Summer Scheme Review

The Summer Scheme at RPC was a great experience and was very well organised. There were plenty of opportunities to get involved in real work while working with a variety of people in a variety of departments. The scheme was very well balanced between work and time for connecting with fellow schemers.

The firm was very inclusive and it felt like everyone knew who you were very quickly. This was matched by the high quality of work we were given and the interaction with partners that made you feel like you were already a valuable asset to the firm and could contribute despite the short time frame.

We were immediately given all the support we could ask for as there were very dedicated colleagues running the scheme as well as a personal supervisor for each week and a trainee buddy on top of that. I knew that I could ask for help at any time during the scheme.

As I had not previously studied law, the Summer Scheme gave me great insight into legal concepts and how they are applied in a business setting. This will give me a good bank of background knowledge for when I complete my GDL next year. There was good feedback regarding communication within a law firm as well that will be useful for my future career.

The whole scheme was easily laid out and straight forward which meant you could focus on the individual tasks at hand. On the first day you are provided with an itinerary that presents all of the tasks for the two weeks. Socials and workshops were evenly spread out among more dense tasks to make the scheme less intensive.

The general atmosphere was very positive as there was plenty of time to socialise and get to know your colleagues. Everyone you worked with was very friendly and simply wanted to make sure that you had a valuable experience. All of the vac schemers got along well and there was no sense of competition.

It felt like the firm invested a great deal in you rather than just seeing it as part of the application process. They made an effort to give you quality work in several different areas and provided detailed feedback at each stage to ensure that you learned throughout the scheme.

Despite only being two weeks, the Summer Scheme covered a lot of aspects of what it would mean to work at the firm. There was plenty of time to work on real live matters with different people and in two different departments. From meeting people you could ask them about what life was like at the firm.

The Summer Scheme allowed you to see all aspects of the company culture as you had interaction with trainees during socials and workshops as well as work directly with partners. Everyone was very open about their experience of the culture of the firm which made it easy to make your own judgments.

The content of the Summer Scheme was extremely influential on my decision to become a lawyer as it provided a great insight into the real work involved which is difficult to come by any other way. Two weeks provided plenty of time to get to know the culture and work involved in a London law firm.

There were multiple opportunities to meet other employees of the firm at all stages of their careers. There was an escape room, pizza making, and a lunch to meet with trainees of the firm which enabled you to ask them questions directly about the type of job you were applying for.

There were drinks and socials where you could meet partners from different departments to find out more about work from other areas of the firm. There were also speed networking events with this express purpose to really allow you to make an informed choice about the type of work you want to be involved in.

Through talking to trainees and employees I heard about several activities outside of work for example charity events and the book club.

I would definitely recommend this Summer Scheme to a friend as I think it greatly improves your chances of securing a place at the firm and provides great experience to allow you to make an informed decision about where you want to work. The scheme was challenging but not too intense.