Vacaction Scheme Review

I enjoyed it far more than I ever thought I would. The people were welcoming without exception. Clearly high standards were set, but provided you worked diligently and enthusiastically then it was very enjoyable also.

Considering I was only there for 5 days, I felt at home in the department I was working with. The open floor plan allowed for quick relationships with those around me, who in this case were paralegals and assistants. I was kept busy with work and really think I gained an appropriate grounding in the career that I have chosen.

The 'buddy' system of having a trainee overseeing our progress was very beneficial. Whilst always being aware that they were assessing us, they were also our first port of call and my trainee was generous with his time and also gave a true insight of the firm.

The skills I developed during the Vacation Scheme really have helped me during the completion of the LPC. Legal documents that would have otherwise appeared alien were familiar. This was particularly true of property documents such as leases, sub-leases and licences for alterations.

I was very impressed with the structure of the Vacation Scheme. The graduate recruitment team were very efficient indeed. Unlike on previous work experience, there wasn't a moment where I was at a loss for what to do and the activities I was doing felt worthwhile both in terms of personal and professional development, which is really all one can ask for.

Far from being the soulless, faceless entity that I had feared, BCLP genuinely felt like a happy place to be. People were very approachable which was great for me as somebody with essentially no idea what I was doing!

Despite not going to BCLP's preferred LPC provider of ULaw as I already had a place to start with BPP, the firm were accommodating and contributed to my fees to the same extent as they would have had I studied with ULaw

Obviously it is very hard to tell until I actually begin my training contract, but I certainly felt as though I was doing the sort of work that would be expected of me as a trainee. I really did feel like an employee as opposed to a vac schemer, so I guess that says a lot about the experience I had.

Working for a week in the open plan office helped to understand the culture very much.

Before my vac scheme I really wasn't sure about a career in law. I had pre-conceptions of what it would be like working in a Silver Circle law firm, but thankfully they were all unfounded and they experience was such that I could have happily stayed on working from that moment on.

Yes. Social events were organised on a few of the evenings that allowed for the opportunity to quiz trainees about their experiences in a relaxed environment. Also, the open plan nature of the office allowed for many meetings each day with many different colleagues. By the time I left I felt as though I had a good relationship with at least a dozen people at the firm.

'Bounce' was a fun evening as was our trip to The Listing. Perhaps in future the first social evening may be better placed on a subsequent evening than the first one as on the first evening each of us was very much finding our feet. I may just be speaking for myself though.

From memory I only really discovered about this through asking about it in my interview. I feel I could have received more information about activities outside of work, particularly sports teams.

I already have done, with several friends applying on the back ofmy positive experience.