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In early June, I took part in my first vacation scheme with Brabners LLP in the firm’s Liverpool office.

I hadn’t heard about the firm until LawCareersNetLIVE Manchester in November 2023, where I met some trainees, the learning and development team and the managing partner. On the day, I learned more about the firm, its values and why the staff enjoy working there.

Applications are now open for LawCareersNetLIVE 2024, apply today to attend panel discussions, firm-led workshops and networking sessions.

After being invited to attend the vacation scheme, I’m happy to report that it was a fantastic experience. There was plenty of work to be getting involved with, engaging panel talks and Q&As with trainees and senior lawyers, and we were all made to feel welcome and a part of the firm for the week.

Here’s a run-down of the week’s scheme.

Day one

The first day at any work experience or new job is usually an onboarding day. Along with the usual setting up of company laptops and online security training, we had a welcome from the managing partner Nik White, a trainee Q&A and a group pizza lunch with our trainee buddies. We were then introduced to the people we’d be working with for the week. I was allocated to the private client team, and met the trainee and two partners that I’d be working alongside. After these introductions, I got started on my first task of the week – a research note for one of the partners. It was a nice introductory day and we were all made to feel welcome by everyone we met.

Day two

Alongside the department work we were involved with on day two, we received the brief for the project we had to deliver at the end of the week – a client pitch presentation. The pitch was an imaginary scenario where Brabners was pitching itself to a well-known name to retain them as a client. We were split into two groups. One group made a pitch to a sports team, whereas my group pitched to a well-known name in the healthcare industry.

Our job was to put across exactly why the client should work with Brabners, with suggested points to include and expand on for the presentation.

The rest of our day was spent completing department work. For me, that involved getting feedback on the research note I had prepared, drafting a form using information that would’ve been obtained from the (imaginary) client by my trainee colleague and a first attempt at a covering letter, which would’ve accompanied the forms being sent out to the client.

Read our Vacation Scheme Insider profiles to find out more about other law firm vacation scheme experiences.

Day three

The middle day was very much a department workday. I carved out some time with my trainee buddy who, as it turns out, worked at a firm that I had presented at a few years ago. We reflected on that, had a general catch-up and discussed how I was doing in my seat.

As far as the seat work went, because I came into this scheme with a few years of paralegal experience already, the trainee I worked with offered me some more advanced work. I’m always happy to have work that’s challenging but that’s also an achievable challenge. Too easy means I’d get bored, but too hard means I’d probably get stuck and overwhelmed and tie myself in knots, which doesn’t do anyone any good.

Day four

I was excused from a morning session because it focused on what to expect at an assessment centre, which we agreed wouldn’t have benefitted me because I’m qualifying via CILEX. This gave me a chance to carry on with some seat work, which was fine by me. The equality and diversity lunchtime panel session was a highlight for me, especially hearing about how the firm is on its own neuroinclusion journey.

What stood out for me was that the firm and the internal neurodiversity network aren’t taking the approach of “we have this network so therefore we know what we’re doing when it comes to neuroinclusion”. Instead, staff are asking “what else can we do or think about to be better for our neurodivergent colleagues?” I know I can work well with people who take this approach.

For the evening, the learning and development team arranged a social event for us, which was a painting class. Despite not being artistic in any way, I’m very much in my “I’ll try anything once” phase and I’m happy to report that we all did very well. It sure beat an unimaginative pub night! 

Day five

On the final day, there wasn’t much chance to complete any seat work. However, since I’d already finished and submitted all my allocated work, it wasn’t a big deal as my department colleagues knew that we had to finalise our pitch presentation. So, a final chat with my department colleagues brought my time in the private client team to a successful end.

After one last run through of our presentation and a final lunch together, we presented to the ‘client’. The feedback we received was very good. I’m proud of what we put together!