Attending Vacation Schemes

Hi,

Could anyone who has attended a Vac scheme please tell me what things are expected of you and whether there's anything in specific I could do/read to prepare in advance. Managed to secure one, somehow, and tbh i am quite nervous :/

Thank you :colondollar:

Reply 1

Perseverance

Hey, congrats on the scheme!

I've written a few posts on this before, so I've collated them below. Some of the points won't be completely relevant and there's probably overlap, but hopefully it sheds some light on what a scheme is like.

Feel free to ask if anything is unclear.

How to prepare for the scheme?

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A couple of weeks before the scheme I’d research the firm (again) and go through the materials I used to prepare for interviews. I found the best resource to be The Lawyer for firm-specific research. It's a useful way to understand the firm, its competitors, recent deals and future plans (NB: much of the content is now under a paywall so check the firm's website/Chambers Student/Legal Cheek).

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I’d prepare questions. That’s helpful a bit closer to the scheme when you get the agenda for the two weeks and you know what to look for. For example, if we had a talk from the funds team, I’d try to understand what funds are and how the firm has been involved in it. That would help in two situations: (1) often partners giving the talk would ask questions like ‘does anyone know what a fund is’ and (2) there’s always time for questions at the end. With the latter point, the idea isn’t to ask rehearsed questions – often the best questions are the ones based on the actual talk - but the information helps to inform the questions you do ask.

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Practically speaking, I was a nightmare when it came to getting ready in the mornings. I’d recommend making your life easier by working out your route/what you’re going to wear/plans for food etc., before your scheme. You’ll find that’s the last thing you want to think about during the scheme.

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You may also want to buy a notepad and to-do-list (you’ll be given this but I liked having my own).

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Finally, a bit wishy-washy but I found it helped getting into a good frame of mind going in to the scheme. It can be intense at times and you'll probably get a few things wrong, but if possible, try not to be too hard on yourself.

How to do well on the scheme?

It’s going to be a little scary, but remember – the firm has decided that you’re a good candidate; that’s why you’re on the vacation scheme. Even then, you don’t have to get everything right; schemes tend to be about not shooting yourself in the foot rather than being the perfect candidate. That means handling situations appropriately (communicating if there’s an issue), conducting yourself professionally (especially on the socials) and being friendly (it’s very obvious when you’re trying to be competitive).

Vacation schemes are exhausting. Or at least, that was my experience. It’s not so much the tasks, but going from uni life to a day of work was harder than I thought. It’s a new environment where you have to be switched on all day, so it helps to mentally prepare for that. I’d suggest preparing as much as you can in advance e.g. your outfit, travel routes and times (don’t do what I did and turn up late to your first day), and track what you’re doing each day – that’ll help for your TC interview if it’s held on the last day of the scheme.

If you’re getting set quite a few tasks, you’ll have to practice managing expectations. It’s good to get into the habit of asking when the trainee/associate/partner needs the work by. If you don’t think you’ll get it done on time, the best thing you can do is speak to whoever set you the work – it’s much better to give them notice than rush a piece of work or miss a deadline completely. Likewise if someone tries to set you work when you’re at full capacity, briefly let them know what you’ve got to do at the moment and check whether you can do it after. Proofread your work, many times. Make sure there are no typos or obvious errors – print it and read it over if necessary. Otherwise, it looks sloppy.

There will be times when you’re not sure what to do in a task, that’s fine, just relay that back appropriately. Prepare informed questions and ask the person who set you the work if you can run through it with them (instead of just saying you’re lost). Or, if you get stuck and want to know if you’re on the right track, you can use your trainee buddy. Explain what work you’ve been given and don't be afraid to ask for advice, or whether the partner likes the work in a particular format – this is something we also do in practice, and it’s something your trainee/supervisor will respect.

When a trainee/associate/partner sets you a task, it often doesn’t make complete sense until you start it, so make good notes – that can be a lifesaver. It might also be helpful to re-write your notes once you’re back at your desk/after your conversation with the lawyer – that can help you to understand what’s going on and flag up any immediate issues which you might want to ask. It’s quite hard to balance listening and note taking, which for me, led to some of my notes not making sense at all!

I'd suggest updating a to-do list each morning and evening. I found this to be essential for keeping track of different workloads/assessments/meetings during the day. This can combine as a work log. Some firms have their own for you to fill out, but otherwise this is useful when it comes to the TC interview, so you can easily run through what you’ve been working on.

The final interview will have some overlap with the vacation scheme interview – they’ll be looking to see your motivation/experience/commercial awareness. But now that you’ve been there for two weeks, it tends to focus more on how you found the scheme. So they’ll dig into your personality to see if you’re a good fit. It’s a bit tedious but I would suggest keeping a work log during the scheme and filling it with as much information as possible – who you worked with, who was the client, what you did, what you learned, how it fits into the bigger picture etc. Then when it comes to the interview, you’ll be able to use evidence to justify why you want to work at the firm. You’ll also be able to discuss what you did well and any areas you feel you could have done better – which tend to be popular questions post-vacation scheme.

How to structure legal research (may not be relevant)

It’s difficult to offer general advice because firms have different formatting styles, partners have different preferences and the task may require a particular style, but, a few tips I can suggest.

First, you should be getting IT training during the first day or two. This is a question worth asking in terms of the numbering format for your firm – ours is 1/1.1/1.2 etc.

Second, check with the person who sets you the task whether they have are particular style they prefer. If it’s a senior then I’d suggest asking your trainee buddy or a secretary for suggestions.

Third, try to understand what the task requires. It’s not usually so rigid – unless the person has asked for a particular format. I can’t say I’ve ever included purpose and rarely an intro/conclusion. Typically, I’ll do a summary of my findings (sometimes in bullet points) and then provide more detail in the body of the report. The key is that the partner/supervisor can get to the important points quickly. Then, if they want more guidance on how you got there, they’ll read the main body.

If you’re confused, make a start and then check in with the supervisor/partner to see if you're doing it right. Trainees do that a lot in practice - it stops you wasting time and it shows you're proactive when you're not sure.

Any tips for a vac scheme drafting exercise? (as above)

It’s important to think about the purpose of legal drafting to do well in this exercise. You're meant to be recording what the parties have agreed, or if it’s the first draft, your client’s instructions. There are consequences if a lawyer doesn't capture the points correctly.

Some of the most important points:

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Spend a lot of time planning: think about the type of agreement, what has been agreed and how best you can set this out on paper.

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Make sure the language is simple, relevant, clear and can’t be misconstrued.

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Eliminate unnecessarily wording.

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Have a clear layout, use headings and sub-headings if they help; it should be easy to read. Be consistent with your language and structure.

Should I knock on doors?

Your supervisor/trainee buddy will generally give you work, so I wouldn't worry too much, unless (a) you've been told to, (b) you've run out of things to do, or (c) you're at Jones Day.

You’ll have a tour of the department you’re sitting in on the first day – that’s when I’d usually mention that I’d be happy to take on any work from others. You can also offer to take on work - if you have capacity - if lawyers come into the office.

It’s a bit strange because you’re on a scheme with many highly-qualified students, so I know it often feels like you need to go above and beyond everyone else. But I’d think of standing out this way – just focus on doing well in each activity you do. That means work really hard on every task you’re given; be friendly to every person you meet, from the IT staff to the secretaries to other students; and ask genuine questions during department talks. I think it’s better to get good reports from a smaller number of people you do interact with than spreading yourself thin or working endlessly to get the attention of senior lawyers.

How hard did you work during your vac scheme(s)?

Pretty hard.

There was one vacation scheme where a partner set me a huge task (at least I thought it was huge, but he didn’t seem to notice!), where I had to write a report about an ancient law for every country the firm had an office in. I was worried that this was going to take up too much time and I wouldn’t be able to work for other people (this was at a firm where that was important), so I ended up getting in early and working on the weekend. Although note, that was an unusual vac scheme and you shouldn't find yourself working on the weekend or late nights.

For another US firm, we had lots of assessments during the scheme, so I had to balance this with vacation scheme work. In that case, it was about being efficient and using my time wisely. We also had a client pitch and a TC interview on the last day, so I’d come home and work on those or stay late.

But it’s important to work hard on the right things i.e. the areas you think you need to work on. For me, that meant preparing questions, pushing myself in presentations or putting in the effort at a networking events.

It also means different things for different firms. For one of the other schemes, it would have looked bad if I stayed late. As I mentioned, I’d advise against working late unless you really have work to do (and can’t push it to the next day). Please don’t be the guy who used a sleeping pod on a scheme – especially when partners needed to use them!

Whilst you’re not always working hard in terms of actual tasks, vacation schemes are pretty intense. It’s a new environment where you have to be switched on all the time and I think it’s important to mentally prepare yourself for the two weeks - clear out as much of your schedule as you can and devote your time to it – after those two weeks, you can then relax.

Tips on converting the vac scheme to a TC offer

Be interested/enthusiastic about the work and ask thoughtful questions when it’s appropriate. Be sincere and a nice person to the other interns (even if others are trying to be competitive)/secretaries/trainees etc. Show you’ve taken feedback on board. Manage expectations if you’ve been given too much work; it’s much better to do less work of a higher quality than trying to work for everyone.