Vacation Placement Student Review

The work I was given during my placement was intellectually stimulating and challenged me to think commercially. The variety of tasks given to me meant I was never bored and always had plenty to work on. The spectrum of work and range of clients made my two weeks interesting and very enjoyable.

From the first day I started I felt valued by the department I was working in. Trainees and solicitors alike asked for my input on the work they were doing so I always felt part of the team. I also went to other departments to give assistance and even if this was only for an afternoon, they were truly appreciative of my help.

Every task I was given in my department was preceeded by an overview to ensure I knew what I was doing and if I had any questions I felt able to ask members of the department how to proceed. Frequent emails from HR staff meant I was fully aware of all the fortnight's activities and the programme of events. The first day induction proved highly useful as this gave me a broad idea of the firm as a whole as well as detailed guidance of what the placement would include and I very much appreciated this given that heading into a new environment without any briefing can be particularly daunting.

For a significant portion of my placement I was perfectly balanced between busy and bored. I was never bored, nor was I under too much pressure. I had tasks with deadlines and found this helped me keep on top of what I had to do without feeling overwhelmed. Occasionally I had to wait for a solicitor to check over my work but during this waiting period I did reading for my assessment and so was never at a loss for things to do.

I was given enough responsibility that I felt integral to the team and this was pitched at the perfect level for my experience - too much responsibility would have left me feeling out of my depth and too little I would have been bored. Pinsent Masons got the balance just right and I was doing work which stretched me but was ultimately not too pressurised.

The skills I have developed will assist me undoubtedly for the rest of my career. Hands on experience of how the law operates is the only way to learn how the law works in practice as opposed to the academic teachings of university.This placement has helped me see how my degree will operate in a real working environment and the skills I have developed will be transferable throughout my career.

The team I worked in were very hard working and had a lot to do but still found the time to have the occasional personal conversation which lightened the work atmosphere. There was an appropriate balance between professionalism and sociability. Furthermore, since regular social events were timetabled into the two weeks, the office remained a place of work and any personal conversations could be had at these events.

I was extremely impressed with how organised the placement was. From the first day the detailed timetable indicated the staff to report to and the presentations we were required to attend as well as IT contacts for any questions as we went along. All the valuable information was talked through with us and since then it has meant the whole placement has ran effortlessly without any problems. All the staff were fully aware of out being there, had tasks planned for us and were there to offer any help we needed.

Pinsent Masons sees it's placement student's as its potential trainee's and sees it's trainee's as future partners. With that in mind they gave us as much hands on experience as possible to ensure we were as capable as possible and offered various presentations for us to become more familiar with the firms policies and programmes.

As a select group of placement students, we have already crossed one hurdle to be in this position in the first place. Now we are one step closer to the offer of a training contract. With interviews and assessments now complete it is simply a matter of waiting for the decision as to which of us continue forward in the process. Given the strong calibre of my fellow placement students I could not say how confident I am of getting a job however I would like to think I stand a good chance as I feel I have performed to my best ability over these two weeks.

We placement students met up for lunch most days in the Deli in the office and had dinner with some of the current trainees on two occassions. We also had a lunch with a partner of the firm. It still felt like our primary purpose of being there was to learn but by including a few events such as these it felt like we could connect more with the other people at the firm. The firm itself offers Friday Drinks each week for anyone to attend and this was a great way to meet people from other departments who I wouldn't have otherwise met.

As the organised events were paid for, the only expense for me was getting the bus into work in the morning as I live in Manchester as a student anyway and buying my own lunch when there was no organised event that day. With that said, there is an excellent subsidised Deli in the office and so even this cost was minimal.

I already have experience of the nightlife in Manchester and would recommend it to anyone! Having now spent some nights out for dinner and drinks in the new Spinningfields district I have broadened my outlook and found it be an excellent place to eat and drink out.

The structured programme meant there were two nights arranged for us and a lunch time event too. Although these were arranged through work, it allowed us to ask any questions we had of the trainees outside the work place.