Vacation Scheme Student Review

I really enjoyed the placement. We were greeted with welcome packs and smiles, and left happy with the experience. The work was interesting and everyone was really welcoming.

I was assigned real trainee work, which was useful in learning about what life would be like training at the firm. Obviously no firm can give you unchecked responsibility, as we are not trained lawyers, but my supervisors did a good job of giving me work which I felt was actually useful.

We were given IT training at the beginning of the scheme. Within the scheme, each task was accompanied with clear instructions and explanations as to what we were doing were always given. I found the information pack the Finance group gave me particularly useful; it went through loan packages and different sorts of securitisation, which I found really thoughtful since it was something most people would never have dealt with at university.

I haven't been back to university yet - I expect to an extent research skills will have benefited, but a lot of it was very specific.

Every event was timetabled. When an event changed times, we were emailed promptly and well in advance. We were provided breakfast for those mornings we were required to come in early, and all the social activities were meticulously organised. We were regularly provided name badges in case we forgot our own or each others' names.

Everyone bonded incredibly quickly and many of us are still in contact. There wasn't an atmosphere of competition. The partners, associates and graduate recruitment team all treated us very well.

We were only there for three weeks, so there was a limited amount of time for training and development. But we did receive an IT skills session so we knew how to use all the specialist software. We were also given an interactive skills session on negotiation, and presented with an accompanying book afterwards.

From what I understand, a lot of the work we were given was real trainee work. We came away with a much better understanding, therefore, of how the firm interacts with its clients.

Being fully immersed in office life, I really got a sense of how the office worked and how the different departments I was placed in had slightly different atmosphere. What they all had in common was a friendliness and relaxed vibe which made me feel really at-home.

It certainly opened up options and made me question some preconceptions I had about the world of being a corporate solicitor.

We were paid £350 a week.

We were assigned trainee buddies and partner mentors whilst being supervised by associates, thus allowing us to meet and receive advice from employees at all levels of the firm.

We were treated to dinners, drinks evenings and even a cookery class where we got to sample the dubious pleasures of our own work. Everything was fun and well-organised.

We heard the choir sing in the square and were invited to a cricket match.

It's a lot of fun and a great learning experience. The application procedure is competitive but definitely worth a shot.