Vacation Scheme Review

The scheme involved working closely with a supervisor (usually an associate) and a trainee buddy in your current seat who would assign you tasks and be available more generally to discuss the work, the firm or anything else. Tasks included conducting research into particular cases or areas of law, preparing first drafts of agreements and business development work. There were also a number of other scheduled events for the vacation scheme cohort to network with people across the firm and find out more about a number of the firm's initiatives.

Meeting so many new people and working alongside them to ensure I was able to complete my set tasks allowed me to develop my communication skills. Additionally, given each seat is only a week long, finding ways to make sure I completed all of the tasks given to me by the end of the week required strong time management and organisation. Dealing with any issues that arose and finding ways to approach them in the first instance before reaching out to my buddy/supervisor also allowed me to develop my problem solving abilities. I was also able to develop my skills in legal research and drafting when undertaking my tasks.

There were lots of opportunities to meet people at the firm, both formally and informally and these were great source of information about Dentons. As this was a vacation scheme, finding out more about the role of a trainee was particularly important and there were similarly a lot of opportunities to talk to the trainee cohort specifically and learn more about their experiences at Dentons so far. Scheduled events on specific topics like D&I, pro bono and innovation also allowed us to find out more about the firm.

Overall, the culture was very welcoming and people were always willing to sit down and talk or help with a particular task I was working on. Even when people were busy, they would generally make an effort to say hi or set up time to get coffee and chat later. The culture was also something noted by a number of the firm's people I spoke to as something they enjoy about Dentons and what drew them to the firm originally.

The vacation scheme was overall very enjoyable. Across both of my seats I enjoyed my time learning more about the role of commercial lawyers within those specific practice areas and found the work I was getting involved in interesting and challenging (but manageable). The friendly nature of the people at the firm also contributed to my enjoyment. There were a number of opportunities to socialise and network with others which were enjoyable, including a painting social event hosted specifically for the vacation scheme cohort.

Yes

Make sure you know more specifically what makes Dentons stand out from its competitors beyond what you can find on their website, social media, etc - this will help you to tailor your answers throughout the process. This could include particular initiatives the firm has, some of its practice/sector specialisms or something to do with its strategy that interests you. Throughout the process make sure you can link your answers back to the firm as well as yourself (your experiences, interests, etc) to ensure you are being precise enough. Also make sure you understand the firm's key competencies and think of some experiences that demonstrate these. Knowledge of current events is a useful aspect of commercial awareness but also make sure you understand the basics of how law firms operate - this is arguably more important and will set you up to write about or discuss the firm/legal sector in more depth!