Vacation Scheme Review

The vacation scheme was an excellent way of enabling me to learn more about the potential areas of law I could qualify into and also about the firm itself. I particularly enjoyed the lectures we received on top of the work experience. This enabled us to broaden our knowledge or learn about potential new areas of law.

I felt extremely valued throughout my time at the company by all employees. The 'open door policy' is certainly real and I felt that I could ask and discuss my work with partners from the first day. For example, I expressed an interest in artificial intelligence to my supervisor, for which I was presenting on on the final day. My supervisor then introduced me to an AI specialist at the firm and we had a length discussion about the implications of AI. This was not only very interesting but also aided my presentation and reflects the friendly and inclusive nature of the firm.

On the vacation scheme I was given a buddy, an associate and was in constant contact with members of the Graduate Recruitment team, all offering me a range of support. Sometimes I felt that I had less guidance when working on projects but this enabled me to use my initiative and gave me responsibility to approach the tasks myself. Despite this, I was able to receive feedback from all employees if asked.

Even though the winter vacation scheme was only a week long, I felt that I have gained a greater understanding of how a law firm works and how the law itself is used. This insight will aid my studies on the GDL as I am now familiar with certain aspects of law.

There was a well balanced mix of own work, lectures and social events so there was never a monotonous moment throughout the week. There was also some flexibility on choice of work and the amount of workload throughout the week as I felt comfortable to ask employees other than my buddy and supervisor for work in areas of particular interest to me.

The atmosphere was a very positive one. I felt welcomed at all times as all employees throughout the firm were genuinely excited to meet potential new intakes and help each of us receive the experience we wanted on the scheme. The members of the graduate recruitment team were also enthusiastic throughout the week and helped us all to get the most out of the week.

Partners and associates from a range of different expertise gave us lectures on their area throughout the week and introduced themselves through networking and social events. The time given up by employees showed clearly that the firm wanted to invest in all of us as individuals. I was also given a lot of feedback throughout the week.

During the insight we spent a lot of time with current trainees and were able to discuss what it was really like to work at Stephenson Harwood. I felt, through immersing myself into the firm as well, that I was able to see what was expected of a trainee at Stephenson Harwood and what life would be like there.

I believe that the insight was the only way to truly understand the company culture. Only working with the employees did I realise that Stephenson Harwood is an inclusive, friendly firm. The employees are ambitious and work very hard but they always had time to answer any questions and attend the social events, even if only briefly.

We were paid for the vacation scheme but not reimbursed for travel costs.

We had a range of social events throughout the week including a cocktail class (a more relaxed evening with current trainees), lunches with various employees across the firm and lectures. I was introduced to a range of employees across the firm and I look forward to seeing them again at future social events.

The social events were a good way to relax outside of the office and get to know some of the employees better in a non-working environment. The networking events were important too because I was able to ask associates and partners questions about other areas of law I was unable to experience in my short time at the firm.

There are a range of activities outside of work including tag rugby, football, netball and yoga. We were able to attend a Stephenson Harwood Christmas choir event at which we saw the firm's choir sing carols. There seemed to be a wide range of activities for employees to do outside of work.

It is certainly worthwhile doing a vacation scheme. Not only does this make you very employable but it is also very important that you sign a training contract with a firm that you can see yourself working at. The week confirmed for me that Stephenson Harwood was somewhere I very much wanted to continue working at.