Vacation Scheme Student Review

The whole placement was incredibly well organised, varied, energetic and fun. The scheme offered a broad and personal insight into Weil's office and people, and was overwhelmingly non-intimidating. Each day was divided between our allocated seats, commercial and legal workshops, skills sessions, talks and socials. Every day was busy but never stressful, and I was never left twiddling my thumbs or feeling 'in the way' of everyone else. The placement felt very personal: tailored so that each vac schemer could maximise the opportunities offered by working in the London office. Truly, I looked forward to work every single morning, and was genuinely inspired by everyone who I met. I couldn't have hoped for a better placement in the sense that it offered a real insight into Weil, and was great fun.

It felt like everyone knew my name! I was a person, rather than a number or a nuisance. This, I think, really distinguishes Weil from many other City firms. I didn't feel like an imposition (being a vac schemer, and from a non-law background at that); rather people went out of their way to make us feel welcome and useful. From the little things, like being thanked for even the most basic of work that I completed for my supervisors - to sitting down for a coffee and informal chat with one of the partners, I always felt valued and welcome. Weil invested a huge amount of time and effort into getting to know us on a personal level, and I certainly had a lot of laughs with my colleagues throughout the 2 weeks.

From the outset, it was made clear that there was no such thing as a silly question. This meant that I felt completely comfortable communicating with my supervisors, who offered me a remarkable amount of time, help and advice. After completing research for my supervisor in Private Equity, he took time out to go through my findings with me, point by point, offering his opinions - and all simply for my benefit. The opportunities for support and guidance were there in abundance, and we were encouraged to show initiative and take them. At one point I wanted to ask a Partner some questions about a deal he'd been involved in. I emailed to see if this might be possible at some point during the week, and he gave me about half an hour of his time within 5 minutes of me clicking 'send'! The size of the London office seemed to encourage the Weil support network and there was a real open door policy, which I utilised on several occasions. My experience of Weil's internal communication was brilliant - everyone not only worked well in teams, but clearly enjoyed doing so.

Perfect balance. I never felt out-of-my depth, or under undue amounts of pressure. I wasn't so busy that I had to stay past 8pm to finish work (but when I did stay past 5.30pm, this was appreciated - which was always nice). Similarly, I was never bored and I always had something to do. If this was ever not the case, we were encouraged to network around the office, asking lawyers other than our supervisors, if they had any work. This impressed me because 1) it made it clear that vac schemers were genuinely valued, and 2) it demonstrated the entrepreneurial spirit of Weil - a 'crack on with things' and 'seize the opportunity' attitude.

I was given more responsibility than I had anticipated, and more than I was offered during other placements that I had completed. Again, there was an overriding assumption that if you wanted responsibility, and could give it a good attempt, it was there for the taking. Everyone got as much out as they put in. I was given my own tasks, both administrative and research-based, and these were my tasks alone. It was a great boost when my supervisors actually used the work that I'd completed - it made me appreciate the responsibility even more because it was real. The only reason I didn't rate this as 10 stars was because there's only a certain amount of responsibility that a vac schemer who is in a seat for 5 days can take (especially when they have no legal education whatsoever).

The training and attention was so personal, I have no doubt that the skills I developed will see me through Law School, and my career thereafter.

Great atmosphere! Truly buzzing, and very respectful. It was an odd, but great, mix of energy and calm. While everybody at Weil works incredibly hard, there was a lot of laughter and I felt like I got to know people as people, rather than only as commercial lawyers.

Absolutely seamless - I wouldn't have changed a thing. Perfect balance of Weil inductions, legal work, skills sessions, team-building and socials. While each day was busy and perfectly executed, it was never intimidating or overwhelming. We did have assessments (for training contracts) on a few of the days, but somehow the way that these sessions were scheduled negated any panic, stress or fear! There were just 7 of us on the scheme, which was a perfect number - especially for an office of Weil's size. The intake was a lot smaller than those of other schemes that I'd completed, and the scheme was all the better for it. It meant that I was able to really get to know my fellows, and that Weil was able to spend time really getting to know us. More practically, that the scheme was organised in such a way meant that the office wasn't inundated with interns, so we got a more realistic impression of working life at the firm.

Lawyers, from trainee to partner level, willingly took time out of their schedules to offer advice, answer questions, or more generally - just to talk with me. The time and effort that this must have involved is huge, because I really felt that the scheme was tailored to maximise our training and development. It was very personal and solid, and hugely rewarding. The training and development (and recruitment process as a whole) was very partner led, which was unusual. But this was a great thing, demonstrating Weil's genuine investment in its vac schemers.

Jumped at the chance to accept a Training Contract with them, and cannot wait to start work!

Weil organised several social events - from drinks, to meals, to pub quizzes - where we were able to mix as a vac scheme intake. Many of the firm's trainees also came along to these events, and threw themselves into the fun. Certainly, there wasn't an emphasis on extra curricular socials, but the placement was all the better for this. We were able to appreciate Weil, it's London office and its work without an undue focus on socials - but still there was something on at least every couple of days, and a pretty sociable atmosphere throughout the office.

Central London - so not cheap!

There are a few bars around the area which were pretty nice.

Plenty of opportunity for socialising, and we were introduced to a number of activities that Weil's lawyers get involved in - there seemed to be a lot of sporting-pro bono!