Vacation Schemer Review

I really enjoyed it. The teams were very friendly, everyone was happy to answer any questions and the two weeks were very well organised.

I felt like the work I was given was useful, and that the skills I have (especially languages) were put to good use in the litigation department.

There was a lot of guidance and support available, both from the HR team but also from trainee ‘buddies’ and associate supervisors.

It was really helped me gain a real sense of commercial awareness and knowledge of law firms as a business.

It was very well structured, there were organised talks throughout the week and social events on certain evenings.

Great, really friendly overall. Everyone was down to earth and very helpful.

The company was very invested in terms of training and development, we gained a lot of insight over the talks from various departments over the two weeks and were able to attend informal events in the evening. We did pizza making and mini golf as well. Overall really fun and enjoyable!

It gave me a lot of insight into life as a lawyer at the firm, as well as how trainees chose their seats and what kind of matters they deal with once there. I’d say it was much more beneficial than simply attending an assessment centre. It was very useful.

It helped me enormously - speaking to trainees, associates and even partners over the Scheme enabled me to ask any questions I had and see how people interacted with each other. Everyone said they’d chosen the firm based on its culture and I would definitely agree that it was very friendly.

It was over two weeks, and therefore much more useful than a single day. It confirmed my keen interest in pursuing law but, as I have already undertaken other work experiences and have studied law, I was already set on pursuing it as a career. It was however a useful confirmation.

I was paid £360 per week for tho vacation Scheme, which was equal to £720 for the two weeks. However, you are paid after you leave so you do not have the money in advance to reimburse food or travel costs. The firm does however reimburse any travel costs incurred in attending the interview for the Scheme, if provided with receipts.

There were many networking opportunities, including lunches with trainees and supervisors, crazy golf and drinks events as well as a pizza making event with all of the trainees. I also attended a lunch with the corporate department. This also meant that we spent less money on food over the week.

They were very enjoyable, especially the pizza making and the golf which I enjoyed especially. Everyone was in a good mood and happy to put the effort in. I was surprised by how many people attended the events. My only qualm was eating standing up for the lunches in the day, but this actually meant we were able to chat to more people and move groups.

Yes, I found out about sports activities and volunteering that everyone can get involved with outside of work. One of the schemers did tag rugby with his department. People also play football, volleyball and volunteer for various races and charitable causes like planting trees and doing CV workshops, so overall it seemed very vibrant.

I would actually recommend this Scheme and any scheme to a friend applying for law, and would stress the difference spending a few days at a firm makes in terms of knowledge for the assessment centre. It means you can have specific examples of clients and people you’ve worked with at the interview.