Career Prospects at Ashurst

The promotion opportunities are lockstep to a certain level (around 2pqe) but then after this, the partners i have spoken to are supportive to an overseas move both internally and externally.

I am not totally across opportunities, but as a grad it is always promising to see so many people stay and progress at ashurst - many being 'lifers' at sa and partner level. it gives me confidence that i can excel at the firm.

Not so relevant for grads but it follows the normal law firm tier system of lawyer, sa then partner.

Promotion opportunities come with experience, demonstrating the ability to work independently and effectively delegate, while also meeting billable time targets.

I have not yet considered this.

Normal within the tier, billable hours really determine your progression as well as the level of deals you work on.

If you stay at the firm long enough you will generally progress

I think they're good but i'm unsure how much of it is a balance of quality work vs quantity of billables.

This is hard to answer because i have very little insight into promotion possibilities. the grad program is very structured. there is very little visibility and discussion of how promotion works after completing the grad program. although, it appears that hard work, leadership and gaining experience will assist.

Career progression and promotion is very transparent and mostly based on years of pqe.

There is a clear progression

The career progression at the start is lock-step, which tends to remove a lot of the extraneous pressures around succeeding while you are still learning. get back to me in a few years and let's chat...

Automatically promoted at this junior level.

There are great promotion possibilities in the firm. it takes time, dedication and being able to manage matters independently of a partner.

I have not thought about this much.

While i'm new to the firm, to me career progression here seems to be a very slow process where merit and achievement is less valued than the more simple mathematical calculation of number of years spent as a lawyer post-admission

Progression from graduate to lawyer comes with admission, which for me will come in time. i have to wait until the graduate group are admitted, then we all will earn the title of 'lawyer' (despite that i am admitting already and have a practicing certificate).

If you are a good worker and the team needs more senior people, you will move up quickly

I understand there are mentoring programs/sessions for the lawyer-senior associate transition and, similarly, for the senior associate-partner transition

There is a fairly rigid promotion structure that the firm adheres to. as with all employment, promotion is based on performance output, dedication, networking and your rapport with colleagues