Spring Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the insight scheme, particularly the time spent in my department where I was given really interesting, relevant work.

The graduate recruitment team were brilliant at talking to us throughout and trying to get a sense of what we wanted out of the scheme, and the trainee supervisors ensured that we didn't feel like we were an annoyance, they made us feel like we could genuinely contribute and helpw ith what they were doing.

We received just the right amount: the trainees were careful not to 'breathe down our necks' or try and overly control what we were doing, but clearly were always aware that we were new to this and would need some help. It very much felt like there was an 'open door' policy and that if we had questions, all of the trainees were happy to help and similarly graduate recruitment were happy to answer any questions throughout

I think that the skills developed will be really useful when it comes to interviews for vacation schemes and training contracts - we learned a lot about the kind of image we project and how to come across which will help us in all areas of life.

I thought it was well structured, although perhaps the talks of the first day could have been spread across the two days, so that we would have had two afternoons in our department as opposed to one full day.

The atmosphere was generally good, it was fairly relaxed and informal meaning we were able to chat amongst ourselves.

I think this is a difficult question to answer as the scheme was only 2 days long, but the whole scheme definitely made us feel like the firm wanted us to be there and was willing to invest the time into ensuring we had a good time - from the talks to the events to the social/

I thought we got a really accurate glimpse of the culture of the firm, and therefore what t would like to be a trainee there. The trainees were more than happy to answer endless questions which was brilliant as we could get an honest and accurate reflection of what it would be like.

As I said above, I feel this was something we really got a lot of in the two days taht we were there - everyone was happy to answer questions, and in an honest way: people were realistic about the hours to expect, but also complimentary of the atmosphere and environment in which you would spend those long hours.

My participation in the scheme definitely confirmed to me that I want to pursue commercial law, and I will definitely consider applying to Simmons & Simmons for a vac scheme after such an enjoyable placement.

I was paid a salary of £120, which was brilliant although it is worth bearing in mind that no expenses were reimbursed, so if you live outside of London (like me) it can end up costing almost that in expenses! It was still definitely great that we received a salary though.

Each day we would have lunch with a number of trainees and associates, and sitting with an associate from a different department on the second day was also really useful for meeting a wider range of people who worked there.

I thought that Bounce was a really good idea for a social (ping pong/bar), as everyone got involved but there was no pressure to drink if people weren't keen, and there was a lot of great food in a really relaxed environment.

Mainly through my conversations with the trainees, who were more than happy to explain the various activities on offer.

I really would - I thought that the type of work we were given exceeded expectations. I was honestly expecting to be photocopying and proofreading, whereas actually I was doing really interesting work that was challenging to just the right extent!