Vacation scheme student Review

I really enjoyed the Academy week. I learned so much about the business of law and the future of the legal market, and how CMS is adapting to new developments. The case study on the CMS Nabarro Olswang merger helped me to understand the complexities of merging firms, but also the advantages to lawyers and clients. All of the other vac schemers were really friendly and it was great to get to know so many new people.

Throughout the whole week, we were assessed by CMS partners, with one partner for every 5 or 6 vac schemers. The fact that these partners had given up their time for us helped to show us how valued we were. CMS did everything it could to help us settle into the firm, including giving accomodation to everyone who had come from outside of London.

We received a good amount of guidance during the Academy week, so that we had a good level of awareness about the legal market and about ourselves and how we work best. However, we were also given the space to be independent, such as in the simulation exercise when we had to run a meeting with a very angry "client" at short notice.

We were in different groups every day, and were doing a lot of group tasks - this helped encourage us to work as a team and get to know other people quickly. The commercial and legal awareness that we gained from activities such as the panel discussion and merger exercise will be invaluable as future trainees.

The Academy week was very well structured. We received the schedule in advance so we always knew what we were doing every day, as well as what time we would start and finish. The sessions rarely ran late, and if they did then the time was made up by the end of the day so we always finished on time.

The Academy week had a great atmosphere. All of the vac schemers were really excited to be there, and the partners were also excited about running this scheme for the first time. Those running the scheme had very high energy for the whole week, which really helped as it was a busy and tiring week.

We all took a Hogan assessment which helped us to identify our potential career derailers and how we can manage them. This really helped us to be more aware of our own personalities, which will be useful for future personal development. We were encouraged to give and receive feedback every day (although sometimes we ran out of time at the end of the day), which helped us to see how others see us.

We were encouraged to act as representatives of CMS, as if we had a full time role with the firm. We were trusted to talk to clients and run meetings with them, and the "speed networking" event with CMS lawyers and staff really helped us to understand what it is like to work for the firm.

Seeing a firm from the inside is really the only way to understand their culture, and CMS made every effort to show us their culture of teamwork and mutual support. The merger case study helped us to understand the compatability of CMS, Nabarro and Olswang cultures and see how they have effectively integrated.

We were able to meet lawyers at all levels of their careers, which really helped show us our potential career progression. We were encouraged to see ourselves as future trainees, and therefore were given a lot of responsibility. I already knew that I definitely want to be a solicitor, but this make me sure that I want to work for a large international firm such as CMS.

Those of us travelling from outside of London for the Academy week will be reimbursed our travel expenses. We were also given accomodation for the Academy week, which was just around the corner from the office so we could all walk to work in the mornings. This was also a great way to meet people from the London and regional offices.

We did a "speed networking" session, where lawyers and staff at CMS chatted to us about their careers and their role at CMS. We were able to meet people of all roles and levels, including HR staff, partners, Of Counsels, secretaries, associates and trainees. We also had plenty of opportunities to socialise and network at the multiple socials and evening events.

One evening during the Academy week, we went to a restaurant called Brigade, which is also social enterprise that seeks to help those who have been homeless or at risk of homelessness by giving them employment and skills. During this evening, we networked with partners and CSR clients, including War Child and Prince's Trust.

During the internship weeks in the Bristol office, we were encouraged to get involved in activities outside of work. Myself and the other two vac schemers went along to the football training that the team were doing in preparation for the CMS tour to Amsterdam, which was great fun and a really good way to meet people outside of the departments we were working in.

Definitely! This was a really interesting scheme, and the first of its kind. I did a traditional vac scheme at another international firm, which did not give me anywhere near the same amount of insight into the legal market and business of law as the CMS scheme. This scheme was a really great way to learn more about CMS and the future of law firms in general.