Summer Vacation Scheme Student Review

by Herbert Smith Freehills

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

4.6/5
  • About You
    3.9
  • The Company
    4.9
  • Everything Else
    4.8

    About You

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy the insight?

    • The vacation scheme was extremely enjoyable, particularly because the firm organised a programme of talks, workshops and social events that enabled me to see different sides of the firm.

    5/5
  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued during your time at the company or firm?

    • The scheme involves time in two different departments. Whether you feel valued really depends on experience with each particular supervisor. Naturally, different supervisors have different styles. I feel that I worked more closely with one of my supervisors than the other, whereas I interacted more with my trainee buddy than the other supervisor.

    4/5
  • 3. How much guidance/support did you receive during the insight?

    • Again, this depends on the particular supervisor allocated. Each week, I would say that my trainee buddy gave me a lot of support. I felt that I was given more support from one supervisor over the other who allocated me tasks directly.

    4/5
  • 4. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and information you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

    • The experience is a really accurate insight into what a trainee might experience in commercial law. It also puts my studies into a practical perspective.

    4/5

    The Company

  • 5. How well structured was the insight?

    • It was extremely well structured with different events and time in the departments. Events would always run on time.

    5/5
  • 6. How was the general atmosphere during your insight?

    • We were constantly busy both during the day and across the social events which gave me a great chance to meet the other vacation scheme students. This gave the scheme a great atmosphere.

    5/5
  • 7. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

    • I would say that this is hard to analyse by looking at the vacation scheme alone. Although we were given an insight into the training, most of this would occur later.

    5/5
  • 8. To what extent did the insight help you to understand what it would be like to have a full time role with the company or firm?

    • The tasks allocated reflected the tasks that would be allocated to trainees. We also had ample opportunities to interact with trainees who were able to give an overview of the role.

    5/5
  • 9. How much did the insight help you in understanding the company culture?

    • The combination of work and social events allowed us to see the whole culture of the firm.

    5/5
  • 10. How valuable was the content in helping you to decide on your future career path?

    • This experience will inevitably confirm whether or not one is suited to commercial law.

    5/5

    Everything Else

  • 11. Were you paid or reimbursed adequately for this experience?

    • The scheme was reasonably well paid for a City firm.

  • 12. Were there opportunities for networking and meeting other employees of the company or firm?

    • There were a number of networking opportunities organised with fee earners at different levels.

    5/5
  • 13. How were the networking/ social event opportunities?

    • There were fun and engaging social events organised most days.

    5/5
  • 14. Did you find out about activities that employees can get involved in outside of work?

    • I got a good idea of the various social events, CSR and pro bono work that trainees in particular could get involved in.

    5/5
  • 15. Would you recommend this insight to a friend?

    • I would recommend the experience to someone who is specifically interested in working in a City law firm.

    5/5
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Details

Insight / Vacation Scheme (< 4 Weeks)

London

August 2016

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