Vacation Scheme Student Review

As an 'insight': you couldn't ask for more. Our work was straight-up trainee tasks; not laid on as a glorified form of assessment, but delegated to us by our trainee buddies and principals as and when they needed help. This was fleshed out by several well-prepared and engaging presentations, full access to know-how, relevant group exercises (mediation & client pitch), as well as the usual crop of open, approachable colleagues. I personally really enjoyed it. The structure of the scheme inevitably means 'enjoyment' will vary from person to person - depending on the work available, the seats you're placed in, and the principals you sit with. There is, however, a common sense of community between the students on the scheme; the many social events (and presentations) mean a great deal of contact time is spent as a group.

[see below]

Great support and attention. The 'default mode' was for Linklaters staff to take time to talk us through any problems or questions we had, take us for coffees and lunches, introduce us to the rest of the floor, and so on - even when they'd otherwise be rushing lunch out of cartons over their keyboards. This is not to say that every principal or buddy could be at hand every hour of the day, and indeed, my principals would often not have the time to delegate work (made harder for them by the fact I'm a non-law student). That's the nature of their job. Still, someone else on the floor would always be happy to step in, even when they had no link to the vacation scheme. One associate even moved into my office when it was empty 'so I wouldn't be lonely'! In other words, even those supporting us are well-supported.

The skills were obviously relevant to commercial law, and fitting into a working environment - beyond this, the presentations were a great source of wider knowledge about the commercial world.

Well-balanced. Consistent, clear hours (no banking internship-style one-upmanship), with a good few socials, but not so many that any day became a test of endurance. Wide spread of presentations, and equal time spent between seats (7 days each).

[Great! See above.]

As far as a three-week internship can allow for, our mix of work mirrored that of our trainees in everything but hours and workload.

I do not believe the scheme was designed to help us decide on a 'career path'. Not having clear or convincing reasons for choosing commercial law would have counted against applicants from the beginning. As far as anyone on the scheme was indecisive, it was about British vs. American firms, size of firm, etc. The scheme was valuable for making these decisions - the firm's culture came across very strongly - but is naturally most valuable with the experience of other schemes, open days and experience to compare it against.

Yes - in addition to the openness in the office mentioned above, regular trainee presence at the socials (and partner/MA presence at the Partner Dinner) was a great opportunity to chat to employees on their own terms.

A great mix - a lot of wining and dining, but HR made sure to include more besides.

Better still; interns are able to attend the same recreational clubs/activities as employees, take part in inter-firm sports matches, etc.

Definitely.