English and French Law student Vikram Pandit has been offered a training contract with Magic Circle law firm Clifford Chance at the end of only his second year of study at Kent.
Currently on his year abroad studying in France, Vikram secured the offer after completing the firm’s Springboard (now SPARK) scheme.
During the week-long scheme at Clifford Chance, Vikram enjoyed a series of talks delivered by partners, associates, trainees and the firm’s managing partner. There was also a trip to Amsterdam to visit the firm’s international office and a soft skills development session.
Vikram said: ‘There were lots of opportunities to meet individuals, discuss their career development and take advice on our next steps. There was also a case study session and a negotiation workshop which, alongside the experience of shadowing trainees, highlighted the nature of the work undertaken during the training contract at Clifford Chance and gave us an insight into the daily life at the firm.’
Although Vikram was “ecstatic” to be offered a training contract, he said he is biding his time before he accepts: ‘I want to be certain that it’s something I want to do and somewhere I want to work. For this reason I’ve applied to other firms for vacation schemes to enable to me to assess whether I really like what is currently on offer to me. It’s reassuring to know that the graduate recruitment team at Clifford Chance support me in this decision.’
Vikram chose to study law at Kent because of his interest in pursuing a career as a solicitor and because of the four-year programme in English and French Law: ‘It’s one of the best courses of its kind offered in the country. And I liked the statistics Kent had to offer about employability, suggesting to me that a law degree at Kent Law School would definitely put me in a good position to find employment after university – in whatever sector I was interested in.’
Vikram has made good use of the University’s Careers and Employability Service and has attended a broad variety of talks. He’s also found events and activities organised by the Kent Student Law Society to be an invaluable source of information and advice. During his second year, Vikram joined the student committee of the Kent Student Law Society as its Commerical Awareness and Employability Officer. He is proud to have played a role in helping other students succeed in achieving their aspirations through the production of a regular commercial awareness newsletter.
When asked what advice he would share with other aspiring lawyers, Vikram said:
- Be proactive in searching for opportunities for yourself and don’t be reliant on others to highlight opportunities for you
- Be responsible with your time: allow plenty of time for research and apply well before the deadline. This will help maximise your chances for success.
- Don’t take rejection personally: it’s important to understand that firms have different criteria so if one firm doesn’t like what you have to say another will. Be persistent and don’t give up!
Earlier this year, first-year law student Tyra Ntege, also secured an offer for a training contract from Clifford Chance after completing the firm’s five-day First Year Springboard Scheme.