SJ Berwin was 'wrong' to ask summer student to do an all-nighter
SJ Berwin has admitted that the firm “got it wrong” when a summer vacation scheme student was asked to work until the early hours of the morning.
Nicola Bridge
A female student is understood to have worked until five in the morning after being asked to help another female colleague on a document for an international arbitration.
SJ Berwin’s graduate recruitment partner Nicola Bridge said in a statement: “Vacation students are sometimes invited to take part in work such as deal completions and trial preparation, which can run into the night, and we’re keen to offer them the opportunity to observe and help with some of the more exciting parts of the job.
“But as a matter of policy we shouldn’t go beyond invitation and directly request that vacation students work into the night, and on this occasion we got it wrong.
“Last week a student worked through the night on a document for a big international arbitration. She willingly stayed and worked with a female colleague and did a great job, but she was actually asked to do so and that shouldn’t have happened. In future we’ll stick to our policy so this doesn’t happen again.”
In line with its rival firms SJ Berwin’s placement programme lasts for two weeks. Summer vacation scheme students in City firms are typically paid around £300 a week.
The student was not available for comment.
Readers' comments (75)
Anonymous | 27-Jul-2011 2:52 pm
Why on earth did Nicola Bridge give a statement??
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Danno | 27-Jul-2011 3:06 pm
With lawyers leaving SJ Berwin in droves, perhaps they were genuinely in need of her photocopying assistance overnight...?
Maybe if they ran vac schemes all year round, they could afford to let even more support staff go too.
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Anonymous | 27-Jul-2011 3:13 pm
How much did SJB bill her out for?
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Anonymous | 27-Jul-2011 3:49 pm
What's the relevance of "she willingly worked with a female colleague"?
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Danno | 27-Jul-2011 4:50 pm
@Anonymous 3:49pm
Presumably this information rebuts the presumption that she was forced to work by a gang of male colleagues, who had chained her to the desk.
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Robin Phelan | 27-Jul-2011 5:43 pm
I'm with a large U.S. firm and our summer associates would view the chance to work on an important project as an opportunity. Summer associates should be treated as colleagues and do what is necessary to get the job done for the client.
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Anonymous | 27-Jul-2011 7:35 pm
Wait..who's the cheerleader? Nicola right?
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Anonymous | 27-Jul-2011 7:55 pm
Commitment, determination, team player, hard worker, keen to get involved...hello, training contract...
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Anonymous | 27-Jul-2011 8:21 pm
Am currently on maternity leave and reading this story and the comments has reminded me of the craziness of working in law. Frankly, anyone who describes working til 5am as "exciting" or an "opportunity" deserves to be shot.
Really looking forward to coming back to work now. Cheers.
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Anonymous | 27-Jul-2011 10:27 pm
Well I can't say I'm surprised that such a faux pas has occurred. It is clear that these days it is expected by the big corporate firms in London to work long into the night and into next morning. If it wasn't "expected", she would have been asked rather than told.
However, if she was willing then fair play to her and I hope she was offered a TC!
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