Work Experience Student Review

We would arrive at 9am, every day. From 9am, we would receive a presentation, on a form of law that will either help develop your understanding of how practice groups at Pinsent Masons work, or how you will have to work to get into Pinsent Masons. These presentations were incredibly useful. After the morning presentations, you would join a new practice group, every day you joined a new one. The practice groups that I was part of were; Banking and Restructuring, Employment, Corporate and Planning and Environment and Energy and Infrastructure. Once you were settled into your desk after having a conversation with your supervisor and the members of the team that you were, you would be given tasks to complete, these tasks provided an overview of what it would be like to have a job in this sector of law. At 1 o'clock, we were provided with a one hour lunch break, where would be able to socialise with other work experience students as well as those who work in the firm. After lunch, we would return to our practice group and help our supervisor as well as continuing our tasks before leaving at around 5pm.

Over my five days spent at Pinsent Masons, I would say I most developed my professional skills. I was able to become more confident in an unfamiliar surrounding and my around the third day I was able to walk around and talk to members of the teams that I had found myself in. I also feel I have been able to considerably increase my skills in Networking, I have gained so much new contacts this week due to being able to ask for a required contact information. I feel that most of all, I developed my understanding of how I would be able to get in to a career at a high achieving commercial law firm such as Pinsent Masons, this understanding an experience I am sure will stand me in very good stead when applying for university.

I feel that this placement at Pinsent Masons was exceptional. I was never left alone with nothing to do, I was constantly kept engaged and learning by the supervisors who looked over me. Everybody was very friendly and welcoming to us (the work experience students) and relaxed any nerves that we may have had when we walked through the doors on Monday. I feel in this 5 days I have been provided with some valuable pieces of information that I will carry with me when taking the next step on to achieving my place in the career of law. When I came here on Monday I only expected to gain a bit working experience within a law firm, however I gained so much more than that.

Through this week I have felt totally valued my everybody in the office. Everybody has been very kind to me, openly engaging in conversation with me about my upcoming exams and giving me tips as well as wishing me luck, this was something that I deeply appreciated. Everybody understands that you are not at the same level as them and give you enough help to make sure that you are able to keep up with and understand the tasks that are put in front of you, despite how busy they might be. The supervisors kept me very involved with tasks they were doing by asking me to carry out tasks such as researching, drafting letters and documents. They were all very helpful in their advice about their personal routes to Pinsent Masons and gave me a very valued understanding of how I might be able to achieve what they have and gain a place here at Pinsent Masons.

The programme is incredibly well structured. The balance between presentations and genuine work experience is quintessential in providing knowledge for both how to work and how to successfully get into work. The induction was a great start as it allowed me to feel settled in and know that I would not be myself speaking to nobody for my full tenure. The task delegation is effective as it means there is never a dull moment as you are constantly working as well as engaged in activity that effects the practice group that you are working in.

We were provided with a different supervisor every day as we were moving in between practice groups. All of the supervisors that I encountered were very helpful, they offered insightful advice as to how they had reached the point in their careers that they were at, this was very good for me to hear as it allowed me to understand the possible routes that I might want to take when it comes to my own pathway into the career of law. The supervisors were very helpful as they fully explained the tasks so that you were never sitting alone and confused with nothing to do, they also never seemed to be uninterested and always remained enthusiastic about helping as they realised that they had once been in the same shoes. For the full five days that I have spent at Pinsent Masons, I remained engaged for the full time. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to work with the trainee lawyers at Pinsent Masons. Some of the conversations that I had with them, will be truly helpful in my ascendance into law.

The HR team supported us very well, in the opening day they ensured that all of the students who were at Pinsent Masons for work experience did not feel awkward and were well equipped with a welcome pack that had in it, all of the necessary things for the week ahead. They were very enthusiastic about us being at Pinsent Masons and worked very hard in order to ensure that we had the best and most informative tine that we possibly could have. They sent regular emails in order to keep us up to date on what was happening and genuinely were very approachable when it came to asking questions.

The work experience which I under took at Pinsent Masons was non paid. However, they done very well to cater to our needs as all of the train fares which I had spent were fully reimbursed and we were also given a £5 lunch voucher at the café each day, this effectively meant that I did not actually have to pay anything during my whole time at Pinsent Masons.

As we were there for 5 days, our opportunities was very limited. However, after talking with one of the supervisors on Monday, and discussing football- they very kindly asked me if I would like join him and some of the other men in the firm at a game of football. The fact that they had offered me to come made me feel very welcome and showed me that had I have worked their for longer than one week, then there certainly would have been many out of work oppurtunities that I would have been able to take part in.

Yes

I would certainly recommend Pinsent Masons to a friend. My experience with Pinsent Masons provided me with a vast array of knowledge surrounding the career of law, which I feel will have set me up for the long path to achieving the role of solicitor. Pinsent Masons provided me with a total understanding of the different career types available in law, the skills needed to be a lawyer and a rough idea of the pathways that I can take in order to get there. I would totally recommend carrying out a work place at any of the Pinsent Masons offices as it will automatically set you on the right path for a career in law and kick start what should hopefully be a long term relationship with Pinsent Masons.

I would personally tell people applying to Pinsent Masons to put all of their effort and energy behind it because it is most definitely worth it, a full CV as well as a good amount of energy would be very useful as it would give a good impression to those you are working with, it is important that you want these people to remember you in the future. Going for this placement will totally set you on a good path for anybody who wants to pursue a career in the field of law.