西瓜视频

We had a lovely welcome and then proceeded upstairs. We talked with fellow attendees and the Early Careers Team. After breakfast, we all went to our allocated seats and proceeded to the initial sessions. These included the anatomy of deals, what it is like to be a trainee at A&O Shearman as well as their pro bono work and every other important aspect of the firm including their own AI platforms. Towards the end of the first day there was a fantastic social too. Overall, it was an incredibly insightful experience.

I would day that you develop all of your existing skills to an extent. In order to be admitted onto the programme you must be able to demonstrate a degree of commercial awareness. However, there was an admittedly large discrepancy between the levels of commercial awareness of a trainee and a first-year. I certainly believe that the main skill I developed was my commercial awareness and ability to analyse and approach the news through a much better framework.

I would say that you certainly understand a lot more about the firm. You understand their main differentiating points, their increasing focus on AI for example. As for roles, I would say that it is quite straightforward. There is a pretty linear path in the corporate law industry but it was definitely interesting to find out about the different departments you can specialise in, secondment opportunities and the different ways in which the firm operates and acts to maximise values for its clients.

Everyone is incredibly friendly and helpful. I have had a lot of experience at A&O Shearman, having taken part in their Smart Applications and Accelerate programmes. Even post-merger, the friendly culture of the firm really has not changed. I would say that the firm definitely feels a lot larger than before, but it never feels like you鈥檙e a cog in a machine. There is a lot of cooperation between the team and trainees which has really impressed me about A&O Shearman.

I walked away feeling like I understand corporate law to a much better extent. I now understand how deals work, what the responsibilities of solicitors are, what their expectations are and how they conduct themselves. Furthermore, you are also fast-tracked to an assessment centre for a vacation scheme which certainly eases the pressure of picking it up from scratch in Year 2. Overall, it has been a fantastic experience that was really insightful into corporate law and their modus operandi.

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The most useful tip is to utilise their assessment framework. A&O Shearman published their frameworks on their websites and the key skills that they are looking out for in a trainee solicitor. I would recommend that you read it in great detail and think about situations where you have demonstrated these skills too. They do not have to be law related, so do not worry! Lastly, it is also never too late to apply. I applied two days before the deadline and I still got in so do not be disheartened by the approaching deadline.