Student Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement week at Shoosmiths. Their down to earth atmosphere and collaborative environment meant I was given the opportunity to gain an insight into a wide variety of different practice areas including; commercial real estate, family law, employment law and corporate law. Although the placement was only a week, Shoosmiths ensured it was filled with varied work, challenging assignments and chances to get to know its talented solicitors.

I felt like a member of the Shoosmiths team. Rather than being given time-filling work to do to keep me busy and out of the way, I was given real responsibility. I was treated like I was actually contributing to important work and through taking the time to explain the context and meaning behind every task, I felt like I was helping achieve an end goal.

The solicitors and trainees were always available for me to approach them. Everyone was more than happy to take time away from their day to have a chat with me and answer any questions I had. Everyone was also very forthcoming in offering their support with my end project - ensuring that I knew they were available to offer me guidance.

One thing made clear was that studying law if very different to practising it. At Shoosmiths, I experienced the day-to-day life of a trainee solicitor. This has helped me understand what will be required of me when I leave university and has also confirmed my aspiration to enter into the profession. The placement has also enhanced my research, communication and time-management skills which will greatly assist me in my fourth year at university and beyond.

From the outset it was clear what structure the insight would take. The tasks for the week were set out in detail from the start and I knew what needed to be completed and by when. It would have been more convenient if a set amount of time was set out each day to work on your end project but I guess this is not done to reflect the actual realities of life as a trainee and to test your time-management capabilities.

The firm is very down to earth and friendly. There is a real sense of collaboration and teamwork in the office - everyone is always willing to do each other favours and help each other out. There is no pretentiousness and even the most senior of staff are extremely approachable and treat you like any other. I also enjoyed the lunch-time environment as many of us from different levels and departments would sit and eat together. The Partners' drinks at the end of the week was a great opportunity for everyone to socialise and it seemed like Shoosmiths is a place where real friendships form.

The firm ensured I had the chance to work with a mixture of practice groups. They did this by informing staff of my arrival in advance, asking for departments to set aside work to pass on to me. They also set out the time for me to demonstrate my abilities in a presentation at the end of the week. The graduate recruitment team were also very supportive throughout the week through email and also a mid-week phone call to catch up. However, I do think that a two-week placement would see greater personal development in students.

Having spent a lot of my week with one of the trainee-solicitors, I was able to get a real sense of what day-to-day life would be like if I was to undertake a training contract at Shoosmiths. I was able to get a feeling for what it would be like to work in different departments and how I would fit in socially with the firm.

The placement was very much focused on Shoosmiths’ core values. The end project was a test in understanding and adopting these values in a pitch for legal services to a fictional client. This assignment coupled with meeting and getting to know the Shoosmiths’ team greatly helped me not only understand the firm’s values but also fit in well with its unique culture.

The content of the day was what partly cemented my desire to become a solicitor. Areas of the law such as private client work which I was never really interested in before were enjoyable to work with in practice. One particular area of the law I was keen to get experience of was employment law. I was offered the opportunity to help a solicitor write an article on an interesting case. Working in this area of the law now greatly interests me because Shoosmiths demonstrated to how varied the work can be. Employment lawyers can be involved in writing articles on new cases, helping employers with general HR concerns and also litigation. This sort of variety is what appeals to me in a career. However, as much as I appreciated being exposed to many different practice areas, I do feel that a longer placement with more concentrated time with each department would have further inspired my future career path.

Shoosmiths holds an event every last Friday of the month for all of the employees to socialise and get to know each other. The firm’s employees were also very welcoming and inclusive at lunch times and I was able to socialise with different people every day during my lunch hour.

The 'Partners' drinks' was a great opportunity to talk to lots of different people at various stages in their career from different departments on a more social level. Although, it would have been even more beneficial if there was more of a presence from the Partners of the firm. The other summer placement students from previous weeks were also invited and I was able to chat to them about their experience at Shoosmiths.

I heard work of various out-door activities that Shoosmiths' employees can take part in.