Vacation Scheme Student Review

The vacation scheme was a very useful experience for gaining insight on the firm and everyone I met at Weil was really friendly, making for a very enjoyable scheme overall.

Much of the work I carried out was used by my supervisor on live projects, including using some for direct correspondence with counsel and clients. I was working on meaningful assignments that would often be given to trainees, rather than just being given 'busy work' as a vacation scheme student, which helped make me feel valued during the two weeks and provided a more realistic view of what training at the firm would be like.

Both of my supervisors were very friendly and provided detailed support and guidance as and when needed. My trainee buddies, along with other trainees in the departments where I was sitting also provided assistance and guidance throughout the two weeks. Graduate recruitment members were also on hand to answer any questions at any point throughout the scheme and kept in touch with us regularly to see how we were getting on.

The detailed guidance received in each department provided further information about areas of law in which I have an interest. The practice area talks also provided details about technical areas of law which will prove useful for the LPC.

The scheme is very well structured and at no point did I feel that there was nothing productive for me to do - it consists of time spent in two departments (a different department each week); practice area talks; assessments and socials!

The general atmosphere at the firm was very friendly and everyone I encountered was more than willing to chat with vacation scheme students about the firm, their departments and what they were working on. The trainees made an effort to check in on all of the vacation schemers regularly and also provided some useful insight into the firm which added to the general atmosphere of the insight.

The firm commits a lot to the recruitment process and the vacation scheme. This can be seen through the level of commitment made by supervisors and departments to ensuring you have the best possible exposure to the firm and its work and by graduate recruitment partners and members of the firm delivering practice area talks and conducting the assessments during the scheme.

This experience provided a very realistic and detailed insight into what training at Weil would be like, more so what training in the particular departments where one sits during their vacation scheme would be like.

The vacation scheme proved a very useful experience in gaining insight on the firm's culture. Despite what firms say on their websites and in literature, the only way to understand their culture is to meet people from the firm and if at all possible, to spend time working at the firm. Weil truly is a very friendly firm where the open-door policy can be seen in action daily. Everyone that I came across, including partners, were very approachable and personable. There is a very professional atmosphere at the firm, as is to be expected from any elite law firm, however it is not stuffy at all and people at the firm know when to have a laugh as well.

This experience provided a realistic view of what working at a leading City firm would be like on a day-to-day basis and therefore cemented my decision about pursuing this career path.

There were a couple of organised social events which were good fun and a chance to meet with and speak to trainees and graduate recruitment in a more informal setting. However, it would have been quite nice to have a networking event where more of the lawyers at the firm were invited so that vacation scheme students could speak to people in various departments and across all levels of seniority at the firm.

We attended a talk about pro bono at the firm which provided insight into the ways lawyers at Weil fulfil their pro bono requirements which are set by the firm. We also found out more about a particular pro-bono project that the firm is involved in through a talk at the firm by that particular organisation. I also spoke to trainees about what they get involved in outside of work - some trainees are doing fundraising activities such as the Three Peaks Challenge together. On the whole, it did not seem like there was much commitment to extra-curricular activities such as sports within the firm however, the staff get on well together and organise football teams etc... and events between themselves out of work.

I would absolutely recommend this scheme to anyone wanting to gain real insight into what working at an 'American' law firm in the City is like. Although Weil is an 'American' law firm it is quite anglicised, so it was useful to see that many of the stereotypes about American law firms were simply not true. At no point did I get the impression that lawyers stick around late because of a 'face-time' culture and the hours are really not that much longer than they would be working at any top City firm/or in the Magic Circle. The scheme gave real perspective on what training at a firm with a small trainee intake is like as I witnessed the close working relationship between trainees and senior lawyers/partners as well as the high level of real responsibility given to trainees.