Virtual Internship Review

The 3 week summer internship was moved to a 1 week online virtual scheme. The Graduate Recruitment team worked really hard to organise a well structured, interesting and informative scheme, which involved many lawyers in the firm and covered a broad range of topics. All the vacation scheme students were treated like a big family together on the scheme.

The fact that they moved the vacation scheme online instead of cancelling it like other law firms have, shows that the firm values its vacation students and the trainees of the future. I felt really valued by everyone at the firm including the CEO and many different partners, associates and trainees. Everyone we spoke to were friendly and really interested in answering our questions and listening to our opinions.

We were given lots of guidance of support. Before the scheme started we were paired with a buddy who is a trainee in our chosen office location. During the preparation for the presentation exercise we had many trainees who provided drop in zoom sessions where we could ask any questions we had. Graduate Recruitment were also on hand to assist with any queries, including technical difficulties.

We did not have the opportunity to work in the office and develop legal skills. However we developed many technological skills which will assist in a post-coved agile working world such as communication via zoom. We also developed our teamwork and presenting skills with the team presentation exercise, which we delivered on the last day.

The insight was structured really well. We were sent a timetable every evening for the next day and we were emailed regularly by graduate recruitment with updates. Every session had a purpose and gave the opportunity to learn something new about the firm. It was very well organised and I had a really enjoyable experience.

The atmosphere was very positive and energetic! This made it an even bigger shame that we could not meet with everyone in the offices. The scheme was relaxed - they understood if someone walked in or a pet was visible in the background of the camera, or if we needed to answer the door. I laughed lots and enjoyed the atmosphere, demonstrating the amazing culture of the firm.

DLA Piper really invested in the students on the scheme. They made sure we got a wholesome view of the firm by arranging many talks and activities and managed to arrange sessions from many senior members of the firm. They managed to replicate the original vacation scheme as much as they could.

Although we did not manage to experience a full time role of a lawyer first hand, the scheme involved learning about different practice groups and sectors within the firm and how this fitted into the vision and values of DLA Piper. Trainees talked about their role and discussed a typical day in the life. There were many opportunities to ask trainees or lawyers about their role in order to gain a deeper understanding.

DLA Piper managed to thoroughly demonstrate the culture of the firm. The firm lives and breathes its values and this was made apparent during the week. Many people have trained with the firm, demonstrating how amazing the culture is. By watching how trainees and lawyers interacted with each other, it gave us a great idea of the culture of the firm and the type of people who work for DLA.

The virtual scheme confirmed my desire to pursue the career of a lawyer and at DLA Piper. The firm's culture and its vision, values and commitment to CSR and Pro Bono activities has undoubtedly confirmed my commitment to the firm. The scheme also offered other practice areas and departments to explore during a training contract.

I was paid very adequately for the week and we were even given £50 in food vouchers to buy lunch/dinners!

We had many talks from various members of the firm and we were encourage to network and ask questions. During the office specific sessions we were encouraged to network and send in questions after the session in order to network more with these individuals. My buddy also offered to arrange catch-up with members of the firm that worked in departments that I was interested in.

Although the original scheme would have provided many social opportunities such as dinners and drinks, the firm did the best that they could virtually. On the first night we participated in a quiz that was organised by the trainees, which consisted of breakout rooms where we could mingle and chat with other people on the scheme and make friends.

I was attracted to DLA Piper because there are many activities that employees can get involved in and we were told all about them. The firm discussed its pro bono actives, CSR work and the diversity networks that exist and do many activities such as Iris, PACT and Women. There are also sports teams such as netball and football and a choir. They also discussed future activities such as music lessons and yoga.

Yes I would recommend this scheme to anyone who wants to experience a legal vacation scheme and anyone that wants to experience the culture and work of DLA Piper. The talks provided a great insight into the work and challenges of a global business law firm and described what the future of the industry looks like. I had great fun and was really inspired with the work the that firm does.