As a second year student studying law I was fortunate to be able to meet lawyers from Michelmores prior to applying to the Vacation Scheme. I applied knowing that Michelmores has a friendly and approachable culture which is something that I think is necessary when wanting to work somewhere. I would definitely recommend to those who are interested in applying to Michelmores to try and get involved with open days and law fairs as much as possible! It shows that you are really interested in the firm and helps you learn information about it that you can’t find on the website.
The application process was quite straightforward consisting of an application form, followed by a video interview and finally an interview with HR at the Firm’s Exeter office. I was thrilled to be accepted onto the Summer Vacation Scheme after this.
The week is really well organised and very busy – you never feel like you have nothing to do! I was allocated to the Clinical Negligence team which is part of the Private Client department. Personally I have done most of my work experience in commercial departments, therefore it was refreshing to be doing work that was so different. The members of the team all get involved with giving you an insight into the work they do which was very interesting. There was never a moment where I would just be reading through files to pass the time. I was given new tasks regularly on cases that they were working on at the time and so was able to feel involved and that I was actually helpful to the solicitors. The case load in the department is also extremely diverse and this meant that every day I was doing something different, ranging from attending client meetings to drafting proof of evidence documents. I enjoyed every minute spent in the department and would definitely recommend it!
Another element of the Vacation Scheme that is very helpful for aspiring solicitors is the talks that the Firm organises each day from a different department. This enabled us to get an insight into areas we weren’t able to experience and ask any questions we wanted to. We were also invited to a breakfast talk from Malcolm Dickinson, the Managing Partner.
As with every Vacation Scheme, there are also assessments that we had to do throughout the week. We were set a verbal reasoning test, a written assessment, an article discussion, and last but by no means least an interview with a partner and a member of HR. The interview was an hour and a half and really tested your commercial awareness and competency. We were also set a presentation on the first day which we would present to ten solicitors on our final day and worked on this throughout the week. I think the experience that we were able to gain from these tasks is invaluable and I learnt a lot about the Firm.
Although the week was challenging, we were all made to feel part of the team. The Firm organised a networking lunch with the trainees and also informal drinks one evening to help us get to know more about Michelmores and its people. It was easy to ask any questions that you wanted to – everyone was very happy to help!
To sum up, the week gave me an excellent insight into what working as a solicitor at Michelmores is like and helped me develop my commercial awareness skills further which in the long term will be invaluable for me. I would highly recommend the Vacation Scheme at Michelmores.