Vacation Scheme Student Review

It was quite an enjoyable experience overall, although to give a more accurate picture one would need to separate the social events from the actual work. Socials - Brilliant. Even in comparison to other Vac Schemes I'm doing and to what I've heard from my friends, Shearman's socials stand out. Work - I was sat with two senior lawyers so the observing them was highly interesting, but I was given any real legal task apart from one so I felt there was room for improvement there

I felt reasonably valued. I think some of the admin work that I was assigned by my Trainee did help her, and I am glad I could be of assistance. I would probably say I was as valued as a Vac Schemer can reasonably expect to be.

I received an excellent amount of Guidance. Everyone, including the most senior people I encountered, were very friendly and approachable. Whenever I had a question I felt I was able to ask it and I would get very informative responses. Graduate Recruitment was also very helpful in in keeping us up to date and organising extra sessions on Diversity and Pro Bono.

I don't think I developed any particular skills that will be useful in my continued academic study. However, for future vacation schemes and for a future career as a lawyer the skills I gained will be very useful. Particularly to see how senior lawyers interact with clients and simply getting an insight into the documents and how things are drafted was great.

It was excellently organised. Whenever we moved rooms we were notified via the Outlook Calendar. The assessments were thoughtfully spread out and it didn't feel like they were all in one place. It was also very nice to have the flexibility to skip a particular presentation if your practice group was having an interesting meeting.

Very friendly. As a whole I think the Vac Schemers got along very well and we are still in touch via Social Media. That is in no small part a consequence of the efforts of the Graduate Recruitment Team, giving us time to get to know each other (the drinks Shearman paid for were particularly appreciated by all I think!). The Atmosphere at the firm was very friendly, and like I mentioned in an earlier comment I thought everyone was quite approachable and friendly. As a general rule we seemed to get on quite well with the Trainees.

We were allowed to go along to all the Trainee training sessions (in my case a Negotiation skills session) as well as all the firm wide presentation. In addition Grad Rec organised a number of practice area presentations. I think they invested in us as much as can reasonably be expected

It was very useful to that extent. I felt that I got a real insight into the company culture as well as the day to day roles of a Trainee. Observing my Trainee Mentors and speaking to them over lunch or coffee gave me quite a realistic picture of what it would be like to be a trainee at Shearman.

It was very useful to understand the company culture. Firstly, everyone was very friendly to me so that immediately had an effect. However, second and more importantly I was able to observe how people acted around each other and how people of different seniority treated each other. That was very helpful in assess the culture at Shearman.

I think the Vac Scheme gave me a very good insight into the a career as a commercial lawyer at a US headquartered firm in the City. In that sense it definitely confirmed some of my suspicions and also confirmed my choice to want to be a commercial lawyer.

I did not have any expenses to be reimbursed but I think others that did had them reimbursed. Overall the pay at £325 per week was good, but in comparison to some of the other top end firms it could have been higher. I think £400 may be a more attractive sum. That being said, it is by no means the payment for the scheme that attracted me the firm and it definitely wouldn't influence my decision about wanting to work there.

Yes, there were plenty. All our socials were attended by trainees who were always very happy to answer any questions. There were also firm wide drinks on Friday's where we were able to chat to more senior lawyers. Besides that, we were encouraged to speak to as many people as possible.

As mentioned in the earlier comments they were very good. The social events were well thought-out and provided both a fun and relaxing environment as well as an environment to do some informal networking. They really stand out in comparison to other vacation schemes.

Our Vacation Scheme Guide included some of the sports that were played at Shearman and what days the games were on. We were encouraged to get involved and start playing. In addition, my trainee mentor let me know about the sports that weren't in the booklet.

I would definitely recommend this scheme to a friend. Overall it was a very well structured 2 weeks and a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I found the balance between being assessed and getting an insight into the firm just right. Compared to what I have heard about some of the other schemes it was nice to not have to stay until 10 or 11 every night. I felt like spending a week in different departments gave me exposure to two different ways of working and two very separate areas of law. My supervisors were, although quite senior, very helpful in answering any questions and we actually ended having a good laugh a few times. Lastly the Trainee Mentors really makes the whole vacation scheme that much more enjoyable and useful. Being able to ask them informal and candid questions about the firm means that you will get the most out of your 2 weeks there.