Vacation Scheme Student Review

I had an incredible time at Allen & Overy. Everyone was really friendly and welcoming and I felt that I was given real work that gave me insight into what life would be like as a trainee. The social events that took place were also really well organised and allowed me to get to know a variety of people.

I really felt valued during my time at Allen & Overy. By being trusted with real work and getting to sit in on conference calls or meetings with clients, I felt trusted and like a real member of the team. I also received work from a few different people, which showed me that my presence was appreciated by more that just my trainer.

I was immediately introduced to everyone who worked in the department that I was sitting in and never hesitated or felt uncomfortable asking anyone a question if I was unsure of what I was doing. I felt I was given proper work and was always provided with detailed feedback, which meant that I always knew what I was doing well and what needed improvement.

The amount I learnt during this insight will help me for the rest of my life. It gave me experience in a real-life working environment, teaching me to work towards deadlines and to trust my instincts. These are skills that will be invaluable later in life.

I thought the insight was incredibly well structured. Both of my trainers tried to give me a good variety of work to increase my breadth of experience and the social events organised throughout the three weeks were really good fun and a good chance for us to get to know each other in a more informal environment.

The general atmosphere was really good. Whilst it was great fun, there were times when there was a lot of work to be done and I really appreciated getting to experience both the highs and the lows of working in a firm such as Allen & Overy.

I felt that the firm tried really hard to give me a variety of experience. From drafting my own documents and Know-hows to listening in on conference calls, both of my trainers allowed me to try many different things. The firm was also great at consistently giving me feedback, which showed me that they were investing in me and helping me to improve my skills.

I now feel that I have a very clear idea of what life as a trainee at Allen & Overy would be like. I was given real work and had to work efficiently but thoroughly. I was also able to see the departments I was working in on both 'deal days' and quieter days, so understand much more how the workload can vary.

I really got to see the atmosphere and culture at Allen & Overy. Everyone was incredibly friendly and there really was this idea of an 'open door policy'. I think many firms advertise themselves as being welcoming and open, but even on the most stressful of days, this was true of Allen & Overy.

I was paid for my time at Allen & Overy. I felt that I was paid an adequate amount.

The social events were fantastic in this respect. We had events solely with our trainee buddies, but then also more formal events (such as dinner at CitySocial), which allowed us to meet more senior members of the firm. I also felt that we really got to know the Graduate Recruitment team, who were so lovely and always there if we had any queries or concerns.

I felt we had a good variety of social events, but not too many that it affected our ability to get a lot of work done during our time at the firm.

I found out a huge amount about the sporting opportunities at the firm and also about the Corporate Social Responsibility opportunities through a talk that we were given. It is clear that there are lots of activities to get involved in outside of work.

I would definitely recommend this insight to a friend. I got first-hand experience of life in a law firm and feel that the skills that I learnt will be instrumental in the future.