International Clerkship Report
 
Jesse Heath, August 2008

Sponsoring Office: Washington, DC
Receiving Office:    Almaty, Kazakhstan

Introduction

Baker & McKenzie’s International Clerkship program immediately appealed to me when I first applied to the firm. I knew that exposure to international practice in general, and Baker’s international network in particular, would enhance my experience. 

Arrival, Accommodations

After spending half the summer in the Washington, DC office, I set off for Almaty, Kazakhstan. The support staff and partners in both the Washington and Almaty offices were enormously helpful in setting up the clerkship, obtaining a visa, finding living arrangements, etc. I arrived in Almaty after midnight on a Wednesday. I cleared immigration and customs and walked through the sea of people waiting for other passengers. I saw a man holding a sign that had ‘Baker’ written on it, and I asked him if he was waiting for me (he was). That night, I stayed in a hotel but shortly after moved to an apartment.  Both the hotel and apartment were within five minutes walking distance to the Baker office. The apartment was excellent – nicer than my own in Washington – and in a very nice, central location.

Almaty Office

My time in the Almaty office was truly a unique and rewarding experience. Through my assignments – which ranged from reviewing contracts in commercial matters to researching the law in litigation matters – I was able to learn about local Kazakhstani law and the differences between practicing in a common versus civil law jurisdiction. Even more important for my experience, though, were the relationships that I formed with the lawyers and staff in the Almaty office. From the first day, associates invited me to lunch and by the end I must have met almost every associate in the office. I became good friends with many of them and we would often spend time together on the weekends going to restaurants, the movies, the mountains, etc. The social aspect of my time in Almaty ended up being the most gratifying. Finally, working in Almaty gave me the chance to see how the Baker network functions from a different vantage point. What I saw confirmed Baker’s claims to being a genuinely global law firm. I often saw how partners with whom I had worked in Washington were actively working with the partners in Almaty. For example, I saw how a contract that we had reviewed in Washington for certain U.S. legal issues was later reviewed in Almaty for local legal issues.

Conclusion

Overall, I was very pleased with the International Clerkship and the program served all the purposes (and more) that I had hoped it would. I strongly recommend the program to any internationally-minded future Baker summers.