Vacation Scheme Intern Review
by Simmons & Simmons LLP
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
4.8
-
The Company
4.7
-
The Culture
4.6
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I enjoyed this internship immensely. The three weeks were split evenly into two seats/ department. The work in these seats was varied to keep things exciting ranging from legal research to sitting in on client meetings. Additionally, the skills programmes included competitions using our negotiation and presentation skills which were good fun.
In both departments, everyone went out of their way to include me. Any piece of work I did was enthusiastically received- but this does not mean I did not get constructive criticism.
My supervisors in both seats were all very supportive. They were pivotal in my acclimatising and were very patient in aswering my questions. They also went out of their way to ensure the work I was given was varied and useful.
Mostly, I was busy but when I wasn't, research for the interns project presentation filled the minutes adequately.
There's only so much responsibility an intern can be given. However I was surprised at opportunities to some work that was valuable, although heavily supervised.
The skills enhanced through departmental work in legal research, drafting and more would be highly beneficial during my LPC and beyond. The presentation and negotiation skills I improved upon as part of the special programme for interns would be useful not only in a future legal career but in life in general.
The Company
It may have had to do with the World Cup being on during my internship but everyone was upbeat, very friendly and supportive.
The programme was well coordinated allowing interns enough time to benefit from both departmental work and the special events designed for interns ranging from skills training to social events.
The training programmes to get us used to the firm itself at the start and the skills sessions showed that the firm truly valued the personal development of its interns.
Subsidised Canteen
Company Parties/Events
I secured a training contract with the firm.
The Culture
We interns formed our own support network.This was in part due to the firm engineering special activities for interns to get to know each other like dinner, drinks and more.
London is pretty expensive but the firm was very generous. However, Simmons does not pay for accomodation during the internship.
The night life was great but realistically you don't spend your nights evaluating the nightlife when on an internship.
The firm opened up pro bono, sport and ther social activities to all the interns which was fantastic.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
London
March 2011
