Vacation Scheme Student Review

This vacation scheme was extremely enjoyable and I would definitely recommend it to other students thinking about a career in commercial law. There was a good balance between experiencing work through sitting in a department, and also having the opportunity to socialise and network with other students and lawyers at the firm.

I felt very valued during my time at the firm. We were able to attend a number of firm-wide events, and also be involved in the firm's sports teams and CSR initiatives. The firm clearly invested a great deal of time in ensuring that we had an enjoyable and useful experience.

My trainee buddies and supervisors were understanding that I had little legal experience or knowledge, but I was still given extremely interesting work to complete. I felt able to ask questions or to seek guidance from any member of the department. There were also opportunities to speak to the Graduate Recruitment Team individually throughout the vacation scheme.

Whilst the legal knowledge that I have gained from the vacation scheme will not directly assist me in completing my History degree, the scheme has helped me to develop important analytical skills, shown me the importance of prioritising my workload and also highlighted the importance of attention to detail. The legal specific skills which I have gained will be extremely useful in my future career.

We were given a timetable for the three weeks which was kept to, with daily talks from lawyers from different departments, giving us an insight into the departments in which we were not sitting which was invaluable. My trainee buddies and my supervisors ensured that I was given interesting work to do in each department, and I was given several opportunities to experience more complex work.

Employees of all levels were extremely friendly and willing to answer any of my questions. I also enjoyed spending time with the other students on the scheme and getting to know the trainees through the weekly social events which were held by the firm.

The firm clearly invested a great deal of time in ensuring that we developed both new and existing skills. For example, we had sessions on presentation skills and our future careers. We also took part in a client pitch exercise which allowed us to demonstrate our presentation skills and work in groups.

The scheme was extremely useful in helping me to understand what working at the firm in a full time role would be like. I was given real work to complete in my departments and tasks which would have usually been completed by trainee solicitors. I was also able to attend meetings and calls to see the interaction between different teams in the department.

The insight helped me to confirm that the culture at Baker & McKenzie is very unique. The talks we received on the firm's CSR initiatives and diversity programmes demonstrated that the firm takes its responsibility to the wider community seriously. Within the firm, employees at all levels were extremely friendly and willing to answer any of my questions.

The scheme was extremely valuable in helping me to decide on my future career path. It has shown me that commercial law is definitely the career which I hope to pursue in the future. We also attended a useful talk on our possible career path if we were to join Baker & McKenzie.

There were many opportunities for networking and meeting other employees of the firm. In the departments I was sitting in, I was introduced to everyone and I was able to receive work from people other than my supervisor which allowed me to network with other lawyers and to get involved in a wide variety of work during my time at the firm.

There were many networking and social event opportunities throughout the vacation scheme. We had weekly socials which were attended by the Graduate Recruitment Team and trainees. There was also a Welcome Drinks event during the first week which was attended by lawyers from all levels and departments across the firm, and we also had a lunch with the Management Committee.

We received talks on the CSR initiatives and the diversity programmes which are run by the firm and which employees are involved in outside of work. Some students were able to attend the legal advice clinic run by the firm, and others took part in training sessions and matches for the firm's sports teams.

I would definitely recommend this insight to anyone considering a career in commercial law or to any students considering applying to Baker & McKenzie. The scheme helped me to be certain that this is the career which I wish to pursue and that I would like to do so at a firm like Baker & McKenzie.