Summer Placement Student Review

My week at Shoosmiths Soton has far surpassed my expectations. It was both really exciting and really challenging to be involved in real work for the Real Estate team. I was impressed about the responsibility I was given by the team, and how my work was actually sent out to clients. This however, put a lot of pressure on to ensure the work was of my highest standard, as I wanted to impress my team and not cause any delays in getting the work out to clients

I have felt extremely valued whilst being at Shoosmiths

I received enough support to challenge me on each task, and received fantastic and thorough feedback that really explained the legal process to me.

Well I was placed in the Real Estate team and have my Land Law exam coming up, so that was good revision! It has also provided me with an insight into office dynamics and developing related skills.

Really well structured. I recevied a starter pack from Graduate Recruitment and this enabled me to plan my week.

Welcoming and friendly.

Having spoken to Trainees over the week I have discovered a lot about Shoosmiths' approach to training. There are great support networks that are there to help you develop key practical skills. An example of this is when I spoke to a Trainee about her experience of the training contract, and she commented on how she received a lot of help with her public speaking skills from the Learning and Development team. This really impressed me.

It was great exposure to the real job, and this involved working a full time role's hours at Shoosmiths. I had to efficiently use my time to get all of the work done, in order not to stay too late! This meant that I had to balance my workload both from the tasks set by Graduate Recruitment, and the ongoing flow of working coming from the Real Estate team.

It was fantastic, I even received an individual Shoosmiths Culture presentation by a member of the HR team as I showed an interest in learning more about this area. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming, and in the office meeting the sense of humour of the teams really shone through also, which is something I personally look for in a workplace as it brightens the days up a little.

As I said, I was involved in real work and this gave me a taste of the type of work I will be doing as a trainee. It certainly confirmed my interest and allowed me to experience another area of law. I know I would be extremely happy in my career if I ended up at Shoosmiths, and this is confirmed by the fact that a lot of the members of the teams have been with the firm for 10-20 years!

I was paid for my experience, and the amount was good compared with what similar size firms in the area offer.

Yes, I organised a lunch and got invited to the Southampton Commercial Touch Rugby event with members of the Real Estate team. The lunch was fun, and was at Wagamamas in Whitely. I had never been to Whiteley before, and it was great to have a look around at the shops, as this could potentially be my local if I am fortunate enough to get offered a Training Contract with the firm,

There could have been more social opportunities, but I was the only placement student so I understand why there was not. This said, I was able to involve myself in social/networking opportunities by organising a lunch, organising a cake sale for the office's chosen charity and get involved in the Friday networking event.

Yes, various sports clubs. I think there is scope for more Shoosmiths sports teams, but this is something that is determined by the response of the employees, so there may not be a demand for it!

Definitely. It has been a fantastic week, and it has absolutely flown by. I would advise to apply early, and let your personality shine through. Shoosmiths really encourages individuality and diversity. This is seen from the CEO being a female herself, which is extremely rare in the legal profession and definitely something to boast about!