Work Experience Student Review

This Work Experience programme involved me spending one week (5 days) at Pinsent Masons, spending each day in a different practice area. I sat in Employment, EU & Competition, Corporate, Banking and Intellectual Property. In each of these departments I was given tasks relating to the area of law that I was working in, which involved me carrying out a research task in Intellectual Property and drafting some legal documents in Corporate and Banking. Throughout this placement I was supervised by one of the trainee solicitors that was currently working in the department that I was working in.

This placement allowed me to develop the basic skills that a trainee solicitor would need, showing me what exactly being a solicitor is like because I was given actual work to do, not just filing jobs. Talking to the trainee solicitors and other people who worked at Pinsent Masons allowed me to leave at the end of the week feeling like I know everything that I need to know to become a solicitor at a law firm like Pinsent Masons, or any other law firm, such as the qualifications needed, the time and money that needs to be invested and things that I can start doing from now which will help with the process that will come later. My week there showed me that being a solicitor isn't just an independent office job, but is in fact usually a matter of working in a team with other people in your department. I was therefore able to develop my team skills as well as my independent working skills, which I needed when working on my individual tasks.

I thoroughly enjoyed my Work Experience placement as it helped me to confirm that I would definitely like to go into the legal career when I get the chance to. I enjoyed the atmosphere of Pinsent Masons and the general relaxed and calming environment despite the fact that everyone was busy with their respective cases and were probably working to a tight deadline. I think the programme exceeded my expectations in the sense that I was expected to be placed at a desk and given tasks that mildly resembled what the trainees actually had to do. So I was pleased when I was given work that the trainees would have been given also.

All the people at Pinsent Masons were very welcoming and despite changing practice areas each day I felt fully accepted by everyone I met. When joining a new practice group, my trainee solicitor would take me around their department introducing to the other people working in that department whether they were other trainee solicitors, senior associates, partners or the legal PAs and in some cases a gap year student. Everyone was friendly and, if they had the time, would make and effort to come and talk to me and would offer me work if I had nothing else to do for my trainee. They were also willing to help if I had problems with the work I was doing.

I felt that this programme was well organised and structured. The Graduate Recruitment Officer made regular contact with me before the programme began providing me with a schedule for the week and details on dress code and how to find my way to the office. She also sent out any documents that we needed to sign a week before the placement began, which meant that no time was wasted on them when we arrived. On our first morning we were given health and safety talks and IT training so we knew how to access and use the necessary computer programmes and databases, as all work was computer based

The trainee solicitors that I was with were very helpful. They would always check up on me to see that I was getting on well with the work and they would have no problem if I needed to talk to them for help with something that I wasn't too sure one. They were also happy enough to answer any questions about the career they were in and how they got there, as the route to becoming a solicitor is different for everyone.

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Yes

Pinsent Masons is full of friendly people who will not look down their nose at you. I haven't been to many law firms, but I can genuinely say that Pinsent Masons is the one I have enjoyed the most because the people make it an enjoyable experience. They are approachable and really down-to-earth. Also, the work experience programme itself is incredible. Obviously there are barriers to the kind of work that you can do because you aren't qualified, but you can still get a real taste of what working in law firm will be like.

Even if you are not sure about whether or not you want to be a solicitor, or enter the legal career, apply any way. That way if you get the placement and don't enjoy then at least you can say that you know for sure that it is not the career you want to go into. But if you do enjoy it and you find it is a career you want to enter into, you have something to show for it as people are always looking for work experience.