Summer Placement Scheme Review

I very much enjoyed the scheme despite in its virtual form. Of course, the scheme lacked the personal interaction with the other placement scheme students and with the lawyers but the virtual platform and sessions were carefully crafted to emulate the actual scheme as much as possible. I was also impressed by the inclusion of social events which is very hard to do over a virtual platform. The sessions focusing on the firm's expertise were particularly interesting and insightful.

I felt I was valued a lot at the firm even though the placement scheme lasted for a week. This was especially so as they arranged daily check-up sessions in the morning before the sessions started and in the evening after all the sessions had ended so that we could ask any questions and so that they could to check how we were all feeling. The way all the lawyers treated us throughout the scheme also made us feel valuable.

There daily check-ups in the morning and in the evening just to ask any questions we had going ahead which were very helpful to iron out and sort of queries we had. However, I felt we could have maybe got some more guidance or support on the individual tasks as apart from the instruction sheets themselves, there were not really any opportunities to ask specific questions about the tasks. Aside, the the scheme was guided and supported very well.

The different tasks that were set as part of the scheme definitely developed my writing skills, attention to detail, and communication skills. Since we often had to condense a lot of information into sort summaries, this helped me to become more efficient with my word choice. Also, having to write a succinct summary under a time pressure definitely helped me sharpen my attention to detail. Also, the presentation we had to create also helped me better articulate my speech.

In general the scheme was very well organised but there could have been a few more breaks between sessions. There were sometimes three, one hour long sessions back to back which could work in the office but in a virtual environment, it meant looking at the screen for three hours which does become tiresome. Having the assessment day in the middle of the scheme definitely helped as you could enjoy and really concentrate on the other parts of the scheme afterwards.

The general atmosphere during the scheme was very open and inclusive. Everybody seemed very approachable from very junior lawyers to even very senior lawyers. Of course, since the scheme was run virtually, it meant that it was more difficult to gauge the atmosphere of the firm but the inclusivity definitely showed through. The firm was very welcoming and even though the placement scheme lasted for a week, everyone made sure we felt we were part of the firm.

Since the placement scheme only lasted for a week, there were not many opportunities where the firm directly invested in our personal training or development but we could indirectly develop and train specific skills needed as a commercial lawyer through the sessions and particularly through the tasks we were set. In particular, I felt the firm trained my ability to efficiently analyse a block of text and summarise the crux of the argument or content.

The firm spent a significant amount of time for us to outline more about what it would be like to have full time role with the firm both through the tasks it set and through presentations. The tasks we had to do emulated what trainees ordinarily had to do and some of the difficulties they faced too. The presentations on the practice areas also offered great insight into work trainees would be doing for each specific practice area which are often very different.

The content of the placement scheme was very valuable in deciding my future career path. The wide range of presentations on the different practice areas of the firm allowed me to really understand the what the work entailed in each practice area and this definitely helped me realise my areas of preference. The tasks we had to complete also gave us an opportunity to actually engage in the tasks which further helped in deciding which area I preferred the most.

There were many opportunities organised to network and meet other employees throughout the placement scheme. We were assigned both a supervisor and a buddy who we had one-on-one sessions. Also we were given opportunities to meet other trainees from a range of different practice areas which allowed us to ask questions in areas that the supervisor and the buddy did not sit in. There were a variety of social events organised to which helped us meet other employees in a more informal setting too.

I would definitely recommend this placement scheme at Stephenson Harwood to a friend. Not only does it provide you with a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the firm but also helps you develop your commercial awareness through the exercises you have to do. The people at the firm are wonderful to speak to and always very approachable. The scheme is very suitable for both law and non-law students and the content is explained very clearly.