Paralegal Review

8 The insight was very helpful. The team at Squires held many opportuntiies for networking with people of all levels. In addition, the team held insight sessions into each department area every morning for most of the two weeks, to help us understand what the practice area does. We were able to look at internal documents and one of our assessments involved a pitch, which really helped me ot focus my mind into the insight required. In each department area I was given an introduction to everyone in the team and the type of work I did. I really feel that I understand the work undertaken at squires, their goals within the next few years and the culture at the firm/

9 The HR team were excellent during my time at Squires. They always kept us informed, set up a really good first day of introductory talks. They worked really hard to make sure we were accommodated and that they were there at all times to discuss any issues we had. They also made the effort to sit with us while we waited for our interviews and group presentations, to ensure that we were relaxed before entering the room. Everyone in the firm was really excited to get to know every single vacation scheme student. I was stopped on numerous occassions and asked about my career path to date. In addition, I was given real work to complete rather than just made up tasks. I could truly see the benefit of the tasks I was completely and felt an extension of a team. Especially, in corporate where I was tasked with helping on a completion.

7 I was given lots of support an guidance during my time at Squires. Everyone sat down and ran through in as much detail as required, how to complete a task. If I needed to ask a question for my understand or it was just something I was interested in, I felt comfortable interrupting their days. Nothing was ever too much trouble for the people I worked with. The trainees were especially supportive regarding our assessments, offering guidance and support in the run up to us attending them. They provided helpful advice based on their experiences. I didn't get much chance to receive any feedack during my time at Squires, but this was due to how busy the teams were. I do think the overall feedback will be extremely helpful going forward.

6 I am no longer at University, so this question is not directly applicable to me.. I do think that the insight into different areas will assist me in future interviews, if I am unsuccesfful. I learnt a lot about law firms as a business, which will be transferable to other areas of the business. In addition, the assessments were extremely helpful and were developed by BPP. I think these were especially helpful, as they were very practical and allowed us to research and understand the differences of ADR and costs.

10 The insight was split into a few options: 1. The overview session delivered by the office managing partner. This gave us a broad overview of squires as a business and where they were looking to go in the next few years. 2. Overview of each practice area was extremeley helpful. These were well structured without being too formal. There were lots of opportunities for questions, which meant that we were able to get the most out of the sessions. 3. We were given an overview of the Charity committee, which was actually requested by some of the vacation scheme students.

10 Everyone was extremely friendly and excited to get to know everyone of the vacation scheme students. Everyone said hello in the corridor and offered help if you were struggling to use the printer etc. The secretaries came in a few times a week at least, to ensure that we were getting on okay. There were many socials to allow us to get to know the trainees. Everyone I sat with in a room was excited to speak to me and get to know me. The vacation scheme students were friendly and not overly competitive, which actually resulted in a nice atmosphere for all.

7 As mentioned previously, I didn't recieve much feedback during my time at Squires. I suspect that this was because everyone was really busy rather than a lack of willingness. Most people gave ad hoc feedback. After the pitch, a specific point that our team dealt with was explained by the partner and director, which proved invaluable feedback. There was no specific training given as such, as I am already a paralegal, but I cannot speak for those people who do not already paralegal or work in a legal environment.

8 I really understand the culture of the firm, in that they like to work hard and be tenacious, but that they also like to be fun. Individuals work at Squires not just robots, they can laugh at themselves dressed in fancy dress rummaging through cream with a hippo mask. It also allowed me to see what sorts of work the firm completes and the variety of different clients. I even discussed pitch documents with a newly won client.

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I was paid £250 a week and I was here for two weeks.

10 Yes, we had a lunch on the first day with a number of people from different levels. We also had a quiz that night with the trainees. We had two formal socials with the trainees and other vacation scheme students. These allowed us to network and get to know the trainees. It would have been nice to see more of the trainees at the event. However that being said, we were invited to the summer office party, which gave us ample opportunity to network with a variety of different levels of people in the firm. We then had a leaving in lunch again, which was highly attended.

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8 Yes, we were able to ask at our insight sessions/networking sessions about activities that employees do outside of work. This involved sports teams and chairty events. It would have been nice to have a dedicated session to this, as I do think there is stll more that I could have learnt about the number of activities different members of the firm do.

10 Yes, this is my favourite vacation scheme I've ever done. Nothing was ever too much trouble, for anyone at Squires. Everyone was really excited to work with us and get to know us. I learnt a lot during my time here and really enjoyed my time.