Insight Student Review

I enjoyed this insight immensely. My first experience in a large City law firm proved to be an extremely valuable one, and in what fantastic offices to experience it! There was a huge amount of variety on offer throughout the week, which ensured the insight remained interesting and stimulating. The people attending/employees I met were great too!

I couldn't believe how much effort the firm had taken to make us feel valued. Everything from the personalised mugs to valuable employability 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.

The guidance and support was above and beyond what I had expected. In the run up to the insight scheme, each student was assigned a ‘trainee buddy’ from the firm. Then, whilst at Clifford Chance, we were appointed a supervisor and a trainee buddy for each department we sat in.

I absolutely developed skills for life! The department work gave me the opportunity to develop skills such as attention to detail, critical analysis and teamwork that of course will assist in my degree studies. Furthermore, these skills will help me beyond my degree and hopefully at a law firm, where such skills are pivotal to the transaction you are working on.

The entire scheme was extremely well organised and structured. We were provided with a detailed itinerary in advance and the briefing session on the first day updated us on any changes. The graduate recruitment team all knew what was going on and it was evident that they had clear line of communication throughout the scheme.

Everyone selected to take part in the insight was ambitious, friendly, good fun and intelligent. We had similar interests, motivations and ambitions concerning a career in law. This created an atmosphere conducive to productivity and we all made good friends. The graduate recruitment team were also very friendly, as were other Clifford Chance employees, which also contributed to the positivity.

It was extremely evident just how much Clifford Chance invested in our personal development. Many senior figures gave us presentations as well as supervised and judged pitches and presentations, provided us with detailed feedback. We had skills sessions and engaged in various interactive case studies which really helped with interview preparation.

The good focus on having at least half a day of work in departments gave me a true insight of what it would be like to have a full-time role at Clifford Chance. The more time I spent in the department, the more I felt like an employee, got to know its culture and work on its market leading deals.

I found this insight scheme to be extremely helpful in helping me to understand more about the culture at the firm, because we had the opportunity to meet so many different people from across the firm, and spend the week in the office, experiencing the day-to-day atmosphere at Clifford Chance.

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. All the sessions were very practical and detailed with the information that we were provided. Additionally, the question session at the end of each presentation meant we could clarify anything that we didn't particularly understand, or wanted to know more about.

I was paid a generous salary for my time spent at Clifford Chance.

There was an abundance of opportunities to network, both with trainees and fee-earners. Almost every day there was a breakfast with trainees from a designated department. There was also an evening of ‘speed networking’ where we had time to speak to trainees from almost every department at Clifford Chance. Then to top it off, there were Partner Dinners that gave us an unparalleled opportunity to speak with the leaders of the firm.

I found the networking and social event to be well planned and lots 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.

I would absolutely recommend this insight to anyone interested in a career in commercial law! I think this first year scheme is by far one of the best schemes in terms of balancing the information provided and the way that this information is communicated.