Vacation Scheme Review

For the most part, i really enjoyed the vacation scheme i did at Taylor Wessing. It was all very well organised and on my first day i was introduced to the team and was made to feel very welcome. I was immediately given work to get on with and, for the most part, i felt like what i was important work which would end up with clients.

I was given very warm welcomes by both teams i worked with during my two weeks and i was also given a desk in an office with either a partner or a senior associate. This set the tone for both weeks and made me feel very valued. However there were some issues. For instance, in my first week most of the senior personnel in my department left to go to a conference, Therefore i spent 3 days working solely under the supervision of trainees, this left me looking for work which was not really available, and in the end i felt like i was somewhat of an imposition on the trainees. The same, to a lesser extent, applies to my second seat. In the last few days i was "twiddling my thumbs" a lot, and my attempts to be given more work were unsuccessful.

I received a fair amount of support during my time at the firm. I had a trainee buddy and a supervisor at all times and they were very helpful in terms of helping me with various tasks and offering support. However, as i mentioned, my supervisor was absent for the first week and so this left me treading water a bit.

For me personally, this was the first time i had ever been in an "office" or "corporate" environment on a daily basis. Therefore the most crucial thing i came away with was an awareness of how to behave and approach others in such an environment, particularly in the socials which regularly took place. In terms of developing skills for my degree, trawling through cases to construct a case summary, and having to send condensed emails to associates developed a particular range of skills which are crucial to my qualitative degree.

The Taylor Wessing Vacation Scheme was, i must admit, incredibly well structured. Every day at least one, sometimes two, insight sessions were held, run by each department or "seat". These were very well delivered, often encompassing tasks which we had to complete, designed so as to give us an insight into the type of work undertaken by the respective departments. These presentations provided us with incredibly useful information about the type of work lawyers do, information which would be very valuable for any future applications.

I do not think you could say there was a general atmosphere, for you did not actually spend too much time with the rest of the vacation schemers. Rather you were with the members of your seat the whole time, even eating lunch with them on a daily basis. In this way the atmosphere was very different to anything i had every experienced.

On the first day of our vacation scheme we received extensive training regarding how to use all the IT systems, which in turn showed us how we should operate as part of the firm. Further, a senior partner gave us a valuable insight into what firms are looking for in trainees, an insight which will be very useful in the future. I also felt like the partner or associate with whom i shared an office with was always available to answer my questions and offer me advise.

During my two weeks at the firm i got a real understanding of what it would be like to work at the firm. This was especially true of my second seat in the banking and finance department, where iw as given not only an insight into what a trainees responsibilities would be on a day to day basis, but i was also offered an insight into how a career in the department wold pan out and of how the department fit in to the overall Taylor Wessing strategy, More importantly, i was consistently exposed to people working throughout the firm in various capacities, therefore i was provided with a good overall picture of what it is like to work at the firm.

i must say, although i personally did not thrive, the firm offered plenty of networking and social events to get your teeth into. After work there were events held for the vacation scheme students and the trainees, events where you could "let your hair down" , whilst there were also numerous events held with far more senior people at the firm. Therefore in terms of networking opportunities, the firm offered a lot.

Networking is not one of my strong points. I tend to feel a bit out of place, despite being a very social person, for i have never been exposed to this sort of environment before. However the firm offered plenty of opportunities to socialize and network. There were social outings with trainees and other vacation scheme students, outings which offered a fun activity such as darts, accompanied by food and drinks. There were also events held with far more senior people at the firm, where for instance we were made to sit next to them over lunch, which were very well run and where the senior partners made you feel very welcome.

I did indeed and they all seemed like something that i could have got involved with. For instance, i was invited to go and play football with the Taylor Wessing team against another law firm. Unfortunately i was not able to play the game, yet it felt as if i would have received a warm welcome were i to have been able to play. Although i was never formally introduced to other teams, other vacation scheme students made me aware of many more teams i could have been a part of.