Vacation scheme Review

I loved my time at Walker Morris and hope I will be able to return. The environment is incredibly welcoming and friendly across all levels. The work was never boring, but also never too easy it remained challenging without being overwhelming. There was also constant support on hand from trainees, associates, directors and partners.

I was able to help with meaningful work on real life cases, which made me feel like part of the team. There were also drinks socials on a few of the nights where you were able to chat with Paralegals and trainees about their experiences. During these we were provided with food and a drinks tab, which was incredibly generous.

Guidance and support was always available when completing work (except for during the assessment tasks). You are paired up with a trainee and a director/partner who act as your main supervision. These are always on hand either physically in the office or via email. At the end of completing work, the associates or trainees were always happy to go through it so I could see where needed work in future.

I was able to use my research skills from studying history and easily apply them to a legal field. The opportunity to learn legal terminology was also incredibly useful to my dissertation. All of the knowledge I gained will undoubtedly be useful when undertaking my GDL next year.

There was reasonable structure with talks, assessment activities and drinks scheduled on a timetable provided at the start of the week. Most of the time within the departments you were working on tasks provided by your respective trainee or supervisor. I found this to be reasonably structured, but it was largely dependant on how much work the department has to do.

I was in an incredibly social and friendly department with a great office atmosphere. Everyone said good morning and was willing to stop for a chat if they had the time to. The drinks socials were incredibly relaxed and gave the opportunity to talk to trainees in a more casual environment.

This was only a one week long placement, so there was not much time for personal training and development. However, it was a paid opportunity so that was a good investment and made it clear the firm was willing to invest to get the best candidates for the role. Within the departments they always ensured your work was checked and feedback provided so you could develop over the week.

I found the insight really useful for seeing how the firm operates on a day to day basis. Some days you remained in your allocated department for the entire day, whereas others you had to leave to complete assessments or tasks. It was only a week long experience, I think another would have been incredibly useful for getting a complete sense of a full time position.

Being immersed in the firm for the entire week was incredibly useful for understanding the company ethos and environment. However, the opportunity to explore different departments may have been useful to see how they vary in terms of environment and culture.

This experience was invaluable to me for confirming my desire to pursue law. Despite being in a department I wouldn't have considered previously I found everything engaging and interesting. The skills from my current degree translated well and I felt like I fit in with the culture of the firm.

I was paid for the week, it was a fair figure and more than enough to cover my travel expenses.

There were multiple opportunities for this, some you do need to seek out yourself by talking to people you meet even just in the elevator and hallways, but the social drinks events provided this opportunity.

I really enjoyed these events, it was nice to talk to employees outside of work and hear about their experiences in a relaxed environment. Having food and drinks provided was also brilliant and kept my costs for the week down.

Yes, after speaking with a few employees I was informed about a netball team, 5 a side football and charity runs. These teams usually play a in a local league against other law firms.

I would definitely recommend this insight to a friend, especially if they are considering a career in commercial law.