Insight Scheme Review

As part of the HSF first year work experience I participated in a negotiation exercise and then spoke to a trainee about how this works in real cases (for example I learnt about negotiating a lease when in a real estate seat). I watched as the trainee I shadowed took attendance notes in a meeting with counsel regarding ongoing banking litigation case and reviewed instruction email with senior member of the team to discuss discovery for an ongoing investigation.

Yes I learnt the difference between transactions and litigation. I was then able to develop this skill during the first year workshop. I participated in a negotiation exercise and then spoke to a trainee about how this works in real cases- (for example when negotiating a lease in a real estate seat) some points are sticking points in the back and forth e.g. no pets. From this I decided to look at my own lease and see how the clauses are all negotiable, and also to check if my deposit was protected (Housing Act 2.14) as landlords have to protect your deposit.

Through learning the difference between litigation and transactional law I was able to understand my preferences in role for my future legal career. For example, I would say after this experience I am more interested in transactional law e.g. real estate upon learning the difference between this and contentious law e.g. disputes. Disputes are quite a big part of HSF as a firm but I found it more interesting to learn about the less contentious roles for like real estate and pro-bono. It was interesting to learn that pro-bono at HSF goes towards your billable hours in the firm which provides incentive to do good and I liked this about the company

The culture and general atmosphere of the firm was really friendly, welcoming and informative. The firm was made up of great people that seemed very helpful for example when the trainee that I was work-shadowing had a question the partner he was working for was very understanding and helpful in clarifying the task. I liked this about the culture and also the fact that the firm also maintains a very high standard of work and I was able to sit in on a banking litigation call that contained confidential information- It was nice to know that those working at the firm took the first year workshop seriously enough to provide us with a really insightful experience through things like this

I really enjoyed the insight- it was a great mixture of work and play as after the day of learning we were taken to flight club darts to network and socialise in a really fun way. Although this work experience did not allow for as much networking with the trainees and solicitors at the firm as other firms have, I enjoyed the fact that I was able to get to know my peers and make friends with the same career goal as me from different universities

Yes

I would say make your application very personal to the firm you are applying to- provide specifics of cases, people and some of the firm's values that stand out to you and explain the reasoning for this. Also if you are successful make the most of the opportunity to find out as much as you can about the firm, ask as many questions as you want, listen and make lots of notes. Its also a great opportunity to see what kind of area of law you want to go into through things such as the practice area fair