Vacation Scheme Student Review

I was given a really useful insight into life in a commercial law firm, but also life at Pinsent Masons specifically. It was a very informative two weeks, as we had practice presentations every morning, which was a very useful and in-depth insight into the firm. It was a really enjoyable experience too, and everyone I met on the vac scheme and within the firm was really friendly. Although we were working hard, the socials were a lot of fun, and it was an extremely enjoyable experience.

During my first week I spent a lot of time learning the ropes, but I was given some really valuable and "proper" work in my second week. I was able to attend a client meeting, write a defence to a particulars of claim and I was even able to attend a court hearing! This gave me great exposure to real work, and I felt as if I was trusted and valued enough to undertake such work.

Whenever I had any questions about a task everyone was very helpful and always willing to give up time to give me some guidance. As the scheme progressed however, I found I was asking fewer questions as I was building up knowledge and experience over the two weeks. On our first day we were given a list of all the contacts we might need throughout the scheme in case we got into any difficulty - IT support etc. Because we were given all this information in a pack, this gave us the opportunity to deal with any problems in an independent way, for example, phoning up IT with any computer problems instead of going to my trainee buddy.

I was sitting in commercial litigation, which is not something we are able to study at University. However, my commercial awareness, attention to detail and organisational skills have improved, which will assist me in my University studies. However, over the last two weeks I have definitely improved my writing skills. I have learnt how to express a particular argument in a clear and succinct fashion, which will be invaluable for my degree when writing essays.

The Vacation Scheme was very well structured. We were sent out a timetable before we arrived, and we had a welcome email from our trainee buddy too. On our first day all the students from across all English offices came down to London. This was really useful as we were all given the same information, and it was nice to meet all the vacation students. Every morning we knew what presentations we were having, and what rooms to go to. The socials were also really well organised too - there were no hitches and everything ran smoothly!

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the scheme was how friendly everyone was. Everyone within the firm was really helpful and welcoming, which was a really nice atmosphere to work in. Additionally, all of the students on the scheme were very friendly too. I thought that it was really helpful on the first day when we were told that it wasn't a competition between the vacation students. Instead, if they wanted to give us an offer they would. There was no feeling of fighting for spaces. I have made some really good friends on the scheme and it was a very pleasant atmosphere to work in.

We were all given a clear outline of the competencies the firm was looking for, and this was extremely helpful when undertaking tasks and preparing for interviews. An associate in my department also took an hour out of her schedule to interview me, which was really useful and very much appreciated.

The Vacation Scheme gave me a realistic insight of what life would be like as a trainee at the firm. Although we often left the office earlier in the evenings than trainees because we had organised socials, the close contact we had with the trainees gave us an accurate understanding of what we could expect if we were to become trainees. We were also able to see the "type" of people we may be working with, as the people at Pinsent Masons reflect the culture of the firm, so this was a really useful insight. During our daily practice presentations there was always a section dedicated to explaining what life was like as a trainee in each department, and we were given the opportunity to ask trainees from all different departments and stages in their careers any questions we had. Also, at each social there were different trainees each time, so this gave us the opportunity to speak to many different people. I felt the trainees spoke honestly about life at Pinsent Masons, which I found really useful.

As previously mentioned, it was really useful how we were given the opportunity to speak to people from different departments and from different levels within the firm, so we were able to see for ourselves what the people at PM were like. We were able to meet senior members of the firm at the partner lunch, and many different trainees at the socials. During our practice presentations we were able to meet lawyers from many different levels of the firm. We were also able to find out about projects the firm was running, for example Project Sky, which focuses on getting more women into partnership positions. Additionally we were able to hear about Corporate Responsibility, which really helped us get a "feel" for the firm. I was able to participate in a softball match too which runs every second week and this gave me a valuable insight into the firm's culture.

We were adequately paid during our Vacation Scheme

As previously mentioned, we met many different people on social events, at lunches, at presentations and also from working in our departments.

The social events were so much fun and very varied. On our second day we went to the Comedy Store, which was hilarious and such a good way to get to know everyone. We also went bowling, had a partner lunch, office drinks both Fridays and I participated in the trainee softball match.

We found out about the sports teams we could get involved with, and we had a very useful talk about the corporate social responsibility lawyers could get involved with.

Absolutely! It was a really good mixture of hard work and fun! It was a great experience into life in commercial law.