First Year Insight Programme Review

I really enjoyed all aspects of the First Year Insight Programme. There were a variety of different activities, that were never repetitive. It was also really amazing to meet so many different people, from trainees to partners, to other students like myself. I actually in a way wished it had been longer, simply because of how much I enjoyed myself.

I felt extremely valued during my time at the firm, as everyone I met was friendly and welcoming. I felt that it didn't matter what University, or background somebody was from, we were all treating equally which was amazing. I also felt valued as we were given interesting tasks and talks, rather than being left with a tedious task which I feel a lot of other firms have been known to do.

We were never left on our own during the insight programme, as the graduate recruitment team were always on hand to help/show us where we needed to go and offer any support if we needed it. During one of the tasks we also received help from trainees, which was useful as it was the first time that the majority of us had done that sort of activity.

I believe that the skills I developed, will stand me in good stead for future interviews, and placements. This is because we had to interact with so many people from different backgrounds. I feel like I have grown in confidence, as I was very nervous before the presentation we had to do on the last day. Yet, I was bursting with energy after as it went really well. This means that for future presentations, I will feel a lot better beforehand and less nervous. I actually look forward to having to do this again!

I would argue that the structure was perfectly structured. When we arrived we received a full programme of every activity which was super useful and very organised. I was pleased that everything ran according to plan as it felt like everything had been extremely well planned. It was well structured as well as I felt that the first activities, such as the icebreakers put everyone at ease right away, rather than starting off with something more difficult.

I genuinely cannot believe how well everyone got on, we were all saying by the end how close we all were. This was helped by all of us students arriving to a positive, welcoming atmosphere that meant everyone was in a good mood and enjoying themselves. It was a serious enough atmosphere to feel professional, being in a workplace. Yet it was still fun and relaxing.

I felt like we had a lot of personal training, due to all of the networking we had to do. To meet so many new people, is excellent for personal development as it really enhanced my people skills. I left feeling so much more confident, and I believe that they invested in us as it was clear that the organisers had spent a lot of time putting together the programme.

I felt like the First Year Programme gave us an insight into what a traineeship would be like at the firm. This is because we were given lots of opportunities to be able to ask a lot of people who already work there, what their jobs and lives are actually like.

I went into the programme being scared about the atmosphere of a global law firm, yet was completely relieved as it was so different to other law firms. It was much more relaxing, yet still felt very professional. I believe this is because everyone was extremely approachable and also friendly.

The content was useful in helping me to determine what aspect of Law I might be most interested in. For example we got to speak to trainees from different seats, such as tax, litigation and pro bono. This was useful as I could ask any questions that I have not been able to ask before.

We had to submit an expenses form for our travel to the programme.

There was a lot of opportunities to meet other employees. Every day there were talks from different partners from the firm. We got to ask them any questions after they had finished which was useful. Also, during meals such as lunch often trainees would be in the room, networking with us.

The first night was a pizza night which was so much fun as we got to mingle with trainees, and the other students on the programme. We also went out for food which was nice to interact with some of the people we had met in a slightly more formal environment.

We learnt a bit about some of the social activities that the employees can get involved with. An example is that the UK employees go up to the Edinburgh office for a burns supper night which sounded so fun. A lot of the trainees said that the employees will often do something social on the weekend, such as going for food and drinks.

I would absolutely recommend this programme to a friend as it was such a good experience. I genuinely wanted to stay at the firm for longer, due to the employees, people I met, and amazing activities that we got involved with. We were all well fed throughout the programme as well with a variety of sandwiches, cakes and a lot of coffee which was so nice.