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Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

First Year Workshop Review

at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

Insight / Vacation Scheme (< 4 Weeks)

Commercial Law

London

Review Submitted: April 2024

Overall Rating

4.5 /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
4.3/5 - Skills Development
4.3/5 - 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.
The insight explored HSF’s disciplinary strengths, primarily targeting HSF’s litigation capabilities.
There was a session on Alternative Dispute Session (ADR), which contained an interactive workshop on a fictional mediation. I was able to openly negotiate the terms of a settlement during this workshop, and have learnt a great deal from this about the back and forth that may occur between contractual counterparties.
What was it like understanding all about the business and potential roles available?
Learning about the Vacation Scheme on offer has me excited to apply in second year, as the firm honestly seems like a great place to work at.
With regards to the Trainee Associate programme, I am very keen to look more into the Pro Bono secondments on offer both internally and through the AIRE centre.
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?
I have developed the skills of attention to detail and inquisitiveness from the session on ‘Legal Thinking.’
Looking through exemplar questions, and being able to cycle through the number of lexical ambiguities implicit to each one, was eye-opening.
I thus feel I am in much better stead for interview situations and as a future trainee that would likely complete a number of document drafting tasks.
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?
4/5
Please rate how the knowledge learned has helped you with regards to your career development
3/5

Company Culture

How would you rate business leader involvement during the insight
5/5
What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
The company culture was very chill, and whilst everyone is focused on their work, they don’t take themselves too seriously.
Trainees were very candid in their opinions, and openly explored their reasons as to pursuing a career at HSF as opposed to, say, US firms.
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
5/5
How would you rate the networking opportunities?
3/5
Please rate how valued you felt during your insight?
4/5

Overall Experience

To what extent did you enjoy the insight?
I enjoyed the insight a lot. Especially the social event at Bounce, which allowed me to play Table Tennis and get to know others on the workshop with me.
The workshop also allowed me to practice my oral efficiency, so that was a great deal of fun as well.
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 reimbursed expenses

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
I would suggest focusing on HSF’s litigation practice area (i.e. talk about past deals that HSF has completed in this regard).
I would also encourage applicants to think about what appeals to them from HSF’s culture: a lot of firms this size are certainly more stressful, and don’t have as many welcoming people.
In This Review
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