Intern: International Clerkship at Linklaters

We had a fantastic graduate recruitment and HR team that helped facilitate all the administrative issues that we were faced with. The matters I was involved in were quite exciting and the departments I worked in were quite friendly and welcoming. Linklaters has such a great support system for vacation scheme students and this helps with understanding the firm better by giving each student a trainee buddy who is always happy to offer assistance. The networking and social events were quite well organised and a great opportunity to meet new people and engage in conversation on a broad range of topics.

We spent a lot of time together and they always regularly checked to find out if i was settling in well or if i needed any sort of assistance with anything that i was working on. This made me feel a lot more comfortable to ask any and all the questions that i had.

My principals gave me tasks and they were very clear in what they expected from me regarding any assignments they gave me. Beforehand, they gave me extensive background information in order to help me understand the matter, and their feedback was extensive in that it addressed technical issues as well as areas of improvement. This helped me understand the type of tasks that a trainee would generally be involved in and the fact that they were always ready and eager to answer any follow-up questions also gave me the confidence to ask questions whenever i did not understand something. In the end, I was able to appreciate what work i would be involved in and i became more commercially aware.

Everyone in each department was conscious of the fact that i had other compulsory workshops as part of the vacation scheme and as such, they ensured that they checked to find out if i had an capacity to assist. This was useful in striking the balance that i needed.

My principals were conscious of the fact that i studied in a different country and as such, they gave me tasks that a trainee would typically do but they would also ensure that they checked the work. I was given a small part of the bigger scope of the work and this helped me appreciate the importance of teamwork as it helps the firm run more effeciently and at the same time, I was not overwhemed with responsibility.

I was able to sharpen my effective communication skills, time management, teamwork as well as basic social skills thoroughout the scheme. The broad range of workshops that we attended, which range from profession to personal development helped me appreciate the importance of being a lovely person to work with in any given situation/setup.

The office was generally a fun-filled professional environment wherein everyone was excited to be working and the office relations were quite strong. My opinion as a vacation scheme student was both valid and valued and that made me feel like i was already part of the team. Despite everyone being busy with their work, everyone made room to engage and check-up on each other and that level of respect and care for one another made me want to work at Linklaters.

Everything was well organised, the events ran smoothly and on-time In addition, the transition to a different department ran well and before starting in each of the 2 departments i worked in during my vacation scheme, i was introduced to everyone in the department and this made it very easy to work with anyone. The support system in as far as having a trainee buddy and a principal was very helpful in helping me understand how the firm works.

There were many events and workshops that were set-up during the course of the scheme that helped facilitate my understanding that the firm is not interested in hiring people that are identical copies of what would be regarded as an ideal solicitor, but rather that the firm is more interested in having me as an individual bringing my true and full self ot work and this helped me appreciate that i was comfortable with being myself at work.

Linklaters offers a broad range of appealing options that involve personal and professional development