Vacation Placement Student Review

It was a very enjoyable experience

Everyone was very nice, welcoming and friendly. I felt genuinely appreciated and cared for. There were lots of opportunities to meet different people and to get involved in important matters. I was trusted with my work and towards the end I was able to do quite a few things independently without my supervisors going over them word for word.

It was generally very easy to get guidance and support. At the start I got very detailed instructions and as I got some experience the instructions became appropriately shorter. Sometimes people were busy with their work but they were very nice about asking me to come back later. The comments I got back were useful and delivered nicely.

They will be very useful in my further career in law.

We got a good induction day and the transition to work was fluid and natural.

The atmosphere was very friendly, welcoming, and definitely as relaxed as possible for a commercial law firm. People were approachable and friendly, usually open to having a little chat and seemed genuinely interested in me. I got given a good amount of work, wasn't sitting around with no work to do, but also was never in over my head. The work was sometimes slightly dull, but I do think people tried to give me as much interesting stuff as possible.

We got good training for a vacation placement. Our superiors also gave us a lot of advice and support and they spent a lot of time with us, ensuring we understood our tasks, giving feedback and comments and generally giving background on the matters we were working on so that we would understand what it is we are doing in the grand scheme of things.

I got to see what many colleagues did, when they came in, when they left. I got to listen to calls and generally the open plan office was helpful for this. I was working full time as well so I got to see what full days looked like at the firm.

Very much, I was able to talk to many people, went to many social events and was in an open plan office so got to see other's interactions in a natural environment.

It was reassuring in terms of understanding that I had chosen the right path for me so far.

It was also possible to be reimbursed if we were to travel, but I did everything in the town I was living in.

There were many opportunities to network and meet people from all over the firm. There were more formal occasions and more relaxed social events. We got to meet people who were just starting out and all the way up to partner level and it was easy to talk to all of them. The placement students from all over Scotland were also brought together the first day to be able to get to know each other.

Generally casual and relaxed, well-organised and timed.

Yes, there were a couple of presentations during the first day and we were always encouraged to enquire further.

Definitely, it was a very good and valuable experience for me. It gave me a very good insight into the work of the firm and I felt very welcome. I was able to ask all of my questions and did not feel like I was disturbing people. It is great that the placement is paid, too, so people need not worry about supporting themselves throughout.