Spring Vacation Scheme Review

I really enjoyed my time at the firm, and couldn’t believe I’d reached the end of it. I’d expected the two weeks to feel much longer than they ultimately did. Experiencing both a contentious and a transactional seat was a fantastic way of demonstrating the firm’s strength as a full service offering.

I really enjoyed my time at the firm, and couldn’t believe I’d reached the end of it. I’d expected the two weeks to feel much longer than they ultimately did. Experiencing both a contentious and a transactional seat was a fantastic way of demonstrating the firm’s strength as a full service offering.

Mentors and supervisors were friendly and on hand at all times and were happy to answer any questions no matter how minor. People were honest about their own experiences in the same position, which was really useful. I was never put in a position in which I felt like I was out of my depth.

The skills developed and information received will undoubtedly be useful whether or not I am ultimately offered a place at the firm in the future. I couldn’t imagine applying to work anywhere without experiencing a slice of what to expect as I have here. More than anything I felt like two weeks of networking and meeting new people every day was incredibly valuable in building my confidence.

The scheme hit the perfect balance of structure and free time. Structure was important to ensure that we got a timely and well rounding look into the firm and its practice, but the space in my timetable was absolutely necessary to be able to get stuck into work and not have the day feel like a school day.

People were friendly and excited to see our interest in the firm, which really showed when the Managing Partner himself carved time out of his schedule to sit and answer any questions that we might have. The firm was keen to demonstrate its truly collegiate atmosphere with an honest approach, which really left a good impression on all of us.

The scheme was definitely aimed more at explaining what the firm did and how it worked, with commercial awareness expected to be a given by this point in the application process. I feel that I have more than enough to detail in any later description of what my work entailed here, and bits and pieces of technical knowledge were nice to pick up.

Although much of the time was structured in a way that we would rarely have in excess of 6-7 hours in front of our desks, people currently at the firm were completely open about what to expect in terms of workload when working here full time. There were no attempts to sugar-coat the sometimes long hours, but I really believed it when I was told that there genuinely is no face-time culture here.

Although much of the time was structured in a way that we would rarely have in excess of 6-7 hours in front of our desks, people currently at the firm were completely open about what to expect in terms of workload when working here full time. There were no attempts to sugar-coat the sometimes long hours, but I really believed it when I was told that there genuinely is no face-time culture here.

The department talks were interesting in the balance of introductory content with technical knowledge that they provided. I am absolutely sure that this is the career path that I want to pursue after this whether or not I am offered a full time position with the firm. Nobody was coy about discussing plans for years down the line, which I appreciated.

The department talks were interesting in the balance of introductory content with technical knowledge that they provided. I am absolutely sure that this is the career path that I want to pursue after this whether or not I am offered a full time position with the firm. Nobody was coy about discussing plans for years down the line, which I appreciated.

Every day provided opportunities to meet new people and network with them. Everybody was happy to talk and genuinely interested in conversation with us. We were invited to firm and department-wide events as if we were already trainees, and the tours that we were given at the beginning of each seat were useful for putting faces to names.

The events struck a perfect balance of being a nice break from the intensity of the experience and also not putting any of us in a position in which we felt pushed for time or otherwise like the days were too long. The atmosphere was relaxed and the people present happy to chat. The firm was very generous in the events that it provided for us, in particular the dinner that we were taken to on our penultimate night.

From day 1 we were invited to participate in sporting events, and included on emails sent around the firm to advertise charity initiatives, assorted classes and sessions, and other well-being related activities. The firm is well placed in its proximity to Shoreditch, which is where the trainees and associates in particular seem to frequent.

From day 1 we were invited to participate in sporting events, and included on emails sent around the firm to advertise charity initiatives, assorted classes and sessions, and other well-being related activities. The firm is well placed in its proximity to Shoreditch, which is where the trainees and associates in particular seem to frequent.