Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Overview
Morgan Lewis is a global, full-service US law firm founded in 1873 with a broad industry focus and an extensive cross-border platform. The firm positions itself as a collaborative, client-focused adviser to large corporates, financial institutions and governments, and is noted for deep capability across litigation, transactional and regulatory matters as well as sector specialist teams (energy, financial services, life sciences, technology). With strategic hubs across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, Morgan Lewis combines local office presence with integrated global teams and a strong pro bono and responsible-business profile.
- Headquarters: New York
- Founded: 1873
- Lawyers: 2,200+
- Trainees: 6
- Offices: 30+
Values & Culture
Practice Areas
- Banking & Finance
- Capital Markets
- Corporate & M&A
- Employment
- Pensions
- Tax
- Intellectual Property
- Dispute Resolution & Litigation
- Competition & Antitrust
- Energy & Natural Resources
- ESG & Sustainability
- Financial Services & Regulation
- Investment Funds
- Insolvency & Restructuring
- Regulatory & Compliance
- Real Estate
- Private Equity & Venture Capital
- Technology & Digital
- Insurance & Reinsurance
- Healthcare & Life Sciences
- Transport & Logistics
- Private Client & Wealth
- Data Protection & Privacy
- International Arbitration
Geographic Focus: Morgan Lewis operates from strategic hubs across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, with particularly deep coverage in the United States, London, major European financial centres (Brussels, Frankfurt, Paris, Munich), Asian markets (Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo) and the Gulf (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh). The firm serves global corporates (including a high proportion of Fortune 100/500 clients) and coordinates cross-border teams for multijurisdictional matters.
Training Contract
Training contracts are two‑year programmes with seat rotations; in London classic seat allocations bring a practice area focus to each six‑month phase (typical "seat" model). Trainees work directly with senior lawyers across practices and industry groups, with structured professional development delivered through the firm’s ML Institute and tiered Academies (New Lawyer, Midlevel, Senior, Trial). Seats are allocated by practice and office; trainees often have access to international secondments and formal mentoring and upward feedback processes.
- Starting Salary: £57,500 (Year 1) / £62,500 (Year 2)
- NQ Salary: £173,000
- Trainee Intake: 6
- Qualification Rate: 71%
- Academic Requirements: Minimum degree: 2:1. Minimum A‑levels: AAB.
- Application Deadline: 2026-06-19
Seat Options
- Competition & Antitrust
- Corporate & M&A
- Banking & Finance
- Investment Funds
- Labor, Employment & Benefits
- Dispute Resolution & Litigation
- Structured Transactions
- Intellectual Property
- Capital Markets
Sponsorship
PGDL/PGDL grant: £12,500 (supplementary data). The London trainee page references a maintenance grant (paid in instalments) for those who have accepted training contract offers.
SQE Support
SQE grant: £17,000 (supplementary data).
International Opportunities
Some trainees undertake international secondments; London trainees may be seconded to offices including Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Singapore. LegalCheek data indicate approximately a 33% chance of an overseas secondment.
Client Secondments
0%
Mentorship
Formal mentoring and upward feedback are central to the development programme: trainees are supervised by partners and given partner mentors and local buddy systems; the firm runs upward review processes and assignment processes to ensure development and exposure.
Programmes & Schemes
10‑week summer programme for second‑year law students offering substantive project work, professional development, pro bono opportunities and integration into client teams. The programme begins with a multiday firm orientation and gives summer associates hands‑on experience in US offices.
- Duration: 10 weeks
A targeted fellowship for first‑year law students with technology or life‑sciences backgrounds that provides a 1L summer placement and, conditional on performance, a 2L summer associate position and support toward joining the IP practice. Fellowship recipients receive mentoring, practical IP experience and financial incentives tied to joining the firm’s IP practice.
- Duration: Two summers (1L and 2L) with contingent entry‑level associate placement
- Salary: $25,000 bonus (conditional on completion of 2L summer and joining the IP practice); $5,000 bonus (upon passing the patent bar prior to joining); patent bar exam expense reimbursement.
- Deadline: 2026-01-15
Hong Kong office runs internship intakes in June (summer) and December (winter). The scheme offers up to 12 places per intake, hands‑on experience, partner mentoring, seminars and social events; participants may be assessed for training contract offers.
- Duration: 4 weeks
- Salary: Paid
- Places: Up to 12 per intake
A two‑year, structured programme for recent college graduates combining substantive law‑firm experience, training and mentorship as legal practice assistants. Cohort intake follows an annual calendar of information sessions, rolling applications, screening and onboarding.
- Duration: 2 years
Fellowship aimed at expanding access for aspiring lawyers who are first‑generation to higher education; offered through the Summer Associate application for selected US offices (Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Washington, DC).
Notable Matters
Morgan Lewis represented a Venezuelan pro‑democracy advocate and his family in an asylum matter; following representation, the Asylum Office granted asylum for the client, his wife and two children — enabling them to apply for lawful permanent residence. The matter highlights the firm's immigration and pro bono capabilities.
Immigration
Morgan Lewis represented the Innocence Project in appellate litigation challenging a conviction that relied on fingerprint evidence. The firm filed briefing challenging the admissibility and reliability of the expert fingerprint evidence; the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division issued a 37‑page decision reversing the conviction. The ruling has potential wider implications for forensic-evidence admissibility.
Dispute Resolution & Litigation
Morgan Lewis and a nonprofit reached a settlement securing approximately $700 million for more than 650,000 Pennsylvanian households affected during the COVID‑19 period, resolving claims connected to public‑benefits administration. The complex matter demonstrates the firm’s capacity for large-scale class action and public‑interest litigation.
Dispute Resolution & Litigation
A Morgan Lewis pro bono team obtained a federal court ruling requiring the State of Mississippi to redraw several 2022 state legislative maps, a major victory in voting‑rights litigation and an example of the firm’s systemic civil‑rights pro bono work.
Public Law
Working with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, Morgan Lewis secured the release of Ricky Warner, who had spent more than 35 years imprisoned following a wrongful first‑degree murder conviction, illustrating the firm’s appellate and criminal‑justice pro bono engagement.
Dispute Resolution & Litigation
What Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Looks For
Key Competencies
- Commercial awareness
- Strong academic performance (minimum 2:1 degree)
- Attention to detail and legal drafting skills
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Resilience and adaptability
- Client service and communication skills
- Commitment to pro bono and responsible business
- Specialist technical skills for IP/tech roles (STEM degree advantageous)
Evidence Signals
- Relevant internships or vacation scheme experience
- Pro bono or volunteering experience
- International or cross‑border exposure (secondments/study abroad)
- Legal research, moot or advocacy experience
- Technical STEM degrees and patent bar progression for IP Fellowship applicants
- Demonstrable commercial insight or sector experience
Benefits & Wellbeing
- Trainee salary: Year 1 £57,500; Year 2 £62,500
- NQ salary: £173,000
- PGDL/PGDL grant: £12,500
- SQE grant: £17,000
- Maintenance grant for London training contract (paid in instalments)
- Medical, prescription and dental coverage
- Health care and dependent care reimbursement accounts
- Domestic partner coverage
- Parental leave
- Life and accident insurance
- Income protection, sick leave and long‑term disability
- Home office enhancement budget
- Remote working programme / formal remote working policy
- ML Well wellbeing portal, webinars and one‑to‑one counselling (Employee Assistance Programme)
- Paid summer associate positions and fellowship bonuses (IP Fellowship)
- ML BeneHelp temporary senior benefits advisors for clients
- Season ticket/commuting support referenced through flexible working programmes (office programmes vary by location)
Wellbeing
ML Well programme (holistic well‑being portal, webinars, positive‑psychology curriculum), regular educational programming on addiction and recovery (in partnership with Caron Treatment Centers), quarterly global movement challenges, Employee Assistance Programme (free one‑to‑one counselling), ML Well Adventures events and dedicated Chief Engagement Officer.
Awards & Recognition
- Top 5, A‑List Law Firm, The American Lawyer (2023–2025)
- 400+ lawyer recognitions, Chambers & Partners (2025)
- Top 10, The Global 200, The American Lawyer (2023, 2024)
- Most Innovative Law Firms in North America, Financial Times (2025)
- Best Law Firm for Litigation Technology and Innovation, Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law Awards (2025)
- #1, Best Law Firms for Pro Bono, Vault (2022–2025)
- #1, Breadth of Commitment, Pro Bono Scorecard, The American Lawyer (2021–2024)
- International Law Firm of the Year, Women in Law Awards, GCC, LexisNexis (2025)
- Equality 100 Award: Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion, Human Rights Campaign Foundation (2023–2025)
- Mansfield Certification Plus, Diversity Lab (2019–2024)
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Mansfield Certification Plus (since 2019); Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index (100% score, 2023–2024); signatory to the Pro Bono Institute’s Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge; sponsorship and partnership relationships with numerous industry D&I organisations and programmes.
- ML Foundation Scholarship
- Georgetown Early Outreach Initiative
- SEO Law Program
- ML Women
- ML Community Engagement
- ML Well
- Mobilizing for Equality (MFE)
- ML Votes!
- ASIAN AMERICAN/ASIAN network
- BLACK network
- DISABILITY AWARENESS network
- FIRST GENERATION network
- HISPANIC/LATINO network
- LGBTQ+ network
- MIDDLE EASTERN/NORTH AFRICAN network
- PARENT network
- VETERANS network
- ML Foundation (independent 501(c)(3))
Pro Bono
The firm met its Pro Bono Challenge for eight consecutive years with 100% of lawyers contributing at least 20 pro bono hours; firm average pro bono hours exceeded 50 hours in fiscal 2025. Signature programmes include Community Impact Week, Mobilizing for Equality (MFE), secondments to legal services organisations, Equal Justice Works fellowships and partnered pro bono matters on voting rights, immigration, housing, and civil rights.
Innovation
Morgan Lewis positions innovation as central to client service and operational efficiency — investing in eDiscovery tools, knowledge management, and client‑facing platforms such as VIZBRIDGE™, while the firm’s innovation accolades (Financial Times, Legalweek, Thomson Reuters) reflect a sustained programme of digital tool development, litigation‑tech capability and client‑facing product solutions. Trainees and associates engage with innovation through firm training (ML Institute), technology‑enabled practice groups (eData) and project teams.
- VIZBRIDGE™ by Morgan Lewis
- ML Institute (professional development and training)
- Search Term Validator (eDiscovery tool)
- eData/eDiscovery technology initiatives
- All Legal Industry Sustainability Standard (ALISS) – Platinum Badge (sustainability recognition)
- Internal legal‑tech and innovation awards and programme activities
Quick Application Angles
- Emphasise the firm’s global platform and cross‑border capability — reference interest in London practice with the firm’s Middle East and Asian offices (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Singapore) and any international experience you have.
- Show concrete commitment to pro bono and responsible business — Morgan Lewis highlights pro bono wins (e.g., large‑scale public‑interest settlements and voting‑rights litigation) and expects candidates to value public service.
- If applying to IP, highlight technical qualifications and patent‑bar ambitions — the IP Fellowship explicitly prefers candidates with engineering, computer science or life‑sciences backgrounds and offers patent‑bar support.
- Reference training and mentoring culture — mention the firm’s ML Institute, Academies and upward feedback mechanisms, and provide examples where you have benefited from or provided mentorship.
- Demonstrate commercial awareness and sector alignment — pick a recent sector issue (digital assets, ESG reporting, energy storage policy) and explain how the firm’s cross‑practice approach would add value to clients.
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