Student Review

The 2 days were very interesting and the firm provided a good variety of sessions. There was a nice mix between talks, workshops and shadowing. The representatives were generally all very friendly and enjoyable to talk to.

We had a lot of interaction with people from all different levels within the firm. It was nice to see that so many people were willing to come and talk to us/ give up their time to be involved in the workshop.

Generally, we were well supported in all the tasks we were set. A little more guidance may have been helpful at the beginning of the workshops, particularly the corporate negotiation as this would have helped the workshop run more smoothly.

The skills and information we recieved will be very valuable for beyond my degree, especially when it comes to applying to commercial firms for vacation schemes and training contracts. Since the skills we developed were linked to skills necessary in a commercial firm I do not think they are that relevant to an academic degree but, since the aim of the workshop was to provide an insight into life as a commercial solicitor I do not think this is an issue.

The day was well structured and varied. Sometimes the breaks given seemed a little long and it may have been more valuable to get through the talks and workshops a little faster so that there was more time for sahdowing trainees as this was for me, the most valuable part of the scheme .

The atmosphere was very welcoming and friendly. Generally, all the representatives from the firm were easy to talk to and happy to answer any questions we had for them.

I think being involved in two skills workshops and shadowing trainees demonstrates quite a large investment of time into the people on the scheme. I feel as though I have learnt a lot through the scheme.

The scheme was very helpful in demonstrating what being a trainee at the firm would be like. However, there was little focus on how being an associate or a partner differs and what sort of tasks they would undertake. This would be interesting to know because while a training contract is two years, someone will probably spend a lot longer in the role of an associate for example.

Meeting a lot of representatives from the firm and the tour of the offices reinforced the idea that the firm has a very friendly and supportive culture however, I think it is hard to see much difference between firms in terms of culture in such a short space of time.

The scheme was very helpful for this because it was quite in depth about the different areas of the firm and what work in these areas involved.

I did not claim any travel expenses.

The networking opportunities were good. I think shadowing a trainee was most useful in this area. The networking drinks were also a nice informal way to chat to people at the firm (although a venue slightly closer to the firm may be a good idea!)

There was a lot of mention of pro bono opportunities which was very interesting. It would have been nice to heat about some of the other opportunites such as the firms sports teams etc in a little more detail since this also gives an insight into the culture of the firm.

Yes, I would reccomend the scheme. A lot was packed into two days and it included some very valuable information and advice.