Vacation Scheme Student Review

The vacation scheme was a great experience overall. Even though the winter vacatiion scheme was a short one, it gave me an insight into the firm, its values and its culture. I was welcomed by the firm and made to feel at home. The vacation scheme allowed me to understand how an international firm works and went a long way in helping me to decide whether a career in such a firm was suited to me or not.

Allen and Overy made all attempts to make me feel as if I were a part of the firm. The HR team was extremely helpful and was always willing to help me in all ways possible, be it tips to handle the client pitch exercise or how to prepare for the interview. My trainer at the firm was also extremely enthusiastic about having me there and intorduced me to his entire team, which was great.

There was constant guidance at each stage of the vacation scheme. We had an orientation on the first day where the major elements of the vacation scheme were introduced to us. The HR team was constantly in touch with us during all stages of the interview. Over and above this, I could always turn to my Trainee Buddy for help for all kinds of doubts and he was more than willing to help me out.

I learnt the workings of a multinational law firm. This helped me understand the value of communication and how that can make or break a project. I was also introduced to concepts of banking law during the scheme and that has proced to be quite beneficial in my studies back home in the university. Beyond that, the general experience of teamwork has proved to be quite helpful.

The scheme was very well structured, even though there were only 9 days. Even though we had a client pitch exercie and an interview to prepare for, in addition to our social activities, these events were spaced out welll so that I was never overwhlemed at any point of time. The social events were well targeted and helped me to spend time with other trainees and associates at the firm.

The atmosphere was simply brilliant. I have interned at other firms but have never encountered such a welcoming at,osphere. Everyone from the HR team to my trainer to other associates at the firm were always willing to answer any questions I had and seemed genuinely excited to have us there. They were willing to answer my questions over how things work at Allen and Overy and this proved to be of great help throughout the scheme.

The firm invested a lot in the short time we were there. We had interactions with a partner as part of the client pitch exercise and that was really interesting as we got to understand the role of a partner in a firm like Allen and Overy. There were also sessions to help us understand how a typical deal pans out and that again was really insightful.

I had come to the vacation scheme with a lot of questions about the role of a trainee at Allen and Overy and I can confidently say that by the end of the scheme, I was able to answer each of them. Through interactions with various people at the firm, I was able to understand the role of a trainee, the sort of pressure that a trainee faces and the opportunities for growth in the firm, which were really my main concerns.

The short time I spent at the firm helped me to understand the ethos of the firm. The firm really places a lot of emphasis in teamwork and I got to witness that first hand during my vacation scheme. I was also able to understand that people at the firm were always willing to help you out in case of any doubts or difficulties.

The scheme was helpful in telling me whether I was suited to the working atmosphere and cultutre of the firm. I understood the importance of teamwork and how that was absolutely integral to whatever the firm was trying to achieve. I also got an insight into the various practice areas of the fir.

My visa, travel and accomodation expenses were rembursed by the fim. In addition to this, I was also paid a stipend at the end of the vacation scheme

The firm had organised several events where I got to meet associates and even partners from different practice areas of the firm, allowing me the opportunity to get to know the work done by these differet practice areas better. In addition to this, the people at the firm were extremely open to interaction and I could schedule meetings with them if I had anyting that I wanted to ask.

The networking/social events were one of the highlights of the entire vacation scheme. These events offered me a chance to interact with the people at the firm in a more informal setting. These activities, in addition to being a lot of fun, were also significant as I got to chat with different people and hopefully helped me in building relationships that will last long into the future.

The HR team had organised a session where we were introduced to the various pro bono activities being carries out by the firm. The importance of these activities was explained to us and we were told of the various ways in which we could participate in these activities. Other than this, I was alos told of the various aports and other clubs that firm has and how they were always looking forward to new members.

I would totally recommend the Allen and Pvery vacation scheme to my friends at law school. The vacation scheme was an insightful and exciting time and I learned a lot during the short time I was there. The thing that struck me most about the scheme has to be the welcoming atmosphere at the firm and how I was made to feel like part of the team, which I think is really important.