STEP - Student Trainee Exchange Programme
The Student Trainee Exchange Programme, STEP, makes it possible for law
students and young lawyers to gain working experience abroad.
What is STEP
STEP, is a trainee exchange programme that enables law students and
young lawyers to gain first hand experience of the substantive and
procedural law as well as the culture of another country. The
traineeships are between 2 weeks and 18 months and can take place in
any law related area; law firms, courts, public institutions, banks,
in-house legal departments, consulting firms and international
organisations.
Each year ELSA offers around 450 traineeship opportunities all over Europe and occasionally in other parts of the world.
Before and during the traineeship, ELSA provides assistance with
finding accommodation, applying for visas, when necessary, and
organising social events to involve the trainee in the daily life of
the local community.
What are the benefits?
The benefits of a STEP traineeship are immeasurable. STEP gives
increased knowledge of a particular legal system or area of law, thus
strengthens the professional skills of the trainee. As important as the
academic and professional skills are, the improved language abilities
and the experience of another culture that the trainee gains while
participating in STEP are invaluable.
Furthermore, the trainee acquires valuable contacts, personal as well as professional, and future employment prospects.
In consequence the students and young lawyers are better prepared for
becoming lawyers of tomorrow, working in an international environment.
How to apply?
The procedure for applying online for a traineeship can be divided in three steps:
1. Register in ELSA ONLINE.
2. Present the appropriate certificates and attestations to the local
ELSA group. ELSA will thereafter activate your application form, which
you can access with your chosen password and user name. Once activated
you have access to ELSA ONLINE for one year.
3. Search and apply online for the traineeship of your choice. You will
be automatically matched to the traineeships available in the database
and the traineeships that you qualify for will be listed on the screen.
This list is being updated regularly as the pool of available
traineeships changes. You can only apply for one traineeship at a time.
If you are an employer interested in hiring a trainee through our programme, go to our to find out more about the benefits of taking part in the STEP programme.
