Vacation Scheme Review

I enjoyed my vacation scheme at the firm, both in terms of the work given and at the social events.

Interns were really integrated into their departments. I personally felt that those supervising me made an effort to help me contribute to the work of the departments I sat in.

While guidance and support did vary somewhat in the experience of different interns across the firm, most people I met were very supportive and were willing to answer even the simplest questions from interns.

The work given to interns in our departments was "real work" in the sense that it was current and at trainee-level difficulty. The workshops focused very much on significant skills for a career in corporate law, such as negotiation, drafting contracts, and building a personal brand.

The vacation scheme was well structured with workshops, information events, and social events spaced out relatively evenly so as not to crowd the timetable.

Everyone at the firm was generally very welcoming and open. The other interns on the scheme were similarly very friendly and no one felt left out at any point.

There were workshops aimed at developing core skills for corporate lawyers.

While this depended on the exact work given to each intern in their different departments, we did get real work that would otherwise be given to a trainee and so got to grips with the nature of the day to day work in the departments.

We were able to observe the day to day workings of the firm. We met people from all levels of seniority, all of which expressed a similar view of the firm's welcoming atmosphere.

As with all vacation schemes, a 3 week experience is insufficiently in-depth to be decisive, but we did spend a lot of time in the actual departments and so the scheme helped us decide whether we would like to qualify in that particular area.

There was a partner lunch and also a networking event. Trainees were present at most of the vacation scheme socials as well.

The social events were very enjoyable and included several sports events and also pizza making and other networking events.

While only some interns were invited to events with their department, we did get to experience some of the sports activities that employees were involved in outside of work.

I would definitely recommend it.