Vacation Scheme Review

It was an extremely well and thoughtfully organised vac scheme. Had a great time and good exposure to work.

Everyone made me feel very welcome and treated me like a respected individual within the firm.

One trainee mentor, one supervisor, the HR team and pretty much everyone in the firm were all there to support me.

The network I created during my short time at the firm will be very helpful throughout my career.

Very well structured; a good mix of social, informative and professional (practice area related) exposure.

Casual, but also professional.

The firm spent a lot of time and money and resources in me and the other vacation schemers. We had a variety of firm sponsored socials (10 course dinner, summer party, goodbye drinks, vacation schemers only drinks tab etc.). Moreover, the time that lawyers at the firm made to explain things to us, just have casual chats about their work / our career progression etc. and the assessment process (partners making time for interviews and other assessments) are a massive expense.

The scheme was a great opportunity to see how life would be there. Trainees, associates and partners were happy to share their daily work life with us. Nobody tried to lie to us about their workload, meaning that we could go into the firm with our eyes open if we were to get offers. Talks giving us an overview of the main practice areas were also very helpful.

The culture was very much visible throughout the scheme, starting from how the grad recruitment team organised the scheme and introduced us to the firm, to how people talk to you. It was also great to be able to participate in firm training sessions as well as the firm's annual summer party, as we could see how lawyers across the firm socialise with each other.

It was very helpful as I could see how another law firm operates. It made me realise how different firms can be, even if they are from the same "category". Being exposed to two practice areas by sitting in an office with a senior lawyer of the team also helped me with experiencing different areas of law and a potential choice in the future when it comes to qualification.

Each vac schemer was paid £325 per week, minus tax. Unfortunately we were put on the firm's payroll meaning that we were only paid three weeks after the scheme had ended. For me this was not a problem as I stayed at my parents' place, but for those from outside of London, who needed to find accommodation and cover other expenses it might have put quite a financial burden on them.

Absolutely. We had various socials to which all firm staff was invited, and were also allowed to attend the firm's summer party, which was a great way to meet people from all across the firm. On top of those, we had talks almost daily during which we would get an overview of a practice area by lawyers in that area who we could ask lots of questions.

Networking opportunities were great. The firm encouraged us to approach lawers in our and other departments even if we did not necessarily do work for them. The graduate recruitment team also repeatedly offered us to arrange networking with specific people if we so wished. As a result I spoke to a lot of people from the firm even outside of my practice areas, and made valuable professional and personal connections.

Yes, we were given a good overview of the social activities (sports etc.) of the firm in a trainee talk. Moreover, there was a session on the many pro bono projects that the firm runs. We were encouraged to participate in the these and I was able to work on a very interesting pro bono project during my second week, which was a great new experience.

Absolutely. It is very competitive to get in, but definitely worth the time and effort. This scheme might lead to a training contract offer, but whatever the outcome, the scheme is an amazing opportunity in terms of socialsing, networking, finding out about practice areas, experiencing the life in a law firm and more specifically finding out about Shearman & Sterling's culture.