Work experience student Review

The work experience was well planned and structured. On your first day you receive a timetable which outlines what departments of the firm you will be experiencing while there. On the Monday and Tuesday I went to the corporate department and on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I was at the transaction department. You are assigned a supervisor for each department and the staff are so welcoming. They assigned me some tasks to do which really gave me a feel of what their daily work entailed. Aside from experiencing the departments of the firm, all work experience students were able to attend presentations such as one about corporate litigation as well as one about the pathway to becoming a lawyer.

I learnt a variety of skills even though the work experience was for only 5 days. In the corporate department I learnt how to use Companies House and how to find necessary documents on that website. This is work that a trainee solicitor would normally carry out so I felt quite lucky getting the chance to do that. I also did some filing of documents in the transaction department which is once again a task a trainee solicitor would normally carry out.

The work experience was fantastic and probably the most immersive I’ve seen in terms of law work experience. A lot of firms don’t offer any practical experience while on work experience but Pinsent Masons is different. Throughout my 5 days at Pinsent Masons I was given tasks that trainees normally carry out which really gave me a feel for what being a trainee solicitor was like. The staff are so friendly as well and are more than happy to answer any questions you have.

The Pinsent Masons work experience is very well thought out and structured allowing you to maximise your time there. I was given a timetable on my first day there which outlines what departments you will be experiencing, your lunch hour as well as any presentations that you will be attending.

I learnt so much about the company culture in those 5 days. On my first day there the staff gave a presentation about what Pinsent Masons stands for and the company culture just shone through that. You can tell that the staff are there to help the clients and that the money does not motivate them to work for Pinsent Masons. We were also told about the typical path to a traineeship with Pinsent masons and after doing work experience with them I know it’s the kind of firm I would want to work in

I already knew I wanted to be a lawyer prior to attending this work experience but I had never had the chance to experience a large scale law firm. After spending the 5 days there it was clear to me that law is the right career path for me and the practical experience during the work experience really helped me to understand the kind of work I would be carrying out as a trainee

No Pinsent Masons does not pay its work experience students but just having the chance to work in such a well known firm was enough for me. The firm doesn’t pay for transport costs either but that was okay for me because I don’t live particularly far from the office. However the firm did pay for our lunch in the onsight cafe on the first day of work w

There were opportunities to talk to the staff that were working in your assigned department but there was no formal networking as such. I met quite a lot of employees just because they were doing the presentations though. My supervisor for the department I was in also gave me her email address just in case I had any questions in the future

Yes

I would recommend this work experience to anyone interested in studying law. The whole structure of the week is well thought out and really allows you to maximise your time there. It’s one of very few law firms that actually provide practical experience while you are there and that certainly helps you to see if a career in law is for you

If you are applying for the Pinsent masons work experience I would suggest spending a lot of time on the application. It’s super competitive to get on their work experience scheme and if you want to give yourself the best chance of being successful with the application then you should take the time to properly answer the questions