Vacation Scheme Intern Review

The three week vacation scheme was very well structured, carefully balancing the scheduled talks and sessions with time spent in our allocated practice area seats.

Every effort was made to welcome us into the firm, making us feel settled very quickly, and a great programme of socials complemented time spent in the office.

The structured programme of talks on the firm's practice areas was complemented by the individual support and guidance given to us by our supervisors when sitting in our allocated departments. In addition, the graduate recruitment team was available throughout the three weeks to answer any queries and were in regular daily contact with us. We were also each allocated a trainee 'buddy' who was a great source of information and a person we could ask any question, big or small, to!

As a non-law student, the skills and knowledge I received, though not entirely applicable to my university degree, will be really useful when embarking on law school.

The general atmosphere during the vacation scheme was very friendly. This was in part reflective of the firm's ethos of fostering a collaborative working environment and in part, because our intern group bonded well, supported by the lack of internal competition we faced and by the organised socials.

It was clear that a significant investment of time and money had been made before and during the vacation scheme programme to help us gain the best possible and most useful insight into the firm. This commitment to our personal training and development was reflected in the quality of the vacation scheme programme we received.

Over the three weeks, we each sat in two different practice areas based on our formerly submitted preferences. It was these experiences that proved invaluble in giving us a true and good understanding of what it would be like to have a full time role with the firm.

A busy and varied programme of networking and social events was organised over the three weeks giving us plenty of opportunities to get to know our fellow interns, trainee buddies, the graduate recruitment team and meet other employees within the firm's wide network.

The variety of the networking and social event opportunities from dinners to drinks and intern-only activities such a quiz night on the first day and a chance to play an escape room game meant that there was something for everyone!

Yes and we were even given the opportunity to try a pro bono activity by spending half a day volunteering at Spitalfields City Farm.

Yes, I would highly recommend applying for a vacation scheme at Allen & Overy to anyone interested in a career in law in a truly global law firm.