Vacation Scheme Student at Taylor Wessing

Vacation Scheme Student

Elinor Picton

History

Internship (1 Month+)

Taylor Wessing

What made you apply to Taylor Wessing?

I was instantly drawn to applying to Taylor Wessing’s Summer Vacation Scheme because I had heard about the firm’s friendly and welcoming reputation. From further research, I was really impressed by the firm’s growing global presence and their high profile clients. The opportunity to sit in two departments during the scheme meant that I was able to experience a wide variety of tasks and transactions as well as comparing contentious and non-contentious work.

To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?

I very much enjoyed my placement. It was a steep learning curve, but full of invaluable experiences. We were immediately welcomed with a talk by the Managing Partner, Tim Eyles, who described Taylor Wessing’s values and culture. Every morning started with a different department giving a workshop. This was fantastic - it allowed a real insight into the client focused work. This definitely helped to give me an idea of what areas of law I might pursue in the future.

How much responsibility were you given during your placement / internship?

I was very happy with the level of responsibility that I was given. It was useful to be able to gain first hand experience of drafting legal letters and I was able to contribute towards the team by putting some bundles together for court. I never felt out of my depth however; having a ‘trainee buddy’ in each department meant there was always someone to ask and fee earners were more than happy to take time to explain tasks to me.

What were the highlights of your job?

One highlight was accompanying the team from the Restructuring & Corporate Recovery department to the Royal Courts of Justice to sit in and make notes on a case. After researching and learning about the case for the previous week, it was very interesting to have a first hand experience of its progression. Other highlights included attending client meetings and conference calls to gain a greater awareness into the fee earners’ relationships with their clients.

What is the most valuable lesson you learnt on your placement / internship?

The most valuable lesson from my placement came from working in a team to create and deliver a pitch to a panel of partners at the end of the scheme. I felt that this gave a preview of the importance of working together when pitching to a potential client. It was an intimidating task to begin with, however it provided excellent opportunities to work on our time management skills: it was important to balance our department work with the presentation.