Summer placement Review

The placement was hard work but this was a definite positive. I enjoyed most of the tasks set.

Everyone was very friendly and when I was asked for advice I felt extremely valued.

If I had any questions everyone was more than happy to help and I was given a very insightful talk by one of the Corporate team Partners about working with the firm and what Shoosmiths look for in their applicants.

I think that the skills I developed this week will be invaluable in my future work.

The insight was structured very well by my supervisor who ensured a constant but not overwhelming flow of work was sent my way.

Everyone was very happy to have me in the office and very friendly. The working atmosphere is relaxed and there is a real team feeling in the office.

The firm worked really hard to ensure I had feedback at every possible stage and invested significant time and energy into developing my skills.

During my time I felt I gained a good insight into the way the firm works. However I would say that a week is perhaps not long enough to know what it would be like to have a full time role here.

I felt that I did gain some valuable insight but maybe had I spent more time in other departments my view of the overall culture of the company would have been better informed.

The content was very helpful I was provided with real trainee tasks, some of which had already been completed by my supervisor, so I was really shown what it was I would be doing if I worked here. It reaffirmed my interest in pursuing a career as a solicitor and also made me consider the question of the type of firm I want to work for more carefully.

I was paid well for the week considering the size of the firm and the fact that it was located out of London. I lived at home during the week so I did not incur great expenses.

There was good opportunity to meet other employees, especially the other trainees. A partner from the corporate team actually took time out of his day to meet us properly and talk with us about his work which was really insightful, more of this would be great. But overall we were introduced to lots of people and everyone in the office was made aware of our presence.

I was unable to attend the summer party but this was an office event rather than related to our week placement specifically. The social event opportunities could be an area for improvement.

Most of the information about this was gained through informal talks with employees. Some were more open than others about their out of work activities but this was not a negative or positive just general discussion. I am generally interested in pro bono work but this was not heavily discussed. Most activities undertaken outside of work were personal.

It was very convenient for living in the area and invaluable in terms of experience practice. I was provided with significantly more personal feedback than I could have anticipated and all of it was of a high quality. People took time out of their work to explain to me what was good about what I was doing and how to improve and I was made to feel welcome to ask questions.