First Year Insight Scheme Review

This was a very enjoyable scheme with friendly staff and exciting activities to be involved in. It was a brilliant opportunity to experience the culture of a global city law firm. The scheme provided a fantastic insight into life as a commercial solicitor and helped to cement my future aspirations.

Any tasks completed were much appreciated and this helped to ensure we felt valued during our time at the firm. I was also entrusted with significant amounts work whilst shadowing in the department, which helped me to feel a valued part of their team, albeit only for a few days.

The graduate recruitment team, and trainee supervisors on the second day in particular, were always there to provide support and guidance if you were unsure about anything and encouraged asking questions throughout. Aside from this, other staff members were generally very willing to help in any way necessary, which may be as simple as providing directions.

There was a networking skills session that will prove useful in the future when attempting to form and maintain networks. Further, the group presentation task helped develop my skills of teamwork, time management (since this needed to be completed under a tight deadline) and verbal communication to a panel of judges.

The insight was well structured, keeping a good balance between being occupied but still allowing time for breaks. There were many activities, including partner talks, trainee panels, group tasks and a social in the evening. The second day consisted of shadowing in a department, so the structure was reliant on which department you were in.

The atmosphere was generally very friendly. Everyone was willing to help and answer questions, whether these be trainees, associates or members of the graduate recruitment team. During the shadowing in a department, there was a welcoming environment, with other staff members often popping in to introduce themselves. I felt very comfortable during my time here.

The firm put on a networking skills session which helped us to enhance our interpersonal abilities. This is an example of the firm investing in the training and will be valuable in the future. Furthermore, the group presentation tasks helped to develop skills of verbal communication and teamwork which is again beneficial in the future.

The insight helped me to understand what the role of a trainee, or further through career progression as an associate or partner, would be like by providing plenty of opportunities to network and ask questions. The work shadowing again enabled you to gain a first-hand experience and insight into life at the firm.

The insight greatly helped me to understand the culture of the firm: both through presentations by members of staff and through experiencing the environment myself. For example, a large emphasis is placed on diversity and inclusion, which forms a significant part of the culture of this firm and that could be gained through both methods.

This insight was very valuable in terms of helping me to cement my career aspirations to become a commercial solicitor in a large, global city law firm. It also helped provide an insight into different departments which will be useful for choosing seats for vacation schemes or training contracts in the future.

The firm reimburses travel expenses of up to £100 standard class. This helps to ensure that the scheme remains accessible to those who may live further away or be unable to afford expenses. Accommodation was also optional for the first night if you did not live within a commutable distance.

There were many opportunities for networking and meeting employees - including a networking lunch, social in the evening and meetings throughout. Whilst in the department there were several opportunities to meet new people in the department, and other departments, since it was encouraged that we should arrange meetings with employees in other departments if we so wished.

The networking and social opportunities were brilliant and struck the right balance between being structured and enabling you to ask what questions you wished. The range of trainees also enabled you to network with people who have had very different experiences of the firm in terms of seats for training contracts which was very insightful.

There were many activities that employees can get involved with. These include sporting opportunities since the firm has several sports teams which they encourage participation in. Further activities included involvement in pro bono work or other activities related to corporate social responsibility. These were great and the staff seemed to greatly enjoy them.

I would definitely recommend this insight to a friend since it is the best way to experience the culture and working environment of the firm. This also provided brilliant networking opportunities which would help with future career aspirations. The tasks were varied and exciting and the whole scheme was inspiring.