RateMyPlacement
To provide exposure to the workplace and the firm culture to vacation scheme students. Generally, the day-to-day tasks mostly consist of court documents preparation and legal research.
Work nature is mostly legal research, documents review and drafting - all tasks are relevant to ongoing matters and value-adding work. Lunchtime training and presentations on legal updates are also often. Very friendly workplace - partners, associates and trainees are all really approachable, willing to provide much guidance and constructive feedback on your work. Social events are also often where interns can chat with fee-earners and know more about the firm and the sector in general.
I took part in a 2 week vacation scheme at BCLP. I sat in the Tech and Commercial team where I helped fee earners with various legal and administrative tasks. I also attended various workshops and insight talks whilst on the scheme.
Worked with my trainee and associate supervisors on a variety of tasks at the level of a trainee, to get a feel for the firm. For example, attended and noted client meetings, and then worked through the issues brought up after wards. Drafted letters and other documents, and undertook research for my supervisors. The scheme gave me a fantastic insight into some of the real work I would undertake as a trainee at the firm.
I would have some sessions organised by Graduate Recruitment on various things like trainee development/ brand and marketing at the firm. I'd also be invited to client calls/ meetings/ assigned work and tasks to get on with.
The vacation scheme consisted of a combination of organised Firm talks/workshops and real-life work from your department. We were also encouraged to reach out to people outside of our department at the Firm. There were also two social events (one virtual and one in-person event).
Generally, you spend most of the day working in your department. Each day, you may have 1 or 2 presentations about the firm's sectors/specific firm initiatives. You are actively encouraged to arrange your own meetings with other solicitors to widen your understanding of the firm. Generally, anything you express an interest in will be supported (e.g. I got involved in pro bono and netball).
There were one or two talks during the day. When a talk wasn't taking place, I was doing work for my trainee or associate advisors such as drafting supplementary mortgage contracts, updating paperwork and researching projects. I was also able to arrange informal chats with a many colleagues from the firm in different areas to get a better insight into the firm.
I spent 2 weeks in the M&A and Corporate Finance department. The tasks varied from day-to-day. There were insolvency checks, attendance notes, proofing documents, Document Lists mark-up changes, company research notes and drafting.
I sat in the Real Estate Disputes team for my scheme and was given tasks and projects by the department to work on in the short and long term over 2 weeks. Each morning of the scheme 1-2 talks were organised by Graduate Recruitment to give us an insight into working at the firm and the various departments.
Every day, I and the rest of the cohort participated in workshops and presentations organised by graduate recruitment team on the firm's culture and values and on the practice areas. Working within my team, I checked and responded to emails, drafted letters on behalf of clients, proofread documents, wrote news briefings for clients and carried out research on different matters.
In the morning, I attended presentations on topics that varied from an overview of the Firm's key departments, to the Global Inclusion and Diversity group. I had lunch with the other vacation schemers, or my trainee buddy, and grabbed coffee with associates/partners. As I sat in a Real Estate team, my tasks ranged from reviewing and drafting leases, and other agreements, and undertaking research tasks. I also sat in on a client call.
Each day was different. There was a session or two every from various departments within the firm. This includes Corporate & Financial Transactions, Litigation & Investigations and Real Estate. You are also placed within a team and given live/real work to complete. Each student has a trainee buddy and partner/associate supervisors. You are encouraged to contact others within the firm to find out about their roles and departments. Everyone is really friendly and open.
Involvement in real client work as a trainee might be involved in at the firm. A series of talks to give insight to different parts of the firm, such as departments, I&D and innovation.
A hybrid mix of partner and associate-led workshops alongside live work, with the opportunity to get involved and support everything from research, case management through to client meetings and presentations.
I was tasked with drafting letters and emails, research notes and client notes on real-life matters.
The scheme involved a combination of presentations, group case studies and tasks for the team students were sat with. For myself, that involved conducting research, reviewing documents, drafting letters, and other typical trainee tasks.
I enjoyed the vacation scheme immensely as it was a great opportunity to learn a lot more about the firm, and also to develop personally through the challenges faced at work. I gained a better understanding of what the real estate department does in practice, and also about different aspects of life as a trainee at BCLP. My supervisors were very supportive and guided me through the questions I had, and always provided helpful feedback for my assignments.
I enjoyed the vacation scheme to a large extent. Generally, the people at the firm were very willing to get to know us, delegate meaningful tasks, provide guidance and feedback. BCLP's practice areas and strength in real estate and asset finance were quite different from the other firms I had internships in. Therefore, the scheme was a great learning opportunity. The small intake of the HK scheme enabled us to build deeper relationships with our batch mates and our buddies.
