Virtual Vacation Schemer Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the insight I had into the non-contentious construction team and real estate litigation team at Dentons. My Vacation Scheme took place virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and I found the whole experience to be well organised and structured. I spoke to a variety of people within the company, including Partners. This enabled me to get a really thorough insight into both the work and type of people who at the company.

Everyone that I worked with at Dentons made it clear what work I was doing would be used for live cases and clients, which made me feel valued and thus the opportunity felt more realistic of what life at Dentons would be like, which was the main reason I wanted to participate in the scheme. In both teams I sat with, I was told that the work I did would be checked over before being sent off, but reassured that upon briefly reading through what I had drafted it was of a high-quality.

The support I received from every department who was involved in the Vacation Scheme was fantastic. Graduate Recruitment were really supportive throughout the whole process, staying in contact with me in the period after receiving my place on the Scheme through to being offered a Training Contract at the end. I had a catch-up call with them the weekend prior to starting the scheme, giving me some advice and putting me at ease before the scheme began so that I could perform to my best ability considering the virtual circumstances. I was also very impressed with the support available from the two areas I worked in, with the supervisor and trainee buddy making it clear that I could contact them whenever I needed guidance or extra information about the firm.

Although the pandemic will hopefully draw to an end and people return to in-office work, the virtual Vacation Scheme enabled me to develop my virtual professional networking skills. This is a skill I will keep for life, especially considering there are likely to be plenty more Zoom calls instead of face-to-face client meetings due to increased efficiency. I have already utilised this skill with University hosting purely online teaching, but am confident that it will also be of great use for me when I begin my Training Contract at Dentons in 2022.

The Vacation Scheme was structured very well, with the right amount of time being allocated to each part of the week. I enjoyed spending two full days with each department, as this enabled me to work hard on the tasks I were set whilst still having the opportunity to ask questions to both the supervisors and buddies in order to get a deeper insight into both the work they do and their experiences of the firm. There were lunchtime seminars, which provided a nice break from the hard work we were doing whilst learning more about life at Dentons; the discussion on Diversity and Inclusion was particularly enjoyable, and I was impressed at how much time the firm committed to this.

The Vacation Scheme was thoroughly enjoyable, and everyone at the firm was extremely friendly and approachable. I enjoyed being able to ring the buddies whenever we needed extra support, and they were very willing to chat about the positive and not so positive experiences they had had whilst training at the firm. This honesty made the atmosphere more relaxed, in turn making me more productive as I felt I could express concerns over completing the task on time; this enabled me to complete the work to a high standard.

Graduate Recruitment invested a lot of time in making sure that we were aware of the schedule, as the scheme was virtual and therefore new zoom meeting codes needed to be shared for every event. They were also very proactive in reaching out to use before the scheme began in order to talk through technology and give general advice. The supervisors and buddies had allocated times to speak to us alongside their normal jobs, but the buddies were particularly willing to offer up more of their time in order to make our experience as informative as possible.

The firm gave us an honest insight into life at Dentons, by giving us unsupervised time with the trainee buddies where we could ask them as many questions as we wanted. This enabled us to gain a genuine insight into the best and worst bits at the firm. The lunchtime seminars also provided a variety of opinions from trainee solicitors across a variety of seats, so that we were not restricted into hearing from trainees in only the seats we were placed in.

I believe that I have gained a thorough understanding of what Dentons stand for and strive to achieve in the future through participating in the virtual Vacation Scheme. The most impressive part of the trainees' work was the responsibility placed on them, and alongside their involvement in multi-jurisdictional transactions, the company's desire to be the law firm of the future really shone through. There were frequent opportunities to ask questions to a variety of people, including partners and trainees.

The work I did at Dentons confirmed my aspirations to be a commercial solicitor. I thoroughly enjoyed both seats, and was excited by the prospect of completing the work on a day to day basis in the future. The virtual Vacation Scheme also confirmed that working in a regional firm, rather than London, was what I wanted because the trainees I spoke to explained that the Milton Keynes trainees work less strenuous hours than those in the London office. I was delighted when I received my Training Contract offer with the firm, as I felt very welcomed by everyone at Dentons, and wanted to work there in the future as I believed that I fitted in well with the culture.

I was originally meant to be paid for two weeks worth of work, but due to the vacation scheme being made virtual, we only worked for 4 days. Therefore, I was paid accordingly. There were no expenses to be reimbursed for as I was working from home, however Dentons were clear that if we needed technology provided in order to complete the scheme then we should let them know and they would assist with this.

Graduate Recruitment made it very clear at the start of the week that we should ask our trainee buddies to put us into contact with their colleagues if we wanted to get an insight into a particular seat. I was placed in my two preferred seats, and therefore did not take up this opportunity, as I was happy to have longer conversations with the trainees I was allocated to gain an insight into the tasks they complete.

The social event on the first evening was very fun and well organised, considering the virtual set up of the scheme. Dentons hired an external company to carry out a 'Global Treasure Hunt', which was a fantastic opportunity to break the ice amongst the others participating in the scheme. Whilst we initially struggled with a bit of geography, we bonded over stories each of us had from our own personal travels, which made the tasks we were set easier as we could speak to one another on the group chat we made. This also really helped ease initial nerves on the group exercised, which was assessed.

I was impressed to hear on the Trainee Panel seminar about all the opportunities available to trainees at Dentons, including the requirement for all to work on the social team. After speaking to both the trainees I was allocated, I was able to ask about the opportunities available specifically to Milton Keynes trainees. I was particularly impressed with the ProBono opportunities available, as this is something I have always been keen to get involved in.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Dentons Vacation Scheme, and since participating on it have recommended to fellow course mates that they get involved in next year's scheme. I have also recommended the scheme to people studying their final year of Economics University. I am hopeful that next year's scheme will not be virtual, as I believe that this would've been even more insightful. However, the Graduate Recruitment organised such a fantastic virtual event that I would not want anyone to be put off by this factor.