Vacation Scheme Review

It offered a good experience of what life is like at the firm, with the ability to get involved with interesting work. There was a very sociable atmosphere between the other people on the vacation scheme, and generally supervisors where happy to discuss and give work. What was required for the assessed sections of the scheme could have been expressed more clealry, as well as when they were expected to be carried out (i.e. during work hours or in our own time).

The trainees were very welcoming and willing to talk with the people on the vacation scheme, as well as get to know us during the organised socials. The partners were also very happy to talk to us and give us insights, which was helped by the fact we were sat alongside fee earners.

People were on the whole very willing to talk about your time on the vacation scheme and what work you were doing. Understandably many fee earners were often too busy with work to really show you the ropes. If someone had been struggling in some way, the atmosphere meant it would have been easy to ask for help.

The skills I learnt on the scheme are not particulalry transferable to the last year of my university degree, but they act as a good basis from which to continue my legal career. Some of the work I was given was similar to the type of work that a trainee would be given.

The two weeks were well set out, with the social events and practice group talks spaced out evenly throughout that time. We were given a timetable for the week which made it easy to plan where we were meant to be, although there was a lack of information regarding what to do in some of the assessed work.

The atmosphere in the office was really friendly and open, which made it quite easy to settle in to the vacation scheme. Even when people were busy, their nature was still lighthearted and nobody ignored you when walking around the office. We were encouraged to get to know everyone, even above trainees.

There was no real sense that the firm was investing in us other than as potential future trainees, and while the emphasis was on gaining an insight into working as a lwayer more generally, it was all based on the knowledge that you were at the firm and on the scheme because you might get a training contract from it.

The work given to us during the two weeks often mirrored the type of work that we would be doing as trainees, so the scheme was very useful in that sense. We were also sat next to fee earners, so could watch a deals developed and the work they were doing chnaged.

A lot of emphasis was placed on the fact that the firm's culture sets it apart from its competition. Everyone was very keen to let you know why they thought the firm was different, and the partners were keen to convey this when we met them over networking lunches each week.

The scheme was aimed at people who knew they wanted to become a lawyer, although it offered a good insight for those who had not yet decided. It did a good job of showing you a real insight into working life, which meant that people could decide if they enjoyed the work.

Each week there was a networking lunch to get to know people from the firm., as well as socials where you could get to know some of the trainees better. On a day-to-day level, it was very easy to have a chat with people around the office, and build connections with both trainees and partners.