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Rating

4.5/5
  • About You
    4.8
  • The Company
    4.4
  • Everything Else
    4.3

    About You

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy the insight?
  • I thoroughly enjoyed the vacation scheme and the insight I got into Shoosmiths. Every day I left the office with a smile on a face and often when picking up my Mum or boyfriend from the station, couldn't stop talking about the day. I wanted to get in early and I didn't mind staying late because of how much I enjoyed the variety of work I was given and the high level of responsibility. The insight proved to me that Shoosmiths do have the clients at the heart of what they do and the collaboration in the office is second to none.

    5/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued during your time at the company or firm?
  • I felt extremely valued during my time at Shoosmiths. I tried to make an effort to get to know the team and so the response I had back was also very positive. I was made to feel welcome by the receptionist, my training buddy, the partners and all of the support staff and I felt confident that I could ask anybody a question. At the same time, building rapport with the team is something I tried to hard to achieve and I believe that this opened up more doors with regards to the work I received and the responsibility given to me when it came to summarising and researching urgent emails and calls for example. I even challenged one member of the team to a table tennis game on the Friday!

    5/5

  • 3. How much guidance/support did you receive during the insight?
  • The guidance I received was second to none. The environment I worked in was collaborative and if I needed help on anything, somebody was always on hand and happy to help whether it was their work or not, I felt that I could approach a partner just as much as a trainee and I also felt that if I had too much work on, or some urgent client work, that there would be an understanding if I had to ask for help to meet a deadline, or re-shuffle my work. My training buddy was lovely, and she helped me, advised me and guided me on pieces of work I needed a little more support with but at the same time let me use my initiative and work independently too.

    5/5

  • 4. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and information you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • I believe the skills I have developed relate more to how I see myself fitting in with a law firm and their culture and similarly what environment I work best and thrive in. Due to how much I enjoyed the week, it is clear that I want to work with Shoosmiths or with a very similar firm. I felt I developed the confidence to tackle things and to ask questions over the course of the week, especially if I got stuck or needed more guidance. This is as opposed to asking lots of questions at the start of which many were silly and I could work out for myself as I went along. The feedback I received was to stay as confident in presentations as I do in the team environment.

    4/5

    The Company

  • 5. How well structured was the insight?
  • The insight scheme was very well structured. The work I was given was varied, some urgent, some less so and it was nice to jump straight into some working tasks on the very first morning and get stuck in. I loved the team lunches and the ongoing tasks to complete such as the presentation and work schedule. These were great because it meant that if I needed a break from some complicated work, I could switch and do something else for half an hour and it got me thinking about how a trainee juggles their work load and time. I think that those who attend the vac scheme could develop networking skills by having a task to complete with another one of Shoosmiths' office in a different location i.e. having to make a phone call to a different office, or to ask for somebody's expertise or advice on a piece of work.

    4/5

  • 6. How was the general atmosphere during your insight?
  • The atmosphere was brilliant. It was clear that everyone had a great work - life balance and this contributed to the positive teams ethos. Even during urgent and stressful situations, being there to help out was clearly appreciated by the team members and they never forgot to give you feedback, guidance and to say thank you. The collaborative environment and open office worked really well and I felt I could speak to anyone at any time. Moreover, everyone was extremely encouraging and pushed and challenged me appropriately. This helped me to not only learn more about the firm but to be more confident with my aspirations to work at Shoosmiths and in law. I was actually quite sad when the week was up and I knew I wasn't heading back into Shoosmiths on the following Monday morning!

    5/5

  • 7. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • I managed to be part of Peter Duffs end of year report which gave me great insight into the firm. My training buddy also sat with me to work through ideas for my end of week presentation and the assignments I was set as well as proof read any emails and provide feedback this way. I worked on the premise of high quality with turnaround and I had a lot of feedback on this and how well I did which was great to here. With this, I was given pointers to work on, things I had forgotten for next time and areas to look into if I was interested. I was constantly sent relevant articles, up to date news and members of the different teams would always ask if I needed anymore work or any advice. With regards to personal development, there could have potentially been a workshop on a certain area or to be a part of a weekly round up for example, in order to get a greater insight into the other areas of the office for example.

    4/5

  • 8. To what extent did the insight help you to understand what it would be like to have a full time role with the company or firm?
  • Working with Shoosmiths for the week certainly gave me great insight into what it would be like to have a full-time position and I loved it! I was sad to leave and extremely grateful to the commercial team. I learnt so much from working on real cases and the responsibility and warmth I was given throughout was great.

    5/5

  • 9. How much did the insight help you in understanding the company culture?
  • The insight helped me understand the company culture a significant amount. I could see the 4 key values very clearly in the work that the team carried out and it was refreshing to see that everything I had read about the firm, was very true. The culture of pulling together, using your initiative, providing business insight and being within reach was extremely obvious and I can see why clients value Shoosmiths.

    5/5

  • 10. How valuable was the content in helping you to decide on your future career path?
  • It has confirmed the type of firm I want to work for, the values I want to work within and confirmed my enjoyment of commercial work (both contentious and non-contentious). The vacation scheme has given me the confidence and determination to be the best I can possibly be with regard to the work that I do. I am trying to bottle this up to present on the assessment day! I would have liked to have seen a little more of the other areas within the firm, but I believe I could have explored this further myself. However, due to how busy we were in the commercial team that week I focused on getting involved in as much as possible and helping where ever I could.

    5/5

    Everything Else

  • 11. Were you paid or reimbursed adequately for this experience?
  • Had I needed to be reimbursed for expenses, I know I would have been. Great bonus to a great week.


  • 12. Were there opportunities for networking and meeting other employees of the company or firm?
  • Yes, we went on 3 business lunches with my team, with my training buddy and with the majority of the trainees from the firm. It was great to interact and to hear different stories, not just about the firm but about how they balance their work and home life. It was refreshing that the employees took the time out to come and get to know us and so it was a great opportunity to get to know them back! Working with other employees from different locations may be something to look into in the future with regards to a set task or to ask for specialist advice as mentioned previously.

    4/5

  • 13. How were the networking/ social event opportunities?
  • I wasn't involved in any after work drinks but my training buddy had drinks with one of her old secondment placements and the corporate team were on an away day whilst I was there so I know there is lots going on. It was great to hear the stories of the trainees getting involved in fundraising opportunities and there was even a Euro sweepstake in the office whilst I was there!

    4/5

  • 14. Did you find out about activities that employees can get involved in outside of work?
  • Yes, I often asked what they did to get away from work. Many spent time with their children, one lady competed in triathlons, another lady was planning her wedding. It was the sponsored cricket match the following week and so this for me, would've been great to get involved in (hopefully girls were allowed on the team)!

    5/5

  • 15. Would you recommend this insight to a friend?
  • Yes definitely! I couldn't have asked for anything more. I loved it!

    5/5

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Details

Insight / Vacation Scheme (< 4 Weeks)

Business Management, Legal/Law

East Midlands

July 2016


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