Vacation Scheme Student Review

The one week vacation scheme I spent at Shoosmiths was a highly enjoyable experience. I was offered interesting work and received quality feedback on the tasks that I completed. On top of the high standard of work that was provided to me during the placement, on a social level the office was a great place to be.

I worked with the the Technology, Media and Commercial (TMC) team in the Milton Keynes office and they certainly made every effort to involve me in tasks. I was also actively encouraged to participate in a lunch time Team Brief Meeting and phone call conferences with clients. On the back of one conference call, I drafted an e-mail to the client and received comprehensive feedback. In addition to this, the graduate recruitment team stayed in close contact. I spoke to the graduate recruitment team throughout the week as they made sure I was having an enjoyable and productive placement.

The fantastic thing about these placements in the one-on-one time you get to chat with trainees, solicitors and partners. Whether it was over lunch or in the course of carrying out tasks, everyone in the office was very approachable and were keen to offer support. My trainee buddy offered me great tips on how to complete my key tasks during the insight. Also, I spoke to other teams when I required specific support on an area. For example, with a residential conveyancing contract drafting exercise I was given I spoke to a solicitor in the Real Estate department about the best way to approach the contract. Moreover, when I was asked to draft an e-mail to a client concerning employment law issues, I spoke to a solicitor in that team who was very happy to lend me some of her time to talk through the key issues.

At Shoosmiths, the commercial law environment built on the knowledge I gained from two previous commercial law schemes and enhanced my understanding of how the law applies in the working world. For example, the writing of advice e-mails to clients where Shoosmiths’ emphasis is on being concise and talking business sense is a different exercise to what I have encountered at law school where the focus was on analysis and detail. As a consequence, my written communication skills have been developed. I also feel genuinely fortunate to have seen partners conducting conference calls with clients because their skill at handling issues was something I learnt a lot from. These skills are helping me on my LPC at the moment and I hope I can take them into practice with me next year.

My primary focus during the first part of the week was on completing three mini-assignments which were based on an organisational exercise, a contract drafting exercise and finally drafting an e-mail to a client. In the second half of the week, I was focused on preparing to pitch Shoosmiths’ capabilities to a fictional prospective client. The tasks ensured the insight was structured and that I always had something to do. However, they were not so over-consuming that I couldn't do other work. This meant that I could help out with small tasks within the team and actively participate in current work.

On top of the quality of work that was provided to me during the placement, on a social level the office was a great place to be. For example, I was invited to lunches out and the Milton Keynes office summer barbeque. Furthermore, on the Friday night I attended the Northamptonshire v Lancashire T20 cricket match which Shoosmiths were sponsoring and helped to raise money for Macmillan.

The main way the firm invested in my personal development through the week was providing feedback. I was given personal feedback from the partner in my team on an e-mail I drafted to a client. From this I took lots of tips which will be invaluable on the LPC and in practice. Furthermore, after my pitch of Shoosmiths’ capabilities to a fictional prospective client on my final day I received good feedback on my verbal communication and presentation skills.

The insight certainly help me understand what it would be like to have a full time role with Shoosmiths because I was completing tasks that a trainee would be expected to undertake. Also, my involvement with conference calls meant that I had experience of what it was like to interact with current clients and work on ongoing cases. Furthermore, by interacting with current trainees on work tasks and over lunches, I could find out about their experiences and what I could expect.

The backdrop to all of my tasks during the insight was performing them in accordance with Shoosmiths' values. This meant that I could apply the firm's culture to my tasks and learnt about they influenced day to day work. Also, as noted before, by being invited to lunches out, the Milton Keynes office summer barbeque and a local cricket match which Shoosmiths were sponsoring I gained an understanding of the culture of the firm. I learnt about the firm on a social level and how they interacted with the local community.

Over lunches, the summer barbeque and my tasks which involved interacting with different teams there was a great opportunity to meet other employees of Shoosmiths. Also, the open-plan nature of the office and sociable atmosphere meant it was easy to speak to a large number of people during my time with the firm.

I certainly would recommend this insight to a friend. My lasting impressions of my time at Shoosmiths are that the TMC team and Graduate Recruitment offered me quality work, were at pains to make me feel involved and gave me quality feedback. The TMC team were exceptional professionals with whom I found it easy to establish a friendly rapport, which ensured I had both a thoroughly educational and enjoyable week.