Vacation Scheme Student Review

I greatly enjoyed my time on the vacation scheme at Linklaters. It both allowed me to explore commercial law as a career and enabled me to experience life within a large city firm. I sat within two very active departments and I was kept very busy throughout the duration of the scheme.

I felt very valued during my time at the firm. Both of my supervisors were genuinely interested in helping me to improve and vested in my development whilst I spent time in their departments. I also felt valued by senior management at the firm who took time out of their days to speak to the vacation students.

The graduate recruitment team were always on hand to answer any of my questions which arose during the scheme and I also felt able to ask my supervisors questions throughout the scheme. We were also given trainee buddies who we could turn to for help. The training contract assessment process was initially slightly unclear but this was later clarified throughout the scheme.

The vacation scheme has been vital in helping me to decide that commercial law is the career which I wish to pursue. I received a first-hand experience of the firm and we were also given specific talks about each practice area which confirmed my decision. I also developed useful negotiation and pitch skills.

The insight was very clearly structured. We received a timetable of events which was followed throughout the duration of the scheme. There were regular social events and also talks by members of different practice areas. Assessments were also structured so that everyone always had something to do if their department was quiet.

The general atmosphere during the insight was very positive. We all felt welcomed by the firm and all of the students attending the scheme got on well together which fostered a cooperative rather than competitive atmosphere. The variety of events organised throughout the scheme helped to keep interest and enthusiasm high.

We received basic training at the beginning of the scheme although most of the training and development took place throughout the scheme. My supervisors were very vested in my development and genuinely wanted me to learn and improve during my time with them. They were eager to answer questions and to explain any unfamiliar terms.

Following the scheme I have a good insight into what life would be like at Linklaters in a full-time position. Being a vacation scheme student could only give a realistic insight up to a certain point, but I was always able to ask my supervisors and trainee buddies questions about working at the firm and they answered me honestly.

I gained a good insight into the culture of the firm. We learned about the strategy of the firm from the senior management and through my interactions with employees at the firm, I gained a good sense of the culture. We also attended a volunteering day which demonstrated the firm’s stance towards corporate social responsibility.

The vacation scheme was invaluable in helping me to decide my future career path. Spending four weeks at the firm confirmed that commercial law is definitely the career which I would like to pursue and it also enabled me to compare Linklaters to other law firms and decide which sort of firm I would like to work at.

I was paid adequately during my time on the scheme and I would have been reimbursed expenses if applicable.

There were many opportunities for networking throughout my time on the scheme. Social events were well attended by trainees at the firm and there was also the opportunity to speak to senior lawyers at the firm over breakfast and at formal dinner events. Within my department, I was also able to network with lawyers beyond those I was working with.

There was a huge variety of social events during my four weeks at Linklaters. These were attended by many of our trainee buddies and by the Graduate Recruitment Team and allowed all of the vacation scheme students to get to know each other. The socials were very popular and enjoyed by everyone.

I did find out about activities Linklaters employees can get involved in outside of work but this was by personally speaking to different lawyers about it. It would have been good to have had a talk about pro bono opportunities or clubs and societies within the firm, although I appreciate that the timetable for the scheme was very tight.

I would definitely recommend this insight to a friend or to anyone considering a career in commercial law. Four weeks was the perfect amount of time to really get to know the firm and to decide whether commercial law was a career I would like to pursue in the future.