Summer Internship 2019 Review

The insight into the firm was excellent. The programme was able to get a good balance between the firm's values and future as well as how the firm actually 'does' the law. The first week's introduction had extremely insightful presentations about the firm as a whole; and then the two weeks which followed in departments gave an invaluable insight into that practice area.

The work that we were doing in the departments were real, live work and cases - and even though the work we did was very minimal in those cases, it was great to see that we were trusted to do it. Equally, there was a real buzz in the office due to the fact interns were there. The high-profile talks we had with people in the firm too made you feel valued.

The Graduate Recruitment team did an excellent job in guiding us around the 3 weeks. Having a designated buddy was also excellent. These provided you a source of support with whatever questions you had throughout the scheme - which as trainees meant they had only recently gone through what we had. The supervisors, Snr Assoc and Partners, were too supportive throughout our time.

There were general skills sessions, but these were more devoted to the internship, as opposed to my degree studies. However, having a networking and speech coach sessions was definitely worthwhile. You could really see how this session would be of benefit to us in the short term (through the scheme) but also into our professional careers.

Grad Recruitment had the scheme down to a tee. The structure they put in place was extremely effective, especially the induction week. This was great to see. The structure was equally completed with such great organisation - which meant interns were never wondering what to do or where to be.

The induction week's atmosphere was quite amazing. After a couple of days everyone was chatting away, and you would have forgot we were only there a few days. This atmosphere continued when we were just the London interns. The atmosphere of all the other staff was so welcoming too - which made the experience remeberable.

Supervisors truly invested time into you; whether it was just explaining simple terms or explaining much more complex deals they were doing. This was great in terms of personal development, and something you'd struggle to find in a textbook. The central training - such as the talk of networking - too helped my personal development.

For the last two weeks you were generally treated as a trainee. You were trusted with work that trainees would do on a day-to-day basis. I was never short of any work, and was surprised to see that I was not doing solely research/ mundane tasks just to fill up time.

There were two ways in which they engrained the firm's culture. At the induction week there a strong effort to try and inform us of the culture at the firm from presentations. However, this was confirmed when you actually spent time within the departments and firm.

After being offered a training contract with the firm, I have absolutely no doubt that it is the firm for me. I think that suggests how valuable the experience is.

Very generous pay, plus expenses for a couple of evenings' food. Lunch too was always provided - either within the main restaurant or you were taken out by supervisors.

There were excellent networking dinners throughout the scheme - these allowed you to talk to partners and grad rec on a more informal level. We also had an informal evening with the trainees one evening. Most people were also keen to accept invitations for coffee during the working day. The interns were also invited to the London office's summer BBQ.

They were excellent; they truly allowed you to social with a purpose.

This was not necessarily sold to us, as perhaps this question suggests. However, during events employees were very keen to talk about these type of activities. For example I spoke to a trainee about a rugby tour they go on.

Full heartedly, the scheme was second to none. The grad rec team were a credit to themselves for such a well-organised insight. The office was warm and welcoming to all interns which too was great.