Vacation Schemer Review

I really enjoyed the whole scheme. The socials were really fun and everyone was extremely friendly. I also made some really good friends who I will stay in touch with. The work was extremely interesting. We also received several talks by senior partners who gave us a good insight into the work at the top end, but equally I felt that I gained a genuine insight into the trainee experience and was given the type of work I would be doing if I were a trainee at Linklaters.

Although there were lots of people on the scheme, I felt like the grad recruitment team really wanted to make sure I personally was making the most of my time and had regular check-ups with them where they asked for my feedback. When I did work, I received thorough feedback on what I did well and where I could improve, which was extremely helpful. Several senior partners also spent the time talking to me about what type of career I was looking for, which gave me a good insight into the firm. Everyone was very friendly and made me feel like I was at home.

A huge amount of guidance and support - I was put under very little pressure and was encouraged to see the vacation scheme as a chance for me to see if the firm was right for me, which was hugely encouraging. I received feedback about what I could improve on, and we were given a clear schedule about the plans and deadlines during the vacation scheme in advance.

I did develop some skills, but more importantly I received a lot of information which was extremely helpful in enabling me to decide if I want to pursue a career in law, as well as information which meant I gained commercial experience, and a better understanding of how business works.

Extremely well structured. We received a thorough schedule at the beginning of the scheme setting out our deadlines for our assignments, as well as all of our talks and socials, so I never felt out of my depth and unsure what was going on. We each had a trainee buddy who we could talk to about the trainee experience, and several other points of contact which were made explicit to us.

Extremely friendly - I could not fault Linklaters' people one bit, since everyone was so welcoming and relaxed so I never felt out of place. I felt like I was genuinely valued and wanted at the scheme, and, although Linklaters is a huge global law firm, I enjoyed being able to work in small teams. The socials were really fun and a good way to relax and make friends.

The main reason I'd chosen Linklaters to begin with was because I wanted a company which would enable me to develop and grow. Regular feedback during my vacation helped with this. But more importantly a number of exercises helped develop my skills, such as a mediation exercise (negotiation skills) or a client pitch (presentation skills).

To a large extent. Everyone was extremely honest with me about the workload and the positive and negative sides of working at Linklaters, which allowed me to make an informed decision about going into Linklaters. I was also given actual real work which trainees did, some of which was more interesting than others, but all of which did enable me to understand what it would be like to be a trainee at Linklaters. The trainee buddies were also particularly helpful in this respect.

I felt the company culture was extremely friendly, and the variety of social events and length of the vacation scheme (four weeks rather than two) enabled me to meet a variety of people across the firm in both formal and informal environments. People were also very happy to answer my questions at length and explain to me what they liked and sometimes didn't like about the company's culture.

Extremely valuable. Everyone was extremely honest in telling me about their careers and was happy to weigh up other career paths against the firm from a neutral perspective. It also enabled me to gain a much better understanding of what it actually meant to be a lawyer in practice, and the type of work that the firm did.

I was also offered to be paid accommodation expenses.

I was actively encouraged to network with senior partners at the firm as well as trainees, and there were many opportunities to do this in an informal environment. I definitely made contacts who I will keep in touch with as my career progresses and who since leaving the scheme I have been in touch with. There were also great tips about how to network and why it was important. I also was enabled to network with the other interns.

There were two social events each week which trainees, associates and partners all attended at different times and I was able and encouraged to network at. Everyone was very helpful in introducing me to people if I was interested in certain areas which they didn't know much about.

Yes - in the company they did lots of pro bono work which interested me and I was able to find out more about. I was also given information about the different clubs which I could join, such as sailing and skiing clubs. We were invited to a cricket match against a bank, which was the type of thing which lawyers in the firm would be invited to.

Absolutely - it was a fantastic and really positive experience, and I really enjoyed it. Even if law isn't something which you're short about, it's a great chance to learn more about the world of business, and how it works. It was also a fun experience - I enjoyed being able to work on important unprecedented cases which were at the forefront of their fields.