Vacation Student (Lawyer) Review
by Mayer Brown International LLP
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
3.4
-
The Company
3.7
-
The Culture
4.1
- 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
Overall I have really enjoyed the placement. The number of people on the scheme is just right and allows you to get to know people quickly. The majority of the time I was set interesting research tasks but at times found myself doing rather mundane work too.
Everyone was very appreciative of the work I did for them and took a lot of time explaining the background to the tasks I was set. I was invited for a post work drink on one Friday with the Insurance team which was nice.
During my first seat I shared an office with my supervisor which I found very useful to ask questions on research/ tasks set. During my second seat (finance) I was sat a few offices away from my supervisor and found it more difficult to seek guidance.
I nearly always had something I could be getting on with. I was never put under much pressure in terms of workload, and if i had ran out of things to do, people were good at finding me things I could help with.
I was responsible for the findings of my research task but was often the last line in checking documents in finance department which didn't give me much responsibility.
I think I have gained a much greater undertanding of how a commercial law firm operates and the type of environment that exists. It doesn't seem that useful for degree studies but the interactive skills will be useful come graduation.
The Company
People seemed pretty upbeat most of the time and on occassion got a bit stressed.
Things ran very smoothly. The talks were all within the first two week so perhaps could have been spread out a bit more.
We were given a lot of information regarding our development and training should we get a training contract but there wasn't a lot of actual skills development on the scheme itself.
Sports and Social Club
Company Parties/Events
I can see myself fitting in with this firm and find its potential to expand exciting.
The Culture
The other placement students had a very good attitude towards socialising and getting to know each other with drinks arranged frequently.
Travel costs were the most draining part in terms of money, but the canteen was relatively cheap so lunch didn't cost much.
There are a lot of good bars around the office for post work socialising.
There were opportunities to play for the firm's sports teams if they played whilst you were at the firm.
Details
Insight / Vacation Scheme (< 4 Weeks)
Legal/Law
London
August 2012
