Vacation Scheme Review

The vac scheme was hugley enjoyable. There were a lots of interesting talks and sessions on the different practices and how a deal works. My principal was very friendly and helpful and made me feel really welcome. It is a big scheme with lots of other interns and there are a lot of social events so you really get to know people and make friends.

Obviously as a student it is hard to do meaningful work for your principal. When there was a task you could do for them however, they were really grateful and gave feedback on performance and made you feel valued. Even though you couldn't make a big impact in terms of work, as a whole the graduate recruitment team and the people you meet make you feel very valued and they clearly invest a lot into the schemes and want to find the right people.

There is so much support during the internship. They run sessions throughout the two weeks to give you insight into all the different practice areas. They also provide sessions on IT and other soft skills like networking and presenting. My principal was very supportive and always made time to answer my questions and give me feedback.

I definitely developed strong organisation and prioritisation skills which is helpful for a degree but also for most jobs. The practice overview talks were hugely helpful in terms of information and developed my commercial awareness. All of the social events and the workshop on building your own brand were really good for networking.

Scheme was structured brilliantly. There were lots of workshops and social events plus a project to work on to ensure that there was always something to do. We were given notice in advance of the scheme when the social events would be so we could plan our own plans around those. On the first day we were given a timetable with all the events and workshops for the two weeks so it was really easy to plan work and time ahead.

Among the other interns the atmosphere was great. Everyone got on really well and looked out for each other. The atmosphere of the firm was also really good. It is clearly a very collegiate and friendly place to work. People were very happy to meet with you for coffee and chat about their work.

There is clearly a huge amount of investment into the scheme as a whole. The company invested quite a bit of time and resources into soft skills like IT and networking with workshops. In terms of technical training there were sessions about the different practice areas and the work that they do and how they do it.

I got a great feel for the culture of the firm and the type of work that they do. However, I think I only really got a proper feel for the department I was in which was an advisory rather than transactional seat. Furthermore, as we couldn't help with a lot of the work I don't think I got a true sense of what a full working day looks like and the demands that can be placed on you.

I think I got a really good insight into the culture of the company. You get to meet a lot of people at all the social events who can talk to you a lot about their experiences as well as talking to the other interns. Obviously every department will have slightly different cultures but overall I got a good impression of the culture.

The content of the day was really valuable. Although you couldn't necessarily help your principal with a lot of their work, you could talk to them about it and ask questions so you got an idea of the kind of thing you could do as a trainee. As well as this, all the workshops and talks were very informative about commerical law and the work it involves.

I was paid £450/week for this internship which I think is very adequate for living costs for a week in London. You are only paid this at the end of the scheme, however, but accommodation does need to be booked in advance. They do provide an accommodation bursary if you need though.

There were so many opportunities for networking and meeting other employees. As well as the official events, everyone was so friendly and if you reached out to anyone in particualr that you wanted to speak to they usually were more than happy to get a coffee and have a chat with you.

The opportunities were really good. The official events often involved being taken out for very nice lunches and dinners and to fun social activities like the theatre. If you reached out to anyone you wanted to speak to to grab a coffee they were very helpful and answered all your questions.

There are lots of sports clubs that we were told about - most of these clubs also go on tour most years. There are lots of networking groups like the diversity networks that we were told a lot about and how we could get involved. We were also told about all the pro bono opportunities that we could get involved with.

I would definitely recommend this insight to anyone considering commerical law as a career. It is a really good opportunity to see the kind of work that a commerical lawyer does and you get so many opportunities to learn and network and find out about people's experiences as well as developing your commercial awareness. You also get a really good insight into the culture of the firm.