Vac Scheme Student Review

I've had a really great time - I would recommend a vacation scheme at Linklaters to anyone interested in city law.

People are very appreciative of the work that you do and very welcoming, although there might be brief times when there isn't very much to do.

I'm sure this will vary by supervisor/trainee buddy, but I personally found that there was plenty of guidance and support.

Having spent time at a city law firm will always be helpful in making informed career choices at a later date and the skills developed in the workshops will assist me in my degree and beyond.

Most of the talks were split across the second week so you spend an equal amount of time in both departments, but this meant that I didn't get to know the majority of the other vacation scheme students until the second week. However, being able to see two very different departments was really helpful.

Everyone at the firm was great and the other vacation schemers were all really nice. There are two socials a week, all of which were really fun.

There were lots of personal development workshops and talks, with partners in the firm and even the managing partner taking the time out to talk with us. Also, my principal spent a considerable amount of time explaining various concepts to me.

Although the hours would in reality be a lot harder than those we worked, we were given trainee-level work and in this way got a fairly representative picture of what it would be like to work at Linklaters.

Meeting lots of people at the firm is a good way of understanding the culture and many of the talks were highly focused on the values of the firm. I would say that the culture of Linklaters is ambitious, but at the same time very friendly and welcoming.

It is a really good taste of what it is like to work in a city law firm and would certainly be helpful in working out whether commercial law in a magic circle firm is really for you.

The pay is £300 a week, but expenses are not covered. If you live in London/have someone to stay with, you will cover your rail fare and have lots left after. However, if you need to find accommodation, you will just about break even including food and travel.

Yes, some trainees were present at all of the evening activities and we were given a trainee buddy for each seat, so that we could ask questions and get to know the younger members of the firm. We were also assigned a supervisor, who was an associate/managing associate, and at the practice dinner, we met several partners. There was also an opportunity to meet the rest of your department over drinks on the Friday drinks trolley.

Varied and very fun. We visited the Shard, saw a performance of Othello, played ping pong in Bounce, the bar in which ping pong was invented, did a cookery class, and went to a Gordon Ramsey restaurant. We were able to meet lots of people.

There are lots of sports clubs, several diversity related groups, and workers are encouraged to do work in the community. In fact, everyone can take one day paid leave to do some charity/community work that they feel passionately about.

Definitely - I have had a great time, met some wonderful people, and gained some really valuable experience. A really worthwhile way to spend your summer, particularly if you are seriously interested in a top tier commercial city law firm.