Vacation Scheme Student Review

The Vacation Scheme was incredibly diverse and allowed the interns to gain a very holistic insight into life at Baker McKenzie, despite the scheme being remote! On a daily basis the Vacation Scheme involved completing tasks for live client matters, attending departmental networking sessions, an assessed client pitch at the end of the Scheme, an assessed Pro Bono task and several social events in the evening.

Absolutely! The main skill I developed during the scheme is my ability to practically apply the law. There is quite a difference between the knowledge you gain from studying law and the ability to apply that knowledge to client matters. Working on live client matters really helped to develop my application skills. The tasks were split into categories such as research and advisory tasks (EG on Pro Bono matters) and presentations (EG the client pitch).

As this was my first vacation scheme, I was nervous prior to starting the scheme, but the scheme has given me such a better understanding of the way that Baker McKenzie works as a business and all of the legal and non-legal roles that play a part of this. For example, during the scheme I was able to network extensively/work with the non-legal Client Relationship Team which was fascinating!

Prior to securing the Scheme I had acted as a Brand Ambassador for Baker McKenzie for three months. During this time I was already made to feel like part of the Firm. Everyone I reached out to made such an effort to assist me in my campaign and this translated even more so during the vacation scheme. The firm cultivates such a friendly culture and everyone wants to support you to succeed.

I really enjoyed the Vacation Scheme! The highlight of the Scheme for me was the client pitch (ironically the part I was most nervous for!). I loved working on the pitch with the other Vacation Scheme students, it gave a real sense of what it would be like to work with other trainees in my future cohort. It was also really interesting to see how the firm wins clients from a business perspective.

Yes

Really try to get involved with the firm prior to the application stage - it will give you a much better sense of whether Baker McKenzie is the right fit for you than what you can find on the website. I would encourage anyone to apply to be a Brand Ambassador for the firm as this was such a worthwhile and enjoyable experience. If this is not possible definitely apply for the Specialised Open Days!