Vacation Programme Student Review
by A&O Shearman
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
3.8
-
The Company
4.0
-
The Culture
2.6
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
Fantastic firm. Very friendly people and the firm is very supportive of giving you a real experience of work at a magic circle firm.
Strong system of feedback and your supervisors always try to give you work that you have the capacity to learn from.
Supervisors almost always took the time to explain, in detail, the significance of the work that you were doing and to ensure that, if you had any questions, they were always adequately answered.
Really depends on the department which you were placed in and, having been put in banking and corporate, both of which are the firm's powerhouses, I was almost always busy.
You really need to be able to prove your capabilities and show that you are dedicated to the job before you are given more difficult tasks, but that doesn't mean that your supervisors aren't ready to give you a go when you first join the firm. The more I proved myself, the more I was given greater responsibility.
Certainly an exceptional insight into commercial law practise; as long as you get a good supervisor or trainer, you'll generally get very good skills that can even be transported into a career apart from law if you decide that isn't the thing for you.
The Company
Very friendly and open atmosphere. Trainees are a lot of fun.
Everything stuck to schedule and graduate recruitment are very supportive.
Plenty of events and practice area presentations which assisted in developing an understanding of where you might want to sit in at the firm if you were to be offered a Training Contract.
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Subsidised/Company Gym
Company Parties/Events
Healthcare from home
I would love to join the firm; probably the best (if not amongst the equal top) of the magic circle firms that I did placements at.
The Culture
All of the trainees are REALLY keen to go out - which is good thing - because it provides an informal atmosphere in which to get to know people who are working at the firm. Everybody on the scheme was really nice and made me feel really welcome.
Being in the City isn't quite the cheapest place to be...
The City isn't exactly famed for having the best places to go out, but the good thing is that you're next to Shoreditch which is a good place to go out after work (still a bit of a hike though).
The firm didn't really offer us much outside of work (apart from graduate recruitment functions) but, having talked to various trainees, there are plenty of sporting teams and cultural/interest groups which you can join.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
London
August 2012
