Future Joinner Review

Amazing but at times also stressful! You get to experience and learn so much, but there is definitely also a strong feeling of being constantly appraised and needing to be on your best behavior, which is a bit exhausting. I think all Vac Schemes are like that though: ultimately Vac Schemes are in a way a type of extended interview, but I wish I had not been so stressed because the Herbies people were actually incredibly friendly and supportive towards a non-law student like me. The firm also treats you incredibly well, and this amazing treatment extends beyond the Vac Scheme and into the "Future Joiner" period if you get a TC. All in all, a really great learning experience if you can handle a bit of stress!

A lot! I don't have a law background so I was a bit worried but that made no difference. Partners and senior associates REALLY took the time to have one on one time with you and talk about what they did. This is a bit intimidating but also a great opportunity to see where they are coming from and get a real feel for what being a trainee is like.

The most support you'll get will be from your "trainee buddy". I was lucky and was paired with two fab people, but I think some other students who were departments in the peak of a project got less feedback/support. The HR people are also great at giving feedback on your interview which is so useful for the future.

My Vac Scheme at HSF totally convinced me that the law/solicitors route was the right path for me. I had applied to a number of Vac Schemes in October on a whim not really knowing what I wanted to do after graduating my Masters, and the opportunity I got to talk to present trainees, see the work they did and experience the overall atmosphere at a big law firm convinced me that this was what I wanted to do. It's not for everyone but you'll definitely get a great opportunity to see things form the inside.

Almost too well structured! Vac Schemes at big firms tend to be jam packed with events and seminars which you are not obliged but highly encouraged to attend. Every day we would get one or two classroom-style presentations on the different practice areas (great for deciding what you want to do in the future), and every other day there would either be some social event or a "personal development" session (ours was a "Negotiation Skills Workshop") to demonstrate some of the ongoing training employees get after joining. Getting to do all this stuff is DEFO a major advantage of doing a vac scheme at a big firm. The only problem was that it was sometimes a bit difficult to fit in the actual work around all these events, but it was still amazing to have done so much.

It was at Christmas so everyone was quite jolly. In general though I got the impression that the office was much more friendly and collaborative than a lot of reviews I had read had suggested. This ultimately convinced me to take up a TC there :))

People really take the time to talk to you and spend time with you, whether they are partners, HR people or trainees. HSF also really makes an effort to organize learning sessions and seminars.

I think you get treated a bit too well -- that and in two weeks you 'll never get in the thick of it enough to really experience the hectic pace of a trainee's life. On the other hand, you get loads of opportunities to talk to people throughout the hierarchy. You really see the good without the bad so I found the one of the best questions to ask was "what do you like least about your job?".

Like I said, good without the bad. I got a really great vibe and met a lot of amazing people from a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences. Reviews tended to suggest HSF people are very serious and high-strung but that was not the impression I got at all. What the culture is like at 3am the peak of a stressful deal, however, can't be known just from a Vac Scheme.

Would not have gone down the solicitor route without a Vac Scheme at HSF. For anyone non-law hesitating whether to go in to it, I would 100% recommend doing a vac scheme before applying to TCs.

Very well paid!

Quite a few, both in cocktail settings which are a bit intimidating and in one to one which is amazing.

There was a really good mix between student-only events where we could all bond and get to know each other, mixed events with future-joiners and current trainees, and firm- or department- wide events where you could chat with partners or people in practice areas of your interest.

HSF has an AMAZING array of pro-bono. I was seriously impressed both at the variety of projects they offered and at the commitment of fee-earners to participate and personally seek out new opportunities.

I already have recommended it to several friends, especially those with a connection to Asia or who want to travel in the future.