My vacation placement in corporate finance law

Researching vacation placements with law firms

I spent three weeks at the end of my second year at university with Norton Rose, followed by vacation schemes at Lovells and Richards Butler. I chose firms based on my own research and recommendations from friends who had started their training contracts. When asked by Norton Rose for a preferred practice area I jumped at the opportunity to try out the corporate finance department, having read an article on that practice area in TARGETjobs Law. The business angle appealed to me.

A typical day of legal work experience

I worked 9.00 am to 5.30 pm on the sort of work that trainees are given but with less responsibility. The partner I worked with made sure I was exposed to a large corporate finance deal. Working as part of a team gave me an excellent insight into the type of work I would do on a training contract. Coming from the Lake District, my experience up to that point was within small firms and, before starting my placement, I was concerned that I wouldn't fit in to a larger firm full of stuffy people. I couldn't be more wrong. I found everyone to be very approachable and friendly.

Be enthusiastic and enjoy your vacation scheme

Vacation schemes are very much there to be enjoyed. Work hard in the days and take all the social opportunities in the evenings. Try and get on with the team you're working with, as they will inevitably feed back their opinions of you to the recruitment team. Leaving a good impression will inevitably help when it comes to applying for a training contract. Take up any invites to attend client meetings and take notes whilst you're there in case you're asked for your opinion at a later date. I did plenty of research before I started my vacation scheme - about the size of the firm, the type of work and the deals they had been involved in - which helped me whilst I was there.