Winter Vacation Scheme Trainee

UK Winter Vacation Scheme – trainee perspectives

What made Ashurst stand out for you?

Three main things stood out to me about Ashurst at the time of my application (and still do!): People, Process and Prospects.

Ashurst is its people - I felt seen, supported, and encouraged both personally and professionally from the very first interview, where my experiences as a singer and musical performer were met with as much enthusiasm as my interest in the variety and complexity of deals in the Projects team.

In terms of process, I heard (and eventually experienced on the scheme) that Ashurst was very "open-door" - I can say even today that this iis true! No question is ever seen as a "stupid question" and the genuine interest and enjoyment that fee earners have in their work is felt across teams - I remember a trainee taking out an hour of time to sit down with me and run through how to approach using Practical Law.

As for prospects, Ashurst's motto says it all: "Outpacing change". What made the firm stand out was a commitment to always be a step ahead, for its people and its clients. The innovative and pioneering mentality is shared across the firm, from its various divisions (e.g., Ashurst Advance), to using assistive GenAI (Harvey) on a day-to-day basis, to constantly thinking about adapting and improving various processes to increase efficiency and quality. With the firm's client base and a culture of looking ahead, the quality of work at Ashurst really stood out to me, and still does.

Ahead of attending the scheme, what did you do to prepare for your first day?

I got a haircut, a notebook and a pen. In my notebook, on the first few pages I wrote down certain things I wanted to find out more about whilst on the Vacation Scheme - for example, trainee life in general, trainee tasks in my practice areas of interest, and up-and-coming areas of expertise for the firm. I also had separate pages for the key points raised during the application process - such as my interest in Projects and Dispute Resolution and the firm's established relationship with clients in the public sector.

Throughout the scheme, I ensured that notebook was an extension of my hand - I noted down every interaction and task that I had. By the end, I had a log of lived-experiences that substantiated my reasons for applying to the firm, which was particularly useful when preparing for the final Training Contract interview.

Tell us about some of the tasks you were involved and what an average day looked like on the scheme?

I sat in the Dispute Resolution team for 1 week, focusing mainly on understanding the basics of international arbitration. I assisted trainees in the team with different tasks, including a research task on interpreting certain wording in construction contracts, and even attending and making notes on a livestreamed court hearing.

A typical day on the Winter Vacation Scheme involved several sessions introducing us to the firm run by the wonderful Early Careers team, outside of which we spent time in our practice areas assisting our supervisors/trainee buddies with different tasks, or reaching out to wider members of the firm for a coffee to learn more about their journey, interests, work, and what keeps them at the firm.

What do you think were the main benefits of doing a vacation scheme?

As above, I think the main benefits of doing a vacation scheme involve being able to experience the firm first-hand, start building a support network, and learning more about the firm by speaking to people and understanding their work and work life. The experiences on the scheme cemented my reasons for applying to Ashurst, most of which otherwise stemmed from news articles or word of mouth, and gave me even more valuable insight.

Did the scheme help build or hone your soft skills or commercial awareness?

Both, the scheme helped build my soft skills in a professional context, in particular my confidence at the time. I was encouraged and supported to write. The scheme also motivated me to be more continuous and consistent in developing my commercial awareness, and introduced me to new practice areas such as Digital Economy which I previously had no knowledge about and was interested to learn more about and keep up with.