CMS Academy Review

The virtual experience was fantastic. I was originally worried that there would not be a lot of interaction with the other people on the scheme, but this worry was unfounded as we were placed in random groups at various points during each day which meant I was able to meet most of the people on the experience. There was a wide variety of experiences which tested and developed your understanding of business in practice, and the client meeting was the highlight of the week!

Throughout the virtual experience we were regularly asked to contribute our thoughts on whatever matter was being discussed. Being able to contribute and for the experience leaders to use these contributions definitely made me feel valued. The virtual experience leaders said at the start that the more that we put into the experience the more that we would get out of it, and this certainly rang true. As we were not working in the office and producing work for individual feedback it did make it more difficult to feel valued in the work that was done, but the activities carried out virtually did make me feel valued whilst on the experience.

In terms of technical support and using the video conferencing technology the support was good. Issues encountered using the technology during the Welcome Day before the experience started were subsequently ironed out. During the experience itself there were many opportunities to receive guidance and support, and even if the leader of that session did not have enough remaining time to answer your question, they would provide an answer after the session. Overall the guidance and support was very good.

The skills that I developed during the scheme will undoubtedly help me in the future. The simulation task challenged the way that each person thought about the task, and showed that there are not just legal challenges present, but that you must have an acute awareness of the views of your client and what they wish to achieve with the resources that they have. As to presentation skills we were part of a really useful workshop which changed the way that I thought about how to deliver a presentation, and how to make it as impactful and effective as possible.

The virtual experience was very well structured. We received a timetable shortly before the experience began and it was clearly very full of things to do! Times were kept to, which ensured that it was possible to plan when to take breaks, and therefore make the most out of each session. In terms of how the experience itself was structured, this was very logical, starting with the firm introduction, development of skills, commercial activities, and a presentation using the skills that you had developed during the week.

When using a virtual platform to undertake a experience there always runs the risk that the benefit of interactions that you would have been in person would be reduced, and that it could be impersonal. Fortunately both the experience leaders and all the participants brought a lot of positive energy to the experience which meant that it felt like a positive environment to work and learn in. One aspect that really contributed to this was the "breathing spaces" sessions that we had.

In terms of personal training and development, the firm invested in each person through a range of workshops. An example of this was a skills based workshop in which we undertook a strengths based analysis, and from this determine where our strengths and weaknesses are. In knowing the types of tasks that you will likely do well in, and those that you may struggle with, you can identify areas in which you are weak and improve upon them.

As the experience was virtual it did make it more difficult to know what the experience in a full time role with the firm would be like. There were opportunities at the end of the first day to speak to partners in the office that you had applied to be based in, and there were also opportunities to speak to associates. However, as they were based at home at the time their working schedules were different, and as such it did make it more difficult to know what it would be like in a full time role at the firm.

The experience was very useful in helping me to understand the company culture. It can be very difficult when outside of a law firm to differentiate it from some of its competitors in terms of culture, and therefore the only way to truly understand what it is like is to talk to the people. In our interactions with members of the firm at all levels it quickly became apparent that there was a common thread that they all shared important attributes such as being honest in their discussions and friendly in their approach.

Prior to the virtual experience I was certain that I wanted to train and qualify as a solicitor; this experience reinforced that drive and showed me that a career at CMS would meet my aspirations. I can certainly see that if a participant were to be unsure as to whether a career a specific law firm was right for them, then this experience would be very useful in helping them when they make that decision.

As all participants were attending the scheme virtually it was great to still be paid for the experience. Instead of working for 3 weeks in our respective offices and being paid for such we instead worked for one week virtually and were paid pro rata for this. As I personally did not have any travel expenses or accommodation costs the pay was more than adequate for this experience. For the assessment centre I was reimbursed travel expenses.

There were opportunities to network and meet other employees of the firm. Specifically on the Monday evening there was a virtual drinks with the partners in the office that you had applied for. This was a great opportunity to have a conversation both with partners and other participants to get a feel for what that specific office was like. During the week we also had the opportunity to meet both legal and non-legal employees of the company and it was great to hear about the support that CMS has provided them during COVID.

The networking events were good, I personally would have preferred it if the groups were smaller in size so that each participant could have longer in-depth conversations with trainees/associates/partners. As they were the networking events were good in that for example, when meeting the partners on the Monday it was a good opportunity to get a feel for what the culture is like in that specific office, and to see how that may well differ between other offices.

Given that the employees were at that specific point in time working from home, conversations about activities that they can do outside of work were not brought up as often as they would be if the employees had been working at the office. However, I knew from speaking to employees during the assessment day and from my research prior to applying to the firm that there was a range of after work activities offered such as various sports clubs.

I would definitely recommend this virtual experience to a friend. It was a great way to get to know a lot more about the company, and it was also a great opportunity to get to see the true culture of the firm. The activities and workshops that were planned for the week provided us all with a great opportunity to learn and develop our skills which would be used in our future careers whether we were successful in obtaining a contract at the firm or not.