Vacation Scheme student Review

I really enjoyed the virtual vacation scheme. I was worried that because it was all done online there wouldn't be enough for me to do, but that wasn't the case. We were set various tasks to complete throughout the week, and we were given access to their tech so that we could make our own meetings with people. On top of that everyone was so friendly and conscious of making it as enjoyable as possible for us.

I think the fact that the recruitment team put so much time and effort into converting the vacation scheme into an online platform shows how much they valued us. This was repeated throughout the week by people from all across the vacation scheme, including one of the Graduate Recruitment Partners who himself had completed a vacation scheme at the firm in 2002. So you definitely felt valued in terms of being treated as potential future trainees.

We had a lot of support from the recruitment team who were always on hand to deal with any issues and were very quick to respond. The tech we had access to also offered great support in terms of access to important information, including legal resources and the firm's intranet. You also were assigned a supervisor and a trainee buddy during the week. Although you didn't have as much time with your supervisor as you probably would have done in the office, you knew they were there if you needed support.

I definitely learnt a lot of relevant legal knowledge through my practice area tasks. However, I think the more important skills were around conducting yourself in the workplace. Everyone really encouraged us to be proactive by asking for work and getting in touch with anyone we would be interested in talking to. People would always respond well to this, offering their time to speak, so that definitely gave me confidence that will stay with me.

The structure of the week was very clear beforehand and during the week we had our own diaries that really helped keep track of what was going on. There perhaps could have been more time left in the days because any spare time was often spent having calls with people and so the tasks usually had to be done before or after work. However, this is probably an inevitable downside of an online vacation scheme as when you have access to a task that you want to perform well on you are willing to put more time in outside of the set schedule.

There was generally a really positive atmosphere throughout. I was surprised by how well all the vacation schemers got on together, even though it was online. This was facilitated by the recruitment team putting us in touch with one another beforehand and having our own social on the first evening. There was also the sense that we were trying to see if Taylor Wessing was right for us, not just the other way round, which makes you feel more at ease.

We had two Skills Sessions that were not for assessment, only for our own personal training and development. There was one on innovation which was fantastic for encouraging us to think outside of the box, which really aligns with the firm's focus on being a trail blazer. The other session was on collaboration where we were put in small groups to discuss our approaches to teamwork scenarios, which again reflects the firm's focus on teamwork.

I think it is always difficult to get a true sense of the workplace without being in the office but as much as possible the vacation scheme delivered a sense of what being a trainee would be like. I think one of the most valuable resources for this was the talking to the trainees themselves, who more than anyone were willing to give up their time to talk to us and would provide very honest answers.

The culture of the company was talked about a lot in terms of valuing individuals and everyone being friendly, which I found to be true from my own interactions. When people were asked why they had stayed at Taylor Wessing for so long, alongside the quality of the work the people was always a main answer. Although we couldn't really experience it all, it seems the culture is facilitated by lots of committees and activities outside of work.

It definitely consolidated my commitment to a career in law by learning about the types of work not only within my set practice area but across all the areas offered at the firm.

We had a session in every seat that trainees could sit in with questions at the end, so that was a great opportunity to follow up with whatever area you were interested in. There was also other set sessions, like a q&a session with several trainees. On top of that you were able to get in contact with anyone in the firm, by yourself or facilitated with introductions by your supervisor or buddy, and everyone was more than happy to chat.

Again, it is of course difficult on a virtual vacation scheme for networking and socialising to be as meaningful as in the office, however, video calls are a good substitute. In terms of social events, we had one that was more informal just with the other vacation schemers which was a virtual scavenger hunt. We also had a quiz on responsible business with the trainees which was great to learn more about the topic and also ask trainees general questions.

I was very impressed by the amount of activities that employees can get involved in both inside and outside of work. Inside of work trainees attend a free legal advice clinic which is a great learning opportunity. Outside of work there is a trainee council which has a budget for social events each year. There are also various committees, including Balance in Business for gender representation and an arts committee. There are also lots of sports, and even the opportunity to go abroad to compete in firm wide games.

I definitely would recommend this vacation scheme to gain insight into a fantastic range of legal services which offer quality work and training, alongside a friendly and inclusive culture.