Winter Vacation Scheme Student Review
at A&O Shearman
Insight / Vacation Scheme (< 4 Weeks)
Legal/Law, Commercial Law
London
Review Submitted: April 2024
Overall Rating
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!
5/5
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Overview of Experience
5/5
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Skills Development
5/5
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Company Culture
5/5
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Overall Experience
5/5
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Recommendations and Advice
Overview of Experience
Please give an overview of the insight and what was involved on a day-to-day basis.
We would usually start with interactive seminars in the morning led by partners, who introduced different practice areas at the firm. Then we would go to our associate mentors' offices to help them with any tasks they've assigned us, as well as taking on personal responsibility for scheduling coffee chats with others at the firm. After the work day, we often had socials. These involved painting or going to a bar together to unwind.
What was it like understanding all about the business and potential roles available?
Learning about the business was extremely useful as it gave me an insight into the commercial world I hope to work in, particularly through the seminars that explained in detail what different practice areas do. Talking to other lawyers at the firm from different practice areas also gave me a deeper understanding as to what I was interested in regarding choosing seats during my training contract, and which areas to qualify into in the future.
Please rate how insightful you found the insight
5/5
How would you rate the structure of the insight
5/5
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
I have learnt the importance of initiative in taking on responsibility for contacting other lawyers at the firm, as I had to reach out first to ask whether they would be free for a coffee chat so I could gain more insight into what working at the firm was like. I also developed my teamwork skills in working on a group project with four others to create a presentation for the task we were assigned to do throughout the week.
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
5/5
What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
The culture was very friendly and people were more than happy to meet with me and share their insights about how they found working at the firm, which were all positive. The atmosphere was also very welcoming and I appreciated the diversity of personality at the firm, as I got to meet many different people and understand that the firm did not have a particularly rigid or specific type of person they liked to hire.
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
5/5
How would you rate the networking opportunities?
5/5
Please rate how valued you felt during your insight?
5/5
Overall Experience
To what extent did you enjoy the insight?
I enjoyed the insight provided in the winter vacation scheme very much. Although it was only a week, I appreciated being treated as one of the team by the division I was assigned to. The scheme also allowed me to better understand the profession I want to work in. The socials were very well organised and the group project was fun to work on, giving us a healthy amount of focus during the vacation scheme.
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 A&O Shearman
5/5
Would you recommend A&O Shearman to a friend?
Yes
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to A&O Shearman
For the online psychometric test and situational judgment questions, I would advise trying to think about the key characteristics all law firms want to see in their employees, such as teamwork, motivation etc. I would also highly advise using online resources about the fundamentals of mergers and acquisitions deals as they are critical during the competency interview that is part of the assessment center. As for the writing exercise during the assessment center, ensuring your information is clear and easy to read is key.
