Winter Vacation Scheme Intern Review

I really loved all the events. Everything was well organised and I am very glad that I was in the Financial Service department as I was able to obtain exposure to clients and work that I had never dealt with before,

I really felt important as everyone knew or remembered my name once I was introduced to them. Also, all needs were taken care of in terms of dietary requirements.

I received great support from my trainee buddy throughout. He even spent 45 minutes with me on my last day discussing the firm, his training contract and his current seat. Also, I got very thorough feedback, where needed, on all the tasks I undertook, which was helpful as it allowed me to see what I needed to improve for the next time.

The skills that I have developed within 5 days have been extraordinary. I now understand how hedge funds operate and the structure of hedge funds. I know the difference between Financial Services and Capital Markets. I gained a very decent amount of exposure to the documents used when advising hedge funds and particularly the prospectus. I believe all these skills will be useful for my training contract.

It was very well structured. Everything was very organised and the fact that every event was updated on the calendar on Outlook on our desktops was very helpful as we would get reminders of the next event 15 minutes before. The only improvement I would suggest is maybe names of Partners that would attend the networking event, however, this was very minute and did not disadvantage me (or other interns) in any way.

The atmosphere is very friendly and relaxed. I spoke to almost the entire funds team who were all equally friendly and chatty. Every Friday is dress down Friday and this particular day, a few associates and trainees were wearing Christmas jumpers and got into the gear with the Christmas spirit, which was nice to see. Also, all the partners seemed very friendly and were very interested in discussing their relevant department whenever asked (obviously when they were not busy trying to meet their impending deadlines). Finally, Graduate Recruitment were the cherry on the top. All were very friendly and genuinely caring. Absolutely loved them and my time at the firm!

There was a great deal of investment which could be seen by the amount of effort the firm had made with all the events. Also, the exposure to Partners was fantastic as we could hear from them the work trainees would undertake in their departments, which is very interesting.

I think it was about an 80% mirror of what would be expected of a trainee. I think the firm made us sit with Senior Associates or Partners, who provided us with complex work with the space and room to get things right as well as wrong. I worked on very complex documents but never felt out of my breadth and was told that I was working on documents that my trainee buddy also did.

I think that the vacation scheme was the only way that I was able to really understand the culture. Being with the firm enabled me to see that the firm is very collegiate and not just amongst the fee earners, but also supporting staff, which was refreshing to see. Also, the fact that my particular department was very festive and this was encouraged to be involved with across the department was very great too.

The content of all the days combined has changed my decision from focusing on litigation towards financial services, so it has had a very big impact. Furthermore, the networking events with other Partners has encouraged me to consider new areas such as ICT and Banking, two departments which I would never have thought I had an interest in. Both areas are now something that I would like to pursue to gain exposure to them.

Very good amount is paid back. Also, all travelling costs are reimbursed if you make it to the assessment centre.

Several events were held with all the departments being involved. I really liked that all the Partners/Senior Associates that attended were very enthusiastic about us and our questions and provided thorough insight to us about what they do and where their department is heading in the future.

The networking events were superb as well as the social events. Tower Hotel was a beautiful send off and the Pizzas on the last day were great too. I was a little disappointed that we did not get to do the treasure hunt in London however, this was because of the weather and not the firm.

Yes. My trainee buddy explained to me that he had been involved with Battersea Legal Advice Centre and that this is encouraged by the firm. He is also informed me that the Employment department often does a lot of work on a pro bono basis and that trainees can get involved in this. This was also iterated by the Employment Partners on the networking event.

I definitely would without a doubt.