Vacation Placement Student Review

I genuingly had a fantastic experience, everything was organised and structured, everyone was welcoming and I felt a real part of the team. The work I was given was real transactional work which made me feel valued and that I had contributed whilst I had been here. Everything I took as an experience and therefore was involved in as much as was reasonably possible. A genuingly fantastic experience.

Everyone was welcoming and made me feel completely comfortable and at ease. Everybody was approachable and friendly and were genuingly interested in what I had to say. The work I was given was significant work and I felt valued that people were willing to give me a reasonable amount of responsibility and trust me with real transactional work.

I met my supervisor on several occasions, she was approachable, friendly and willing to help me learn as much from the experience as I reasonably could. Due to time constraints that people were working to, it is obviously not practical to be meeting constantly with your supervisor for guidance, Despite this my trainee buddy and the other trainees in the department were all fantastic, approachable and throughout my two weeks gave me consistent guidance and support and I was made to feel like whenever I was struggling I could approach them.

My trainee buddy and the trainees within the department gave me a variety of work and throughout the two weeks I always had work to do. I was not too busy but work was always available for me when one task had been completed which I was very impressed with as it allowed me a great deal of exposure and the chance to actually gain an insight into the workload of a trainee.

The work I was doing was significant work all valuable to an ongoing transaction and therefore I had to ensure a great deal of clarity and accuracy, however my work was checked and constant supervision was given should I experience any difficulties. In the nature of the market my placement was in, any responsibility for work that was significant had to be monitored and there was therefore work that because of the expertise needed I could not get involved with however the work I was given was credible and significant work.

Given the nature of the legal workplace, thereotical knowledge we are given during our degree is generally not needed on a daily basis, the skills therefore that I received on my placement were more of the practical side concerning how to apply certain thereotical knowledge to the facts of a typical transaction. In that sense therefore I would definately agree that my placement will assist me beyond my degree. It also allowed me to develop my attention to detail and organisation skills by prioritsing work and therefore I believe these skills will help me both at university and in the workplace.

The atmosphere was friendly, approachable and completely comfortable. The office is open plan therefore everyone from partners to work experience students sit together which I really found valuable as it allowed me the chance to gain an exposure to many people in the firm and ask them questions concerning their work and careers after university. In the legal workplace however, workload is heavy and great clarity and accuracy is needed therefore I believe the right balance was struck in my department regarding getting any work done but also socialising and talking to people.

Absolutely fantastic organisation and structure, everything was set down to the hour. We were given months prior to the start of our placement a detailed timetable stating when assessments or socials or talks and presentations would be which allowed me on a daily basis to plan what work I could fit in around organised events.

We were given talks from every department regarding the work that they do, trainees persective which were greatly informative and also allowed us more exposure to people within the firm, in that sense therefore alot was invested in giving us as much information about the firm as possible. Thorough training and feedback was given throughout the two weeks which allowed for assessment and the chance to improve.

Assessments were conducted throughout the two weeks of the placement and we are made aware in several weeks whether we are successful however you are made to feel valued and encouragement throughout the two weeks in high. Employment prospects are high within the firm, they employ most of their trainees from the scheme and therefore this is greatly appealing.

Throughout the two weeks we had planned social events and gatherings which were fantastic. Most of the trainees attended and all of the vacation placement students so it gave us all a chance to get to know one another really well and everyone were brilliant, welcoming and friendly. We had taken for dinner on a few occasions throughout the two weeks with trainees and another time with partners allowing us time to speak to as many people as possible. A planned social event involved a quiz around the centre of Leeds which was really enjoyable and well organised.

Leeds is a large city and therefore socialising costs may be higher than what they would be elsewhere but living in Leeds meant that I understood already the cost implications and finding accomodation was also therefore not necessary.

The office is located in the centre of Leeds and is surrounded by bars and restaurants therefore the nightlife and social scene was fantastic.

There was the chance to get involved in social activities and sporting events, which were all fantastic and a chance to integrate with people throughout the firm. At the time of our scheme there were no ongoing voluntary events which I would have been greatly interested in getting involved in however due to the timing it meant nothing was going on throughout our two weeks which was more of a case of bad luck than organisation deficiencies.