First Year Insight Scheme Review

I had an absolutely fantastic time on the insight scheme, learning about what really lies at the heart of Herbert Smith Freehills and its values as a firm. The opportunity to meet people from all across the firm, in the various departments and in their various stages of the career, provided a fantastic insight.

I felt incredibly valued during my term on the scheme, which was due to the fact that everyone I interacted with was willing to give up so much of their precious time to speak to me and answer all and any questions I had, as well as many giving me their cards and suggesting we meet at a later date for coffee.

The whole of the insight scheme was structured and organised very clearly and coherently, and hence each activity led very naturally onto the next, without any of us being confused as to what was required of us. Also, in the context of the trainee shadowing, my trainee was extremely attentive and talked us through every stage of what we were doing.

The various workshops, which included the Alternative Dispute Resolution and Negotiation workshop, provided a fantastic opportunity to practice such fundamental skills in the context of a legal problem. The presence of trainees helping and offering us advice, as well as an associate who ran the activity, gave us a deeper understanding of some of the legal nuances behind such tasks.

The insight scheme was extremely well structured, as one activity led very fluidly into the next, whilst also maintaining our engagement. After a series of presentations, it was nice to get involved in the more interactive activities on the agenda, such as the Alternative Dispute Resolution workshop and the Negotiation workshop.

The atmosphere of the insight was generally very light and good fun, which was due to the good nature of the rest of the students on the scheme, but more importantly due to the attentiveness of the Graduate Recruitment team and all the members of the firm that we interacted with.

The firm helped us understand the implications of having a full time role there, through enabling us to network at several stages with both trainees, associates and partners alike, and hence gage an understanding from there. However, it was the trainee shadowing that ultimately provided the most useful insight into what day to day life is really like.