Vacation schemes can be an important stepping stone for any prospective lawyer, offering a glimpse of the real-world legal environment and a wealth of experience, knowledge and connections to help you take that first step onto the career ladder. Having completed a number myself, here are my top five tips for getting the most out of your vac scheme.

1) Be enthusiastic and make your interests known

Figure out your priorities and try to include them in your scheme. For example, I was keen to work at a firm with excellent training so I made sure I attended some training sessions. Furthermore, if you are particularly interested in a department that you are not sitting in, you can always try to contact someone from that department in order to find out more. Being enthusiastic and curious about your own department is also valuable as I learnt when I was lucky enough to be invited to attend court when sitting in a litigation department.