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<blockquote data-quote="j.s.cox" data-source="post: 125809" data-attributes="member: 20454"><p><strong><u>Norton Rose Fulbright Vacation Scheme Day 5:</u></strong></p><p></p><p><u><em>Energy</em></u></p><p>We had the group assessment today (more on that later), and I started with such high energy, but by the middle of the day, most of us were seriously flagging. I hit a wall at about 2 o'clock and was grateful for a cake delivery into the room we were in for an extra boost. This week has been completely fabulous, but utterly exhausting. I'm hoping to rest well this weekend to be prepared for week 2 of the scheme.</p><p></p><p><u><em>Group Assessment</em></u></p><p>Graduate Recruitment promised us a lot of fun on this assessment, and I have to admit that it was enjoyable as far as assessments go. It was structured roughly as follows:</p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Brief by Graduate Recruitment.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Prep time (25 minutes).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Interview time (15 minutes).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Prep time (35 minutes).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Interview time (25 minutes).</li> </ol><p>The assessment is exactly the same every year which is why graduate recruitment have the policy that if you are unsuccessful following a vacation scheme, you can only reapply for a direct TC. We were split into groups of four or five to discuss a client issue and given time to ask questions to the relevant people to help us deliver a suggestion to our client. The first four steps above were actually really enjoyable and I found it easy to work in a team as I have gotten to know people quite well on this scheme. The final interview time was with the graduate recruitment partners, and it was a lot harder. If you mentioned something, they expected you to understand everything about it. I thought this might happen, so I made sure to explain what we would do rather than giving the technical term for it. E.g., I said that we should put a clause in to protect ourselves against a certain scenario, but I did not use the terms warranty or indemnity. As such, I was not asked in detail about either of these terms. In contrast, a team member talked about an undertaking and was then asked to explain this in detail.</p><p></p><p>Having met the Graduate Recruitment Partners in a very different setting at the beginning of the scheme and at a social, it was really strange to notice their change in demeanor. It was very much a grilling, but I don't think they were trying to catch anyone out. They just wanted to make sure that you understood what you were talking about and that you would not advise a client on something you knew very little about.</p><p></p><p><u><em>NRF Transform Presentation</em></u></p><p>After this, we had a presentation from NRF Transform. It was very interesting, and I was excited to learn more about the Legal Tech side of the firm. For anyone interested in Legal Tech, I highly recommend looking them up. It was great to see the process they go through to develop solutions to make legal work more efficient. We had another group exercise here, but I think everyone was very drained as the energy was quite a bit lower than in the group exercise that had been assessed earlier. Luckily, cake and hot drinks were served to give us a bit of a boost. It is worth noting that NRF has another graduate scheme called BLOGs which feeds into NRF Transform (for anyone who decides law isn't for them, but they want to stay near the legal industry).</p><p></p><p><u><em>Commercial Awareness Presentation</em></u></p><p>This was actually the best commercial awareness presentation I have ever attended. I really enjoyed myself. It was run by a current associate who trained at the firm. Unfortunately, this required yet another group exercise. At this point, everyone was quite tired, but the exercise was actually fairly enjoyable (partly because it was not assessed). The associate was also really lovely.</p><p></p><p><u><em>Work</em></u></p><p>I came in and got some work done today on a research task I had been given earlier in the week, but the day was largely taken up by presentations. The office was also eerily empty as most people don't come in on a Friday. One thing I have been especially taken aback by is the genuine lack of facetime culture. If you finish work at 4pm, nobody expects you to stay later. You can also work from home in the morning and come in after lunch. There seems to be an informal and very natural flexible working policy. Neither my trainee buddy nor my partner supervisor were in today.</p><p></p><p><u><em>Culture</em></u></p><p>Something that has always irritated me is when people say they chose a firm because of the culture. What does that even mean?! It has always felt like such a cop-out answer. I'm finally beginning to understand it though. I click with this place and the people. I genuinely love it here which is a sentiment echoed by a few vacation schemers. I feel like I have found my home, so fingers crossed for a TC!</p><p></p><p><u><em>Vacation Schemers</em></u></p><p>Following on from my point on culture, I think that the vacation schemers are all people I really like. We were talking today about how the firm seems to have truly filtered out the people that wouldn't fit in with the firm very well as we have all had similar experiences. We also went to a nearby bar to grab a drink (some were non-alcoholic) after work as a celebration for finishing the first week. Everyone is so supportive of each other and I'm really enjoying myself!</p><p></p><p>Thanks for following my journey!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="j.s.cox, post: 125809, member: 20454"] [B][U]Norton Rose Fulbright Vacation Scheme Day 5:[/U][/B] [U][I]Energy[/I][/U] We had the group assessment today (more on that later), and I started with such high energy, but by the middle of the day, most of us were seriously flagging. I hit a wall at about 2 o'clock and was grateful for a cake delivery into the room we were in for an extra boost. This week has been completely fabulous, but utterly exhausting. I'm hoping to rest well this weekend to be prepared for week 2 of the scheme. [U][I]Group Assessment[/I][/U] Graduate Recruitment promised us a lot of fun on this assessment, and I have to admit that it was enjoyable as far as assessments go. It was structured roughly as follows: [LIST=1] [*]Brief by Graduate Recruitment. [*]Prep time (25 minutes). [*]Interview time (15 minutes). [*]Prep time (35 minutes). [*]Interview time (25 minutes). [/LIST] The assessment is exactly the same every year which is why graduate recruitment have the policy that if you are unsuccessful following a vacation scheme, you can only reapply for a direct TC. We were split into groups of four or five to discuss a client issue and given time to ask questions to the relevant people to help us deliver a suggestion to our client. The first four steps above were actually really enjoyable and I found it easy to work in a team as I have gotten to know people quite well on this scheme. The final interview time was with the graduate recruitment partners, and it was a lot harder. If you mentioned something, they expected you to understand everything about it. I thought this might happen, so I made sure to explain what we would do rather than giving the technical term for it. E.g., I said that we should put a clause in to protect ourselves against a certain scenario, but I did not use the terms warranty or indemnity. As such, I was not asked in detail about either of these terms. In contrast, a team member talked about an undertaking and was then asked to explain this in detail. Having met the Graduate Recruitment Partners in a very different setting at the beginning of the scheme and at a social, it was really strange to notice their change in demeanor. It was very much a grilling, but I don't think they were trying to catch anyone out. They just wanted to make sure that you understood what you were talking about and that you would not advise a client on something you knew very little about. [U][I]NRF Transform Presentation[/I][/U] After this, we had a presentation from NRF Transform. It was very interesting, and I was excited to learn more about the Legal Tech side of the firm. For anyone interested in Legal Tech, I highly recommend looking them up. It was great to see the process they go through to develop solutions to make legal work more efficient. We had another group exercise here, but I think everyone was very drained as the energy was quite a bit lower than in the group exercise that had been assessed earlier. Luckily, cake and hot drinks were served to give us a bit of a boost. It is worth noting that NRF has another graduate scheme called BLOGs which feeds into NRF Transform (for anyone who decides law isn't for them, but they want to stay near the legal industry). [U][I]Commercial Awareness Presentation[/I][/U] This was actually the best commercial awareness presentation I have ever attended. I really enjoyed myself. It was run by a current associate who trained at the firm. Unfortunately, this required yet another group exercise. At this point, everyone was quite tired, but the exercise was actually fairly enjoyable (partly because it was not assessed). The associate was also really lovely. [U][I]Work[/I][/U] I came in and got some work done today on a research task I had been given earlier in the week, but the day was largely taken up by presentations. The office was also eerily empty as most people don't come in on a Friday. One thing I have been especially taken aback by is the genuine lack of facetime culture. If you finish work at 4pm, nobody expects you to stay later. You can also work from home in the morning and come in after lunch. There seems to be an informal and very natural flexible working policy. Neither my trainee buddy nor my partner supervisor were in today. [U][I]Culture[/I][/U] Something that has always irritated me is when people say they chose a firm because of the culture. What does that even mean?! It has always felt like such a cop-out answer. I'm finally beginning to understand it though. I click with this place and the people. I genuinely love it here which is a sentiment echoed by a few vacation schemers. I feel like I have found my home, so fingers crossed for a TC! [U][I]Vacation Schemers[/I][/U] Following on from my point on culture, I think that the vacation schemers are all people I really like. We were talking today about how the firm seems to have truly filtered out the people that wouldn't fit in with the firm very well as we have all had similar experiences. We also went to a nearby bar to grab a drink (some were non-alcoholic) after work as a celebration for finishing the first week. Everyone is so supportive of each other and I'm really enjoying myself! Thanks for following my journey! [/QUOTE]
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