Legal secretary Review

I really enjoyed the virtual experience. I was impressed how interactive the experience was and that I was able to meet and connect with people although we were miles apart. I think this is a really special quality of the experience and I am glad CMS pressed emphasis on it throughout the experience. The one problem I did have was zoom fatigue - it can be hard to stay engaged for 8 hours per day when you are looking at a laptop screen but CMS made to sure to give us little breaks and warm-ups which really helped. This is the only downside of having the event held virtually.

During the experience, we were continally reminded of how far we had come and how happy CMS were that we had attended. This was demonstrated through presentations with the senior partner and employees all across the whole firm.

CMS were very attentive to technical glitches and we were made to feel supported with ample time for questions ect.

I would honestly say that the skills I developed will assist me in my future career with CMS because we learned how the law is developing and what is coming down the pipeline. I have developed my critical thinking and commercial awareness, too, and I got to know CMS better as a firm.

I think it was well structured and I liked that we kept to a strict schedule, however, I do feel like there should be more shorter breaks throughout the day to help with zoom fatigue. Even just 3-5 minutes.

Everyone was so enthusiastic to chat and get to know one another. The best thing I took away from the experience was that everyone on the academy, employees of CMS and fellow participants, support one another to thrive and make the most of the experience. This is really special. Sometimes I did come across some fiercely competitive people who weren't as friendly and open to connecting but this is to be expected and didn't hinder the experience as a whole.

We were heavily invested in, you could tell by the extras such as the animation guy who made drawings of our day.

I think it did give me a good idea but I would have liked to have more trainees/associates taking part and more of a chance to chat to them. Perhaps seeing round the office virtually might have been good too.

I think I got a good impression but I did feel that the culture is better understood by physically working there. Again, maybe introduce some more trainee time.

Very valauble as I am now a trainee with CMS!

I really appreciated that we were paid the same as we would have done if we were in office. This was one of the factors I considered which helped me decide to take a traineeship with CMS and not a competitor.

Yes but defintely could have been more!! I just wish the experience was longer in general, i think.

Good but could have been more of them.

Yes we were given ample examples which I really enjoyed listening to.

Absolutely, the pay is good for the week, you meet so many wonderful people, the hosts were fantastic, the work was interesting, it was interactive and funny at times, there was a high expectation of you but this was enjoyable to meet, it is the perfect way to secure a traineeship which is motivating, you can do it from home so it is more accessible if you perhaps have a part time job that you do on the side.