Vacation Placement Student Review

I received a variety of tasks from all level of fee earners very similar to what a trainee would deal with on a daily basis

Although the team are approachable and friendly they remain professional in the office environmental which I prefer.

My trainee supervisor was always on hand to answer questions, even when she was obviously busy. She also made a point of calling to see how I was doing on a day where she was absent.

Mostly I had work to keep me going but there were some days where I would have liked to be a bit more busy.

When the matters fee earners are dealing with are as big as the ones I was involved in I would have been shocked if I had been given more responsibility than I was.

I learnt more about drafting legal documents and how the Disupute Resolution Process works. It was insightful as to the way Pinsent Masons runs the business and the type of strategy they have in place to achieve their goals.

Again, everyone was friendly, without exception. However I appreciate they are busy people so I don't expect them to be aroound my desk talking to me about their weekends every chance they get,

There was one incident where the group was without a person to give a presentation for CR. I went to reception to ask where they were and a person was provided at last minute but they had to improvise on a lot of the talk. It was great that someone stepped in so quckly but a shame we didn't have the presentation intended for us. Other than that the organisation has been flawless.

We had an induction day that spent a lot of time informing us about IT and research as well as the firms values. Each team took time to give us an informed practice presentation. We were provided with several social events including a partner lunch. The firm clearly spent a lot of time and effort on us.

I think Pinsent Masons have understandably high standards and expectations of their future trainees. I put a lot of effort into making sure I prepared for my assessments. At the same time I felt I could be myself during the placement which I think is positive. Whether or not that means I fit in or I reach the required standard is obviously up to the recruitment team. I have all fingers crossed for a training contract with them though!

I felt like we all got on very well despite the females very much outnumbering the one male in our group. I enjoyed catching up with them about the work they had been given and I felt I had a lot in common with particular individuals outside of the placement. I could see myself working and socialising with any one of the placement students in the future.

We didn't have to pay for anything on the socials! All drinks, food and entertainment were provided which was brilliant. It takes away the awkward (unclear) etiquette of who buys the next round of drinks or what should be contributed to a food bill. I live locally so getting to and from events wasn't a problem.

Again, I live in Leeds already and there are plenty of options in the evening. Within the placement itself we had usually gone our separate ways before 21:00. That's fine with me when I want to be on form at work the next day.

Other than the socials there was a hockey match which I don't think is for everyone. But that was it. I thought the socials were sufficient in themselves though.