Vacation Scheme Review

The virtual experience surpassed all of my expectations, I thoroughly enjoyed this experience.

I felt thoroughly valued throughout the week, the support staff and other candidates were very friendly and encouraging.

A lot of guidance and support was given to candidates throughout the week.

I developed a variety of important skills, which included commercial awareness and understanding the relationship between law and business.

Very well structured, clear timetable which was stuck to throughout the week.

Very positive and energetic!

CMS recognises that the business of law is now vital to any law firm’s success and they want their trainees to share this view. Candidates learn about the business of law, as opposed to academics of law.. I want to be a part of this I am interested in learning more about technology and how we can use this to enhance the service that law firms provide to clients. The CMS Academy is renowned for providing an experience like no other, the 3 week scheme is intellectually stimulating and aims to bring out the best in candidates.

This gave me a realistic glimpse into life at the firm. I cannot wait to begin my training contract at CMS. Another thing that stood out to me about CMS is their commitment to making a real difference in their communities. Corporate social responsibility is not just a tick box exercise for them and staff are encouraged to give their time through volunteering, whether this is providing advice at local legal clinics, or working on a cross-jurisdictional matter for a global NGO.

I have a strong understanding of the company culture now. We were given various presentations by CMS staff during the week to showcase why their culture stands out. I now understand how the diversity schemes work as well as what the core values are at the firm. This is very important to me as it confirmed that the firm's values coincide with mine. CMS really do value their employees and this is evident through the culture.

Very valuable. I now have a clear understanding as to what route I would like to take and how to achieve it. CMS is very flexible in the sense that they embrace people entering into the profession from varying backgrounds. There is no 'perfect lawyer' and this is evident throughout the firm. I am fortunate enough to have secured a training contract with the firm and I now understand the differing options available to me in order to progress my career.

There were opportunities to network informally after the sessions each day. We were also put into breakout rooms every day to chat. I really appreciated the opportunities to chat to other candidates as well as CMS employees. It highlighted how lovely everyone was and definitely made me less nervous throughout the week. Every single person that I spoke to embodied CMS values and were so lovely. It was a pleasure to speak to every single person.

Great.

There are various societies and groups to get involved in across the firm. There is a group for everyone. In addition, the firm holds many firm-wide events across the year, including an annual trip to somewhere in europe for a football competition. This really emphasises how much CMS value their staff. I intend on joining various pro-bono activities and I look forward to meeting like-minded people at CMS. We were also told about the opportunity to introduce our own activities to the firm.

Absolutely. The cherry on top for me was the culture of the firm. Having attended the CMS networking event, the firm immediately stood out to me as a down to earth and approachable. Everyone that I met shared this value and were extremely friendly … CMS pride themselves on fostering a workplace where everyone is encouraged to speak up and share ideas. The legal industry can be stressful and time-pressured at times, so this immediately appealed to me as I know that everyone around me, including those in senior positions would be there to offer advice.