Placement Scheme Candidate Review

The placement scheme was great! This is applicable in all areas from the quality of work, team members and office focus on wellbeing. Everyone who I interacted with was very helpful, friendly and was genuinely interested in me. My team were very busy and so I had a lot of work to do.

I had a huge variety of work from my whole team, which made my week extremely interesting. An example being, drafting board minutes for my supervisor. I've never done this before and received good feedback. Furthermore, I was advised by my host that each piece of work I completed was actually going to be used in a deal/matter for its progression. I felt that I made worthwhile contributions to the team.

I received a good level of guidance and support. Whenever I was unsure of anything, I would do a little research myself and thereafter go to my supervisor to ensure I was on the right track. My supervisor was happy to assist and was pro-active to give feedback. This helped me develop, to ensure subsequent tasks were of a good standard.

I have gained an understanding of the necessary skills/qualities to work well at a commercial law firm such as; resilience, attention to detail and a positive attitude. I use these in my full-time role and confirms for me that a career in law is perfect. I worked in the Banking team, so the knowledge gained will assist when I do a seat in banking in the future.

There was minimal structure in terms of team events etc. This was a good thing as I was able to fill up my free time with work from my team and getting to know the staff in the office. There was a timetable given at the beginning of the placement which did outline the tasks that needed to be completed. It was up to me to ensure they were completed on time.

The atmosphere was great! Everyone was so friendly, from the receptionist right the way through to the Head of Office. All were very welcoming and made sure I was comfortable during my stay.

My supervisor dedicated a lot of time in training me on matters I had never dealt with before. Also, he was more than happy to help answer any questions I had. He explained the process on given tasks and how it fitted in to the bigger picture too.

The placement scheme gave me a real insight to a full time role at Shoosmiths. The team had a few deals going through and a completion was on the agenda. I was fortunate to be a part of this and knew that it would be this time pressured and interesting as a lawyer.

I was able to understand that the culture at Shoosmiths was supportive, understanding and collegiate. I was able to experience first-hand their core values and what makes it stand out in the marketplace.

The placement confirmed for me that a career in law would be perfect!

I was paid £295 for the week.

I did have lunch with other trainees and placement scheme candidates. This was good to understand other people's journey on to the placement.

They were good i.e. lunch. We went for drinks at the end of the placement which was nice. It was good to see trainees in a non formal setting.

Yes. People can get involved in sports activities and there is a social committee at the office which organise events too.

Absolutley! It will give a real insight to what a large national firm does for its clients.