First Year Vacation Scheme Student Review

I really enjoyed my week with Clifford Chance. We managed to pack so much in to a short space of time, I learnt so many new things and had so many new experiences, and I got to meet some amazing people both from within the firm and other students participating on the scheme. Every day was different and a real joy.

I couldn't believe how much effort the firm had taken to make us feel valued and important. Everything from the personalised mugs to no-holds-back question and answer sessions showed that the firm really valued our opinion and wanted to make sure we got the most out of our experience. The most important thing to me was the attention paid to us by lawyers at all levels of the firm from trainees to partners, who took time out of their busy schedules to talk to us about their experiences and answer our questions.

We received so much information about the next steps in applying for a training contract and beyond, and the q and a session which took us through those stages was so helpful. Also, lawyers and members of the graduate recruitment team at the firm were so willing to offer guidance and support about our future careers throughout the week.

The teamwork and communication skills I developed this week will definitely stand me in good stead for the rest of my professional life. The personal impact session was particularly helpful in that regard.

The insight was very well structured. The trip to the Paris office came at exactly the right time in the week, as we all knew each other better, and it was great having our shadowing day on the last day, as we were able to apply all our knowledge from the week in the best way possible.

The atmosphere was so relaxed and friendly. I think it really helped that at the start of the week that we were told there was a place for all of us, as it reduced the levels of tension in the group and allowed people to open up and really enjoy the experience, rather than competing against each other the whole week.

They invested very heavily in us in terms of giving us lots of information, and in the personal impact training we received.

The insight was very helpful in understanding what it would be like to work at the the firm as we learnt a lot through the shadowing day and the opportunity to talk to lawyers and members of the graduate recruitment team. While the rest of the information we received about the firm was really useful, our actual experience on the scheme was not that similar to life as a lawyer at the firm.

The scheme was extremely helpful in helping me to understanding of the culture of the firm, because we got to meet so many people from across the firm, and spend the week in the office people and experience the day-to-day atmosphere of the firm.

The content of the week was very valuable in helping me to decide to pursue a career in commercial law, as we received so much in depth information about the career.

The level of pay was good in comparison to other schemes, but barely covered my travel and accommodation expenses as a student who is not based in London and is required to fly to the city.

There were opportunities to network and meet other employees every day we were on the scheme.

The networking and social event opportunities on the scheme were really good, they were very relaxed and there were plenty of representatives to talk to. The social events were really high quality and were a lot of fun.

We were given a lot of information about the pro bono work the firm is involved in, and also about various activities and societies the firm has.

Yes definitely