Spring Clerk Review

Overall, I had an extremely positive, useful and enjoyable experience at Baker & Mckenzie. I was here for two weeks as part of their Spring Vacation Scheme and it was evident that they put a huge amount of effort into accommodating us and making sure we had a good experience.

'Diversity' is a bit of a buzz word at the moment but it is something that is tangibly evident at Baker & Mackenzie. Our Introduction to CSR and Diversity with lots of slides, information and pictures really emphasised that this is not something new to them, or something that is said but doesn't happen in reality. That element coupled with the amount of thought that had gone into making sure we felt comfortable, had work to do and were treated to informal lunches and networking events with some of the firm's top dogs made me feel extremely valued whilst I was working here.

The Baker & Mckenzie graduate recruitment team had obviously put a huge amount of thought and effort into the scheme. Not only did we have supervisors which we sat with but we had a 'trainee buddy' in each department who took us under their wing and made sure we knew our way around, had someone to sit with at lunch, and were there if we needed any questions or support. My first buddy went out of his way to help with a mock client pitch I was working on whilst the second took me out for lunch before my interview and offered to answer any questions I had about it. We also had our supervisor/trainee buddy go over the basics of how the department worked as well as IT, telephone and library training so we definitely weren't just thrown in the deep end.

A practical understanding of what law actually looks like in a high class, international law firm is an unparalleled experience to have attained. Whilst much of the tasks were research based, they provided a huge amount of nuanced insight into the bigger picture of the kinds of things Baker & Mckenzie work on, and were very interesting in that respect. We also had a client pitch exercise organised which I feel was the most useful element in terms of developing my skillset. It not only demanded a thorough insight into the corporate structure at Baker & Mckenzie, it tested our presentation skills, ability to work as a team and our understanding of the firm. As a non-law student I initially found this task quite daunting, but in reality was probably one of my highlights.

Not only was the scheme meticulously thought out and planned, it was enacted extremely successfully as well. We had a very enjoyable mix of working in our departments, networking events and lunch, informative presentations and talks and also social things to do in the evening. The networking events ranged from lunch with managing committee to lunch with the corporate department, whilst presentations were on topics such as 'Life as a Trainee', 'My Career at Baker & Mckenzie' which were extremely useful. The social events included a curry evening, drinks, ping pong at Bounce and finally lunch at The Shard. We also had a mock client pitch set up which we were split into groups for before a presentation on the second week which was very enjoyable and we relaxed with some prosecco afterwards.

The atmosphere at Baker & Mckenzie is superb. They not only have a real sense of culture, but are extremely proud of and proactive in maintaining it across all areas. When we arrived, our cards to let us into the building were given to us on rainbow coloured tags which was later explained as part of a wider effort back in June for LGBT allies to openly express their support and allegiance to the LGBT movement. And similarly in a general sense the atmosphere was, whilst one of hard work and professionalism, was still one where people were extremely friendly, approachable and helpful. In both my departments for example, the PAs of my supervisors separately introduced themselves and made me aware of their presence if I needed anything. Likewise, all the grad rec staff, trainees, associates and partners that we mingled with were always fun, friendly and approachable, giving me the real sense that you could be yourself here.

I feel that it's quite hard to say given we were only here for 2 weeks and are only vacation scheme students, but we were provided with a real sense that professional development within the firm is something that is taken seriously. We had a talk with a partner and a senior associate about their careers and their progression within Baker & Mckenzie as well as the support and advice that they had received along the way.

The scheme definitely helped to understand what it would be like to have a full time role - I think it is restricted by the time span and the nature of the work in some respects, however in terms of the people we were interacting with and the nature of the work that we received, I think we are still able to gain a sense of that insight

The vacation scheme exposed me to a really tangible sense of Baker & Mckenzie's outstanding culture. Culture is something that many companies strive to have but I feel very few manage to promote and maintain across the board. But it really was something that was immediately obvious when working here even just for a few days, and I know it is something that Baker & Mckenzie rightfully pride themselves on

The content of the day was valuable in helping to cement the prospect of law as a future career path. As a non-law student I still have an element of flexibility with regards to my career however I found that seeing how a law degree may be put into practice at the end of the day was really insightful. It was also extremely helpful to talk so much with people working at Baker & Mckenzie and learn a bit about the nature of their day-to-day work as well.

We were paid £300 a week on this scheme which I was very happy with. I am lucky enough to live in London so travel/accommodation costs weren't an issue for me but I can see that this may be a problem for some people. We didn't get expenses reimbursed but I'm sure that if anyone had a real difficulty in this area, the firm would help out.

Absolutely. We not only sat with a supervisor who was either an associate or partner, we had a wide range of access to all levels of staff at networking events, lunches and other socials. The trainees were also very familiar with each other cross departments, so when we joined them for lunch there was always a wide variety of people there. Partners were also definitely presented as approachable, and we had a few informal occasions were we really felt we could engage them in conversation as equals.

The networking and social event opportunities were extremely good. We had a three course meal lunch at a nearby restaurant on the first day, a curry at Bengal tiger on one of the evenings, drinks at the pub followed by ping pong at Bounce and finally lunch at the Shard on the last day. We also had a vast variety of networking opportunities such as lunch with the managing committee, lunch with the corporate department and general welcome drinks which a lot of people from the firm came to.

We had a very informative talk about diversity in which we found out about all the different networks across Baker & Mckenzie, including Baker Women and Baker LGBT amongst others. There are lots of ways you can get involved with these, but also due to Baker & Mckenzie's international status, it appears there are many global events across the firm's different offices. Additionally, the presence of sporting teams was a nice surprise. A team plays netball on Mondays and I joined a mixed tag rugby team on the Tuesday which was a really fun way of getting to know people and doing some exercise.

I would definitely recommend this insight to a friend as it's been such a fun, beneficial week. My expectations of a scary law firm have been very much subdued and I am feeling so much more confident for my future career ahead of me. I think Baker & Mckenzie really treated us well these last two weeks and would definitely recommend the experience