Vacation Scheme Candidate Review

I really enjoyed the vacation scheme. It was very well structured, unexpectedly packed with lots of exciting talks and group activities. There wasn’t a moment to feel bored. The candidates on the scheme and people within the firm were really friendly which makes for the best working environment because everyone made an effort to get to know each other and worked well together. The candidates even socialised outside of firm-organised events with our buddies!

I was given real trainee level tasks to do and given constructive feedback, and my drafts were reviewed and sent to clients. I also given research tasks that senior qualified solicitors used to advise their clients on legal matters. To that extent, I felt as though my contribution to each department I worked in was valued. My supervisors made an effort to sit with me to outline what I did well and suggest areas of improvement. They seemed very interested in my learning and development, as though I was already part of the team!

I was appointed a trainee buddy, an associate buddy and a partner buddy in each of my 2 seats, which meant I always had someone I could approach if I needed help. Even outside of these individuals, the team in each practice area were really helpful and always willing to lend a hand. The recruitment team were fantastic and ensured we had contact with them every day (even if just as part of a scheduled talk), so we always had access to them if we needed to discuss something.

A lot of the tasks I was given in my transaction seat correlate with what I am currently learning on the LPC. For example, in drafting contracts, some of the principles/conventions my buddies explained to me are what I am learning now, so I am quite familiar with those. I also learnt a bit about procedures and processes when it comes to board meetings on my vacation scheme and I am building on that in my current modules, and gaining an understanding how a business is managed.

The vacation scheme was really well structured. We were given the option to nominate about 8 seats of interest from a really long list, and most of us got seats within our choices. We spent a week in each seat and during the week, the recruitment team organised activities almost every day, including talks about how the city works, workshops, presentations on the real estate market etc... It was really engaging and we had to balance workshops and talks with our seat assigned tasks ('our day jobs') which definitely tested our time management skills.

Everyone on the vacation scheme was really enthusiastic and in good spirits. What made it great was that we got along from the start which it made the experience more enjoyable. The people in my team were genuinely excited to have me around and took an interest in my experience so far and sought to make it even better. You could tell the recruitment team had really made an effort to make our experience really engaging and it certainly left a positive impression.

The key opportunities for training and development were the talks and workshops. They offered valuable insight into what a city firm does. Although it did not necessarily always relate to what I was doing in my seat, it was nice to explore what I could expect from other departments and the nature of the work the firm engages in overall. In addition to that my trainee and associate buddies were responsible for training me day-to-day and they did a fantastic job.

We did real trainee level tasks, supervised by our trainee buddies and associate buddies. It gave me a good understanding of the type of work a trainee does and how this is supervised. I also sat in 2 very different seats, one transactional and the other contentious, which offered insight into the differences in the types of practice. We also worked full days throughout the 2 weeks and therefore we saw the inner workings of the office first hand.

I had only interacted with BCLP at firm-organised talks before my vacation scheme. So to spend 2 weeks with the firm really solidified my initial impressions. Everyone was just as friendly and accommodating as they were at the talks. Everyone is genuinely so hardworking, it’s relatively quiet during the day, except lunchtime. But, drink trollies on a Friday changes the whole atmosphere and everyone comes together for a nice chat and drinks!

Doing the day to day tasks expected of a trainee solicitor and having access to experienced and qualified solicitors gave me a really good feel of what to expect. It brought all my research to life; it was engaging, challenging and rewarding. The kinds of things you want from a career and it really re-affirmed my choice to become a lawyer.

We had so many networking events! From an initial meet the buddies social, to a vacation scheme social to end of vacation scheme social. There were other firm wide activities we could get involved in which was really nice and made the experience more realistic. We had partners and senior representatives take time to talk to us and answer our questions which was really insightful.

We heard about some of them, but it seems most people do not get involved with events which occur regularly, mainly because of other priorities which is a shame. However, I did notice a lot of people got involved in some annual events and ad hoc ones, so it was nice to see the comradery at those events.

100%. If you do a vacation scheme at BCLP, know that you will be well taken care of, valued and come away having learnt so much. It was a really good experience to learn about the nature of the work the firm does, its clients, strengths and challenges and in general, what the life of a lawyer is like.