Student Review

Even though it was virtual, it was really well organised. We had talks from many senior members of the team and I learnt so much about the firm. We gave presentations at the end of the week, which was a great experience, even over Zoom. I didn't think it would be a good experience, but it ended up being a really enjoyable week.

I felt very valued. [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] made it very clear that they were so grateful for us being there and doing this experience over Zoom. It was obvious a lot of thought and hard work had gone into this scheme and that they wanted to make as good an impression on us, as we did on them.

There was a lot of support. [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] (Grad Rec) were always on hand to answer phone calls or email with any technical problems you may have or anything else. We also had so much support from trainees on our presentations, this made such a difference and was beyond helpful.

I think the skills I developed will assist me a lot for the future. I developed skills, such as presenting, but over Zoom. I obviously could have developed a lot more skills if we had done the Vacation Scheme in the office, but I still was able to develop my skills, just in an online environment.

Very well structured. Grad Rec had obviously planned it in detail, it was seamless at times. We had many presentations that were very well organised and the flow of the itinerary made sense. There were some technical difficulties, at no fault of Grad Rec's though. They also gave you enough time for group work. Very well organised.

The atmosphere was very friendly. From the very start of the scheme, [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] went above and beyond to make sure everyone was comfortable on the new virtual space. All the presenters were very friendly and willing to answer any questions. The other interns were also very helpful, even though we had only ever met each other online.

It was clear that DLA Piper invests a lot in you as a trainee. They made it clear that you get a lot of training throughout your training contract, as well as social experiences, networking events and general getting to know the firm. It is obvious they really care about the personal development of their trainees.

It was great. There were so many presentations on life at DLA Piper and they were very detailed. Presenters took the time to answer questions and explain carefully what life would be like in the firm. It gave a great insight into what a full time role with the firm would look like.

It hugely helped me. In every single presentation, culture was raised. Everyone was very keen to get across the culture is so important at DLA Piper. I got the impression that everyone is really friendly, there is an open door policy and that there really is not a hierarchy within the firm.

It was very valuable, DLA Piper was really able to sell themselves and by the end, it was clear this was somewhere I would love to work. The content was really well organised, structured and there was hardly any overlap in the presentations and questions asked. Overall the content was very useful.

We were paid £400 for the week. If it was the normal vacation scheme, we would have been paid £400 a week for 3 weeks and reimbursed expenses. I think people were still reimbursed expenses if they had made arrangements before they announced that it was a virtual vacation scheme.

Considering it was online, there were still quite a lot of opportunities. Obviously the presentations gave us opportunity to network. They also organised a session on zoom where associates and partners from different practice areas would join for 15 minutes and they would tell us about their jobs and we could ask questions.

There were not many social events, simply because it was online, so it was difficult. There was a trainee quiz though on the first night that was enjoyable and meant we were able to meet some fellow interns over zoom and work with them to answer the questions. It was funny and enjoyable.

The presentations were really insightful and gave us so much information on the type of activities employees can get involved with. There are activities such as sport, art, drawing and then you could also get involved in LGBTQ+, women's and mental health committees. There is obviously a lot you can get involved with at DLA Piper.

Absolutely. Even though it was virtual, it was a very organised, structured event where I learnt a lot about the firm. Everyone from the Co-CEO to trainees were very friendly and the presentation we had to do at the end of the week was actually really enjoyable and a great experience.