CMS Academy Student Review

I enjoyed how varied the week in London was, we did everything from dances during 'mindful 15' to getting involved in CSR dinners and haing the opportunity to go out on a client visit and run a client meeting which was a highlight for me in addition to the business similuation task.

The investment made by the company in terms of flying us to London for the 'Business of Law' week, paying for accomodation, meals and social events during the actual insight made me feel very valued in terms of monetary investment. In terms of work load, we were entrusted with actual work for actual clients and ongoing matters which made me feel as if my contributions during the internship were actually useful.

I recieved guidance from the team at graduate recruitment who were always happy to answer questions during the first week. During the actual insight week in a regional office I was allocated both a trainee buddy who sat next to me and a supervisor. I always recieved very straightforward guidance when completing tasks and the team were always very willing to answer any queries I had.

The skills I learned from working in teams of varying sizes throguhout the insight week have equipped me with the skills needed to work in an open-plan office space in addiiton to getting involved in future team projects. In addition, my public speaking skills and knowledge of the skills needed to build meaningful and strong client relationships will stand me in good sted for the rest of my working career.

The Academy was structured very well, we were given a timetable before the academy started so had a good idea of what to expect every day. The whole academy was structured in a way that allowed for constant feedback to be provided and for constant continued development to take place.

The atmosphere in London was very different from the atmosphere in the regional offices. As there was always things going on in London and due to the number of us on the scheme the atmosphere was always good and mainly filled with excitement. In the regional offices there is a more relaxed atmosphere which allows you to get to know colleagues better.

As the firm is very future facing, they invested a huge amount in terms of educating us on what the future of law would actual look like and how the industry is set to change, this was done through Q&As with various panels such as GE and IBM and also through specific sessions dedicated to innovation and future business models.

The insight week provided a very good opportunity to find out what being a trainee within the firm would actually be like, we were allocated tasks that actual trainees would be doing. In addition, being in one of the regional offices provided an opportunity to better understand the firms culture.

As we were given exposure to employee's at all different levels in the London office this allowed us to understand the culture in the city from a number of different perspectives, which was future advanced in the regional offices. The culture that is portrayed on the website/branding very much plays out in practice and everyone within the firm seems to genuinely enjoy their job and the people they work with.

The content of the work we were given each day definitely helped me in decided whether or not I want to pursue a career in commerical law. We were assigned tasks that would usually be given to a trainee and given a real insight into what the do on a daily basis.

In addition to recieving a very generous monthly wage, we were also provided with three meals a day and accomodation for the first week of the Academy in London and had all travel expenses reimbursed.

Yes, the week in London provided the best opportunity to network as we were put into different teams for each task we completed. In addition to this there were various panels with both clients and employees of the firm which provided a platform to get to know the firms culture.

In London there was networking drinks after work or opportunities to network over lunch, on the Tuesday evening we had a 'pizza and painting' opportunity which allowed us to work as a team and collaborate on a work of 'art' in a more relaxed and informal environment. During the actual insight week we had 'lunch and learn' sessions, a social event and leaving drinks.

Yes, we were informed of this alot during the business of law week and then there was a 'lunch and learn' session specifically dedicated to educating us on the diversity and inclusion groups within the firm and the activities they get involved in. In addition, we were invited to participate in the Pride Parade in Glasgow and football training for the 'world cup'.

Yes, I would absolutely recommend the scheme to a friend. I also recommend utilising the on-campus brand ambassadors as they can help during the initial application and interview process.The