Trainee work experience Review

Every day spent here was wildly different. We were assigned different supervisors each day that worked in various departments such as corporate law, litigation, CAD, public and finance. We would talk with trainees and follow their tasks from day today and see how life operated in a city firm. Many of our roles regarded by "shadowing" a trainee or solicitor and completing the designated tasks they set for us.

Being in a large and expanding city firm for a week has already broadened my knowledge for the industry by learning different departments and laws, along with some of the jargon attached. I learned what sort of qualifications you might need, salaries, time spans and much more. I have also learnt new skdills in regards to specific law related needs such as drafting engagement letters for companies, their structures and purpose and looking through/ deciphering cases.

I highly enjoyed my work experience at Pinsent Masons to a high extent as it was the insight I needed to know what working in a top city firm felt like. It was very helpful in mapping out our career paths andd assuring us in regards to furtherd study. Also being around 6 other students that were in the same boat and field as I made me enjoy the programme even more as we had similar interests and this aided us all become comfortable within the firm.

I felt extremely valued to an extent not only as a work experience student but as a young adult. We were invited to lunch with staff and introduced to our supervisor's co-workers and colleagues which helped us feel very included. By giving us tasks that actually made a difference rather than typical skill-less tasks made us feel valued and that we were making a difference.

This programme is extremely well structured as we were given a schedule/ rota which mapped out the whole week for us which helped us become grounded. Everything was done as it was shown on the schedule throughout the whole weekend. Our supervisors/ mentors and tasks were all mapped out and handed to us on the first day which was good for the structure of the programme.

With regards to the various tasks and objectivities they set us, we are guided through with their help and support which comforts us even when we do not know what to do necessarily. The trainees and paralegals also treat us like adults which helps us feel included. This was highly appreciated by us as it eased our nerves when being around professionals.

From our multiple supervisories more specifically, we received a copious amount of support and guidance when it comes to our own career paths and when needed and our thoughts, even with our assigned tasks. These certain set of people welcomed us with open arms and included us as much as possible which helped us novices a lot.

As this just merely worked experience, we obviously did not get paid but constantly being with trainees helped us learn about the pay. The generously high pay that comes with the hard job of working in a city London Law firm certainly looks rewarding. Nonetheless, the salaries given are high for hard jobs and huge amounts of work that have to be done.

Yes

As we were only there for the short spanned of a week and a week only, we did not get to experience any outside work but we were told about things like that in the vacation schemes such as company activities with undergraduate or gap year students/ graduates. These schemes and such help new and inexperienced people become familiar with new surroundings.

When applying to Pinsent Masons in London, know that Law is not a requirement or even a preference. Many first and second-year trainees have majored in degrees such as languages, geography and many more so this would be something to keep in mind as I initially thought you had to have a Law degree that is not the case. This helped me realise that to get into a Law firm (or specifically, Pinsent Masons), you can have really any academic degree as all is accepted and needed, so try your best.