Baker McKenzie

Think Opportunity, Think Baker McKenzie! 

Baker McKenzie Brisbane is offering an exciting paralegal/clerkship opportunity for two Brisbane-based penultimate or final year law students!

This unique program is designed as a pathway into our Brisbane graduate program, commencing in February 2028. In addition to the paralegal role, which is designed to take place in 2026/2027, you will participate in our Melbourne office's four-week winter clerkship program from end June to July 2027 (with flights and accommodation costs paid for) – further enhancing your experience, strengthening your relationships and increasing your exposure across offices. 

What to expect  

Right from the start, our paralegals are given the opportunity to get involved in meaningful work and have genuine responsibility. From tasks like drafting court or transaction documents to conducting legal research for letters of advice, you will have the opportunity to work across a broad range of client matters within your team. You will also be exposed to our Australian and international clients through client meetings, calls and events. 

This opportunity for real work and responsibility continues as you participate in our Melbourne office's winter clerkship program. Working with lawyers of all levels, you will be guided by a supervising partner and associate “buddy”. You will also be supported, at every stage of the clerkship, by our Early Careers team – who facilitates a comprehensive program starting with induction and skills development including practical sessions on technology training, legal research, drafting, commerciality, business communication, client-service and other skills crucial to ensuring you impress and succeed during your clerkship.

In Brisbane, our key practice groups are: 

• Financial Services
• Corporate Markets (including Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity and Capital Markets)
• Commercial Real Estate
• Construction
• Dispute Resolution.
    

Application process 

Applications open at 9.00 am on Monday, 13 July 2026 and close at 11.59 pm on Sunday, 2 August 2026. Successful candidates will attend two interviews during August and September 2026. Offers will be made from 9.00 am on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, and must be accepted or declined by 1.00 pm on Thursday, 8 October 2026.  

To be eligible for a 2026/2027 paralegal/clerkship position and subsequent graduate position with Baker McKenzie, you must be a citizen or permanent resident of Australia or have the right to work in a full-time role in Australia. You must also be enrolled in a law degree or equivalent which will qualify you for admission as a legal practitioner in Australia. At Baker McKenzie, this paralegal/clerkship opportunity is only open to students who are in the penultimate or final year of their law degree. Graduate offers will be made in August 2027, subject to meeting our performance criteria, with successful candidates commencing in February 2028.

All applications should be addressed to Meg Baker, Early Careers Advisor, and should include a cover letter, CV and your academic transcripts. We also ask you to complete a few admin questions.
  

For more information about this bespoke paralegal/clerkship opportunity, please contact Meg Baker, Early Careers Advisor, at meg.baker@bakermckenzie.com or on +61 2 8922 5320

What do we look for in our paralegals/clerks? 

Baker McKenzie looks for people who: 

• genuinely want to work with us and understand our unique offering and position in the market
• are well-rounded (i.e. through extra-curriculars/leadership), motivated, have a performance mindset and strive to be the best in whatever they do
• are intellectually curious, think innovatively and have sound academics
• display business acumen and are practical in their approach
• have a global mindset and are passionately committed to service excellence
• enjoy a challenge and seek new opportunities
• constantly look for ways to achieve better results while learning and growing
• take proactive ownership/responsibility for their careers
• act with integrity, honesty and candour in their dealings, decisions and actions
• express themselves confidently while staying open to new ideas
• demonstrate adaptability and resilience
• seek a friendly, inclusive and diverse culture
• take seriously our role in making a difference to our local and global communities.
    

We pride ourselves on our diversity too, and recognise that all of our people have something unique to offer and contribute to the success of the Firm. 

To find out more about life as a clerk and graduate at Baker McKenzie, visit our Prosple pages: Baker McKenzie Graduate Stories | Prosple Australia.

At Baker McKenzie, we are different in the way we think, work and behave. The first local, truly global law firm in Australia, we commenced operations in Sydney in 1964, in Melbourne in 1982 and in Brisbane in 2014. With our breadth of experience in the local market and global connectivity, we are the law firm of choice for Australian and multinational companies. We have 6,500 lawyers globally who work seamlessly together – across practice groups, sectors and markets – to provide our clients with the connected perspectives, integrated solutions and seamless guidance they need to succeed in an increasingly interconnected global market.

Baker McKenzie Australia can offer you access to complex, market-leading matters working with some of the world's best legal minds – people who know the law and who understand business. We have an unrivalled ability to provide training and secondment opportunities across our global network. Locally, we have an inclusive culture of learning, coaching and opportunity where you will work as part of teams on matters that often cross borders. We value people who think ahead and get noticed.

At Baker McKenzie, our flat structure means you will have direct exposure to our clients, responsibility for meaningful involvement across a broad range of matters, and opportunities for progression. You will also regularly work with our extensive network of global colleagues and clients.

Our benefits 

• Financial: competitive remuneration package, generous bonus scheme, salary continuance insurance, life insurance, salary sacrifice options, employee discounts, referral rewards, and travel insurance for you and your immediate family.
• Learning & development opportunities: client and international office secondments, and regional and global development programs.
• Flexibility: hybrid and flexible working arrangements to balance your work and lifestyle.
• Leave: 26 weeks' paid parental leave for parents/carers (with no minimum service) with access to an external coaching service, ability to purchase additional annual leave, flexible public holidays and volunteer leave.
• Health & wellbeing programs: Employee Assistance Program including confidential counselling and wellbeing and financial coaching for you and your immediate family, flu vaccinations and discounted health insurance.

Inclusion, Diversity & Equity 

Baker McKenzie is committed to providing a diverse, inclusive and equitable culture for all its employees, with equal opportunity for all to progress and have a meaningful career with our Firm. As part of our inclusive culture, we welcome applications from people of all genders (including if you identify as transgender or gender diverse), sexual orientations, abilities, cultural backgrounds, as well as First Nations peoples and people with caring responsibilities, neurodivergent lived experiences and disabilities. We want all applicants to be given the best possible opportunity to succeed in our recruitment processes, so invite you to let us know of any reasonable adjustments you require to equitably participate in our recruitment processes or in performing the requirements of a role at Baker McKenzie.