Summer Vacation Scheme Review

The insight was a two-week placement in Latham's London office, where I sat in two departments, Banking and Project Finance. Each day involved a combination of practice area talks, networking events and independent time, where we shared an office with our supervisors. We were set a research task for each week, which we worked on independently and also were set other work by our supervisors on live deals/cases.

Due to the comprehensive scheduled talks, I feel like I built a clear picture of Latham as a whole and how it operates as a business. In terms of the potential roles, we were talked through the role of a trainee extensively and also given the chance to learn about Associate progression (and beyond).

The placement gave us the opportunity to develop skills which are specifically relevant to a career in commercial law, as well as more general soft skills. Through the assessed research tasks, I developed my attention to detail, as well as my organisation, as the task had to be slotted in around all the other scheduled sessions. I also developed my people skills and ability to communicate well as a result of the regular networking events.

Everyone we met, from trainee to Partner, was welcoming and willing to carve out time in their busy schedules to meet for coffee or offer a form of advice. This was something that stood out from the Scheme and made the general atmosphere much more positive. The other Vacation Schemers were also lovely and we were given plenty of opportunity to socialise with each other, which helped.

Overall, the two week placement absolutely flew by, which is testament to how enjoyable the insight was. The people, work and events made the Scheme incredibly enjoyable, as well as informative. I also appreciate the fact supervisors were prepared to offer you real work, which kept me busy and was something I really liked, as I like having a high level of responsibility.

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