Vacation Schemer Review

I really enjoyed the vacation scheme. I was placed in the planning department which I was originally unsure about, but I actually found the work I was given particularly interesting. I would strongly recommend people apply to Walker Morris and to consider a planning law seat for vacation schemes and in training contracts.

To begin with I felt slightly undervalued by the firm because of the size of the vacation scheme with 15 other people to compete with. However, as the week developed I realised this wasn't a problem because the people at Walker Morris were so welcoming and genuinely seemed interested in me as a person. I am particularly impress that they were able to make me feel so valued given how many of us there were to entertain.

I received guidance from my supervisor who explained some of the ins and outs of planning law to me. He also discussed my assessments with me and offered to help with any preparation, giving advice where he could. Every vacation schemer is also given a trainee contact, unfortunately mine was not seated in my department as the trainee in my department was away. This meant in general my main support was from my supervisor, or other trainees at the social. However, this was unrepresentative of the rest of the scheme as I believe everyone else had more regular contact with their trainee contact.

The work I completed in the planning department has built on my studies by enabling me to see the judicial review process in act, having just finished studying planning law. More generally, I feel that I have gained a stronger understanding of the work completed by lawyers and this has helped me to confirm my desire to work as a solicitor in a commercial law firm, and it will also assist me in applying for such roles. After my second assessment we were also given feedback, which will also be useful to assist me in assessment centres in the future.

I was given a timetable of the week on Monday morning which has been followed perfectly. This enabled me to plan my week and to keep my supervisor aware of assessments I would need to leave the department for. The assessments were run on time and also followed a well thought out structure. I enjoyed the fact that the assessments were later in the week as this gave me more time to settle in to my department and for my confidence to grow.

The general atmosphere on the vacation scheme was extremely friendly. Even though there was a large number of us there was not a competitive attitude between the other vacation schemers and we did not feel so overly scrutinised by the staff that we were not able to be ourselves. Walker Morris is a particularly sociable and friendly firm and the attitude on the vacation scheme reflected this,

At the start of the week we were shown how to use the firm's intranet, legal resources, library and precedents. However, this training was more to assist us in our work during the week as opposed to future career development. The length of the vacation scheme, only 5 days, does not lend itself particularly well nor does it create an expectation of a large investment in your personal training and development.

Sitting in a department and completing work for my supervisor developed my understanding of what it would be like to work in the firm as a trainee solicitor, as well as allowed me to witness the sort of work more senior solicitors complete. The experience was particularly valuable to me because I sat in the planning department, and prior to my vacation scheme I had very little understanding of what it would be like to work in planning.

During the vacation scheme it was apparent that Walker Morris is a very approachable, collaborative and sociable firm. This was obvious in the networking events when speaking to trainees and other employees, as well as in departments where everyone seemed genuinely approachable. The mid week social was also particularly helpful in demonstrating the fun side to the firm. However, the planning department is relatively quiet during the day, and this enabled me to see a more serious side to the firm, and experience the balance the firm holds between working hard and having fun.

The vacation scheme has helped me to confirm my desire to become a solicitor in a commercial law firm, and in particular a desire to work at Walker Morris. Sitting in the planning department, which I previously knew nothing about, has also opened my eyes to considering the different departments I would like to sit in as a trainee. It has helped me to be more open and accepting of different departments I may not have considered before, because I fee that until you have worked there you cannot know if you will enjoy it or not. On afternoon some of the trainees gave presentations on different departments which I believe will have been particularly useful in helping me consider these.

£175 paid at the end of the week.

Yes. On the first day there was a networking lunch with the trainees and supervisors, and a couple of trainees took all the vacation schemers out for a couple of drinks that evening. There was social on the Wednesday night where we went to a bar with all the trainees for food, drinks, pool and ping pong. On the Friday evening a couple of trainees also organised drinks.

The lunch with trainees and supervisors was useful as this helped us to settle in a bit by getting to know some of the faces we would see throughout the week. It was also nice to speak to supervisors because they might have been at the firm for longer. The drinks and the Wednesday social were great because they enabled us to speak more casually to the trainees and enter into potentially more genuine discussion about what working at Walker Morris is actually like. The use of Roxy's which has pool and ping pong was good because it meant that there were activities besides drinking to partake in.

I heard two trainees in an elevator discuss playing netball, but otherwise I didn't hear of any activities. However, I also heard about the different social events Walker Morris runs, such as the trainee socials including future trainees and the fee earners dinner.

I would definitely recommend applying to the vacation scheme or any other opportunity at Walker Morris to a friend.