STEP - Studnet Trainee Exchange Programme

Information for Employers

 General Information
 Your Benefits!
 Who can offer traineeships and how?
 What does it cost?
 How to choose the right trainee?

General Information

STEP - Student Trainee Exchange Programme - four words changing your business. The traineeship exchange programme run by ELSA entitles you to employ trainees of highest standard whilst differing from other companies. You gain access to committed and motivated students, legal apprentices or young lawyers out of 36 countries alternatively 220 local departments all over Europe.

The progress in Europe during the past decades has disclosed the very need of lawyers’ integration and multilateral expertise. The STEP programme offers law students of today respectively employers of tomorrow the chance to gain these essential skills during their studies. No matter if you are seeking for a student with expertise in English Trade Law or a student able to translate most complex legal texts from Spanish to German: STEP is your key to success!

Your Benefits!

Participating in STEP is the easiest and most efficient way for you to employ a foreign young lawyer and to let cultural exchange happen. Before and during the traineeship ELSA disburdens you by supporting the young lawyers in receiving the employment permit or if necessary the visa.

Your benefits can shape in various ways – clients’ care due to decreasing of language barriers, support in important projects of international dimension or even estimating whether a mandate seems profitable in respect of the foreign law involved. This is just a short list of possibilities. The definite value will be set by you due to the assignments given to the trainee.

Keep in mind: Employing a foreign student is a fertile investment into the future. The participation supplies you besides others with contacts for future legal relations in your preferred countries or fields of law.

Who can offer traineeships and how?

The STEP programme is aiming to nearly everyone related to law. No matter if public administration or law firm at general interest and branch in Germany contact us via mail vpstepelsa-germany.org . We will gladly and quickly answer your requests; if your branch is not in Germany contact vpstepelsa.org . Our international coordinators will also be glad to help you.

To offer a traineeship it will cost you just a few steps. Filling in the  traineeship specification form and sending it to the local group nearest to your branch. You can find a list of all German local groups here:  List of Groups
Afterwards your traineeship will be published in the STEP-Newsletter. You can also find the current edition online.  STEP-Newsletter

What does it cost?

In general there a no costs for employers using our services. ELSA is placing the applicants at no costs for you. However the programme aims to be as socially fair as possible. Due to this we are pleased to offer mainly paid traineeships, but the payment will be set by yourself. It would be great, however, if the payment could cover the living costs of the trainee during the traineeship. The payment, however, will be set by yours.

How to choose the right trainee?

Each of our 30,000 members is entitled to apply for the traineeships published in the STEP-Newsletter. The applications are controlled by our local representatives concerning the given qualifications. If approved, the application will be forwarded to ELSA International. ELSA International then reviews the applications according to your specifications. However, it is up to you, if you want the review or not. We offer the service of reviewed applications to facilitate an efficient selection process.

Out of these applications you now can choose the trainee. If you should not be sure about the trainees qualification or else you can ask for the certificates and documents or further information. The selection is up to you, at all times!

 General Information
 Your Benefits!
 Who can offer traineeships and how?
 What does it cost?
 How to choose the right trainee?

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