Vacation Scheme Intern Review

I enjoyed my time at Bakers thoroughly - the people were all incredibly friendly and pleasant to work with, the work was varied and gave me a real taste of what legal work is actually like, and overall I would say it was a welcoming and stimulating environment - definitely recommend.

I felt that everyone I spoke to during my time at Bakers - whether trainees, partners, or HR - were all very friendly and showed a genuine interest in me as a person and how I was doing. On top of that, a lot of events were organized for us to chat to people in various departments in a more informal setting.

I received all the guidance and support I could have wanted - HR at Baker McKenzie are excellent and always ready to help -- I was a bit embarrassed when I lost my bag with all my Bakers stuff in it but they made no problem of it and replaced it. Also, the people you work with within your departments are all very much willing to help and support you.

I find this difficult to assess with relation to the degree I'm currently doing at university, but I can definitely say that I learned new skills in terms of doing research, presentations, and other law-related things as well as informal/personal skills to do with networking and interacting with people professionally.

It was very pleasantly well structured - it seemed like a well-planned, seamless experience. We knew about all the events well in advance and were notified if anything changed, and switching between departments halfway through the scheme was absolutely no problem in terms of logistics, and it was all facilitated by the friendly and easy going manner of everyone at Bakers.

It was positive, inclusive, and warm. I got the feeling that everyone at Bakers sees you not as someone who is below them in the hierarchy (and law is quite a hierarchical industry) or even as someone they're just looking to recruit as a trainee - they see you as a potential future partner and a fully fledged part of the operation.

Bakers invested in us a lot; we were offered a variety of sessions - some necessary to help us fit in and work within the firm, others just for us to develop ourselves and showcase our skills - ranging from IT and library training, networking skills, presentation skills, and other informational sessions on the initiatives taken by the firm.

Overall, it helped a lot - I was treated as a proper member of the team and I was given an amount and variety of work that gave me a real idea of what actual, day to day legal work is like. On the other hand, keep in mind that if you are a summer intern with no legal background, then you will have limited exposure to top-level, technical stuff.

There is no better way to get a feeling for the culture of a place, especially Bakers, than to meet people, work with them, have lunch with them, and just talk to them. More than that, Bakers does its best to present to you what they are doing in terms of diversity, inclusion, pro bono, etc. and I feel that I got a genuine insight.

It was very useful - doing a summer internship at Bakers will give you more than enough content to base your future decision upon. You acquaint yourself with the work, the people, down to the social events and the lunches that are part and parcel of what Bakers is and what it stands for.

I was paid adequately to live in central London and save some money at the end.

There were plenty such opportunities - lunches, drinks, networking events, meetings (and, again, lunches) with large numbers of members of several departments, and even the Managing Committee.

They were organized well and there was a pleasant atmosphere.

Yes, and we were well informed about this through the various sessions provided.

Absolutely - I learned a lot and enjoyed it thoroughly as well.