Vacation Schemer Review

I greatly enjoyed my experience at Taylor Wessing. Particular insights were the level of access I got to work within my practice area, the focus on sessions giving a wieder view of the firm and individual conversations I had - particularly on the firms innovation strategy going forward. The only negative was the limited time I had to complete tasks due to the reduced duration thanks to the scheme having to be held online, this limited my ability to reach out to others within the firm.

Throughout my time at Taylor Wessing People were checking up on me and making sure I had access to all of the services and information I needed. A particular highlight was my trainee buddy, who throughout the scheme offered helpful advice and feedback on tasks that I was doing either for him or others.

As mentioned, support from my trainee buddy throughout was a constant alongside daily catch ups with my supervisor allowing me to ask questions and relay any concerns I had to him. In terms of support from the graduate team, throughout the scheme they were easy to contact and very quick to resolve any issues I had. Overall I am completely happy with the support I received

The main skills gained were in both research and formatting my work in a user friendly way, as well as considering how correspondence may be used when formatting a response. This was particularly the case for emails sent for a couple of research tasks that I did as my trainee buddy helped me set out my sources in an accessible manner and made sure I focused on the relevant information. I feel this will make my correspondence in my daily job far clearer going forward.

I feel that given the difficulty of the circumstance and the fact that this was the first virtual scheme the firm has run, things were organised as well as could be expected. Going forward I would suggest as a point for improvement leaving larger gaps between scheduled events, as the 15 minute gaps offered little real opportunity to get work done meaning I often had to catch up in the evenings.

Again given the circumstances I would say that the scheme was made as fun and engaging as it could be. The events set out still offered a good opportunity for us as vacation schemers to get to know each other and members of the firm, though understandably it was difficult to replicate the smaller daily interactions that occur in a working office that help you get to know people.

The majority of training was done on the job, through interactions with both my supervisor and my trainee buddy - which as mentioned gave valuable research and formatting skills. Beyond this the two skills sessions provided by the graduate recruitment team were particularly useful, though technical issues limited my ability to engage with the last one (as it was based on teamwork, and lack of access to my microphone prevented me from contributing as easily as I would have liked).

The amount of work I received and the way it necessitated juggling my time whilst pursuing other tasks and interests was valuable in setting out some of the challenges that I would experience. Combined with the knowledge gained of other practice groups via talks, presentations and Q&As I felt I was able to gain a rounded picture of the work in different areas I might join as a trainee, and how these vary between practice groups.

This was a major aspect limited by the online format, which is obviously nobodies fault. The lack of day-to-day office interactions was somewhat replaced by the welcoming nature of everyone that I interacted with however, and did help bring across that Taylor Wessing would be a friendly and exciting place to work in normal times.

Having an insight into the work I would do and the challenges present in the role of a trainee solicitor was invaluable. Seeing first hand the scope of work across different practice areas and understanding how varied each day can be were both features that particularly got me excited to pursue a career in commercial law.

The remuneration offered by the firm for the vacation scheme has been entirely satisfactory, and was in line with what I would have been paid in my current role. Furthermore, reimbursement for travelling expenses to the assessment centre was completely adequate to cover my expenses in getting there and back.

As mentioned this was a particular challenge I found due to the combination of the reduced time frame and me receiving additional tasks from my practice area (which I was grateful for). The result was that I often found it was a choice between contacting and meeting with others, or making sure I did the work I was set. However, in the time that I did have available I was able to meet with several other people within the firm and had multiple fascinating and useful conversations with them on subjects such as innovation and the workflow within other practice areas.

Overall the social events were very good throughout the scheme, and in other events such as talks and team meetings members of the firm made themselves available to be contacted to set up outside catch ups. Particularly, the corporate and social responsibility quiz was good as it allowed us as vacation schemers to get to know members of the firm in a more informal setting.

Yes, opportunities to engage with both social and pro bono opportunities were emphasised throughout the scheme. This was often demonstrated in fun and engaging ways, such as the aforementioned corporate and social responsibility quiz and the blackfriars interactive session. This not only let us know what the opportunities were, but gave us fun way to understand what engaging with them might actually look like.

Overall i would definitely recommend the vacation scheme to a friend. It provides a clear and wide-ranging insight into the work done within the many different practice areas at Taylor Wessing, whilst also allowing you to experience some of the challenges and responsibility seen by trainees. Furthermore, it gave a chance to develop practical skills by undertaking and reviewing meaningful work along with your buddy and supervisor. Finally, the networking opportunities it offered in interacting and meeting with leading experts within the firm were an invaluable chance to both build helpful relationships and better understand my key areas of interest.