Work Experience Student Review

At Pinsent Masons, I initially followed the Employment team, working on constructing a document on a previous breakfast briefing on Parental Leave and Pay. I was also very fortunate to have my trainee take me to my first ever Employment tribunal the following day. We also took part in a Business Group Exercise which widened my knowledge about how significant commercial awareness is. Afterwards we exchanged practice groups and I followed the CAD team working on the weekly bulletin, checked the court rolls as well as carrying out research into Pinsent Masons as a business. Here, I also got to visit the Glasgow Sheriff Court for the first time. At the end of the week myself and my peers also got to carry out a Mock Employment Tribunal which was really fun!

Apart from receiving IT training and a Health and Safety talk, I learned how to work quickly under pressure to meet deadlines for the tasks I was assigned. I also improved my analysis skills when going through the Work Experience Brochure Review and picking out anything that could improve the work experience leaflets and booklets. Not to mention, my attention to detail was increased when I had to check the court rolls with my trainee.

I loved this work experience opportunity, everyone at the firm was extremely engaging and friendly and I met really nice friends there too from my peer group. This work experience programme was the best I've ever taken part in as you had so much to do with being assigned a laptop and a visitor account whereas work experience programmes at other firms I've been to weren't as well resourced.

The whole programme was very well organised, both Projects and Regulatory Officers were extremely helpful throughout the whole process from the application to tying up loose ends at the end of the work experience week. At the beginning of the week we were given a timetable which informed us where we would be during the week which made it even better as we knew what we would be doing throughout the week from the start.

The research task I was given in CAD was very helpful as I could compare aspects of the firm to other competing firms in Commercial Law. However, meeting the staff at Pinsent Masons themselves was extremely enlightening as they all seemed to really love where they worked and it made me really want to work there in the future too.

This work experience programme reinforced my passion to become a solicitor after university, from seeing the work ethic of everyone in the firm to also seeing what a trainee solicitor at Pinsent Masons would be doing in their day to day work life. It was also helpful talking to the trainee solicitors themselves about their past experiences.

This was an unpaid work experience programme, however our first lunch of the week was covered by the firm at the firm cafe which was very generous of them. The location of the firm was very central in Glasgow which meant travelling to and from the firm was really easy for myself.

There was always opportunities for networking and meeting other employees. Not only were employees scheduled to meet us throughout the week for various events, but every time we were going to a new department my trainee solicitors took me around the department and introduced everyone to me which made it less intimidating as I got to know everyone.

Yes

It is by far the best firm I have been to, everyone who works there from the support staff to the solicitors themselves are extremely welcoming and enthusiastic about their work. They were all willing to answer any queries we had about the firm or legal work itself and I will never forget this work experience opportunity.

For those applying to Pinsent Masons, I would tell them they would be very fortunate if they managed to get into the traineeship or work experience programme as this is a brilliant law firm. Always keep an open mind and be ready for any challenges the staff give you as they will definitely keep you on your toes. Also remember the names of those you have spoken to as they are amazing people and all worth remembering.