Vacation Scheme Student Review

The vacation scheme was a really fantastic experience and it gave me a really great insight into what life would be like with the firm. Every day brought new challenges and opportunities and the experience as a whole was a really enjoyable one.

I was provided with real work that a trainee would do which made me feel like a really valued member of the firm during my placement. The work I carried out for anyone was greatly appreciated and they took time out of their days to give me honest and valuable feedback.

HR were always on hand to offer any help in terms of the structure and programme of the placement. I thought the buddy and supervisor system was especially useful, having a trainee and either an associate or partner on hand to offer guidance. Both my buddies in each department were very lovely and made it really easy to settle in. I enjoyed getting to know my supervisors and they provided me with any guidance or help I needed during my time there.

I was provided with real work that a trainee would carry out and so it was very useful to experience first hand the kind of work I would be doing. One of the most important skills that I developed during my placement was learning to prioritise. If I had several pieces of work to do, I had to evaluate which ones needed to be done first based on their importance. It was also really interesting to see the real teamwork based culture of the firm and how everyone was very keen to help one another out. All these skills and insights that I have picked up during my time will be very useful for a future career in law.

The vacation scheme was very well structured with talks from different departments organised throughout the two weeks there and this was very useful to get to hear what other departments did that I hadn't had chance to sit in throughout my time with the firm. I really enjoyed that we got to experience two different departments and there was also plenty of social opportunities structured into the insight as well.

Everybody at the firm was very friendly and approachable. It was very easy to just knock on someone's door and ask for help when needed and everyone working there showed a genuine interest in getting to know me and my journey into law.

Whenever I did a piece of work for someone, they invested time into explaining what I had done well and possible areas for improvement therefore the firm invested a lot in trying to develop my personal skills.

Given the fact that I was given typical work a trainee would be doing, the vacation scheme was particularly useful in understanding what it would be like to be a trainee with the firm. However sitting with a supervisor each week also gave insight into the kind of work expected of an associate or partner and it was interesting to see how this differed from the kind of work a trainee was expected to carry out.

The firm had a very distinct and unique culture that was clearly reflected in the attitude of everyone who worked there. Everyone was very hard working and passionate about the firm which made it a really friendly and open firm to work for.

The vacation scheme has really cemented my desire to work for an international commercial law firm as the work was very exciting and always kept me on my toes.

I was paid very well for the two weeks work experience.

There were lots of social events organised for both the vacation scheme students and within the departments themselves which was very nice to get to know people outside of the working environment as well.

The trainees put a lot of effort into organising social events for the vacation scheme which were good fun and a great way to get to know everyone. It was really appreciated how much effort and time went into them as the trainees were still very busy with work yet they still took time out of their day to come and socialise with us.

There was an introduction to the kinds of activities that employees could get involved in outside of work although not much more was mentioned on this front however I'm sure people would have been very willing to give more information on this had I needed to know.

I would absolutely recommend this placement to a friend as it was a really enjoyable two weeks that gave a really great and honest insight into life at an international commercial law firm.