Summer Programme Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on the RPC Summer Programme. The experience has given me a real insight into the working life at the firm. I have undertaken a wide variety of work from two different departments, experienced real client contact and met a genuinely interesting mix of people. RPC's graduate literature is unusually accurate. It is very easy for firms to make the claims that they do, but RPC truly is a forward-thinking and progressive law firm unlike any other that I have visited.

Whenever I was given work to complete from anyone in the firm, I was shown genuine gratitude. It was good to know that the work that I was doing had a real contribution to the transaction or case that the department was working on, and this was reflected in the appreciation expressed. It was also encouraging that RPC was genuinely keen to hear our views and feedback of the scheme, and I got the impression that our opinions really did matter.

The staff at RPC struck the balance perfectly of giving me enough responsibility to get on with the task at hand, encouraging me to use my own intuition to solve any problems that I came across. With that being said, if I struggled to understand a concept or task that I was given, members of the firm were fantastic in lending a guiding hand and providing concise, yet detailed, explanation. What really impressed me was being given constructive feedback on my work, which I feel is crucial to developing the skills needed to be successful in this challenging environment.

I feel that the scheme really benefited and contributed to my ability to work as part of a team and communicate with my peers and other staff members. This was developed through working as a group on our business projects, as well as day to day work on the office floors with the departments.

The scheme was very well structured. I felt that the balance was struck perfectly between having enough time on the floors to experience the work that the firm conducts, time for working on the group projects, as well as networking and socials to get to speak to as many members of the firm as possible.

I got the impression that every other student on the Summer Programme enjoyed the experience as much as I did, which was reflected in the general mood of the group across the two weeks. This was in part as a result of the work that we were doing, but also the general upbeat atmosphere of the firm, which was transferred onto us.

Members of the firm made it their mission to make me feel at ease whilst working at RPC. They took time out of their busy schedules to assist me, and I arranged to meet a number of solicitors to discuss news developments or ask further questions about their work over a coffee. I was also trusted with conducting real work which had an impact on cases.

Even though the Summer Programme was only two weeks long, I felt that I experienced a breadth of work that a trainee solicitor would typically undertake. The diverse commercial offering ensured that I experienced a range of different cases within each department and got a good understanding of the work that the firm conducts.

The Summer Programme was extremely effective helping me, and the rest of the students, understand RPC's culture and ethos. We were given various talks and presentations on the firm's culture and strategy. Most effective, however, was being able to see it first-hand on the office floors. This convinced me that the cultural image that RPC projected in its recruitment literature was genuine.

The payment covered all my costs, with some left to spare at the end. Very reasonable and in line with other city firms.

There were numerous networking events organised in the Summer Programme. These include networking lunches, drinks, trainee-led socials and a speed-networking event. They were all enjoyable, and useful in getting to know more about the firm from other members of RPC.

All in all, both the formal and informal networking and social events were very well structured and organised, and had various members of RPC from varying positions of seniority represented. This allowed us to get an idea of the work that the firm conducts across the board and the roles of the various departments.

We learnt about RPC's partnership with the UK charity, Streets of Growth, and the opportunities for pro bono work with them. We were also invited to take part in some of the firm's sport matches on days that they were short of numbers, which reflects the large offering of activities available outside of work.

Absolutely. RPC's Summer Programme was well structured, gave me a real insight into the work that commercial law firms undertake, and granted me a real understanding of the culture of the firm and its strategy going forward. I thoroughly enjoyed my two weeks with RPC and would recommend the Summer Programme to anyone.