Summer Placement Review

by Pinsent Masons LLP

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

4/5
  • The Role
    4.1
  • The Company
    4.0
  • The Culture
    4.0

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

    • The placement was 2 weeks long, with a really balanced mix of training, working in the office and social events.

    5/5
  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

    • Everyone in the team was very welcoming, most were keen to find a piece of work to give me at some stage over the 2 weeks.

    4/5
  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

    • My supervisor was available to me any time he was in the office and scheduled meetings every couple of days, but we spoke most days to check I had enough work.

    5/5
  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

    • I was kept very busy every day, usually with 1 or 2 larger ongoing tasks coupled with smaller pieces of research given to me ad hoc by other members of the team.

    4/5
  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

    • The pieces of work I was given were genuine bits of work that trainees would have done and it was important that they were finished. Everything was checked thoroughly by trainees or my supervisor and feedback given before it went back to the senior lawyers.

    4/5
  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

    • Training comprised of practice presentations, IT training and advice about training applications. The practice presentations in particular will be useful as I don't know if they will be given again when choosing seats in the traineeship.

    4/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

    • Everyone seemed very happy at their jobs and there was no hierarchical atmosphere. The trainees seem very close and very sociable!

    5/5
  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

    • The organisation within the office itself was perfect, with plenty of training sessions, lunches and social evenings set up. The induction on the first day also explained the weeks to come very thoroughly and we had plenty of powerpoint slides to take away. However the contact from the regional HR was disorganised, as they didn't seem to have a comprehensive list of our internal emails. This was fed back to office HR and is unlikely to be a problem again.

    4/5
  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

    • There were 8 hours of practice presentations, a morning induction to the firm and an afternoon of IT training - so the man hours involved in that are significant as it was partners giving the practice presentations. The soft skills honed at the networking lunches (which were all provided by the firm) will also be invaluable.

    5/5
  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?

    • Company Parties/Events
    3/5
  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

    • We were assessed very thoroughly for traineeships and I'm very hopeful of receiving an offer, but there were a lot of impressive applicants in the intake and another intake still to go, so competition will be tough.

    4/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

    • In the two weeks there the placement students were out together after work or at lunch about 7 or 8 times, usually with trainees at least (2 organised trainee social evenings including dinner plus an activity, 2 Friday nights of office drinks) and at the office events senior solicitors and partners came along too.

    5/5
  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

    • Edinburgh isn't too bad to live in, but lawyers don't drink in cheap bars.

    3/5
  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

    • Edinburgh has a pretty good nightlife!

    4/5
  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

    • As above, 2 trainee social evenings and 2 office drinks nights.

    4/5
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Details

Insight / Vacation Scheme (< 4 Weeks)

Scotland

July 2012

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