First Year Insight Scheme Review

I was selected as one of 12 participants for this two-day in-person Insight Scheme.
On Day 1, I sat on talks by a Banking and Finance Partner, an Employment & Benefits Associate and a Pensions Associate who was an ex-Pro Bono Trainee in relation to overviewing their practice areas. I also received personal branding coaching and demonstrated proactivity in a commercial awareness preparation session.
During Day 2, I shadowed a Trainee Solicitor in their Corporate Reorganisations document drafting and Associate calls tasks, plus I also took part in a group activity, where aside from my designated presentation section, I was responsible for preparing and sharing our presentation.

I felt the Baker McKenzie First Year Insight Scheme provided a thorough overview of the firm's Banking and Finance, Employment & Benefits, Pensions, Corporate Reorganisations and Pro bono practices via a series of interactive talks. The speakers (Partners and Associates) took every question on board and I left the scheme with about two dozens of notes - this demonstrates the amount of information that was communicated to us. I was also given more details on the firm's Vacation Schemes and Training Contract, as well as its Brand Ambassador programme (later became a Brand Ambassador for the firm just five months after finishing the scheme and started representing Baker McKenzie at the University of Leeds in September 2022).

I learnt to use the Companies House register as part of my Trainee Shadowing and practiced presenting in front of assessors. I also developed my communication and teamwork, not to mention that I upskilled my knowledge on various departments and commercial awareness issues. Furthermore, the Insight Scheme was a great opportunity to practice networking in a corporate environment as well as in social settings. Lastly, I submitted a video about my experience which later got used for promotional purposes, so this was a nice way to build on my marketing skills.

The culture was amazing - all the way from the reception, you are greeted with understanding and care. The Graduate Recruitment team were really accommodating and I noticed that even though one of the participants was unable to attend in-person, he joined us virtually. I think this speaks in itself how flexible the programme was. I got to meet two Leeds alumni too and they were really open to hearing about how I am finding my law studies at university. We had a social at The Alchemist and were hosted at the Premier Inn hotel next to the firm - I felt very VIP!

I enjoyed it so much that I decided to apply for a Brand Ambassador role with Baker McKenzie and successfully obtained this role, relying on the positive experiences of my participation in the Insight Scheme. This was my first ever in-person Insight Scheme and the bar was definitely set really high.

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