Placement Scheme Student Review

I sat with partners and senior associates, who gave me some great work to look at. We also had one social event per week outside the office, which gave us some welcome mid-week breaks without tiring us out.

In addition to being assigned a trainee 'buddy' for each seat, I was supervised directly by a partner in one case and a senior associate in another. There was clear investment in the vacation schemers from the firm's standpoint.

For each seat I was paired with a trainee buddy, who were generally very friendly, approachable and willing to help. Obviously, their availability will vary according to their workload, but I found other trainees equally open to being approached, or to approaching me.

I had finished university, but we had numerous presentations on the firm's practice groups which should help with training contract seat selection. The work during my seats should also help motivate me during the LPC.

I never felt as though I was left to my own devices for too long, or overloaded. We were given optional department-specific research tasks to keep us busy in case of any downtime. The various talks were incorporated very well into the fortnight. The assessment day was also a lot less crammed than others I have experienced.

Overall, we felt well looked-after and experienced a good balance of hands-on work, information sessions and social events. The people at the firm are extremely helpful and the general mood is upbeat. I would definitely recommend applying.

The whole fortnight felt well-planned and we were never left without several points of contact for seeking out work, or from whom work might come to us by itself. I certainly felt that the firm had allocated significant resources to us.

I certainly didn't expect to be sitting in an office with a senior partner during my placement scheme. The placement gave me a good idea of what it might be like to work as a trainee at the firm.

The firm is known as an open and inclusive place to work, and I felt as though the scheme allowed me to integrate into the culture well.

I was given my top two choices of seat - finance and corporate - which will prove very helpful in choosing seats for my training contract.

The scheme was paid at the standard rate for City firms.

Numerous lunches, socials and direct contact with several employees on a day-to-day basis meant we had significant access to the firm's employees.

The social events outside the office were organised by the trainees and were fairly typical outings to bars where we could chat in a less formal setting.

The firm isn't necessarily one which commands your free time as much as your working time: certainly not as much as some of their peers. However, we had a presentation early on in the placement with information on the firm's sports teams and pro bono work.

Inclusive, well-structured and informative - essentially everything you need from a placement scheme.