ELSA - Traineeships

During this application period for ELSA Traineeships, ELSA offers both "normal" on-site Traineeship vacancies, which require physical presence throughout the Traineeship period, and online Traineeship vacancies, which are done remotely from the Trainee's home office.

ON-SITE

On-site Traineeships require the Trainee's physical presence throughout the Traineeship period. This may require the Trainee to relocate and travel internationally. Due to COVID-19, the successful execution of on-site Traineeships depends on external variables and developments allowing international travel and normal human interaction.

Consequently, many of the on-site Traineeships offered have flexible dates, i.e. offer-holders may negotiate directly with the respective Traineeship Provider when it is suitable and possible to start in the applicable circumstances.

ONLINE

Online Traineeships are like "normal" on-site Traineeships but they can be done remotely from a location of the Trainee's choice, e.g. the Trainee's home couch. Like on-site Traineeships, online Traineeships are supervised and the Trainee receives mentoring and feedback from the Traineeship Provider throughout the Traineeship period.

During this application period, both fully online and flexible Traineeships are available. In the case of the latter, the question of whether the Traineeship at issue will be conducted as an on-site or online vacancy is subject to negotiation between the Trainee candidate and the Traineeship Provider directly.

ELSA Traineeships is administered by ELSA which includes:

• Receiving and verifying all Traineeship Specification Forms submitted by Traineeship Providers;
• Promoting the Traineeship vacancies twice a year;
• Verifying all Application Forms submitted by applicants;
• Communicating directly with Traineeship Providers and applicants;
• Facilitating the initial contact between Traineeship Providers and applicants;
• Assisting the Trainees before and during the Traineeship.

* The final choice of Trainee candidates is always made by Traineeship Providers.

ELSA supervises the proper execution of ELSA Traineeships.

• Trainees are supported before and during the Traineeship vacancy. Each Trainee is assigned to a hosting ELSA Group that is in charge of proper reception of the Trainee before and during the vacancy.

ELSA Traineeships are offered in different jurisdictions around the world..

• ELSA Traineeships provide a cross-cutting picture of the true diversity of the legal profession. ELSA Traineeships may be offered at any organisation active in the legal sector, e.g. law firms, non-governmental organisations, intergovernmental organisations, legal clinics, courts, consultancy firms, publishing houses, research institutes, law faculties...
• In the Spring application cycle of 2023, ELSA provided over 198 ELSA Traineeship vacancies at over 111 Traineeship Providers operating in 25 different countries in and outside of Europe.

Trainees are adopted in the work environment as the Traineeship Provider's team members.

• The tasks of each Traineeship may vary. They are decided by each Traineeship Provider respectively. Traineeship Providers may seek Trainees for general supportive tasks or specific projects requiring specific skills.
• The details of and requirements for each Traineeship vacancy are explained in the publication of the vacancy during the application period on the ELSA Traineeships website.