The Linklaters Virtual Experience Programme is one of many online projects run by Inside Sherpa to help develop any skills you may require going into your chosen field of work. As many of you will know, the three of us are all aiming to become solicitors and have therefore chosen to complete the programmes run in connection with law firms, of which there are many, the first of these being the Linklaters programme.
Linklaters and Inside Sherpa
For those who are not aware, Linklaters is global magic circle law firm based in London, UK that works in a number of legal sectors (see their website here for more information). They were the first UK law firm to launch this 'virtual internship' in an attempt to provide more opportunities to incoming law students and develop their skillsets. Linklaters have described the internship as an opportunity "to interact with virtual clients and colleagues in a way that replicates the day-to-day work of Linklaters", suggesting this course will provide an insight into working for them which may be beneficial to those considering undertaking training contracts with them. Furthermore, all work submitted is self-marked against an example created by the law firm so an insight is given into the expectations of the standard of work of Linklaters (and likely law firms in general).
The programme is free to sign up for (join it here) and may be accessed by any UK student (studying any degree) meaning it is a widely accessible platform provided you have internet. Additionally, although we will focus solely on law-related programmes, there are numerous different courses that may be of interest to others, information about which can be found on the Inside Sherpa website.
The Programme
The programme length and content varies dependent on which you select, however on average they appear to take between 6-12 hours to complete. The Linklaters programme consists of 7 individual tasks with a recommended completion time of around 6 hours, however the programme is incredibly flexible and can be done as quickly or slowly as you wish, meaning it fits well around any work or study you may have. As Linklaters is a large law firm working in numerous different sectors, their programme reflects this by helping you work through the lifecycle of a deal involving numerous teams.
Task one aims to develop your pitching skills by asking you to create a powerpoint, looking at Linklaters' experience, Partners and diversity initiatives, to present to the client to incentivise them to choose Linklaters as their legal team. This also involved researching on the Linklaters website to find the information to present and therefore developed numerous skills.
Task two follows this, asking you to email internal teams with information given to you regarding the fictional deal you're working on. Guidance is given regarding email protocol as this is likley a task you will not have encountered before however this makes it highly beneficial as a skill developer for the future.
In task three you are required to submit a voicemail, to develop your oral communication skills, regarding different areas of dispute resolution and which is most appropriate based on the clients needs. This forces client-centred research and a tailored answer based on their needs which is a vital skill for working in a law firm - answers can not be generic.
Task four required proof-reading a non-disclosure agreement and identifying any errors that have been made - a task frequently given to trainees, therefore reflecting the vitality of the skill.
Similarly to task two, task five asks you for another email however this time regarding a different part of the deal - the share purchase agreement - which involves legal research as would be undertaken frequently at firms.
Task six involves another email however this is to the client and therefore is written slightly differently and again covers a different element of the deal, this time regarding fees.
Finally, task seven again involves communicating directly with the client however this is done through voicemail, similar to task three, as opposed to email. This relates to post-completion tasks to round off the deal you have spent the previous six tasks working on and therefore finishes the programme simultaneous to the end of the deal giving a sense of dual completion.
The Review
Personally, I found the work took me longer than the suggested time frames to research and complete the task set however it did get easier and quicker as I progressed through the tasks as you get a feel for the expectations. The work did give a very good insight into a variety of different tasks and, although I am still a student, I believe this would reflect work you would undergo daily. Undeniably the tasks were challenging, some more so than others, as I had not encountered most of the skills required before starting and had never completed anything similar to this, however the instructions were very clear meaning it was easy to follow and more a case of getting used to that style of work compared to studying.
I would highly recommend anyone considering applying to work for Linklaters or anyone who has not had much experience in the legal industry to undertake this internship. Given its flexibility, it would be very easy to do in any spare time you may have and the confidence and skills it could provide you with are invaluable when going into the working world.
I would love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this internship or if there are any others you recommend so let us know in the comments below or on any of our socials!
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