Chambers Student Guide: The Student's Guide to Law Firms and the Bar

Product Information

Our table of Vacation schemes compared will tell you exactly what places are available with the firms in this guide and when to apply. There are also likely to be mini-assessment tasks and projects designed to test your ability to present, argue and work as a team. Observe your environment and its inhabitants; figure out the social structures, the hierarchies, the shared values that bond people (if indeed there are any). Try and build your CV up in other ways – say with voluntary work or other legal or commercial experience – and then have another stab at vac scheme applications. After all, you marketed yourself well on paper when you sent your application form in; now you are just doing it in person.

What is a training contract? - Chambers Student Guide What is a training contract? - Chambers Student Guide

The application deadlines for the majority of vac schemes come in December and January, but some firms run schemes in the Christmas and Easter holidays and the deadlines for applying to those can be as early as October.The best vac schemes get students involved in ongoing cases and deals and puts them in the heat of the action – or at least lets them feel that way. At others, vac schemers may be tied to a trainee or qualified solicitor and what they do will depend on that individual.

Practice areas - Chambers Student Guide

As competition for training contracts is intense, it’s no surprise that competition for vac scheme places is too. Just remember, “seeking out work and raising your profile without pestering people is a fine line to walk. The strongest applicants always manage to secure a clutch of offers, but don’t despair if you can’t secure a place – it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll never get a training contract.

The vacation scheme is a great way of meeting prospective trainees and giving them a real taster of what life is like here,” one recruiter told us.

Law firm salaries compared - Chambers Student Guide Law firm salaries compared - Chambers Student Guide

Timing your application is important: certain schemes are targeted at penultimate-year law grads or final-year non-law grads, which can leave other students frustrated.

A good example of a firm that relies heavily on its vac scheme is Mishcon de Reya, which recruits all of its trainees from people it sees on its placement. This recruitment lark is a delicate dance, so attune yourself to the characters around you and follow their lead. At some firms, vac schemes are structured down to the minute with talks about the firm and its training contract, followed by tasks and social engagements. Lawyers, bankers, doctors and even priests all know how effective alcohol can be when it comes to greasing the wheels.

Guides - Chambers Student Guide

Obviously, you’re being assessed on how good a lawyer you’re likely to be, but don’t underestimate how far having a normal, attractive personality will get you. Some projects may require vac schemers to balance their more competitive instincts with their ability to function within a team, as this recruitment contact told us: "We divide the vac schemers into two groups, and they are given a negotiation exercise which they will later have to act out during the final assessment, so there's that element of competition between the groups.We have also included information on when the application window opens where known – if no date is listed that means applications are currently open. But be under no illusions: you will also be on trial, because in this ever more competitive market most firms (and some more than others) treat the vac scheme almost as a pre-screening exercise when it comes to handing out training contracts.