Vacation Scheme Student Review

I really enjoyed the three week vacation scheme at Hogan Lovells. During the three weeks I felt welcomed and supported by everyone I met during the rotation between three departments and really enjoyed the work I became involved with. I also really enjoyed the social and evening events put on as part of the vacation scheme. These really helped all the vacation scheme students to get to know one another which helped make the scheme even more enjoyable.

During my three seats I felt that I became involved in tasks that were important for a particular project or transaction. I felt that I was doing valuable work for my supervisors or other trainees, associates or partners and felt like a valued member of the team. Also, during the different talks and workshop sessions that were organised, I felt that those who took the sessions were really interested in ensuring that we learnt more about the firm and were keen to help us develop our skills. Everyone seemed genuinely interested in the vacation scheme and this made me feel valued during my time at Hogan Lovells.

I received excellent guidance during the vacation scheme. The programme was really well structured and organised, so that there was always somebody available to answer any queries or take you to the next session/department. I found that the trainee mentor system was excellent. My trainee mentor, Lucy, was really welcoming, helpful and friendly and always found time to drop me an email asking how I was getting on in my new seat. We also went for coffee several times as well as for lunch which provided a really good chance to ask any questions about the interview process or the group presentation task or just have a chat about how I was getting on. From day one I felt really supported and I think the trainee mentor system really helped with this.

The skills workshops were really useful in developing my skills. I found the advocacy workshop with Paul Chaplin and presentation skills workshops with Chris Stokes particularly helpful. The finance and corporate case studies were also very useful in getting a more in depth insight into those departments. These skills will really help in my future career at a lawyer.

The vacation scheme was really well structured and organised. Everyone at the firm knew what was going on during the scheme and there was always somebody available to take you to the next session. I thought that the scheme ran seamlessly and this helped make me feel very comfortable at Hogan Lovells.

The atmosphere was great during the vacation scheme. As I have previously mentioned, everyone that I met was very welcoming and friendly and seemed genuinely interested in the vacation scheme process. All the other vacation scheme students were also very friendly and I felt that we bonded well as a group.

It was clear that the company invested a great deal in the vacation scheme students by selecting us to spend three weeks at the firm. We had many sessions intended to help develop our skills and learn more about the firm. It was clear that these sessions were very well organised and were intended to start to develop the vacation scheme students into great commercial lawyers.

Spending three weeks at the firm gave me a fantastic insight into what a training contracting would be like at Hogan Lovells. I think it was great that we got to spend time in 3 departments, as this allowed us to experience a wide range of departments and see the differences between each one. The social events with trainees, associates, partners and members of the Graduate Recruitment team also helped us learn a great deal more about the firm through hearing their experiences of working at Hogan Lovells. Overall, the vacation scheme provided a fantastic insight into working life at Hogan Lovells.

The insight really helped me understand the company culture. Throughout the three weeks I was exposed to a lot of individuals. This was because we spent time in three different departments and had lots of social events that were well attended by different individuals from the firm. Therefore, we got to hear first hand from a wide range of people what life at Hogan Lovells was like and this gave us a fantastic insight into the culture. Also, through listening to talks from senior members of the firm such as Tom Astle or Susan Bright, I learnt a great deal about the firm's ambitions. This gave me a great insight into the culture at Hogan Lovells.

The vacation scheme content was incredibly helpful in helping me decide on a future career. I experienced a genuine depiction of what life is like at Hogan Lovells and this helped me decide that I would like to work at the firm in the future.

I was paid for the vacation scheme and I was also reimbursed expenses when travelling to interviews and a pre-vacation scheme welcome reception.

There were many opportunities to meet other employees of the company or firm. The social events were well attended by individuals from all levels within the firm, from trainees up to senior partners and this provided me with a great opportunity to meet a lot of employees at Hogan Lovells.

The networking/social event opportunities were great. They were well organised, but still welcoming and informal so that I felt comfortable speaking to individuals from the firm.

Yes, I found out about these through speaking to individual's at the firm. I also personally experienced an activity when I was invited to play in a hockey match for Hogan Lovells after work one evening. Therefore, I experienced first-hand the type of activities, particularly sporting activities, that employees can get involved in outside of work. We also had a talk about pro bono and volunteering opportunities that employees can get involved with and this was also discussed with me by many different individuals at the firm.

I would definitely recommend the vacation scheme to a friend. I really enjoyed my three weeks at Hogan Lovells and felt that I developed skills that will be invaluable for a future career as a lawyer.