Vacation Scheme Review

I really enjoyed the experience, everyone was so friendly and I was introduced to so many different people. All of the work given to me was really interesting and I felt that I learnt a lot from juggling my tasks.

I was encouraged to engage with everyone in the office, and felt really included. I was given some tasks from a Partner in the firm so that made me feel like I was doing really important work. People were happy to take time out of their day to go for coffee or lunch to get to know me, which I really appreciated.

My trainee buddy was incredibly supportive, always ensuring that I was involved and introducing me to people. She was always there to answer questions if I was confused and provided me with work when I had capacity. The graduate recruitment team were very active, they organised a mid-week phone call for me to update them on how I was doing, ensuring that everything was going okay.

I learnt time management skills from juggling the tasks given to me alongside preparing for the presentation I had to give on the last day. I also learnt how to apply the knowledge that I have been taught on my degree to the practical work that I was given, which is a really useful thing to learn. As the week progressed I got more confident with approaching staff and asking them queries, which I think was a great thing to practice. The projects were useful to do because I learnt time management skills and confidence in presenting in front of a crow, but I think that I learnt more from the real-life work that the solicitors gave me.

We were given a big presentation to prepare and do for the final day, and one for the mid-week point. This was structured well because we could balance the work given to us by staff around these priorities. I had to do a lot of the project in the evenings because it took longer than I expected, but I was happy to do this because I wanted to make sure that my work was of a high standard.

The firm really gives off an atmosphere of friendliness and openness, I felt really included and welcomed by the team. We went for lunch with the trainees one day, went for coffee with a few people from my team on another day, and I was taken to lunch by a Partner on my final day. This showcases how they really tried to make me feel included, and that they wanted to get to know me.

I think that I learnt a lot from the work that I did but it maybe would have been better for my development as a solicitor to be able to focus more on the real practical work instead of my project. But I did receive plenty of work, and never felt that I was without a useful task, and was really happy with the tasks I was given to do. And I do think my project was beneficial to me in different ways, such as confidence and public speaking skills.

Because of my project I perhaps lost some insight into working for the firm, because only about half of my time in the office was spent doing work for the actual lawyers. However, I still got a sense of what it was like to be part of the team and learnt a lot.

I really gained an insight into the company's values and how they operate as a law firm. It was clear that they are an open and friendly firm and I got to experience this.

I got a better understanding of what it is like to work in Real Estate Law, which was beneficial to me because this is an area that I am considering working in the future.

I was paid for my week's work but was not paid for my train or my accommodation for the week. I was coming from far away so had to pay Hotel costs, which amounted to a lot, but the money paid for my work covered these costs so I was happy to do it.

Yes, I was introduced to many people in the firm. I spoke to people from different departments and felt that I was able to ask them anything I wanted.

We went for lunch and coffee a few times which was a really good way to get to know people one-on-one and speak to them in a casual setting. I also went out for drinks with the trainees on the final day to celebrate the week which was really nice.

I learnt a bit about the charity work that the teams do, and how often they organised social events with their teams/across the office.

Yes definitely, I think it has been a great opportunity for me to learn new skills and gain confidence.