney will provide continuous feedback on your work to allow you to gradually enhance your skills and gain experience and professional self-confidence.

Assistant attorney programme A three-year programme with three components: the role of advisor, legal knowledge and communication. The contents of the programme will be expanded as the requirements for your performance in relation to case work and your interaction with colleagues and clients increase. After three years, you will have acquired a solid understanding of Plesner's business, knowledge of the legal rules which are relevant to Plesner's practice areas as well as negotiation and rhetorical skills, all of which will make you a value-creating advisor.

Attorney programme Plesner's assistant attorney programme is supplemented by the compulsory training for lawyers provided by the Danish Bar and Law Society (Advokatsamfundet). The training programme focuses on the basic skills of attorneys and provides you with an understanding of the special role that attorneys play in society. The programme will be completed with a written exam and a practical or theoretical litigation test.

First year

Year one: from Master of Laws to Plesner During your first year as an assistant attorney, you will adapt yourself from the academic and theoretical environment at university to a practical world of advice. You will learn how to transform your theoretical knowledge into value-creating advice for our clients and how to plan your working life to achieve a sensible balance between assignments and work efforts.

What is in it for me? You will be trained in all the legal disciplines forming part of your daily work. You will benefit from the training no matter which practice area you are attached to. You will also be taught how to manage your time efficiently and how to clearly and unambiguously communicate complicated information to clients, colleagues and business partners, both orally and in writing.

Second year

Year two: the role of specialist You have now settled in at your department, and you have become acquainted with the work as an assistant attorney. You take part in internal and external work relations, and you have a basic understanding of the work as an attorney in your department. It is now time to take a look at Plesner's other practice areas.

What is in it for me? You will learn how to create good collaborative relations across practice areas and legal areas. This will be very useful in your daily work where you will often be included in cross-departmental teams. You will receive rhetorical training with focus on argumentation, credibility and assertiveness. This will come to good use in your litigation test and your future work for Plesner. As regards legal knowledge, more legal disciplines attaching to Plesner's practice areas will be added, and training will be centred around the legal work and issues encountered by the departments every day.

 

Third year

Year three: the role of advisor During your third year as an assistant attorney, you will gradually be given more responsibility for your own cases and will be in direct contact with clients, client advisors and other external stakeholders. It is now time to focus on how to provide advice to your clients based on their needs and        business activities.

What is in it for me? You will become acquainted with techniques which will enable you to identify your clients' needs and provide solution-based advice. You will be taught negotiation techniques which will enable you to act more independently in relation to your clients. As regards legal knowledge, you will embark on the remaining Plesner practice areas. Again your training will focus on the legal work and issues encountered by the departments every day.

Exam

Bar exam The bar exam consists of a written exam and a practical or theoretical litigation test. Prior to your written exam, you will receive training in the relevant examination subjects.

Litigation test To enable you to prepare for your litigation test, you will be offered to participate in courses and receive coaching from experienced colleagues. You may also decide to attend a number of trial hearings to find out how Plesner's attorneys act in court.

At Plesner, we aim at offering our attorneys the best supplementary training in the legal industry. 

We have therefore developed a three-year award-winning leadership programme to supplement the enhancement of your personal skills as a leader and legal advisor.

Leadership programme
When you have worked as an attorney for three years, you will participate in Plesner's three-year leadership programme. The programme will improve your skills relating to personal leadership, client and market understanding as well as strategic and commercial understanding. A coaching process will enhance your leadership skills and will help you identify your potential – on a personal, leadership and business level.

Personal course programme
After you have passed your bar exam, you will plan your personal course programme in consultation with the partner responsible for supplementary training in your department. Together with him or her, you will decide on the internal and external courses that you should attend to cover your training needs and create value for our clients.