Summer Vacation Scheme Review

Item: Summer Vacation Scheme at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
Rating: 4.8
Author: Anonymous

at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

Insight / Vacation Scheme (< 4 Weeks)

Commercial Law

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Review Submitted: July 2023

Overall Rating

4.8 /5

The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!

4.5/5 - Overview of Experience

5/5 - Skills Development

4.5/5 - Company Culture

5/5 - Overall Experience

5/5 - Recommendations and Advice

Overview of Experience

Please give an overview of the insight and what was involved on a day-to-day basis.

You are placed in two seats (you get to submit preferences in advance) where you sit in the room with your supervisor (mid- to senior associate) and shadow them completing any tasks they give you. Tasks can include taking minutes for meetings, drafting shareholder resolutions, research, due diligence, proof reading and more. The work you are given is supposed to be 'real' work that actually needs doing for the business and/or clients.

What was it like understanding all about the business and potential roles available?

It was an incredibly invaluable experience, you get a full picture of what working in a commercial law environment is like. There is only so much of the firm's 'culture' (of which all firms make such a big deal) you can glean from the internet or even talking to people. Once you're actually in the environment, see the kind of pressures people are under and the attitude of the partners to training and juniors you can fully grasp the culture and understand the nature of the business.

Please rate how insightful you found the insight

5/5

How would you rate the structure of the insight

4/5

Skills Development

Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

Learnt to draft memos and shareholder resolutions. I also developed my proofreading/attention-to-detail. As a non-law student I did my first bout of legal research as well.

How would you rate the training provided during your experience?

5/5

How would you rate the knowledge learned around industry-specific skills during the experience?

5/5

How would you rate the knowledge learned around personal or professional skills during the experience?

5/5

Please rate how the knowledge learned has helped you with regards to your career development

5/5

Company Culture

How would you rate business leader involvement during the insight

4/5

What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?

There is a very collegial culture across the whole firm. They work hard on being less hierarchical than the partnership structure would imply. Most partners are keen to chat to vac scheme students and get involved in training and career development for more junior team members. There are also micro-cultures among the different divisions (main practice areas) and the teams within them. In non-contentious teams there is a real emphasis on giving responsibility to trainees early on and scaling-up that responsibility. Disputes is more difficult on that front due to issues with rights of audience and client expectations but they make sure that trainees get a variety of work and as much responsibility as they can to make up for that.

How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?

5/5

How would you rate the networking opportunities?

4/5

Please rate how valued you felt during your insight?

5/5

Overall Experience

To what extent did you enjoy the insight?

I absolutely loved it. Because they are getting you to do 'real' work and assessing your engagement with the wider team, there will be times when you don't necessarily have much to do as a vac scheme student. This is your opportunity to show willing as seek out work, also to observe your supervisor, understand what their day-to-day looks like and ask questions. Everyone is very willing to answer questions which made the whole thing so enjoyable as I got all the information I felt I needed.

Please rate your level of enjoyment on the insight

5/5

Please rate how your experience met your expectations

5/5

Were you paid or reimbursed adequately for this experience?

I was paid

Recommendations and Advice

Please rate the future employment prospects at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

5/5

Would you recommend Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer to a friend?

Yes

What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

HSF has world-leading disputes practice but that is not everything they do. Make sure you show interest in both sides of the work (what they call their 'twin engines'). They genuinely don't have a template of a trainee they're looking for so the best thing to do is show your whole self, your interests, strengths and what makes you different. HSF lawyers are very proud of the things they work on and they know that applicants won't know everything they work on (their confidentiality procedures are thorough and well-adhered-to) but those things they do publicise, that is usually because it was big or important, or specifically emphasises some element of how they work. Hone in on that. Also, they really value attention-to-detail; check over everything you send them at least 3 times.

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