Summer student Review

My placement was a brilliant insight into a career in commercial law. By allowing us the opportunity to spend time within two legal practice groups we gained a broader perspective of the firm. As well as an interesting variety of work, there were many social events through out the placement.

Everyone at the firm was extremely friendly and helpful to all the summer interns. The amount of time and effort that had clearly gone into setting up the placement made me feel very valued. It is clear that DLA places a great deal of importance on recruiting the best employees.

The graduate recruitment team were constantly available via phone and email in case we had any issues during the duration of the scheme. We also had line managers specific to each practice group we were working in and trainee buddies. On the first week in London we received a lot of advice as to how to make the most out of the experience.

I have been doing a broad variety of work experience over the last couple of years so as to confirm exactly which area of law I wish to go into. My experience at DLA taught me so much about what was important to me in a future career. I learned more in a few weeks about commercial law than I did during my time at Uni. During our time in our home office we were given daily insight sessions into each practice group so that even if you did not sit in that practice group you still gained a good knowledge of the area.

The summer scheme was planned meticulously. I cannot emphasise enough how organised the graduate recruitment team were and the lengths they had clearly gone towards making it an incredible experience. The managed to fit so many brilliant experiences into just three weeks.

I was surprised by how friendly all of the summer students were. This led to a brilliant atmosphere, especially during our time in London. I think this says a lot about the recruitment process to get to that stage. Being a nice person is clearly valued. I had a lovely time getting to know everyone else on the placement and learning from them as well as the DLA employees.

I learnt a great deal academically, practically and commercially. What was perhaps most important is we were given sessions on presentation skills and given the opportunity to work with our peers in teams. The firm had clearly invested a lot in making sure we developed our abilities through out the process.

I have never taken part on a scheme before that gave me such a detailed insight into all aspects of working at the firm and working with it's clients. The work I took part on was real trainee work. We were even invited to social events which gave us another perspective as to how our days would look working at DLA full time.

DLA's firm culture is clearly extremely important to them. For me it is one of the reasons I applied to begin with. We had talks ranging from pro bono to mental health and I even attended a diversity and charity brunch event. We did not just learn how DLA helps its clients but also the values that it considers important whilst doing so.

We were paid very competitively for this experience.

We met a hugely diverse range of employees at the firm.

We were given details on both firm wide initiatives and also office specific events that we could get involved in.

If my friend was interested in gaining an insight into a leading global business law firm I would 100% recommend the experience.