Student Review

Absolutely loved the three week vacation scheme. We had great exposure to real work that the firm was doing and the level of responsibility for our tasks that we were given was great. Aside from the work we had the opportunity to go to departmental talks meaning we got a feel for what the rest of the firm is involved with. As well as this, the social side of the placement was great and a really good way to get to know the other vac schemers and trainees. The structure was also really good - having both a trainee buddy and associate supervisor meant that we saw different roles within the firm.

Personally, I felt very valued - Baker & McKenzie promote their culture and this was something that we can all say we have now experienced first hand. I felt extremely welcome the whole time and that we were really part of the firm. In terms of the work, I think it is a bit more difficult. Given that we are not qualified we can't be given the biggest jobs, so sometimes you feel like you would like to contribute more. However retrospectively I think you realise that the small tasks you do are actually very valuable to the firm.

The structure of the scheme meant that we had lots of guidance and support. On a personal level it was nice to have contact with members of the graduate recruitment on a daily basis as it gave a sense of continuity and it if you had any questions at all you could happily ask them. Having a trainee buddy was also really good. Lots of my work came from them so it was things I could actually do. It was also really nice to have the trainees there for when you got stuck or needed to know something. As another layer of support we had an associate supervisor. I found both of mine really good to talk to and they were able to give you a deeper understanding of the work you were doing. I always felt like I knew what I was doing and who I could go to with the relevant question.

Given that I study law I think that the skills I have learnt will help me consciously think about the relevance of my degree to a career in commercial law. However to some extent the skills I developed on the vacation scheme were specific to a corporate firm and so in terms of my degree, they won't be directly applicable. With regards to my career, the skills I learnt will definitely assist me. I already have a much deeper understanding of the type of work a global law firm does and the type of work I will be doing when I join.

Very well structured - having the timetable at the beginning of the first week was really helpful. It was nice having the client pitch exercise as something to work towards throughout the scheme.

So friendly - everyone was so nice and welcoming. It was nice to see the professional side of things too and times when a more serious approach needed to be taken.

We were really immersed in the work and given a good degree of responsibility. Given that most of our work was given to us by trainees we got a real sense of what it would be like to be a trainee at the firm and the types of jobs we'd be doing. Also, being sat with associates, we got another perspective of higher level work. We were also lucky enough to see lots of the social events at the firm and how it would be to actually work there.

It slightly varied between the departments and the level of work that we could realistically do, but we really were given responsibility and exposure to the type of work the firm does.

Yes, lots of opportunity to meet a range of people. We had lunch with the managing committee which was great and really good exposure to get to talk to the partners. We had a lot of exposure to trainees which was nice. We had a corporate department lunch which was another good way to meet people. I also played netball for the firm's team which was really great to meet a range of people across the firm and at different levels.

Yes - I played for the firm's netball team. It seems like sports teams are a big part of the firm. There was an upcoming firm-wide football tour coming up which sounded great. CSR is another big part of the firm and it seems like there are lots of opportunities to get involved with this, for example volunteering in the legal advice clinic. There was a firm-wide drinks whilst we were on the vacation scheme indicating a social side to the firm.

100% yes.