My Vacation Scheme with Burges Salmon

In this blog, future trainee solicitor Rufus Darwall reflects on his vacation scheme experience in our Bristol office.

The winter vacation scheme solidified my interest in Burges Salmon. The week surpassed my expectations as I enjoyed meeting trainees and lawyers from the firm as well as learning more about the firm’s work and culture. The week was the best way to know for certain that this was the firm for me.

We were given a trainee buddy for guidance and to answer any questions throughout the week. The mid-week social with all the vacation schemers and trainee buddies was a great way to gain insight into life as a trainee at the firm and ask trainees about their experience of the training.

The work surpassed my expectations. I spent the week with the Pensions department, and I was immediately working with my supervisor on a live matter for a partner. Getting stuck into analysing the rules of a pensions trust and drafting up my findings for the partner was a brilliant opportunity to learn about the firm’s high-quality work. Pensions was something I knew little about, but experiencing a different area of law was refreshing and reinforced my view that a six-seat rotation was important to me.

The scheme was much more than the work. It was a great chance to get a feel for the atmosphere in the office and meet lots of different people at the firm. We were encouraged to get a coffee with lawyers and paralegals (anyone, really) from departments that interested us, so we could learn about work beyond our seats for the week.

Overall, the week reaffirmed that Burges Salmon was the right fit for me and surpassed my expectations of life at the firm.

This blog was written by Rufus Darwall, future Trainee Solicitor, in collaboration with the Emerging Talent team.

Ready to make your application? Read on to find out how

Every year, the firm runs a winter, spring and two summer schemes in their Bristol office. We offer a spring and summer vacation scheme in our Edinburgh office too, for those wishing to qualify as a solicitor in Scotland.

If you’re applying to our Bristol vacation schemes, you need to be in your penultimate or final year if you’re studying law. For non-law students you’ll need to be in your final year. We also welcome applications from those who have graduated or those considering a career move.
We host plenty of events each year designed to provide you with a great insight into firm life and what we seek in applications. Keep an eye on our website and LinkedIn for when new dates are released later this year.

Applications for our vacation schemes, training contract, insight evenings and insight days open on 29 September 2025. Don’t miss this chance to leap into your legal career at the firm!