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Leading international law firm Clifford Chance announces it has joined up with Barclays Capital, HSBC, Nomura and RBS to hold 'Raising Aspirations' days for local schools and universities.

Raising Aspirations are education days, held by the firm's London office for students in Years 10 to 13 from Tower Hamlets, Newham and other local boroughs who may be considering a career in law or in other areas of the business world. Lasting either a full or half day, a group of around 25 to 30 students is given a tour of the firm's office, a talk from an HR professional and enjoy a 'Career Carousel': the chance to meet lawyers and staff with varied careers such as IT specialists, marketers and chefs.

The aim is to help young people to understand the career possibilities available to them and the skills and qualifications involved. The programme builds on Clifford Chance's broader commitment to providing young people with work experience and careers insights. In the 2010/11 financial year, Clifford Chance hosted 17 Raising Aspirations events for 395 local students.

During the Autumn of 2011, Clifford Chance has joined up with clients to run similar days, sometimes including visits to the banks as well. The days included:

-Nomura on 29th September. This full day session for students at Oaklands School began with a welcome speech from Clifford Chance corporate partner Steven Fox and an Executive Director from Nomura International plc. Then, students were given a tour of Clifford Chance and the chance to meet lawyers from both organisations and hear about their career development.

-HSBC on 12th October. Another full day event, this time for students at Christ the King Sixth Form College in Lewisham who spent half a day at Clifford Chance and half a day at the bank's payment centre in Southwark. They had a tour of each location learning about the business and received top tips from the graduate recruitment teams.

-Barclays Capital with Birkbeck, University of London on 18th November. A group of mature students   from Birkbeck’s Certificate of Higher Education Legal Methods programme spent the day learning about a career in law, both from the private practice and in-house perspective. Representatives from both the bank and law firm spoke about their own experience, qualifications and skills which led to such a career.  

-RBS on December 12th. Today, students from Havering Sixth Form College will visit Clifford Chance and learn from speakers from the firm and from RBS about different types of careers. HR teams will offer advice on CV drafting and interview technique to help reach their goals.

Cathy Jones, head of Community Outreach at Clifford Chance said: "We have been welcoming local school children to our offices for many years now and are very proud to open their eyes to the variety of careers open to them. Inviting clients to join us in this programme has been an excellent evolution – they offer students a new, fresh, broad perspective on a career in law. We are always delighted to hear just how valuable local children find the programme."

For more information about the Firm's commitment to Corporate Responsibility, please visit http://www.cliffordchance.com/about_us/corporate_responsibility