ACCESS Review

It was a five-day course, in which we were given a great deal of insight into the legal sector, and spoke with Clifford Chance employees and people that worked with them. There was a great deal of interaction with the team and we completed a group project as well as a pitch which we made to Clifford Chance partners if I recall correctly. Everyone was very friendly, enthusiastic, and easy to talk to. This was all virtual as well, as far as I am aware it is likely in person in future which I can only imagine as being even better.

One key skill was public speaking, which was developed in a talk from Luan De Burgh who was a very charismatic figure and he spoke about confidence and its importance when speaking in public. Another important skill was teamwork and communication which was certainly developed in the pitch activity, where we worked in a small group and had to work together to make a solid pitch for a potential client.

I had a fantastic time and felt that the experience as a whole was just so much fun. I would recommend it to anyone considering it, and would say that in truth I don't know what I was expecting and i was quite nervous but it was just a lot of fun and a great experience.

Considering that it had to be conducted online, I felt that it was very well put together, I don't recall having to wait for extended periods of time for people to come on and start there was a great flow from start to finish and it was just very well organised in my opinion.

With the exception of the actual office atmosphere, there was a great deal of insight given into Clifford Chance as a company and if anything it just made me want to work there more. I felt that there was a lot of information on offer and it became very easy to fill a note book, on who Clifford Chance is as a company.

It completely consolidated my desire to work in corporate law. Specifically with the ambition of working with Clifford Chance, as they're just such a unique firm and it massively improved my desire to work with them. I would say that anyone debating a career with this work experience as an opportunity, should certainly participate and give it as much effort as possible and it will certainly help you make your decision.

There were actually no expenses for this experience as it was entirely online. However, following the programme, there was a reunion in London, which had various travel and accomnodation costs, all of which I had completely reimbursed. I was paid and reimbursed any expenses that I had despite having expensive travel expenses.

There was a great deal of opportunity to meet other individuals and network, if I recall correctly there were several activities that were entirely dedicated to networking. I loved the way that it was done as well, they were small groups and you really got to have a good interaction with the employees.

Yes

I just think it was a fantastic experience, and where it has gone from the experience it can actually be considered a life-changing experience and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone who was considering it. Especially, if you desire a career in law, but even outside of that career it's still an amazing experience.

I personally did not apply to the programme, but I recently applied for the SPARK programme which is an internship following ACCESS and I was successfull. My biggest piece of advice would always be to just be yourself and write with as much passion as you can. At the end of the day the most important piece of any application, in my opinion, is that you be as honest as possible and write as yourself.