Vacation Schemer Review

I sat in the firm's Real Estate department for two weeks. Within this seat, I:
- Drafted a lease template for one of the firm's clients to use for new tenants in their recently-acquired building (by identifying where amendments had occurred in other tenants' leases to create an 'original' version)
- Wrote a research note regarding the impact of a mines and minerals reservation on a client's development plans
- Wrote a newsletter updating the internal Client Service team of one client's recent news, as well as developments in the wider industry and news from their competitors
- Wrote a research note for a pro bono client on the changes required to move their current licence arrangement to a full lease
- Updated a reporting summary table for a client (to reflect negotiated changes) on a Conservation Covenant relating to nutrient credits, a developing area of law
- Attended a monthly check-in with a Client, as well as a training session run by the Real Estate knowledge lawyer covering the implications of the new Renters Rights Act for the team and their work
Outside of work, the firm ran several insight sessions:
- A Partner panel
- A behavioural styles workshop run by a member of the Talent Development team
- A Pro Bono session covering what pro bono means to the firm, why it is important, the opportunities available, and a case study based on previous pro bono clients
There were also several social events, which provided opportunities for the vacation schemers to get to know each other better and also meet other people in the firm:
- Pub in the Hub (weekly firm-wide drinks in one of the firm's social spaces)
- Pro Bono gardening activity at a local community garden
- Paint and Sip evening activity at the London Art Bar
We were encouraged to reach out to people in our teams/across the firm for coffee chats to find out more about their work, and everyone was extremely friendly, welcoming and generous with their time and advice. The Early Careers team also scheduled a check-in halfway through to go through any questions/concerns and to brief us about what our final interviews would entail.

In addition to the insights detailed above (which really developed my understanding of the different routes in law post-qualification), I learnt a lot about all of the extra business support services within the firm, such as the role of Practice Development and Knowledge lawyers, the IT/Innovation teams, the Document Production Service (DPS). It was interesting to see how everything fits together, and I'm extremely grateful to DPS for helping me clean up the formatting on my very long lease!

As this was my first time in an office environment, and I didn't study law at university, the whole experience was very new to me. I've developed new skills around understanding what a lease looks like; how to make sense of contractual terms (and their practical implication for a client and their goals); and how to conduct legal research using practical law.
I have developed the existing skills I have (from my degree and previous experiences), such as - research, drafting, interpersonal skills, communication.

Everyone I met was incredibly welcoming and friendly; it was very easy to schedule coffee chats with people across the team and firm to find out more about their work and careers, and everyone I spoke to really took the time to answer all my questions and provide advice on how to develop (including seniors, who were very busy with their own work!)
It was also very easy for me to ask people around me for interesting work, every task was accompanied by a detailed instructions email, and everyone was happy to go through my questions.

I had a fantastic time - I was really pushed and challenged to learn new things and develop new skills, while also feeling very supported as everyone was so kind and friendly.

Yes

Try to attend an Open Day/Open Evening (the firm puts these on in the Autumn) - this will give you a good insight into what work the firm actually does, in practical terms
If there is a practice area/case/deal that you're really interested in, try to reach out to someone in the firm and ask if they'd be happy to share more about it - I was really interested by two speakers at the Open Evening and cold-emailed them my questions. They gave me really helpful and detailed answers, which I later spoke about in my application and interview.