Nabarro scoops top work placement award

City firms Nabarro and Simmons & Simmons have both won national recognition for the quality of their work experience and internship schemes at the National Council for Work Experience (NCWE) 2012 awards. The two firms won awards following the NCWE's creation of a new (tightly contested) awards category specifically for the legal sector - a testament to the wide range of work experience opportunities available to aspiring lawyers in the United Kingdom.

Nabarro took the highest accolade for its long-established work placement scheme, which runs for three weeks (instead of the normal two in many other firms), and places aspiring lawyers in a single department in order to integrate them into a team and maximise their exposure to high-quality work. The programme is so successful that it usually accounts for over 90% of Nabarro's annual trainee intake.

Simmons & Simmons was not far behind, earning the Highly Commended award for its three-week summer scheme which has been running for over a decade.

Mike Hill, chief executive of the Higher Education Careers Services Unit, which operates the NCWE, said: "Nabarro is a well-deserved winner. It is clear that the firm doesn't just view interns as a constant stream of talent, but that it really invests in them to ensure they develop a wide range of skills to help their future employability."