Ask Reed Smith Anything! ⬇️

[Jaysen]

Hello lovely people,

I'm delighted to say that Reed Smith's graduate recruitment team is live in the forum right now. You can ask Becca Schrod (@ReedSmithBecca) and Rik Palmer any questions you want to know about the firm.

This might include:

• How to decide whether Reed Smith is right for you
• What the training is like at Reed Smith
• What graduate recruitment looks for when assessing applications
• How to stand out in the online assessment, video interview or assessment day

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Interested in Reed Smith?

Apply for the Spring and Summer vacation schemes by 6 January 2025.
Apply for the First Year Scheme by 10 February 2025

 

[evs]

Good morning both! What skills are you looking for when reading the work experience section?

Do you have any tips as to how to use non-legal work experience to showcase these?

Thank you!

 

[Theja]

Hi, does Reed Smith sponsor visas for international students?

 

[13h]

Many firms now operate using a sector based approach, what makes Reed Smith’s sector based approach/choice of industries different?

 

[evs]

Could you speak a little about any ESG and sustainability focused initiatives at Reed Smith, and whether trainees can get involved in them?

 

[Runsim]

Hi both, for the work experience section, do you prefer this in prose or bullet point form?

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Good morning both! What skills are you looking for when reading the work experience section?

Do you have any tips as to how to use non-legal work experience to showcase these?

Thank you!

Hi there, We are looking for a range of skills and some unique qualities too, but it is important to have the basics covered. These would be skills like Commercial awareness, Critical thinking, Attention to detail, Research, Problem solving and Communication.

Non-legal work experience is brilliant! Don't get too bogged down if you don't have much legal. Legal can come from attending events like open days and law fairs. Taking part in panels and workshops. And extra curricular things like the law society at uni. Non-legal work experience has lots of tangible skills that you can showcase that would make you a good trainee like Communication, Responsibility, Timekeeping and Commercial awareness.

 

[emmatran]

Hi both. Thank you for making the time to this live forum.
Reed Smith website mentioned that the video interview stage focuses on assessing transferable skills essential for trainee work. Could you provide insight into which specific skills you would look for when reviewing interview answers? What other factors would increase candidates' chances of progressing to the assessment centre stage?

Thank you!

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Hi, does Reed Smith sponsor visas for international students?

Hi Theja - Yes we do

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Hi both, for the work experience section, do you prefer this in prose or bullet point form?

Hi there - Bullet points are great. They get to the point and are more detail then filler words

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Hi both. Thank you for making the time to this live forum.
Reed Smith website mentioned that the video interview stage focuses on assessing transferable skills essential for trainee work. Could you provide insight into which specific skills you would look for when reviewing interview answers? What other factors would increase candidates' chances of progressing to the assessment centre stage?

Thank you!

Hi Emma, I can't give too much away but they are checking to see what motivates you, what you are aware of (from researching the role) and Commercial awareness, as well as skills we would expect a trainee to have. Such as Time keeping, Communication, Team work, Problem solving.

My top tip for video interviews is. Don't over think the process, just focus on the questions. So many people get needlessly nervous about what to wear, speaking weird, moving too much. We are really interested in what you have to say, and how you get your point across. So try (not always easy) to not get too nervous. We also allow you to pause before answering. I would take advantage of this. You could make some bullet points. Practice your answer a few times, research. (Just try not to write a script).

 

[emmatran]

Many thanks for such a detailed answer @RikPalmer-ReedSmith. If you don't mind me asking another question, in your own words, what would you say sets Reed Smith’s training program apart from others in the legal industry? Thank you!

 

[-legal-]

Hi, for those of us that have submitted our application when should we expect to hear back approximately?

Thank you.

 

[ReedSmithBecca]

Many firms now operate using a sector based approach, what makes Reed Smith’s sector based approach/choice of industries different?

I think the blend of sectors we specialise in is quite unique, which gives Trainees a great opportunity to experience a range of sectors and blend of contentious, transactional and advisory work.

 

[ReedSmithBecca]

Could you speak a little about any ESG and sustainability focused initiatives at Reed Smith, and whether trainees can get involved in them?

Some general information about our sustainability initiatives can be found here: https://www.reedsmith.com/en/responsible-business/environmental-sustainability.
Trainees can get involved in a range of Responsible Business initiatives (broadly the 'S' in ESG!) through volunteering. We do ESG focused work for our clients which Trainees can get involved in, as well as Environmental Pro Bono matters. We also have had SQE interns do project work for the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance.

 

[ReedSmithBecca]

Hi, for those of us that have submitted our application when should we expect to hear back approximately?

Thank you.

Sorry, it'll depend on a few different factors so we can't give exact information on when. But at least by mid-January, if not sooner.

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Could you speak a little about any ESG and sustainability focused initiatives at Reed Smith, and whether trainees can get involved in them?

Hi There - More can be found out here - https://www.reedsmith.com/en/capabilities/services/environmental-social-governance

A few things that come to mind though are
1. We recently moved offices from a Skyscraper to a much more sustainable, refurbished listed warehouse. Its got a lot of great environmental factors but another great thing is the extra staff wellbeing support. We have a whole wellbeing floor with Yoga studios, treatment rooms and multi-faith spaces. We've also moved to an open plan concept to encourage collaboration are remove barriers
2. We have a fantastic Responsible business team that arrange lots of activity to take part in (most trainees are involved in this). This involves fundraising, food kitchens, community gardening and school visits for supporting the next wave of lawyers

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Many firms now operate using a sector based approach, what makes Reed Smith’s sector based approach/choice of industries different?

I think the main differences will be with the reputation different firms achieve in different industries. We have a great reputation across many commercial sectors. We are fairly unique for a commercial firm to have an entertainment and media group. We focus very much on our staff having the highest level of commercial awareness in these fields so that we can advise our clients on the most relevant information. We also don't just work on headline grabbing work. We want to be a supportive firm for our clients and take on the big and the small projects

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Many thanks for such a detailed answer @RikPalmer-ReedSmith. If you don't mind me asking another question, in your own words, what would you say sets Reed Smith’s training program apart from others in the legal industry? Thank you!

Hi Emma, There are lots of things to choose from but personally I think the year prior to our TC is very unique. You join us as an SQE "intern". This have a blend of learning and paid work in a no practice group. This gives you opportunity to get involved with the teams, attend socials, familarise yourself with the office, and settle in. Then when you start your TC that's all sorted and you can focus on your experience

 

[Emiliahdtmb]

Hi,

The commercial awareness question is about discussing a sector but I wondered thether it meant sector overall or can we be more specific? For instance, can we talk about the aviation sector to be more specific instead of just the transportation sector. Or do we have to focus on for instance, the transportation sector. Apologies, I was a bit confused by that.

Kind regards