Vacation Scheme Review

Really enjoyed it! Everyone was so warm and welcoming as soon as I set foot in the office. I was never out of my comfort zone when it came to the work as everyone was there to provide support whenever I needed it. The insight has truly given me a solid representation of what a trainee at Shoosmiths undertakes on a day to day basis.

Every piece of work that I completed was recieved with open arms. Everyone was so grateful when I completed a piece of work and it felt like I was part of the team! I did not feel that others were above me in the chain; I could liase with partners the same way that I could trainees. This is truly a unique experience for me.

Any questions that I had about the work were answered within seconds and I was given comprehensive instructions on how to copmplete each task. People were ready to hear my questions if I had any. Even when I asked minor questions, my team were extremely happy to answer the questions that I had.

It will make me focus on my studies a lot more; I know that I want to qualify as a solicitor now. The main skill that I developed was the ability to draft in a clear and concise manner. This will fundamentally help me in my university studies and beyond into my Training Contract. This should also help me improve my grades, which will allow me to attain the best possilbe training contracts.

Very. The main tasks that had to be undertaken were a mini project and a mini assessment that had deadlines of wednesday and friday. This allowed me to structure the rest of my work around these two important tasks and therefore the structure of the whole week. Alongside this there were charity events taking place, such as the charity table tennis tournament

The atmosphere was very warm and friendly. I was immediately invited to lunch and to play football with the trainees and I felt like I had been part of the office for a number of years! I had the chance to speak to most of the team here and I did not meet one person that was secured or closed off. This office is a work hard, play hard atmosphere.

The whole mini project presentation shows how much time the firm invested in me. The presentation lasted around 40 minutes and two partners were involved in my assessment. This goes to show how committed and serious Shoosmiths are at making sure that I gained advice from some of most important people in the firm. I was also given really important tasks such as proof reading a lease. Such a vital and urgent job showed the confidence that the firm had in me of completing the job to their quality.

Shoosmiths tries to create an optimal work life balance for its employees, and I saw this throughout the week. The charity tournament and the football tournment highlighted that the whole structure of the firm partake in activities that are intended to create such a balance between work and life. The work was extremely important, but once that was completed, then everyone had an extremely fun character.

The trainees explained every activity that they were going to throughout the week to me. I was also invited the play football for their team and have been invited to the yearly law ball that is organised by the charity committee. Shoosmiths allows for everyone to get involved with multiple activities outside of work.

Without a doubt. If my friends want to undertake a scheme that is truly rewarding where they can undertake important legal work with the help and guidance of highly intellectual staff then this is a no-brainer. I would love to undertake another week of legal experience with Shoosmiths again in the future if they accepted me back!