Vacation Placement Student Review

I have had a really interesting three weeks at the firm. The social events that were organised by graduate recruitment and trainees gave us a great insight into life at the firm as well as an excellent opportunity to network with people at all levels within the organisation. The support I received throughout my placement was second to none - my trainee buddy and supervisor were approachable and helpful and I never felt like I had too much or too little to do at any point.

I was given a lot of responsibility in some of the tasks I did, for example, I did research notes for clients, and was allowed to do some drafting too. I was always thanked for my work and it was made clear to me how the tasks I was completing would be used by the solicitors I was doing them for. Everyone made me feel welcome at all times, and I always felt like if I had any questions I could ask.

Although I already had an idea of the law that operated within the practice area I was allocated through studying it at university, the placement has given me a fantastic idea of how the law works in practice. I have definitely improved my research skills and can now find the information I am looking for far quicker than I could before, which will certainly be useful in my studies. I feel my confidence and communication skills have been boosted too.

There was the right balance of social events with work and the induction day was very insightful and provided a great induction to the firm. The department meet and greet was useful, but could have been better attended. I personally would have preferred to have had one or two department presentations during the placement to gain more insight into other practice areas. Overall, I felt like the structure gave me a really good idea of what it would be like to work at the firm.

I was surprised at how friendly everyone came across - even the partners were very easy to speak to and there was a supportive atmosphere amongst the team I was placed in. Everyone worked hard and it was busy, but I never felt like anyone in my department didn't have time to speak to me. Everyone I met was up for a chat and a laugh which was nice.

The induction day was the main training that we received at the firm, and it mainly consisted of presentations from trainees, partners and associates about the firm. We also received computerised IT training which lasted for about an hour. There wasn't much else in the way of training and development, but I made sure that I asked for feedback on the work that I did so I could continue to improve.

It gave me a great insight into what the traineeship would be like - I was given trainee-level tasks and felt as if I was doing virtually the same job as my trainee buddy. I also attended a few social events with trainees and got to know some of them quite well. It's definitely quite a stressful job but the work is interesting and the support you get from the team and level of training you get from the firm makes it worth it.

The experience has reaffirmed my desire to become a commercial lawyer. Because I was given a lot of responsibility in the tasks I was given, and I very much enjoyed the research I was given to do, I feel like I have really had the chance to understand the sort of tasks a trainee is given. I really enjoyed doing these tasks and so I can only assume that I would really enjoy training with the company.

The rate of pay, although slightly lower than another placement I am undertaking, is more than adequate, especially given that I am lucky enough to live locally to the office where I was based. Expenses were also reimbursed for those who had to travel to attend the induction day. We also had the chance to take 1.5 days holiday which we accrued during the placement, and if we didn't take it (I don't think anyone did), we were paid for it at the end of the placement.

There was networking with trainees on the first morning when we arrived, a networking lunch (mainly attended by trainees) also on the first day. There were welcome drinks (which a few partners attended), a department meet and greet lunch, which allowed us to meet employees outside of the departments in which we were placed, we had a lunch offsite with trainees, an external social event including dinner and drinks with trainees and we had farewell drinks.

We weren't given a huge amount of information about this - I'm not sure whether there is a sports committee within the firm. I know that we were invited to participate in a football game with one of the other offices during the second week and a few of the guys from the placement went.

Definitely. I feel like I have learned a lot, met some great people and have been able to make an informed decision as to whether or not I could see myself fitting into the workplace environment. The social events were great and allowed me to network with a wide range of people. The level of work I was given was challenging but not undoable. Overall, a very enjoyable three weeks.