Summer Vacation Scheme Review

You are involved with tasks that you would expect a trainee to be involved in. These include agreement drafting, reviewing documents, attending meetings and taking notes. There were also events organised by the graduate recruitment team throughout the vacation scheme. These included talks given by lawyers at the firm about the work they do, sessions with the firm's diversity networks, and social events that allow you to interact with both your fellow vacation scheme students and lawyers at the firm on a more informal basis.

Attending this vacation scheme has allowed me to develop several key skills. Firstly, I think I have developed my communication skills even further over the last few weeks. Learning to communicate with my supervisors and trainee buddies has been pivotal in understanding the expectations and deadlines of my work. Asking questions at appropriate times has allowed me to navigate any challenges I may have been facing. Furthermore, I feel my teamworking skills have been improved. Working with the other vacation scheme students on a group project emphasised the importance of providing constructive feedback to one another in order to learn different ways of presenting information.

The graduate recruitment team organised many opportunities to learn about the different practice areas that the firm was involved in, as well as the opportunities to ask trainees, associates and partners about the different responsibilities at every level in particular practice areas. This was particularly insightful, as I was able to learn about the different projects that I could get involved in, as well as learning about the upsides and downsides of each individual practice area.

The culture at the firm is perhaps one of its strongest areas. Everyone I interacted with at the firm, whether they were a partner, associate, trainee, graduate recruitment or in business support roles were eager to help out and to answer any questions that I may have had. The firm fosters a very inclusive environment and is incredibly respectful of people from all backgrounds. The collaboration amongst teams is great, and everywhere I sat I felt a real positive buzz from everyone there.

The scheme was really enjoyable. I thoroughly enjoyed get to meet and talk to a wide range of people across different practice areas of the firm, and hearing about the projects they had been working on. I also found the work really enjoyable, it felt like the tasks I completed were genuinely useful to task-owner, and they were really appreciative for my support. The organised events were really engaging, and the presenters were keen to answer any questions we had.

Yes

Be yourself in your application form, your assessment centre, and during the vacation scheme. No one is trying to catch you out, they are genuinely interested in what you are passionate about and your motivation for pursuing a career in commercial law. Keep an open mind on the different practice areas on offer - the firm works on so many diverse projects that even a department you may not have considered initially may be quite interesting!