First Year Workshop attendee Review

HSF tried to put in as much as possible in the First Year Workshop to allow us freshers to learn more about the work of lawyers and do practical work within the two days. Though it was tiring, it really allowed me to learn more about the different aspects of commercial law and boosted my skills in ADR and M&A, which I feel would be very useful for me in my future not just as a law student, but in improving my thinking and presentation in general. Really loved the social of going up to The Shard! In short - tiring but totally worth it!

Originally, my idea of shadowing a trainee is just sitting next to him and observing him work while asking him about anything that came up in my mind. However, in the five hours of shadowing, I was given actual paperwork to go through together with my trainee, and went around with him to report to various people. He and his supervisors took every effort to explain to me the difficult concepts in Finance and made sure I gained the most out of this short shadowing session. I felt as though I was a real trainee at HSF, and really had a taste of the work trainees do there. I am surprised at the amount of responsibility that they are willing to delegate to me given that I really had no idea of what I was doing - this really allowed me to learn through action, and that I am part of the team.

This was just a two day workshop, so not much "guidance" is really required...but everyone at HSF was really nice, you can easily strike up a conversation by randomly talking with anyone. Everyone is eager to answer your questions and talk with you, no matter they be trainees or partners.

We had a Alternate Dispute Resolution and a Mergers & Acquisitions workshop. These are very useful for me as a law student, but I believe they will benefit my presentation and my way of thinking in the future. However, note that they use the same materials for the workshops - I do not know whether they change it every year, but I have already had the same M&A workshop in my school (when HSF solicitors came). Although the solution is pretty standard, it was still interesting to see the different thinking process that every person has, and the trainees hosting the workshop also offered some alternate solutions introducing concepts such as warranties which I haven't really thought of before, and lectures touch on really lightly. Overall it was a nice experience with a bit of variation albeit having taken the M&A workshop before.

Some sessions such as the information session on different aspects of commercial law can be long and tiring, but I think overall the programme was structured really well and was very efficient. I am surprised that we actually got off on time for both days - I had an impression that workshops tend to linger on well past the planned closing time.

During the shadowing session, the solicitors who were working seemed quite serious, but I loved the atmosphere for the workshop. I am surprised at how easy-going everyone was, and they even managed to make (I presumed) boring workshops interesting through engaging and challenging us, and offering their help when we were stuck. My fellow workshop attendees also helped lift the atmosphere a lot - most were really cheerful, amiable and eager, making me feel very welcome amidst them.

The workshops they hosted just uses the same material over and over again and are pretty much standard - though they were useful, I don't feel like they have really "invested in me". However, the information session and chances to talk with the staff were really valuable - they really allowed me to imagine my life as a lawyer and think about what kind of law I want to work in.

HSF gave me a trainee to shadow, which is probably the best and most effective way to gain an insight into the firm. Five hours of work is not a lot though, it only managed to give me a tiny snippet of the kind of work a solicitor does - would really prefer them to increase the length of the two day workshop into a one week insight week.

The two days in HSF really corrected my misconception of it being serious and boring. Only when you step into the office can you feel the company culture. I am surprised at how relaxed yet professional HSF is - the music room really intrigued me!

Though the workshop was interesting and made me more inclined to want to become a solicitor, I believe that only two days of insight might offer an over-simplified idea of the work of a solicitor. I am still not exactly sure what I want to be in the future despite the useful information that I got in this workshop.

Since I was baed in London, I could not be bothered to be reimbursed my travelling expenses on the tube - but you can definitely ask for one.

I talked with around 20 employees in my two days, and all of them were eager to answer my questions on work or just chat. Employees of all ranks were there - I am surprised at how friendly the partners were. The dinner social was an awesome opportunity to network with the employees. However, I am interested in knowing whether the solicitors volunteered to network with us or whether they were chosen to represent the positive side of the firm - I would say the people I talked to is only a small snippet of HSF, so I can't really be sure of whether that's how employees are generally.

The social event of going up The Shard was simply amazing - had lots of fun after a fulfilling day. The dinner social was an awesome opportunity to network with the employees, but perhaps a more peaceful location can be chosen next time - I had trouble hearing the other person and I was shouting throughout the night.

I guess I haven't really asked anyone about this - and everyone was just talking about their work. But I know they have a music room with discounted music lessons (though I doubt they have the time and energy to take them).

Absolutely, the First Year Workshop was amazing and was useful in letting me know more about commercial law, and helping me in my decision of my future career. This workshop corrected my misconception of HSF being really serious and monotonous. Really enjoyed the fun and relaxed atmosphere, the amiable staff, and the presence of my fellow workshop attendees. The social up The Shard and the dinner were brilliant bonuses.