Vacation Scheme Student Review

On the whole, I greatly enjoyed the insight as it exceeded my expectations in many regards. I was very happy to have received a considerable amount of work, and am glad that I was kept busy throughout my time at the firm, along me to gain a proper insight into the work carried out in the firm and develop my knowledge of commercial law. I also enjoyed the additional elements such as the practice area presentations. I also thought the scheme was well organised in terms of timings, giving us sufficient time to carry out work in our departments, to attend presentations and talks, and to work on our group presentations.

I felt very valued during my time at the firm, as I was given many opportunities to get involved. Throughout my two weeks at the firm it was not a case of me sitting around with nothing to do, or being given small meaningless tasks, but rather I was given many meaningful opportunities to get involved. I was given a variety of meaningful work to carry out, from drafting letters, amending documents, to carrying out relevant research tasks. I felt very valued as the work that I submitted was then used by the people I had done it for. No criticisms in this area.

I received a significant amount of guidance and support during the two weeks. I was assigned a trainee ‘buddy’ who I regularly went to for questions and advice. I also had a supervisor associate who I could also turn to for questions as well as work. In addition, I was sat with a partner, who I could also turn to for support and who gave me work to carry out as well. In addition, the Lync messaging system offered a good platform for support from fellow vacation schemers. Members of the Graduate Recruitment team were also always contactable by email for support.

I believe that the skills I have developed and information I have learned will be very useful for assisting me on my path to become a commercial solicitor. Although the information I learned was not very applicable to my degree studies (as the information I gained was rather practical and commercial rather than purely academic), it has given me a good insight into the career of a commercial lawyer. The organisational, communication and other skills that I have developed will also be useful in professional life. The sessions on presentation skills and practice area presentations were also very useful, for developing skills as well as for developing my knowledge of different practice areas which I haven't had exposure to previously.

The insight was very well structured, and I appreciated having the structure clearly laid out for me on the first day. The structure consisted of general work in your department for most of the time, but with carved out periods for practice area presentations and other talks. It was also not a very rigid structure, meaning that we could miss presentations or talks if they conflicted with work we had to carry out for our department. However, I generally found that my supervisors were very accommodating for me to attend the talks and presentations. The only issue is that the second social could perhaps be placed on a better date, as it took place the night before the group presentations so many people were unable to stay quite late as we had to go back to prepare.

The general atmosphere during the insight was very friendly and welcoming, with many people (provided they weren’t too busy) being willing to talk to the vacation scheme students and answer any questions. It was slightly difficult to get to know the other vacation scheme students at first, as the first day consisted of many presentations which didn’t lend much of an opportunity for talking but the welcome drinks on the first night helped to let people get to know each other. The group exercises and group presentations were also very useful for helping everyone to get to know each other quite well.

I felt that I was personally quite well invested in as I was taken along to numerous events and given a lot of support from my supervisors. I don’t think two weeks is a sufficiently long time to properly invest in anyone in terms of personal training and development, but CMS did a great job in the time available. The only drawback is that it would have been nice to receive some feedback or informal review at the end of the first week, so that we could have improved and developed during our second week with the firm.

The insight gave me a good general understanding of what it would be like to work for the firm, although it gave me more of an insight into what it would be like to work for the specific department in which I sat. It is further difficult to have developed a full understanding of what it would be like to work for the firm as the firm is moving to new offices soon, so there may be a rather big change in what it is like to work for the firm. However, the insight gave a good surface level insight into what it is like to work for the firm.

The insight was very helpful for understanding the company culture as it gave us exposure to a variety of different people in different departments, and allowed us to gain a feel for the kind of people that work for. I found the company culture to be very friendly and non-hierarchical, and very pleasant on the whole. Networking events such as the socials also gave us a good opportunity to speak to people about the firm and learn more about the firm’s culture.

The insight confirmed to me that this was the future career path that I wished to follow. It gave me a real insight into the kind of work carried out in the department I sat in and the kind of work carried out by commercial lawyers generally. The only drawback is that the two weeks didn’t really help me fully decide on exactly which area of commercial law I want to practice in, but having spoken to trainees I have been reassured that it is normal not to be sure what area you want to qualify in until well into your training contract.

I was paid.

There were a few formal networking opportunities but there were many opportunities for meeting employees of the firm through the practice area presentations. There were also formal networking opportunities at the cocktails night and the dinner social, although it depended on where you were sat. However, everyone was very open about the fact that if you want to talk to anyone outside your practice area, you could simply send them an email so there were opportunities for getting in touch with a wide range of people.

The networking and social opportunities were very good and it was good to speak to a mix of different people at the cocktails event and then the dinner event. It might have been nice to have one formal networking session with a number of associates and partners from the firm, as there weren’t many at the dinner but we were still given a good opportunity to speak to a few during and following the practice area and other presentations.

CMS was very good at letting us find out about activities that employees can get involved in outside of work. This was done through presentations such as the presentations on CSR and diversity, as well as through speaking to trainees and other employees about sports teams and other things they get involved in. The firm showed that there were many things for people to get involved in outside work when timing permits, and I particularly enjoyed learning about the CSR activities that we can get involved in.

I would definitely recommend this insight to any friend considering a career at an international commercial law firm. Especially any friend considering a career at CMS, as it gives you a good insight into what it is like to work at CMS and the people there. The experience is very fun, rewarding, and a very good platform for launching your career in commercial law, as well as developing a good professional network. Would definitely recommend. Not many negatives at all. Good mixture of social and actual work.