Trainee Solicitor Review

It was a fantastic experience, which provided a great insight into the legal profession and how Stephenson Harwood operates. The firm and the people were especially welcoming and approachable. I got the opportunity to get involved with some really interesting work and research tasks. One of the highlights of my placement was during my seat in Commercial Litigation where I was invited to attend a court hearing. This was a whole new experience for me as I had never previously been to court, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to understand how the court system and procedures work.

The firm were immediately welcoming when I arrived and I automatically felt like part of the team. I was given real work that mattered and my research and help was greatly appreciated. I always felt like I could ask questions no matter how simple or minor they were

The trainee buddy system was great and provided huge amounts of support throughout the placement. My buddies were very willing to help me understand and learn new things. The supervisors were extremely helpful when setting tasks and explained thoroughly what they wanted you to achieve. Also the HR team were there if there were any further issues.

The skills that I have developed over the past two weeks are invaluable and have definitely provided me with a greater understanding of the law and how commercial law firms operate. Even if I do not manage to secure a training contract at Stephenson Harwood, the knowledge gained from this scheme will really benefit me in my future career.

The scheme was really well structured, for example getting to sit in two separate and distinct departments allowed me to explore completely different aspects of the firm. The introduction presentations to other departments were also fantastic as I got a small insight into each of the firms services. Furthermore having the assessment centre within the scheme itself was also a really great aspect.

The firm could not have been any more welcoming than they were. It was a lovely environment to work in and an atmosphere which made me feel very at ease.

The company invested a great deal into our time here during the two weeks, through presentations and social events in particular.

I think it depicted a very good insight into what life like a trainee would be like at Stephenson Harwood, as I was given real work which a trainee would ordinarily carry out.

It was a great inside look into how the firm is run, and just reinforced what I already knew about the firm that it was an a very approachable and friendly culture.

It has very much formalised to me that I wish to carry out a career in law.

A really good pay for the 2 weeks.

There were numerous social events to meet people from outside of the departments that I was sitting in over the 2 weeks.

They were fantastic and it could be seen that a lot of effort and planning went into them which was greatly appreciated.

Yes I got to converse with lots of the trainees about what sort of activities they get up to outside of working hours. Stephenson Harwood provides a very good work life balance.

I would 100% recommend this placement scheme to a friend studying law.