Career development

Through specifically tailored training programmes, mentorship programmes, dialogue meetings, personal development plans and other initiatives, we ensure that you have the skills required to meet the challenges of tomorrow. We know that professional and personal development is a key element in ensuring the well-being and motivation of our employees. It is therefore important to us that as an employee, you develop in whatever direction you find motivating and that you have the tools and skills you need.

Career development for lawyers

Training programme of the Danish Bar and Law Society

In order to qualify as an attorney, you must meet three requirements: You must have completed a Danish graduate or postgraduate law programme, you must have worked with law in practice for at least three years, and you must have completed the training programme of the Danish Bar and Law Society by taking the bar exam and completing a practical or mock litigation practice exam. You will be allowed time off to prepare for and sit the bar exam and to prepare for and sit the mock litigation practice exam. Experienced colleagues will be available for a question session to help you prepare for the mock litigation practice exam.

Learn more about the mandatory training programme of the Danish Bar and Law Society here (in Danish).

Commercial lawyer in the legal profession

Bruun & Hjejle has designed a specifically tailored training programme for commercial lawyers in the legal profession. The training programme has been developed in collaboration with a number of other law firms that also have commercial lawyers on their payrolls. The programme responds to a need to create a good basis for the activities of the commercial lawyers in the legal profession, as those who hold an MSc in Business Administration and Commercial Law do not have the opportunity to follow the training programme of the Danish Bar and Law Society. The programme, focused on basic legal skills, is offered once annually. 

The training programme consists of an induction day, introducing you to the role as a commercial law consultant, five mandatory modules and two optional add-on modules. The training programme builds a foundation that prepares you to provide legal advice in a law firm. The programme is completed with a written and an oral exam. 

Learn more about the training programme here (in Danish).

Mentorship programme (for assistant attorneys, commercial law associates and legal interns)

We know that a large part of the learning process takes place through others. We therefore have a mentorship programme ensuring that you get competent collaborative interaction, guidance and knowledge-sharing on cases across different seniority levels. As an assistant attorney or a commercial law associate, your mentor is typically an attorney from the same legal area of expertise as you will be working in, and as a legal intern, your mentor is typically a third-year assistant attorney or commercial law associate. The mentor will make sure to give you feedback and collaborative interaction within a particular area of expertise. As an assistant attorney or a legal intern, you will often get to work for several attorneys and partners, and your mentor can therefore also help you navigate in an environment where you are assigned work from several different people. 

Rotation scheme for assistant attorneys or commercial law associates

As an assistant attorney or a commercial law associate, you will be allocated to one of our three focus areas (Dispute Resolution, M&A or Real Estate) in a specialist team, e.g. Labour and Employment Law, Banking and Finance, Construction or Competition and EU. In collaboration with HR and your HR partner, you will be assigned to one or two partners in the department, one of whom will act as your head of department.

You will be offered to rotate after a period of 18 months, i.e. about halfway through your qualifying period as an assistant attorney or commercial law associate. You may rotate if you want to try something new and expand your professional skills, but rotation is not a requirement. You may also stay in your position if you feel that you have already achieved the required breadth of skills, or if you prefer to specialise early on.

Secondment (attorneys and commercial lawyers)

As an attorney and commercial lawyer, you have the option to be stationed with a client, a member of your network or in an organisation belonging to an industry of professional relevance. Secondment is not a requirement, but it may be a good idea to see the law from the other side of the table and strengthen your commercial understanding.

Career development for all

Tutor programme for all new employees

All new employees will be assigned to a tutor who is a colleague at the same seniority level and within the same field of expertise as you. The tutors help new colleagues get off to a good start at Bruun & Hjejle, providing assistance with tasks, IT equipment, work processes, procedures and other issues.

Dialogue meetings and individual development plans

At Bruun & Hjejle, we have replaced the traditional performance and development interview with dialogue meetings. The concept provides the grounds for continuous feedback and dialogue about development, well-being, performance and the future. The purpose of the dialogue meetings is to make the interviews more efficient and value-creating and to ensure regular dialogue and feedback as well as relevant and flexible interview contents. For the dialogue meetings, you will prepare a development plan based on your needs in collaboration with the person responsible for taking the meeting with you. Dialogue meetings are held two to four times annually.