PRIME Legal School Work Experience Programme (Scotland & Ireland) Review

My work experience involved a variety of talks and presentations from many different trainee lawyers and others involved in the profession of law. This deepened my understanding of the industry and invited me to explore many different routes into the entry of studying/becoming a solicitor which I had not thought of before. At the end of all these talks/presentations, there was also an opportunity for questions to be asked which solidified my knowledge and understanding of becoming a lawyer.There were also many interactive activities that furthered my communication, networking and problem-solving skills.

My communication, networking and problem-solving skills were deepened through the interactive activities provided where we had to debate on a particular topic amongst our peers. The opportunity to have a Q&A with those already involved in the profession also deepened my communication and networking skills as I was able to gain an insight into law full-on by asking anything I was unsure of and also getting advice by professionals which can help me be more successful in this career.

I thoroughly enjoyed my work experience. Without the help of PRIME's Legal School Work Experience Programme (Scotland & Ireland) I would of never been able to gain an opportunity like this so I am extremely grateful and thankful to be involved in such an invaluable experience. Many skills that I will need for a career in law have been heightened through this work experience and I am feeling much more confident in studying the degree and then moving onto hopefully becoming a solicitor in Scotland.

It was extremely well organised. A ready-made timetable was provided to us which had all the dates, times and events that were happening which helped my time management skills and ensured that I was available to attend all the calls and events on time. Also on the Forage website everything was well organised, with tasks being able to be easily followed and understood.

I learned a lot about the company culture and what it would be like to work at Pinsent Masons through many of the talks that were provided, as well as the pre-made videos that explored in-depth what it is like to be a lawyer at Pinsent Masons. I also learned about many different opportunities that undergraduate students can take on before taking up a career in Law, for example, work experience, insight days etc and the Kirk Murdoch Scholarship which interested me in particular.

This work experience definitely deepened my understanding of studying and practising Law. I am much more eager to get into studying the degree and feel much more at ease with the knowledge I have learned from this experience. I always knew I wanted to become a lawyer but wasn't too sure what specific type of Law I would want to practice, but with this work experience I have been introduced to many of them and now am more knowledgeable on perhaps what type of Law I'd like to practice.

No, I was not paid or reimbursed for this experience. The work experience lasted for 3 days and was free of cost, with no salary provided. As everything was done online, travel costs, meal costs etc were not provided nor needed. However many of the resources were provided free of cost.

Yes, there were many opportunities for networking and meeting other employees. This was through the many different talks and presentations that they had provided to us as well as the Q&A sessions that were provided at the end of each of these talks. We were also introduced to our own personal supervisor which allowed my networking skills to be deepened.

Yes

I would recommend Pinsent Masons to a family or friend as they are a very reputable Law firm that encourages diversity and inclusion in the workplace. I thoroughly enjoyed this week's work experience and would encourage anyone else who is interested in the profession of Law to also participate in the PRIME Legal work experience.

Some tips or advice I would give to others applying to Pinsent Masons is to ensure you include any experience you have whether it be legal based or not. This is because you can have many transferable skills from any type of experience that you have had in the past.