First Year Spring Vacation Scheme Review

The insight was extremely useful for a first year considering law. Whilst most other firms only provide a one-two day insight, I was fortunate enough to spend five days at the firm. The advantage of doing so was that I got a genuine insight into the Hogan Lovells ethos by being exposed to people from various ranks within the firm (from trainees to the Co-CEO). I also obtained a great insight into the legal profession via the introduction to the City, interactive corporate and finance workshops and practical trainee shadowing from 3pm-5pm. The shadowing was useful as we spent two days in one sector and two days in another. This was enough time to get a grasp of the work that takes place in the office and how that may differ from sector to sector. Besides the insight, I got on well with my peers on the programme and was able to get to know everyone as it was a small cohort of eighteen. Friends at other firms had informed me that they felt there was rivalry/competition between candidates on their placement. I on the other hand believe the small cohort made it possible for graduate recruitment to make every individual feel valued so there was no need for such competition. Even at the 'Dinner with Partners' there were five partners present so there was no reason for anyone to fade in to the background. I usually refrain from awarding maximum ratings but will do so in this case. Particularly as following from the insight we have a follow up meeting in September to catch up with the graduate recruitment team. I am likely to apply for a vacation scheme here next year and would definitely recommend this insight to anyone who is interested in a legal career.

I felt as valued as someone could do during a one-week placement. Everybody who I met did not fail to ask me whether I was enjoying the placement and was interested in what I had got up to during the placement. Besides this I enjoyed partaking in casual conversations with trainees and graduate recruitment about life outside of Hogan Lovells. I also felt surprisingly valued at the 'Dinner with Partners' event. The partners were incredibly welcoming and spoke to us as equals despite their standing within the firm.

I was allocated a mentor who I was able to e-mail any questions or problems I had during the placement. This was quite an informal process as we were able to familiarise ourselves with our mentors on the first day at a dinner hosted by the firm. We were also directed back to the graduate recruitment team at the end of every day to ask questions and let them know how our day was.

The experience honed my application skills to a large extent. This was due to the application workshop, mock interview and mock group assessment that we were subject to. These were genuinely safe environments where we were able to receive feedback which we could learn from in future. Although I have partook in various application workshops, this was by far the most effective due to the practical aspect of a genuine assessment day. At the group assessment there was a senior associate present with members of the graduate recruitment team which made it realistic. I also improved my commercial awareness skills as trainees spoke to me about how law is relevant to the commercial world and explained financial terms such as private equity, IPOs and M&A transactions. This knowledge was further improved by the interactive workshops where we were required to advise a business in various problematic situations and another where we had to improve the business's share value.

At the beginning of the programme we received detailed booklets outlining the schedule for the week. This was adhered to and clear to understand. Also graduate recruitment were always available to answer any questions about the week or what a certain presentation/ exercise entailed.

The general atmosphere was a product of all my answers to previous questions. Nonetheless I think the atmosphere would probably change from cohort to cohort. Whilst the insight is enjoyable it should always be remembered that you are in a professional environment and are expected to be professional also. However I maintain that this was an environment where it was possible to be yourself whilst remaining professional.

The firm invested in us by improving our commercial awareness and application skill set.

Any questions I had concerning what it would be like to have a full time role with the firm were answered by trainees and associates during the week. Shadowing trainees was particularly useful in this respect as I was able to witness how trainees obtain work from associates and how they are treated by their colleagues.

I found during the week that the culture was genuinely amiable whilst maintaining the hard work ethic. I also noticed that members of the firm differed in personality so there was no specific mould. People are encouraged to be themselves and have a personality.

The experience reaffirmed that I would like to pursue a legal career. A lot of the skills I derived from the insight are transferable and being able to assist on typical trainee tasks such as researching, drafting advice and producing summaries was invaluable experience.

I was both paid and reimbursed expenses.

There were opportunities to meet other employees from a wide array of practice areas and ranks within the firm. One particular exercise entitled 'Best of All Worlds Panel' comes to mind as this featured a trainee, associate and partner all answering our questions and from their different perspectives.

We had both dinner with trainees and dinner with partners. The company and food was excellent. Although we all asked questions about the legal profession we also spoke about leisurely activities such as sport and performing arts.

I learnt about the firm's various sports teams and competitions it partakes in with other City firms or companies. There was also a presentation concerning pro-bono which appears to be something that the firm particularly values and is useful for trainees to get involved in.

I would most definitely recommend this insight to a friend next year.