First Year Scheme member Review

Item: First Year Scheme member at A&O Shearman
Rating: 4.8
Author: Anonymous

at A&O Shearman

Insight / Vacation Scheme (< 4 Weeks)

Legal/Law

London

Review Submitted: May 2025

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

4.5/5 - Skills Development

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.

The interactive session with interesting presenters made the insight scheme valuable. We could listen to how the law applies in practise and what the real job of lawyers at firms feels like. The had plenty of time to network with our future colleagues too, and meet many new people. Moreover, being able to ask many questions about the career in law and commercial awareness was very helpful to boost our understanding in the legal sphere.

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

It was a bit overwhelming at the beginning but once all this information is settled, it feels clearer and not as remote as it might seem at first

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 developed my skill of commercial awareness and how to approach the commercial M&A problem-questions. I also found out new vocabulary, which lawyers use on everyday basis. It helped to research the new topics, I am interested in, such as how the transactions and litigation are performed in the law firms.

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?

4/5

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

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?

It was very friendly and welcoming. All the trainee lawyers were open to us and were pleased to answer all the questions. The leaders of the discussions were also willing to answer all our questions and explain something we did not understand.