Vacation Scheme Student Review

The scheme was well put together and exposed me to BCLP at a level I didn't expect. Although virtual, I feel I didn't miss out on anything BCLP had to offer. The friendly culture of the firm was as evident as the firm's high-quality training - further increasing my desire to begin my legal career with BCLP.

At no point did I feel I wasn’t valued. During the webinars, Graduate Recruitment made an effort to ensure every participant in the scheme got a chance to either ask or answer questions. Whilst it is quite difficult to ensure 22 participants all receive equal speaking time, I cannot think of any noticeable discrepancy. Every participant had an equal chance to ask questions.

The support and guidance provided was superb. My assigned ‘trainee buddy’ was constantly checking in with me to see if I either had questions to ask or if I wanted to speak to someone specifically. Perhaps one improvement may be allowing us to meet our ‘trainee buddy’ before the scheme begins. I think this would leave participants better prepared for the scheme in the future. That being said, setting up a virtual vacation scheme is difficult enough and I am very happy with the support I received. I was in contact with my trainee buddy for several days after the scheme as well – further evidencing the excellent support provided.

The insight was also well structured. The use of WebEx’s ‘Poll’ option within the ‘Finance Case Study’ Webinar is an excellent example. Not only did the use of the ‘Poll’ option allow the host of the webinar to test our knowledge and understanding of aircraft finance agreements but it also gave us a chance to explore legal and commercial concepts that we may not have previously engaged with.

The atmosphere during the scheme was extremely positive. During the scheme, I was consistently told to take ownership and make the most of every opportunity. It was down to me to make the most of my time during the scheme. Which was much appreciated as it gave me a feel for the level of personal responsibility that is required to succeed at BCLP. On the social side, the virtual escape room was a good opportunity to talk with many of the firm’s trainees informally about their experiences.

Speaking with members across many of the firm’s sectors I got a broad perspective of what goes on at the firm. I was given insight into the type of work a trainee, associate or trainee may undertake and how BCLP is quite transparent of what is expected from those who have a FT role with the firm. Learning about the types of task a trainee undertakes such as collating documents, completing due diligence and drafting ancillary documents only further elucidated on what it would be like to be a trainee at BCLP.

The insight into BCLP’s culture was phenomenal. From webinars outlining the firm’s “one firm” culture and its “hard-working but friendly culture to Q&A’s with the firm’s London Managing Partner, I felt that the firm’s culture wasn’t just on display, it was one of the centrepieces of the scheme.

I was already focussed on a career in commercial law but the scheme only further cemented my desire to pursue that as a career path. Many of the sessions focussed on the type of work someone pursuing a career in commercial law would expect to do – from dissecting a finance deal to dissecting a litigation matter, the firm was excellent at verifying my decision to pursue a career in commercial law.

The scheme being a virtual scheme, we were unable to sit in the firm’s London office. However, the benefit of that was that there were constant opportunities to book virtual coffees and speak with members of the firm. The ability to request a specific person or request someone in a specific department made networking opportunities as plentiful as possible.

I would recommend this scheme to anyone who wishes to pursue a career in commercial law. I’ve consistently been told that legal work experience is a two-way process. Not only did I get the sense that BCLP was seeing if I was a fit for the firm but I also got the sense that BCLP was giving me the chance to see if the firm was ‘right for me.