The Brief:
MinterEllison and Allens retain the top two spots for the best clerkship program for the second year running.
Norton Rose Fulbright is the biggest faller, dropping 10 places, while Ashurst rises 5 places.
MinterEllison and Allens aren’t budging.
The pair hold the top two spots for the second consecutive year. HSF Kramer climbs into #3, after not making the cut last year.
Ashurst is the standout mover, jumping five places to #4, while Mallesons slips four spots to #5. Norton Rose Fulbright is the biggest faller, tumbling 10 places to round out the top 10.
Maddocks and Baker McKenzie both graduate from the medium intake rankings this year into the large intake rankings, after growing their clerkship intakes past the 50-clerk threshold. Maddocks ranked #16 in medium last year and Baker McKenzie ranked #6.
Overall law firms made up 11 of the top 20 intern programs.
Law Firm | 2026 Ranking | 2025 Rankings | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
MinterEllison | #1 | #1 | - |
Allens | #2 | #2 | - |
HSF Kramer | #3 | - | - |
Ashurst | #7 | #12 | +5 |
Mallesons | #8 | #4 | -4 |
Hall & Wilcox | #9 | #8 | -1 |
Maddocks | #10 | - | - |
Gilbert + Tobin | #11 | #11 | - |
HWLE Lawyers | #14 | - | - |
Norton Rose Fulbright | #17 | #7 | -10 |
Baker McKenzie | #20 | - | - |
The rankings are determined by the Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE) based on anonymous survey responses from more than 2,500 interns across 110+ organisations. Employers are rated across 15 categories including supervision quality, access to senior management, content of work and culture.
MinterEllison’s #1 ranking comes as the firm cut its graduate cohort by almost a third to 72, becoming the first major Australian firm to publicly attribute the reduction to AI taking on entry-level work.
At the same time, the firm maintains “tomorrow’s leading lawyers will shape the future of legal and consulting services and we’re committed to providing the best possible foundation.”