Legal Assistant Review

I really enjoyed my placement. I had the opportunity to learn and develop many new skills, not just those that were purely legal.

I felt valued by my colleagues. I mostly felt that my opinion and suggestions were considered and often were taken on board.

I was given support by my manager throughout my placement. I always felt that I could raise any issues.

I was foten busy doing a rnage of tasks - some smaller and more administrative and others larger and very project-based. On days when it was quieter it gave me the opportunity to catch up on filing.

I was given a great deal of responsibility on my placement. By the end of the year I was solely responsible for many tasks and this often involved working with colleagues in other offices and external parties e.g. clients and suppliers. I was encouraged to use my initiative on a daily basis. I also was often asked to produce first drafts of contract negotiations and contract reviews which gave me the opportunity to do some planning and problem solving before the work went to my boss.

The skills and knowledge I have gained on placement has helped me hugely in my next job (as a paralegal in a national law firm). In particular, the commercial insight into the oil & gas/ construction/ marine industry has helped me to apply the law to specific situations in practice. My commercial awareness has increased dramatically for working at Houlder.

The office atmosphere was good. It was often quite quiet but everyone was friendly and approachable.

I could not fault the set up of the work placement. I was kept in the loop and Houlder did everything they could to make me feel welcome very quickly.

I attended a couple of courses throught the year which generally helped my work when I returned to the office. There were less opportunities for mentoring etc. but I was able to speak to anyone, no matter what role, to get involved with new projects.

I would consider returning to Houlder if the right opportunity came up; however, there is no such role in place at the moment.

Houlder employees in the London office would often go for drinks on Thursday night (there is a pub across the road within metres of the front door!). Quite a few people go regularly and it was a nice way to socialise with your colleagues without talking about work.

As the London office is based in Central, cost of socialising was quite high. I commuted to work and cannot comment on the cost of living.

There was a variety of nightlife in the area - pubs, clubs and nice restaurants. Many places were very accessible.

There was a football team, but apart from that no other activities.