Megha Vijh

Education: Social Sciences, International Relations and Spanish, Durham University

I first encountered WFW at a careers fair and found the firm’s representatives friendly and easy to chat to.

Now I’ve joined the firm, I’ve found everyone approachable and down to earth. As a trainee, if you’re working on something complicated, people aren’t too busy to sit down and explain. Pretty much every single time, people have taken the time to say “let’s go over it. Is there anything you don’t understand”? That’s what you want in a training contract, to feel you’re always improving.

In school, I didn’t understand much about the work of a commercial lawyer. That drove my decision to help with WFW’s diversity and inclusion (D&I) outreach programmes. Speaking to people about my journey and reflecting on opportunities I’ve had means I can take stock of how far I’ve come and makes me feel fulfilled. The commitment to D&I and outreach programmes is flexible and you can get a lot out of it even for an hour or two. My supervisors have been open about me getting involved, which is typical of how the firm helps me to manage my workload around areas that interest me.

So much is packed into two years of a training contract. There are peaks and troughs with workload, but the firm places a big emphasis on ensuring work-life balance is managed. My supervisor often said “if it gets to 5.30pm and there’s nothing urgent coming in, don’t feel the need to stick around for the sake of it”. I find this caring and supportive attitude towards my wellbeing so refreshing.

Everyone’s very sociable at WFW. A lot of departments will have their own events to mark occasions both within the team and within the firm. Our summer party this year was at a rooftop bar, which was really fun.