Your Next Chapter Is Up to You
We think you’ll find that MoFo is the perfect place to start your career story. Our continuing reputation as one of the world’s leading law firms depends upon the talents of our exceptional lawyers. So we don’t expect you to wait when it comes to taking on real, engaging work, whether that’s helping with writing briefs, contributing to client outreach, or taking part in a pro bono matter.
Write Your Success Story
Those with a commitment to excellence, tenacity, and curiosity will find common ground with their MoFo peers. Our clients have come to expect nothing but the best from us, so we look for the same commitment from each other. You’ll have access to in-depth training and mentoring to help integrate you into the fabric of the firm.
MoFo Stories
Get to know MoFo through the eyes of our talented lawyers. Click on the photos to read about their experiences as mentors and mentees.
Expect More
Real Work
Summer associates, interns, and trainees receive a broad mix of assignments tailored to their area of interest, ranging from writing briefs, motions, contracts, and client memoranda to assisting in drafting and negotiation sessions, helping with depositions and witness preparation, performing due diligence in corporate transactions, and volunteering for pro bono assignments. You’ll work closely with senior attorneys, partners, associates, paralegals, and staff on a variety of substantive projects. The goal is that you work on a variety of substantive projects to demonstrate your writing, research, and analytical skills, and get a realistic perspective on what it’s like to be a lawyer at MoFo.
Real Skills
We believe that direct participation and hands-on experience in engaging client matters provide the most rewarding student opportunities. Our summer and trainee programs are designed to give students the tools and skills they need to succeed and provide a realistic view into what a MoFo career might look like. As a summer associate, summer intern, or trainee, you’ll experience an engaging and robust program. You will participate in tailored training programs and practice group presentations that will introduce you to the full capabilities of the firm. Our goal is to prepare you to jump right in and get to work, and explore our wide range of practice areas.
Learn about MoFo’s wide-ranging practices and industries.
Real Guidance
You’ll be assigned one or more mentors to help you acclimate to the firm and introduce you to the attorneys and staff in their practice group and office. Our attorneys understand the importance of providing students not only guidance but a welcoming environment where you’re encouraged to ask questions and contribute to the team—after all, they were once in your shoes. Whether formally or informally, mentors are there to act as a sounding board for any questions or concerns you may have throughout the summer and beyond.
Learn more about MoFo’s culture and our commitment to supporting you.
Where Will Your MoFo Story Start?
We understand that selecting the right firm may seem overwhelming. There’s a lot to think about, from the city where you’d like to live, to the type of work that you’ll find interesting, and how to distinguish among the many highly respected firms that sound similar. Our summer associate, intern, and trainee programs are designed to help talented students like you explore the many career possibilities that MoFo offers, from your future practice area and office location to the partnership track.
United States
Summer Associate Program Overview
Every year, MoFo’s U.S. offices welcome some of the nation’s most talented law students to join us for an immersive Summer Associates Program. As a summer associate, you will be assigned real work focused on your area of interest. Throughout the program, you’ll have the opportunity to interact with clients, and you’ll play an active role in each matter you’re assigned to.
Many Ways to Start Your MoFo Story
2L Summer Associates
During the summer and fall, we recruit second-year law students for our following year’s Summer Associate Program. We recruit at various law schools and at several job fairs each year. Check our on-campus interview list to see if we’ll be visiting your school. Don’t see your school on the list? Contact a recruiter in the office nearest to you.
Keith Wetmore Fellowship for Excellence, Diversity, and Inclusion
We work to ensure that there are no barriers to serving clients at the highest level or to creating opportunities for our lawyers, potential lawyers, and staff. The firm has long viewed diversity and inclusion as critical to our success. We continuously seek to attract talented individuals and to ensure that they are supported, engaged, and given the tools necessary to thrive.
Our Wetmore Fellowship attracts highly motivated first and second-year law students who demonstrate an ongoing commitment to promoting diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in the legal profession. It provides the training, mentorship, and exposure critical to the students’ professional development and engagement.
Two-Summer Patent Program
In our Two-Summer Patent Program, you’ll do real work with one of the top IP teams in the United States—having appeared four times on National Law Journal’s “IP Hot List” and being twice named Law360’s “IP Practice Group of the Year”—to help you become the next successful MoFo IP attorney.
Our patent program has two tracks: Patent Strategy & Prosecution and Patent Litigation. Over two summers, you’ll be fully immersed in our patent prosecution group or patent litigation group, where you’ll receive guidance on your professional development as you prepare to take the USPTO exam, free of cost. You’ll also attend our unique Patent Boot Camp training program and be mentored by our leading IP partners.
Learn more about MoFo’s presence in the United States.
Hong Kong
Summer Internship Program
Our Hong Kong Summer Internship Program is a great introduction to what a trainee contract at our Hong Kong office would offer you, and the best way for you to demonstrate your potential to us. Interns are included in every aspect of firm life, from social events to office-wide training sessions, and from legal research to client meetings.
Each summer, we run two sessions of one month each (in June and July), with a maximum of six students per session. You’ll work closely with our attorneys, and while assignments can come from all over the firm, if you are particularly enthused about a specific practice area, we will attempt to accommodate your interests.
Trainee Program
Our Hong Kong Trainee Program is a two-year contract that provides the practical and legal knowledge necessary to become a fully qualified lawyer. From day one, you’ll be surprised by how much direct contact you have with clients. The hands-on learning we offer will help you understand the legal and commercial context of the advice we give.
The training contract comprises four six-month seats, rotating between practices. All trainee solicitors will take seats in each of the capital markets, mergers and acquisitions/private equity, and litigation groups, with a final repeat seat in one of the practice areas listed, taking into account the trainee’s preferences. We also offer the opportunity during the training contract to be seconded for three months to one of our international offices.
We strongly prefer completion of a summer internship prior to commencement of a trainee contract, but it is not a requirement. New contracts begin each year in September.
Hong Kong graduate recruitment brochure.
How To Apply: Please submit an online application here. Applications are on a rolling basis.
Tokyo
Summer Associates Program
Our Tokyo office offers a U.S.-style summer program that is unprecedented in the local market. Students accepted into the program receive valuable mentoring and networking opportunities, and work on substantive client matters. They interact closely with attorneys of all levels (including both U.S. attorneys and Japan-licensed attorneys) as well as with clients, and have the opportunity to participate in various social events in and around Tokyo.
Berlin
Trainee Solicitors and Research Assistants (Referendare und wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter)
Morrison & Foerster’s Berlin Office accepts trainee solicitors and research assistants throughout the year. Our practice includes corporate, M&A, litigation, IP/IT, commercial, media, media regulation, antitrust, finance, privacy, employment, and tax. If you are particularly interested in a specific area, let us know, and we will work to accommodate your interests.
The hands-on learning we offer will help you to understand the legal and commercial context of the advice we give. Our work is highly international. Hence you will have the opportunity to show or shape your cultural and English language skills.
While at MoFo Berlin, you will be able to benefit from multiple training opportunities beyond day-to-day legal work. Our offerings include:
- A mentoring team of senior lawyers that supports you during your tenure at MoFo
- Opportunity to participate in the MoFo Academy that is partly hosted in collaboration with Bucerius Law School
- Weekly English courses
- Online/VC trainings hosted by our international offices
- A €200 voucher for trainee solicitors (Referendare) for Kaiserseminare
- Participation in our MoFo Health program
Our trainee solicitors and research assistants are included in every aspect of firm life, from social events to formal client receptions.
For exceptional candidates, we offer the opportunity during the training period to be seconded to one of our international offices. We also offer competitive compensation and attractive work schedules.
For more information, learn about career opportunities in Germany.
London
See our other recruitment videos:
- Vacation Scheme & Training Contract
- Our Work & Dedication to Pro Bono
- Our Culture & Values
- What Makes MoFo London Stand Out?
Vacation Schemes
A MoFo vacation scheme is a great introduction to what a training contract in our London office can offer you. It is the best way for you to demonstrate your potential to us and it is our sole method of selecting our future trainees. During your vacation scheme, you will be given real work for real clients. You will be included in every aspect of firm life, from social events to office-wide training sessions, from legal research to client meetings. You’ll get to meet others on the scheme as well as our partners, associates and trainees.
By the end of the scheme, you should have a good idea of whether law is the career for you and whether MoFo is the right place for you.
We run two Summer Vacation Schemes each year; each lasts for two weeks. We typically have up to seven people on each scheme. The dates for the 2023 Summer Vacation Schemes are: 12 June — 23 June and 26 June — 7 July 2023. For more information, download our London recruitment brochure.
Our trainee retention rate is high and the variety of work you undertake will provide you with enough exposure to different areas of practice to help you decide on what area of law you want to specialize in when you qualify. We have a new intake of trainees in September each year.
We believe that exposure to the broader MoFo network is an invaluable part of your development, so there are also opportunities to gain experience in our Singapore and Brussels offices through our trainee secondment scheme.
We are a Lex100 winner in the following categories:
- Social Life
- Vacation schemes
- Financial remuneration (1st year: ₤60,000, 2nd year: ₤65,000)
- Inclusiveness
- Approachability
Learn more about career opportunities in London.
Trainee Program – What to Expect
What We’re Looking For
MoFo realises that delivering results for our clients requires the best legal talent. We have long thought that our greatest asset is the last person hired. We seek out not only the best and brightest in academic pursuits but also those with motivation, energy, creativity and a desire for early responsibility. Strong interpersonal skills and a commitment to our culture and values are also important.
Strong academics are vital and we require you to be on track for, or to have already achieved a minimum of a 2(i) degree (or the equivalent if you are studying outside the UK) and a minimum of AAB (or equivalent) at A Level.
When and How to Apply
Applications for the 2023 London Vacation Schemes are now closed. In 2023, we will be running two, two-week summer vacation schemes from 12 June to 23 June and 26 June to 7 July. Our vacation schemes provide insight into life at MoFo and offer the opportunity to consider whether we are the right firm for you. Vacation scheme associates will gain a good picture of how much responsibility our trainees are given; it’s also a chance to meet and learn more about our London-based attorneys and staff. The vacation scheme is our sole method of recruiting future trainees.
If you are currently a law student, you should apply in the penultimate year of your law degree. Non-law students should apply in the final year of your degree. If you have already gained industry experience and are considering training as a solicitor, you should decide which year you want to start your training contract and apply before the deadline. We also welcome applications from individuals with relevant industry experience who are considering a career change.
Morrison Foerster are pleased to confirm that we are partnering with the University of Law to deliver the SQE programme for those who need to complete it. We will offer non-law students the opportunity to complete the PgDL with the University of Law and include the SQE+ programme for all SQE students to offer a complete and well-rounded introduction to the practice and business of law for our future trainees. Intentionally chosen for the breadth and depth of teaching expertise, understanding of our key practice areas and wider industry and sector developments, the collaboration between Morrison Foerster and University of Law ensures that all future trainees are prepared for their exciting legal journey ahead. Full course and exam fees will be covered for future MoFo trainees sitting the LPC or SQE as well as a maintenance grant to assist with living costs.