Is it worth sacrificing your sun lounger for a couple of weeks’ work experience?

So you’ve dry-cleaned your suit, shined your shoes, practised your ‘strong without being painful’ handshake and you’re ready to begin a vacation placement at a carefully selected firm. But wait, have you stopped to consider whether there are any real benefits of struggling on the tube at rush hour each morning to spend nine hours photocopying when you could be relaxing on a beach with a cocktail?

The legal job market is highly competitive and these days it is not enough to have a solid academic background. Recruiters are looking for much more than a 2(1) and AAB at A-level, and with so many applicants to choose from, students face an incredible amount of pressure to impress in the search for training contracts. This has resulted in an increase in the number of students taking part in vacation schemes, meaning it can be as difficult to get a vacation placement as it is to bag a training contract.

Nowadays it is seen as ‘the norm’ for law students to give up at least two weeks of their holidays in aid of work experience, with some students taking part in as many as four vacation schemes over the summer. Is this really necessary? The answer has to be yes – in moderation. It is beneficial to you in helping you choose the type of firm which suits you, and it will look good on your application form – showing employers that you are serious about a career in the law and willing to put yourself out during the precious holidays. ‘Vacation placements provide students with an ideal opportunity to see what a firm does’, states a Linklaters’ recruitment manager, ‘Individuals are able to gain an insight into the work and see whether the culture is right for them’.

The benefits of work experience for any job are obvious, but it is particularly important for a legal career where there are so many different types of law firm and practice areas to choose from, and where so much time and money goes into training. Maybe you’ve always dreamed of being a wealthy real estate lawyer, but how can you know that your dreams will come true unless you’ve spent some time finding out what a real estate lawyer really does. Maybe you’re attracted to a world of fighting crime – but again, once you’ve spent a night in the cells with a hardened criminal, perhaps you’ll think again. Many vacation schemes allow you to spend time in departments in which you have an interest, so you can find out if you’re going to hate it after the first week, before it’s too late.

The normal procedure is to apply from January to March for summer vacation schemes in your penultimate year at university. There are also Easter and Christmas schemes, so it is vital to check with individual firms regarding deadlines for applications. Clare Harris, graduate recruitment manager at Lovells, advises students to get application forms in early: ‘You’d be surprised how many urgent phone calls I get from applicants who’ve missed deadlines, or from those saying their form isn’t ready – and with so many applicants for each placement, they just can’t be accommodated’. However, as well as a varied range of vacation schemes, many firms are now offering open days to provide more students with the opportunity to sample life in the legal world. ‘Formal open days combine firm presentations with time spent shadowing a lawyer, giving students a valuable snapshot of what it’s like to work at our firm’, comments Harris.

So what should you expect from your vacation placement? Gone are the days of saving up the filing for the poor work experience kid – seriously slashing firms’ expenditure on plasters for paper cuts! Expect to be wined, dined, whisked off your feet at the ice rink and even taken to the opera, oh, and you may have to do some ‘real’ work as well. A Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton trainee experienced ‘plenty of responsibility on the vac scheme’, while a Lovells trainee ‘went to introductory talks, spent time in different departments and worked in teams to come up with a client pitch. There were also social events such as drinks evenings and trips to galleries giving us the opportunity to get to know people’. The Simmons & Simmons scheme lasted four weeks, with two weeks each in different departments. ‘I was placed in Dispute Resolution for the first two weeks and my supervisor ended up being none other than the Graduate Recruitment Partner!’ comments one recent vac schemer. ‘This was pretty nerve-wracking, but I knew that if I impressed him I had a very good chance of getting a training contract. It was a fantastic two weeks. I was given real, meaningful research to conduct and review with a partner, and I was even taken to Downing Street for a Privy Council hearing one day which was incredible!’

Vacation schemes will show you what it’s like to juggle a job, training and a social life, and many vacation placements will genuinely take you on the golden path to a training contract. For example, 50% of trainees at Geldards took part in a vacation scheme at the firm, whilst at Mills & Reeve the figure is even higher at 60%.

So how many vacation schemes should you attempt to do? ‘You won’t gain any more from doing five vacation placements than you would from two’ claims our Linklaters source, ‘I can see why a student would want to take part in a few as it enhances the chance of finding a good training contract, but it’s more about the best use of your time and it’s also beneficial to have activities outside the law’. This seems to be a common attitude: ‘I’ve seen students on their third consecutive vacation placement and they simply can’t maintain the energy’ admits Harris. If you’re still determined to do as many as possible, it would perhaps be better to split them between the Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays, rather than trying to do them back-to-back. And remember, you must have valid reasons for doing so many (such as experiencing different types of firm), otherwise you will end up looking desperate. But, as one Cobbetts trainee found, doing more than one scheme certainly highlights the differences between firms: ‘I experienced a workplace that was very friendly with current trainees who were content with their training and were genuinely happy. This contrasted greatly with my experience of other firms when I attended their vacation schemes.’ For a Hammonds trainee it was simply love at first sight: ‘I completed a vacation scheme at the firm, and from that moment I knew it was the right place for me.’

And what if you haven’t managed to get yourself on any vacation scheme? Don’t give up – you could always try offering your services to firms for free (even for a couple of days at a time) – or approach your local law centre where you’ll see real legal problems and advice first-hand. These approaches show potential employers you have imagination and are serious about a career in the law. If all else fails, head off for some voluntary work (at home or abroad) and gain some real life experience, while learning more about yourself at the same time. It will also give you something different to talk about at interview.