Vacation Scheme Student Review

This was the first vacation scheme I have done and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Everyone at the firm was so friendly and helpful and everyday was packed with interesting departmental talks, skills workshops and socials!

I felt very valued during the vacation scheme and was often sought out to do pieces of work. Everyone was very appreciative of any help I was able to provide and happy to chat with me or meet me for a coffee to discuss anything we had been working on together.

I really felt like there was a big support network you could tap into during the whole scheme. In our departments we sat in everyone was assigned both a supervisor (who was usually a senior member of staff) and a trainee buddy. This was really helpful and I was able to ask my buddy for help and advise on certain tasks as well as able to get advice from my supervisor. Graduate recruitment were also a big support throughout the whole application process as well as on the scheme, they regularly checked in with how I was doing.

The scheme was very well structured. Most of the day times were spent in our departments doing work with our supervisors/buddy's there as well as there being a talk from a department most mornings. There was also lots of networking events and socials at lunch time and in the evenings which everyone thoroughly enjoyed and gave everyone a chance to unwind together.

Everyone was extremely friendly on the scheme and I have definitely made some friendships that will continue after it is over. There also did not feel like there was a rigid hierarchy at the firm and the atmosphere was very collegiate and I was able to comfortably walk into partners offices for a chat.

I definitely feel like I now know what being a trainee at Baker's would be like. I had lots of opportunities to both formally and informally meet both current and future trainee's who were all very candid about their experiences at the firm.

Getting to know what the culture of Baker and McKenzie is like is what I will take away the most from the scheme. Everyone is so friendly and helpful whether they are a partner, trainee or support staff.

There were so many opportunities for networking throughout the whole scheme in both formal and informal settings. I often went for coffee's with trainee's and associates as well as being able to chat to them during socials and networking lunches.

I would recommend this scheme to anyone who is interested in a career in commercial law and would like to work at a big global firm.