Our story

Baker McKenzie invented the global law firm - so we are different in the way we think, work and behave. Our story is one of imagination, determination and hard work. We have followed clients into new markets, establishing offices driven by local lawyers and talent. And our growth has been organic, giving us a strong, common culture that runs through our Firm. 

Our unique culture, developed over 70 years, enables our 13,000 people to understand local markets and navigate multiple jurisdictions, working together as trusted colleagues and friends to instil confidence in our clients. We also understand the challenges of the global economy, with our commitment to excellence underpinning our success.    

The Firm is continually expanding and currently employs over 6,000 lawyers in 76 offices in 46 countries. We have been in Australia since 1964 and employ approximately 220 lawyers/graduates and 82 partners across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. 

Our People Deal, a key component of our strategy, is about delivering the best employee experience to enable one high-performing, global team to serve our clients. We offer our people access to market-leading, cross-border, local, and industry-focused matters for leading multinational and domestic clients. We understand our clients' businesses, industries and strategic objectives and work with our clients to overcome the challenges of competing in the global economy. We have an unrivalled ability to provide training and secondment opportunities across our global network. We are committed to engaging with our communities. We view inclusion and diversity is foundational to our culture and strategic vision. We have an inclusive culture of learning, coaching and opportunity, where you undertake work in small teams across multiple geographies with clients and colleagues. We are a place where everybody can succeed, whatever your background and wherever you are located. We are The New Lawyers for the New World.

Our people

Baker McKenzie looks for people who genuinely want to work with us and who understand Baker McKenzie's unique offering, values and position in the market. We look for well-rounded, motivated individuals who share our global perspective; who are intellectually curious and have sound academics; who display business acumen and are practical in their approach; who enjoy a challenge and seek new opportunities; who take responsibility and use their initiative; who act with integrity and honesty in all of their dealings, decisions and actions; who express themselves confidently while staying open to new ideas; who strive to provide excellent service to their clients; who seek a friendly, diverse, and inclusive culture; and who take seriously our role in making a difference to our local and global communities.

Our culture

Quality and excellence together with integrity, honesty, team work and responsiveness are some of Baker McKenzie's key values - and are central in us delivering outstanding service to our clients. 

In addition, the values which make Baker McKenzie a unique place to work include: our passion for being global, our culture of friendship, our commercial pragmatism, our support for entrepreneurship, our commitment to development, our focus on contributing to the community, and our genuine focus on maintaining a diverse and inclusive environment for all of our people. 

As the first truly global law firm, Baker McKenzie's origins are rooted in the respect for and appreciation of difference. Diversity and inclusion are in our DNA. Since our beginning, the diversity of our people has allowed us to work fluently across borders, cultures, and practices. 

Baker McKenzie is committed to providing a diverse and inclusive culture for all its employees, with equal opportunity for all to progress and have a meaningful career with our Firm. Our mission is to foster an environment where individuals of every ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, religion, age, disability, carer status, and working style may succeed professionally and fully contribute to the goals of the Firm. As part of our inclusive culture, we encourage applications from all genders, abilities and cultural backgrounds including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. We provide information and support relating to the recruitment process for transgender and gender diverse candidates.

We understand that organisations work best when people with different backgrounds and multiple points of view are brought together. Our own diversity mirrors our commitment to exploring multiple perspectives to develop the best possible solutions for our clients and to fostering a culture of respect and inclusion that celebrates diversity.

Our award winning diversity strategy, initiatives and programs are focused in five key areas, in which all of our people can participate: 

• BakerWomen – gender equality and supporting the progression of women;
• BakerDNA – ethnic, indigenous, and cultural diversity;
• BakerWellbeing – commitment to mental health and wellbeing, workplace flexibility and supporting parents/carers;
• BakerPride – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex diversity; and
• BakerIndigenousEngagement – commitment to engagement with our Indigenous community - achieving better social, economic and cultural outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and to making a real difference in the lives of our nation's First Peoples.

Our key practice groups

• Banking & Finance; 
• Corporate (including Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity and Capital Markets); 
• Commercial Real Estate; 
• Construction; 
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation; 
• Employment & Industrial Relations; 
• Energy, Resources, Infrastructure & Corporate;
• Environmental Markets;
• Intellectual Property;
• Media; 
• Tax; and 
• Technology, Communications & Commercial.

Pro Bono & Corporate Social Responsibility

Pro Bono and Community Services initiatives are an integral part of Baker McKenzie's mission. Our Pro Bono, Community Services and corporate social responsibility programs aim to inspire staff to make a difference and collaborate with clients who share the same commitment to social justice. We believe that the provision of pro bono legal services is a fundamental professional responsibility. 

In FY21, Baker McKenzie lawyers recorded 12,294 hours of pro bono work, smashing the National Pro Bono target of 35 hours per lawyer and exceeding our aspirational target of 50 hours per lawyer per year.

• Pro bono legal services – Baker McKenzie is a signatory to the National Pro Bono Aspirational Target of at least 35 hours of pro bono legal work per lawyer per year. Our lawyers regularly undertake a wide range of pro bono legal work for disadvantaged clients in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane as well as not-for-profit organisations. Some of our work includes assisting victims of domestic violence seek compensation; representing asylum seekers seeking judicial review of decisions relating to their refugee status and statement-taking in support of protection visas; helping elderly and ill clients and young people exiting the child protection system with their legal affairs; assisting with submissions and advocacy papers to support law and policy reform; presenting legal workshops to vulnerable and at risk youth. Our pro bono work extends globally, including the Asia Pacific region.
• Community Services and CSR – We offer all our people the opportunity to participate in a variety of community service initiatives.  Our community service programs include the LEAPS literacy and mentoring program in Sydney, FareShare corporate volunteering sessions in Brisbane, and Eat Up volunteering sessions in Melbourne. Baker McKenzie also supports three charity partners: Tuberous Sclerosis Australia, Refugee Advice and Casework Service, and LeaderLife. All staff members are encouraged to participate in volunteering and fundraising activities to support these causes. Staff members have the opportunity to donate to charities of their choice via the Firm's workplace giving platform.
• Reconciliation Action Plan – In November 2020 Baker McKenzie completed our first Reconciliation Action Plan and we are planning to launch our Innovate RAP in mid-2021. We are committing to a range of initiatives including providing employment opportunities to First Nations people; increasing our procurement of products and services from First Nations businesses; supporting First Nations peoples through pro bono legal work and volunteering opportunities; and ensuring that the Firm acknowledges the historic challenges faced by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community whilst also sharing in celebrations of culture.

Thrive in a culture of inclusion

The values that make us a unique and a great place to work are deeply embedded and you will notice our difference in all of your interactions with us, in Australia and across the globe.

• We are passionately global, and leverage our global expertise for our Australian and global clients at every opportunity, recognising our strength is in our diversity.
• We have a strong and diverse culture of friendship, inclusion and collaboration.
• We are commercial pragmatists who make complex issues simple for our clients and we focus on our clients’ business needs.
• We strive to stay ahead of the curve and encourage entrepreneurship.
• We actively encourage and support contribution to the community, through our pro bono and community service programs.
• We want everyone at Baker McKenzie to reach their potential so we invest in global, regional and local world-class development and mobility programs for our people.

Award Winning Diversity Strategy

Baker McKenzie is committed to providing a diverse and inclusive culture for all of its employees, with equal opportunity for all to progress and have a meaningful career with our Firm. We understand that organisations work best when people with different backgrounds and multiple points of view are brought together. Our own diversity mirrors our commitment to exploring multiple perspectives to develop the best possible solutions for our clients and to fostering a culture of respect and inclusion that celebrates diversity. Diversity and inclusion are in our DNA. Since our beginning, the diversity of our people has allowed us to work fluently across borders, cultures, and practices.

Diversity is central to our success. We are at home anywhere in the world and we rely on our people to navigate cultures, borders and practices with ease. What sets Baker McKenzie apart is our ability to leverage different languages, cultures, generations and perspectives we have to create a truly international law firm that places a real focus on diversity and inclusion.

Our mission is to foster an environment where individuals of every ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, religion, age, disability, carer status, and working style may succeed professionally and fully contribute to the goals of the Firm. As part of our inclusive culture, we encourage applications from all genders, abilities and cultural backgrounds including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.

Our award-winning diversity strategy, initiatives and programs are focussed in six key areas, in which all of our people can participate:

• BakerWomen – gender diversity, including the implementation of our gender diversity strategy to support the progression of women as a strategic priority for the Firm;
• BakerDNA – ethnic, indigenous and cultural diversity; 
• BakerWellbeing – commitment to mental health and wellbeing, workplace flexibility and supporting parents/carers;
• BakerPride – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex diversity; and 
• BakerIndigenousEngagement – commitment to engagement with our Indigenous community - achieving better social, economic and cultural outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and to making a real difference in the lives of our nation's First Peoples.

Our Graduate program

The majority of our Graduate positions are offered to former Seasonal Clerks. However, subject to business and resourcing needs, from time to time opportunities arise for us to hire Graduates laterally. 

At Baker McKenzie, we have an instinctively global outlook and a deep understanding of our Australian and international clients’ businesses.  

We look for people who genuinely want to work with us and who understand Baker McKenzie's unique offering, values and position in the market. We look for well-rounded, motivated individuals who share our global perspective; who are intellectually curious and have sound academics; who display business acumen and are practical in their approach; who enjoy a challenge and seek new opportunities; who take responsibility and use their initiative; who act with integrity and honesty in all of their dealings, decisions and actions; who express themselves confidently while staying open to new ideas; who strive to provide excellent service to their clients; who seek a friendly, diverse, and inclusive culture; and who take seriously our role in making a difference to our local and global communities.

We have lots to offer in return.

A solid transition from law school to law firm. When you join Baker McKenzie as a Graduate, we know you want to be working with clients on real work right from the start, so we support you to hone your skills and develop your experience as quickly as possible. We pair each Graduate with a supervising Partner and an Associate "buddy" in each rotation to maximise on-the-job and formal learning. We also bring Graduates from our Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane offices together to help our people foster networks across the Firm.

A deep commitment to your development. To foster the development of our graduates, our dedicated Leadership & Learning team facilitates sessions in five key areas - legal learning, managing your career, the business of law, business development & client service, and people & self-leadership. We offer targeted learning opportunities - including seminars on core legal topics, practical skills development sessions in areas such as drafting, presenting, communication, etc., sessions on financial literacy, and sessions on succeeding in and getting the most out of your graduate program. All of these ensure you get the best possible foundation for your career. In addition, we have regular roundtables and mid and end of rotation sessions to ensure you receive mentoring, coaching and feedback to enable you to develop as a lawyer. Additionally, we bring graduates across our Australian offices together for various training programs to foster networks across the Firm.  

Our regional practice group structure means many of our lawyers attend regional training in our Asia Pacific offices and, once you finish your Graduate Program, you will travel overseas to attend a regional orientation program with other mid-level Associates from the region. Throughout your career, we work hard to facilitate your on-the-job learning and the many ways it happens — through informal mentoring relationships, client secondments, involving you in global teams working on international deals or supporting you to run your own files for our award-winning Pro Bono Program. We also support your professional development by covering the costs of your Practical Legal Training, admission and practising certificate.

Working and thinking globally. Being global is in our DNA. You will begin to build your global professional networks straight away through exposure to international clients and colleagues. To support our global approach to development, we offer formal overseas secondment programs for lawyers at all levels. The Firm also offers opportunities for lawyers at varying stages of their career to work directly for clients or with our other offices in the Asia Pacific region and globally.

For more information about Graduate opportunities in our Sydney office, please contact Nicola Bell, Talent Management Consultant, at [email protected].

For more information about Graduate oppportunities in our Melbourne office, please contact Natalie Mascarenhas, Talent Management Consultant, at [email protected].