Law firm Osborne Clarke has expanded its #10000 Black Interns Programme including offering client placements with ITV, OVO, PPF, University of Bristol, British Land and Hargreaves Lansdown.
The international firm, which has its headquarters in Finzels Reach, Bristol, has welcomed its second cohort of interns onto its programme that aims to improve diversity across the legal sector and other professional services businesses.
The firm's legal and business services teams welcomed 12 interns across its offices in Bristol, Reading and London for the six-week programme. This year the firm has expanded the programme in a number of ways.
This year interns will have the opportunity to experience a range of areas of Osborne Clarke's business. Each intern will also have two placements with one of eight clients: ITV, OVO, British Land, Hargreaves Lansdown, Pension Protection Fund, Linkcity (the development arm of Bouygues 海角视频), Sovereign and the University of Bristol.
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Osborne Clarke is involved in the #10KBI Legal Collaboration Network. Initiated by Taylor Wessing, the network brings together 14 law firms involved in the #10KBI programme to provide additional skills training for the interns. Each firm hosts a session covering a range of topics and Osborne Clarke hosted a session covering 'confidence and navigating imposter syndrome'.
Additionally, the firm is offering eligible interns the opportunity to undertake an assessment process and apply for a training contract with the firm. This autumn it will also launch a long-term scholarship programme aimed at students from black and ethnic communities, including mentoring, work experience, and financial support.
Osborne Clarke's #10KBI Programme lead Su Akgun commented: "Most people will remember having that light bulb moment in an internship, when you finally start to figure what you want to do and, most importantly, what you don't want to do in your career. That's why we've broadened our programme this year.
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"We want to give our interns a deep understanding of our business and what it's like to work in a law firm so they can make informed decisions about working in a business like ours. Programmes like #10KBI really are making a difference in helping the legal sector diversify its pool of great talent."
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