My Vacation Scheme with Burges Salmon: a career changer’s perspective

In this blog, future trainee solicitor Alice Jones Child reflects on her Vacation Scheme experience in our Bristol office.

Introduction

I was on maternity leave in 2021 when I first started thinking about changing to a career in law. I had been running my own small translation business for a decade, but wanted a new intellectual challenge and to work with people more. With no legal experience and two small children, the prospect of retraining at times felt daunting, but in 2022 I took the first step by joining the Burges Salmon International Relations team. Over the past three years, this role has given me some great insight into the world of commercial law and exposure to the work being done by teams across the firm.

Experiences

This year, with my youngest daughter starting school, the time felt right to take the next step and I applied for a Vacation Scheme with Burges Salmon. Although, as an internal candidate, I was already familiar with the firm, I still learned a huge amount and it was great to have the opportunity to be embedded in two different legal teams: Employment and Tax, Trusts & Family.

I attended team meetings, sat in on client calls and carried out a variety of tasks, including legal research, drafting letters and emails to clients and even presenting a case at a team meeting! The scheme was also an invaluable opportunity to chat informally with lawyers, both within my allocated teams and beyond, to learn more about their experience at the firm. It gave me a much better sense of the type of work being done by lawyers at different levels and the nature of their workload.

I also gained insight into the level of client exposure and autonomy junior lawyers had in different practice areas. As an older applicant with family commitments, I found it particularly helpful to talk to lawyers who were also parents about how they managed the work/life juggle and to reassure myself that it is possible to be a good commercial lawyer and still manage the school run! Ultimately, the scheme confirmed in my mind that this was the right path for me, and I’m really looking forward to coming back to the firm to start my Training Contract.

Takeaways/reflections

The process of applying for a Vacation Scheme can seem daunting, but my top tip is to always be yourself and have confidence in your unique experience and skill set, whether gained from the world of law or elsewhere. I was worried that having no legal training would put me at a disadvantage, but on the scheme I quickly found that the skills I had gained in my previous career served me well.

I value the fact that Burges Salmon is a firm that welcomes applicants from different backgrounds and hopefully the experience from my previous career will be an asset to the firm in years to come.