Clifford Chance launches three-day challenge with fast-track route to training contract assessment
2026-09-07
Clifford Chance has launched The Challenge, a short recruitment programme designed to give prospective trainees a realistic introduction to the work of a junior lawyer, with strong performers potentially fast-tracked to a training contract assessment day.
The pilot offers 30 places to penultimate-year law students and final-year non-law students. Across three days, participants will tackle trainee-level tasks for a fictional global client, respond to changing commercial issues and use AI tools. The first day is virtual, followed by two days at the firm’s Canary Wharf headquarters, where participants will also work with lawyers from its international offices.
The initiative is a condensed alternative to conventional vacation schemes, which typically last two or three weeks. Clifford Chance says the programme is designed to reflect the cross-border and collaborative nature of its work while giving candidates a closer view of life at the firm.
