My Vacation Placement Experience

I am one of the summer students this year at Pinsent Masons and I have been working in the Commercial Property Department at the Aberdeen office. Although I had learned a lot of information about the firm prior to the start of my placement, I tried to maintain an open mind as to what the experience would be like once I began working.

Even though I was open minded, however, working at Pinsent Masons completely exceeded any expectations that I had previously had about the work that I may be doing and the environment that I would be working in. The genuine friendliness of every person I met, no matter what role or position they had, made me feel extremely welcome and as I got to know everyone I quickly began to feel like a member of the team.

On my second day in the office, I was asked to review title deeds and highlight areas that I thought might interfere with or affect the operation of a residential development. I had never analysed deeds for a large-scale investment before but this is something that I have become much more familiar with during my time in the department. I really enjoyed the practical work and it was completely different from studying property law at University. By being given unfamiliar tasks I have been able to develop my research, initiative and analytical skills by figuring out how to understand title deeds and lease contracts.

I always felt welcome to ask questions but I also enjoyed trying to complete tasks on my own to the best of my abilities. Once I discussed my answers with a member of the team, I was surprised to find out that I had actually flagged up all of the relevant provisions, as before the Vacation Placement at Pinsent Masons I never had an opportunity to work independently in a legal environment where I would be able to push myself in order to carry out practical work using the knowledge and skills that I gained at university.

Over a few days and through social events I also became friends with many of my colleagues, which made working in the office even more enjoyable. The social events that were organised also allowed me to meet colleagues from different departments that I may not have otherwise had the chance to interact with, which also allowed me to gain an insight into other work that was being carried out at the firm.

I have truly enjoyed learning and working at the Aberdeen office and the company of all of my new friends and colleagues and I am thankful that I got to take part in this experience.