Vacation Scheme Student Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my two week vacation scheme placement at Pinsent Masons. I was in the Birmingham office in the corporate team and managed to get involved in almost every part of a deal from due diligence work, drafting documents and share transfer forms and reviewing the SPA. The socials were also really good and a great way to network and meet trainees. We had two socials which were pizza making at pizza express and a comedy club night at the Glee club in Birmingham.

The team were friendly and welcoming from the beginning and I felt like the work I was doing was valued. I was invited to every corporate team training or event over the two weeks so I got to meet everyone in the team by the end of the placement. Office drinks at the end of every week also helped with this as you felt integrated into the Pinsent Masons team overall and everyone treated you as an equal with partners being happy to talk with you about their work and taking an interest in yours.

I had regular feedback from my trainee supervisor and my senior supervisor on both weeks. They also helped with any queries I had about tasks that I'd been set and really took the time to explain exactly why I was doing each task and showing me what my contribution had helped with. Graduate recruitment were also really helpful during the assessments, particularly with the information given in the booklets at the start.

Doing the placement has helped to affirm that I definitely want to go into private practice. The assessment (which was a SWOT analysis) helped develop my commercial awareness skills and developed my public speaking and presentational skills as well. Sitting in the corporate team I began to understand the stages of a deal more thoroughly and being able to describe exactly what a share transfer or an IPO entails will help when it comes to other assessments/interviews.

This placement was really well structured with presentations in the morning from different practice groups and then work within our specific areas for the rest of the day. The organisation of the social events was excellent and we always knew where and what times the events would start and finish. We set targets at the beginning of the placement which helped our supervisors to structure our work around what work we wanted to be involved in which was a huge bonus.

The culture at Pinsent Masons is friendly, approachable and relaxed. Of course there are times when people are busy and stressed but the team works so well together and being able to talk to everyone-partners and senior associates included really adds to the 'family-feel' at Pinsent Masons. I have not just met people in my own practice group but from most departments and having an open-door policy means you can ask questions to anyone really easily. We have had lots of fun at the socials, partner lunch and office drinks. We even had ice cream delivered to the office when it got too hot!

I was included in all the training sessions within the corporate team over the two weeks which was a great opportunity to learn more about the context of the transactions I was working on, but also to see the on going training provided by the firm. Whenever I received a new task my trainee would explain exactly why it was important and the different variables for different clients for example when you are working for the broker or for the company. We also got basic IT and research training at the start of the placement which meant we didn't have to ask annoying questions to our trainees.

I was there working alongside my trainee supervisor on day to day work she has so I got to see a real 'day in life of a trainee'. Because you have your own desk and are working in the team as an equal to everyone you get to understand the level of work expected of a trainee and the types of tasks involved. The only real difference between the vacation scheme and the full time role of a trainee is that you have presentations in the mornings and more socials/dinners over the 2 weeks!

It's very easy for firms to say they have an open-door policy and are a friendly, approachable firm but it's only when you experience day to day work at the office that you understand that it is actually a reality at Pinsent Masons. I was treated as one of the team and the trainees spoke honestly about their experiences which meant you really got a feel for what the culture was like. I found everyone to be really open, honest and sociable.

You experience the interesting and the more mundane tasks so you can really see if you could do it day in day out. Doing the placement re-affirmed that I want to go into private practice and that it is something I could do long term, as the work was much more varied than I expected. I really enjoyed the corporate work, and seeing presentations from other departments I still got a feel for what other seats would be like to work in.

We were reimbursed for the travel to the London office on the first day for the initial induction. This reimbursement was only for those not on placement in London. We were also paid for the two week scheme (£600 in total) and this was received on the last day of the placement.

There were office drinks every week (twice in one week) which everyone was invited, so you got to mix with partners, senior associates, trainees and paralegals etc. from every department pretty much. I also managed to get involved with one of the sports teams and played in their netball match, which was a great opportunity to meet new people too.

Both of the social events were really fun. One was pizza making at pizza express and the other was a night at the comedy club in Birmingham. The socials finish at around 10pm which was great for me as I was commuting into Birmingham so it meant I could still go to the socials and not miss the last train. I find having an activity to do helps to break the ice better than just meeting up for drinks or a meal and it was nice to do something different with the trainees and other vacation scheme students, rather than talking about the placement all the time.

There were opportunities to join the sports team events over the 2 weeks and I played in the netball team game which was a great opportunity. We were told about all the volunteer projects we could get involved in too during the scheme, and around the office are pictures of hikes and events the team has done together outside the office which is nice.

I would definitely recommend the placement as it was not only insightful but a lot of fun. It's helped me to decide if law really is something I want to continue with as a career, and doing the placement in Birmingham, I could compare the experience with experience of firms in London. All the people I have met are welcoming and are willing to tell you everything they know about the firm and the work they do. I have also made great friends with the other vacation scheme students and have come away with a really positive outlook on the firm.