Vacation Scheme Student Review

by Herbert Smith Freehills

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

4.3/5
  • About You
    4.4
  • The Company
    4.6
  • Everything Else
    3.8

    About You

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy the insight?
  • Absolutely fantastic experience. So many positives and very few negatives. A lot of time and effort has clearly gone into making the vacation scheme a great experience.

    5/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued during your time at the company or firm?
  • Although I think this depends very much on your supervisor, I was lucky enough to be given two supervisors who treated me as if I was already a trainee. Also my trainee buddies were excellent too, making sure all my questions were answered. Throughout all of the events put on by the firm, I always felt as if I was part of the team.

    5/5

  • 3. How much guidance/support did you receive during the insight?
  • A huge amount of guidance given by supervisors, explaining each task thoroughly and its context. Additionally in one department I was provided with a huge ring binder that had everything you needed to know regarding the practice area, very useful to refer to.

    4/5

  • 4. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and information you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • Lots of presentations on the different subject areas which will definitely help in my future career. Also the tasks I was given were definitely tasks that a trainee is likely to have to do so very helpful in this respect.

    5/5

    The Company

  • 5. How well structured was the insight?
  • Extremely well structured as there was almost one formal talk/presentation (with breakfast or lunch) per day which broke the days up and also a good amount of socials. At some firms they try and take you out almost every day which is too much. HSF really got the right balance.

    5/5

  • 6. How was the general atmosphere during your insight?
  • Despite any preconceptions you may have about a firm of this calibre, HSF honestly has a very open and friendly culture. Almost everyone I met was happy to chat and go for coffee (including the partners!). Partners also made an effort to actually speak to me and introduce themselves, which is more than I can say for other firms. I know that law firms plug their "open and friendly" cultures and often this isn't true, but I can honestly say that HSF has exactly this.

    5/5

  • 7. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • Excellent training with regards to presentations and also a brilliant negotiation workshop (un-assessed) which included a free book.

    5/5

  • 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?
  • As said previously, I honestly felt as if I was treated as a trainee, with the same benefits given to vac scheme students, including the opportunity to apply for an international vacation scheme to experience one of the HSF offices abroad.

    5/5

  • 9. How much did the insight help you in understanding the company culture?
  • See other comments.

    5/5

  • 10. How valuable was the content in helping you to decide on your future career path?
  • 5/5

    Everything Else

  • 11. Were you paid or reimbursed adequately for this experience?
  • £350 a week, tax deductible.


  • 12. Were there opportunities for networking and meeting other employees of the company or firm?
  • So many opportunities - there were always fee earners at all of the socials.

    4/5

  • 13. How were the networking/ social event opportunities?
  • See above.

    4/5

  • 14. Did you find out about activities that employees can get involved in outside of work?
  • Pro Bono activity and plenty of information available re other activities

    4/5

  • 15. Would you recommend this insight to a friend?
  • YES!

    5/5

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Details

Insight / Vacation Scheme (< 4 Weeks)

Legal/Law

London

July 2016


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