Vacation Scheme Review

All supervisors strived to ensure that the work given was important and related to active cases. Very enjoyable socials in the evenings to network and get to know fellow vac-schemers better. Nice touch to get trainees and associates who attended your university to get in contact and ask to meet up for a coffee.

Trainees took the time to introduce you to the department, and dependent on how busy the partner you were assigned was, there were plenty of opportunities to go for coffees, lunches, and really get a feel for the people in the firm. Every took the time to introduce themselves which is well appreciated.

The ability to email grad rec/ your trainee at any stage if you had queries was really reassuring. This is combined with the trainee that is assigned to you who will often be the first point of contact and a great person to ask often basic but essential questions to.

In some of the work we did, I found that a couple of things related to the work I did at university, however it was as much a lesson in independence rather than the substantive work itself. This is in reality reflective of how a trainee operates and in that regard is useful.

Very well structured. Clear itinerary with activities and locations that set the agenda for the fortnight. There was ample time to meet current trainees, do actual work with your supervisor, and attend the workshops and socials. It was good to have activities at the start and end of the day as it was a nice way to stay in contact with the other people on the scheme.

Very friendly, which appears to be reflective of the firm in general. Despite how busy departments could be, and within reason, people always made time for you to ask questions and went out of the way to make you feel welcome - but importantly to get a realistic view of what firm life is like.

There was plenty of workshops, which often were attended by partners, which really displayed how the firm was genuinely interested in us. Moreover the Q&A with the managing partner, and his tips not only for applying to HSF, but applying for careers more generally, showed how HSF were interested in us being ready to and wanting to join the firm.

This was one of the strengths of the scheme. You were quickly assimilated into a department, and given a desk it became as if you had actually joined the firm as a trainee, which is invaluable in making the decision about whether to join the firm. It dealt with this very well.

To a large extent, there was of course more lunches and coffees than would be involved when one had joined the firm, but overall it provided a really accurate reflection (I believe) of how life would be as a trainee, and importantly how you would get along with your colleagues.

It gave a very clear picture of what actual work in a city law firm looks like. This in itself is vitally important in deciding whether it is the right career for you, and further if which area within the law specifically that you would like to focus on later.

The payment was sufficient to cover the expenses of living in London, but perhaps slightly more guidance could be given on choosing accommodation - for example examples of where previous vac schemers have stayed, or ideal locations within London. Otherwise no complaints regarding this aspect of the vacation scheme at all.

There was ample opportunity to network with employees of the firm, especially with partners through the partner networking drinks, and future joiners and trainees during the future joiner quiz. Moreover the way fellow alumni from your university got in contact with you made the experience even better, and gave for a great insight.

Varied and highly enjoyable. The graduate recruitment team went to great lengths to ensure that everyone was provided for, and the socials themselves felt like a lot of planning and work had gone into putting them on. This goes to make the vac schemers feel like the firm is genuinely interested in them

This would have been something that arose through conversations with trainees associates and partners, however there wasn't a great deal of information about this. But due to the specific nature of it - and the reality of working in a city law firm - it is not unexpected that this is not a huge emphasis

Certainly, it was a fantastic scheme that gave a great insight into the firm, and provided for fantastic knowledge about what a career at the firm may look like. It was also largely a realistic portrait of life there, which again is something that acts in the benefit of the scheme.