Student Review

It was really good fun with a nice balance between academic and commercial work. We were given real tasks which the firm genuinely needed help with. The firm has a great social scene and filled the 2 weeks with a wide range of activities - much better than anywhere else I've been!

I definitely felt like I was more useful at Stephenson Harwood than any other law firm I've spent time at. All the projects that I worked on were trainee-style tasks which more senior lawyers needed help with. We weren't given work just for the sake of filling time; it was nice to know it was actually helping someone!

Sitting with both a trainee buddy and an associate supervisor provided loads of support - there was always someone on standby to help if you ran into difficulty. It was nice to know that they had also been in our position once before and I never felt pressured by anyone

I gained a really deep insight into the kinds of niche work the firm does within wider departments like corporate and commercial litigation - it's definitely helped prepare me for life as a trainee. I felt like the commercial nature of the work I did complemented all the academic training I've had so far

Spending 2 weeks in different departments offered a real variety of work. When we weren't working we were attending talks and presentations from employees in other departments around the firm - so even though we hadn't actually worked in all areas of the firm, the talks certainly compensated for it!

The atmosphere was really friendly and not at all hostile. Despite the fact everyone is trying to impress, I never felt any pressure from other vacation scheme attendees and the HR team were incredibly approachable and did well to create a stress-free environment. I would definitely recommend the SH scheme over others

The trainees and associates spent a lot of their time teaching us things/helping us with tasks, even though they probably had more pressing things to be getting on with! The firm had also clearly spent a lot of money in putting on social events throughout the two weeks as well

Working closely with our trainee buddies meant that we experienced exactly what it was like to be a trainee at SH. Likewise sitting with associates gave me an insight into the kind of work that more senior members of staff do. It was good to see this mix of work

I don't think there's a better way of experiencing what a firm's culture is like unless you actually go there and immerse yourself in it - these two weeks were proof of how useful that can be. I think it's very important to experience the firm before you commit to working there full time

It definitely reinforced my interest in law, particularly commercial law. I also found myself being interested in areas I would have never otherwise been interested in - the daily presentations were to key to giving you flavour for the kind of work you'd find yourself doing in the future at SH

There were numerous opportunities to meet people from different backgrounds around the firms. The drinks events were well-attended by trainees and associates and you got the impression that they were genuinely interested in being there and finding out more about you and your interests - and also to give you tips on the application process!

Yes - there were lots of talks on the sorts of activities employees can get involved in, ranging from sporting events through to CSR and pro bono work - personally i feel this is very important. There were also plenty of opportunities to join in with sporting events during our two weeks

I would definitely recommend this scheme to a friend - a lot of people think that SH is an exclusively-focused shipping law firm but it's not the case. By attending the scheme you find out so much more about the firm's strengths in other areas which you wouldn't learn otherwise