From terrific to tat, every year a plethora of law firms attempt to win the affection (and applications) of aspiring lawyers by wooing them with branded freebies available to pick up at law fairs and other events. As an independent legal career advice provider, we see it as our job to summarise the best freebies available to eagle-eyed students. Here’s what we picked up this year.

Has anyone else reached the point of the university year where your workload is so unmanageable that the only thing you do instead of facing it is watching TV? No? Just me? If you are looking for a way to salve your conscious as you turn your back on the hundreds of pages of reading you haven’t done yet (and which you promise yourself you will catch up on over Christmas), I would recommend watching something that is (however loosely) based around the law in some way. 

The firm was particularly efficient in their recruitment process. They consider their candidates on all aspects, including experiences, and not just academia. As a result, they attract well-rounded, friendly and interesting individuals from a wealth of backgrounds.

I particularly noticed the amount of support and contact between accepting the training contract and starting at the firm. 

There are opportunities for personal development and knowledge sharing, and you are assigned a trainee buddy to offer support and guidance.

I have been given the right level of responsibility as a trainee. I am pushed without feeling overwhelmed. The supervisions have been fantastic and there are some brilliant lawyers at the firm to learn from.

I received excellent client contact throughout my training contract. The supervision has been fantastic – there is a good balance between assisted work and independent exercises.

This firm is a wonderful place to train because of its open and friendly culture. It is common to know all of the partners in your department and even to have been for a drink with most of them in your first seat! Senior partners make sure that you are feeling supported even when it gets busy and the pressure is on.

The supervision and assistance has been excellent.  The access to senior members of the firm is as good as I could have envisaged, and all members of the firm are pleasant to deal with and helpful.

Great supervision and training. I felt valued and supported as a trainee and was able to undertake a broad spectrum of work.

What really stood out for me was how well paired everyone was with their supervisors. You could tell the graduate recruitment team had spent a long time considering who will be the best fit and it really showed how the firm will go the extra mile to make sure your experience is the best it can be.

We were given real work in a structured way, with clear expectations and directions to resources. I was taken aback by the level of involvement and commitment of partners in the process, who took hours out of their day to get to know us at social events and training sessions. This reassured us that the business was taking us seriously and our time was being well spent in choosing this vacation scheme.

I am training within the social and education services team. My first seat is in education law, before I move onto adult social care and child matters in my later seats.

In August 2014, I didn’t receive the A-level results I had hoped for and was unable to secure a spot at my chosen university.

LinkedIn might sometimes seem like Instagram’s boring older sibling but, as most professionals and employers have accounts on the platform, it’s a great place for you to engage with other users and follow the latest legal developments. It’s also a gateway of information, opportunities and online networking.

To secure a place at one of our prestigious LawCareersNetLIVE student conferences you must submit a top-class application. These applications are similar to training contract applications.

Much of this week has been spent trying to keep a lid on the bubbling excitement associated with this year’s most momentous social event – no, not the royal wedding on Saturday, but the LCN Training & Recruitment Awards, tonight! Even with the inevitable distractions such an occasion provokes, we have kept our eyes on the prize and have been monitoring the business pages, with you in mind. Read our carefully curated selection of interesting news here.

Bex Gerrard is a HR coordinator at Gowling WLG (UK) LLP. She opens up about her disability and experience at work, and outlines what she believes makes a truly inclusive workplace.