First Year Insight Scheme Review

I really enjoyed the insight and felt that a wide variety of activities were planned in order to keep us stimulated over the two days. I particularly enjoyed the alternative dispute workshop, where we worked in teams to negotiate a mock settlement. From this I greatly increased my understanding of the law and got to know my fellow students on the insight scheme better.

I definitely got the impression that Herbert Smith Freehills is an extremely welcoming and inclusive environment. In particular, when shadowing a trainee, Nicholas, he went over and above to make sure we were doing meaningful work to really understand what a trainee would do in their role, and making sure to answer all our questions.

Especially, as a non-law student, I was slightly apprehensive before I went on the insight scheme that I would feel out of depth. The employees I met made sure to make sure that everything was clearly explained, and I never felt that a question I had was silly or not relevant.

This experience has greatly enhanced my knowledge of the legal sector: in particular the Alternative Dispute Workshop and Corporate Workshop taught me key skills which gave me a good impression of what work as a solicitor involves. Furthermore during the work shadowing I got a deep insight into Intellectual Property Law which was very interesting and inspired me to find out more about that sector.

The insight was extremely well structured. I feel it gave a strong impression of the firm's international and welcoming culture, while teaching key skills through its insights, plenty of networking through panel sessions and drinks, and an opportunity to shadow a current trainee. I felt this gave lots of opportunities for me to get actively involved and consequently learn far more about the firm.

The atmosphere was very enthusiastic and positive, with everyoneI spoke to being genuinely passionate about the firm. The culture of the firm was very obvious, and was often cited by employees as why they had chosen it. The workshops were collaborative and inclusive, with the associates encouraging us all to get involved and making us feel comfortable to make mistakes.

I feel the company invested a lot in me throughout the process. For a trainee to give up their afternoon to let us chat and shadow them was something I particularly valued and appreciated the time and effort he put in. Also the drinks where trainees, associates and partners chatted to us showed how dedicated the whole firm was to investing in its future lawyers.

Throughout the two days, I got a really comprehensive overview of all the sectors of the firm, and what the different roles entailed. I also learnt a lot about its international and client secondment opportunities from employees first hand which is something I would love to pursue in my future career.

The culture of the company was not just something talked about, like at many other firms, but visibly seen through the genuine diversity of its employees, and their passion and happiness in their roles. Their friendly and welcoming demeanour towards us, was especially shown through how willing they were to give up their time to talk to us.

The insight days have only reinforced and inspired me further to pursue a career in corporate law, and in particular at Herbert Smith Freehills. Over the two days I have discovered that the opportunities and culture at Herbert Smith Freehills is what I have been looking for and where I would love to explore further my career.

Expenses were offered for reimbursement, and hotel stay was offered for those who need it. I think this illustrates how accommodating and welcoming the firm is to all, by making sure that economic reasons was not a barrier to attendance. Although this experience was not paid, what we received in learning and skills was invaluable, and also the water bottle, moleskin notebook and drinks were very generous touches which made me feel valued for my time.

There were lots of opportunities to network with employees from all levels of the firm. We had an opportunity to go round a room to different tables with employees from the different legal areas to discuss their experiences of working in that practise area and their journey. There was also an evening networking drinks.

The networking drinks was a great opportunity to meet both trainees, associates and partners. This was great in getting different perspectives of their practise areas and to see how their journeys at Herbert Smith Freehills had been shaped. Talking to the trainees was particularly helpful due to how they outlined their reasons for picking the firm over other firms.

Both the trainees talked personally and their was a talk on the pro-Bono opportunities the firm offers to its employees. In particular, I was impressed and motivated by the talk on how employees offer pro-bono legal advice to local residents through the WhiteChapel legal advice clinic, with some lawyers even taking small matters to court.

I would definitely recommend this experience, from it I have learnt so much and have really grasped an understanding of the firm which I would not have been able to gain from just researching online. The firm definitely had put in a lot of effort to make it a valuable experience.