Vacation student Review

I very much enjoyed my time at Allen and Overy. Having participated in like schemes at other Law firms, my experience at Allen and Overy was very different. The atmosphere was one that was extremely friendly and supportive, and it was obvious the firm and graduate recruitment had gone to great lengths to ensure the scheme was both enjoyable and a worthwhile experience.

At all times I felt extremely valued by the firm, both by the graduate recruitment team and the fee earners. It was obvious graduate recruitment had invested a lot of time and effort into ensuring the scheme was smoothly run and engaging, and the fee earners trusted me with some really interesting client work, so I felt part as though I was really making a contribution, and wasn't just in the way.

With all the lawyers I worked with they were extremely receptive to any queries or questions I had. Though they were busy they always took the time to explain tasks thoroughly and give me some context to the work I was doing, which made it all the more interesting.

I think that working in a corporate law firm has provided an interesting piece of context for the sort of legal ideas and principals I deal with during my university studies. The scheme has also helped me develop a number of core skills, such as team work, presentation skills and skills of analysis.

The scheme was extremely well structured. From the start we were made exactly aware of our meetings and events throughout the course of the two weeks and all such events ran smoothly and on time. Being seated with a trainer gave us a point of contact for work throughout the scheme and allowed for a realistic impression of what the training contract would be like.

The atmosphere was at all times friendly and supportive. The graduate recruitment team were quick to encourage the vacation students to bond together, and so it meant by the end of the scheme we became a close knit cohort. All fee earners at every level were extremely friendly and always had time for a chat.