New Threads

Does anyone have any experiences with RPC Assessment Days? It will be my first AC and so I'd rather go in completely blind

On Withers' application, they ask for you to tell them about a time you delivered 'client focus' but I'm not really sure what that is? Would working in a supermarket be an example? Would using another example for my time working in a supermarket be repetitive because I can't think of anything else that could relate?

Hi!

Does anybody have any insight into the assessment centre process for CMS Academy and what to prep for it, specifically the partner interview? Feel free to DM me! I am so nervous and would love to have a chat about it if you've been through it before!

Thank you!

Hey guys! Just signed up to tcla because the help and feedback on these forums look great!

I have a video interview for Willkie, Farr and Ghallagher coming up and wanted to know if anyone has had experience with their VI interview and could offer some tips?

Also, I wanted to know if anyone has been through the recruitment process for Orrick? Just wanted to know if I should anticipate a reply from them any time soon or if their recruitment process is slow, I sent in my application late December. I'm also worried because I spent a lot of time editing the app, only to realise that I had completely forgot to address my cover letter at the beginning to grad rec so it looks more like a personal statement. I don't know how I made such a stupid mistake, I was so focused on the body thinking I can just add it in the beginning that it went over my head at the end. Rant over, but praying it has not completely ruined my chances.

Thanks for your help guys!

Hi everyone!

Would love to hear what's everyone's pre-AC routine. What do you do the day before, night before and on the actual day itself? Any last minute routine that helped calm your nerves? Any foods that you particularly find would help with stress? Any workouts, music, books, foods, movies suggestion all welcomed!!!

I achieved ABB in my A Levels, but some firms require that you have AAB at A Level. Would this entirely write off my application/ruin my chances of being considered, even if I am on track for 2.1?

Hi

I have an AC coming up for a VS. I did a winter VS back in 2019 and failed to convert to a TC. Just wondering people's tips on how to approach this question

The real reason i didn't convert is because certain elements of my final interview were weak, such as my answer to the commercial scenario. I also generally didn't find myself a good fit for the firm (this is not the reason i didn't get a TC tho)!

Thank you for any responses

Hi there,

I am a graduate who has worked in a professional industry for a couple of years. I have completed the GDL, and have recently submitted vac scheme applications for the firms I'm interested in that recruit either exclusively or predominantly from their vac scheme candidates. I have completed several vacation schemes both before employment and as recent as winter last year.

May I ask for some advice on whether I should be applying to direct TC applications now provided the relevant application windows are open? Is it often the case with direct TC applications that the early bird catches the worm, or should I await the outcome of the vac schemes I have applied to before pursuing direct TC applications?

I've been a spectator on these forums for a while and I genuinely appreciate the advice people have here. Thank you.

Hi everyone

My name is Charlotte. I am a law graduate currently studying my Masters in International Business Law.

Having been awarded one of the TCLA Bronze Subscriptions, I am so excited to use these amazing resources to secure a Training Contract this year.

I have an upcoming Vacation Scheme with an International Law firm in June, and would love to hear some tips on how to convert your VS into a TC!

Hi!

does anyone know if Kennedys sent out tests to all applicants or conditional to whether or not your application is successful??

Does the law of agency safeguard the rights of third parties where the agent acts for an undisclosed principal?

I encountered intermittent delay when trying to upload my Skadden application on the day of the deadline and I really worked hard on this application. I never foresaw this issue and it really ruined my New years day. I was feeling down but I am taking this as a lesson to never submit or leave things till the last minute.

But I am more than pleased to have received great news from the TCLA team that I have received the silver scholarship. This has truly brightened up my mood and I more than motivated to work hard to secure a training contract with the help of the resources I have access to.


Thank you, team and I look forward to sharing my journey on here!

Hi,

I wrote an application answer on shell cutting its dividend for the first time since the second world war and I am expecting follow up questions at interview.

Should my research cover things like balancing investment in renewables Vs higher profit generating fossil fuels , the Saudi Arabia-Russia oil price war and more general technology trends? Such as the Internet of Energy?

I would be very grateful for any advice on what you think is the best way to prepare.

Hi all! So grateful to be one of the lucky 10 who is able to benefit from the TCLA Silver Scholarship (- thanks Jaysen!). Just by way of intro, I've recently finished my LPC and I am currently applying for vac schemes/training contracts. Applications are doing better this year: while I've got rejected from some firms, I've also progressed to some next stages too. Hoping this year is our year! I've got the CMS assessment centre next week so will be using TCLA's fabulous resources to prepare.

How's everyone else doing?

Hello everyone,



Firstly I would like to thank Jaysen and the corporate law academy team for giving me this scholarship and am hoping that in 6 months time I will have secured a training contract with a law firm.

I am currently in my third year of my law degree at BPP Law School in London and am due to graduate in May and want to have a training contract before I graduate. This is my second application cycle and I have already faced the difficult challenges of being rejected from law firms in this cycle but am hopefully going to improve my application skills and get good results soon.

I’ve recently accepted a TC from a top international firm but my TC is only starting in August 2022. I’ve already completed the LPC so I now have one and a half gap year before my TC. I plan to stay in my home country Poland and work there until the end of the summer, but I am unsure what to do from next September till August. I was thinking of either paralegaling (if I can get a job) or doing a LLM at UCL/Kings/Queen Mary. Not considering the financial side is there any advantage in paralegaling before your TC instead of doing a LLM? I am unsure how useful any skills developed during paralegaling would be during my TC

Hi there,

I am currently completing the OC VC application and the first question is about an opportunity facing one of their sectors/ why this is interesting to you/ and how OC can help (500 words). I have a few ideas but interested to see what others have come up with (not to take and use but as a point of comparison). How narrow did you go?

Hi all. Obviously, this is a standard question. However, I note that firms differ in how they phrase the question - some firms simply ask "why a commercial solicitor", and others "why a commercial solicitor at an *international* firm". All the firms I'm applying to are "international firms", so I am wondering what specifically is expected from this turn of phrase.

Should I spend the entire answer linking things back to the cross-jurisdictional aspect of the firm's work? There is a 350 word limit, and so I was going to talk about my interest in cross-border work for a good chunk of it (~150 words). However, I do also want to write my other reasons which aren't necessarily specific to an international law firm. These are things like the variety of work, the opportunity to build long-standing relationships with clients, etc.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Introduction

Something we’re very proud of at TCLA is the vast breadth and depth of advice that candidates have contributed to the forum. That doesn’t necessarily suit everyone, though – indeed, it can even be somewhat intimidating to those who are new to the world of commercial law. Maybe you’ve heard someone talk about commercial practice at a university society, maybe you’ve heard someone talk about the Magic Circle (but aren’t sure how card tricks and sleight of hand are relevant to a career in law). Maybe you just finished watching Suits and want to be the next Harvey Specter (sorry, it’s not really like that), either way, this resource should hopefully act as a starting point, laying the foundations for you to make better sense of some of the more advanced-level discussion that lies elsewhere in the forum.

First of all, we’ll consider what commercial law firms actually are, their make-up and what departments and specialisms you’re likely to find in commercial firms’ offices before looking at the different types of lawyers that work within a large corporate firm. Next, we’ll briefly look at groups or classifications of firms and break down some of the jargon associated with them. After that, we will discuss actually getting into a firm, with a look at Training Contracts (TCs) and Vacation Schemes (VSs), what they are, and a broad-brush discussion of application processes.

What is a commercial law firm?

Generally, commercial law firms specialise in areas of law relating to companies, as opposed to natural persons (for example a criminal lawyer or family lawyer). Typically, the firms TCLA members are targeting are much larger commercial firms who deal with the biggest companies (for example, household brands such as ASDA, investment banks, or the largest investors). Some of the biggest commercial law firms are known as full-service firms. This means that the single firm aims to serve all the legal needs of the client. Not every firm is full service, though, nor is it necessarily a marker of a ‘better’ or ‘worse’ firm, either. Instead, some firms choose to focus on certain specialist areas and not to offer legal advice on others: the most specialist of these are often known as boutique firms.

Services offered by commercial firms can generally (and simplistically) be broken into three categories:

• Transactional: this often involves advising on the sale and purchase of companies or company assets but may also include insolvency and restructuring (note, though, that this type of work can straddle all three categories)
• Advisory: this could be on an ongoing or issue-by-issue basis where a company seeks general advice on a particular area of law, for example, how a change in law might affect their business. One of the ‘sub-categories’ of advisory law is regulatory advice. Although this is sometimes recognised as its own category of advice by certain firms, we will consider it under advisory law.
• Contentious: this is where the firm represents their client in a legal dispute with another party.

Each category of legal advice contains different sub-categories or departments. For a firm to be considered full service, it is highly likely to offer legal advice in many of the following areas (some departments will be listed under more than one category, this is because many departments will carry out work across multiple categories depending on what is required):

Note: this is a simplistic breakdown and will vary firm to firm in terms of how they classify work within departments.

Transactional

Mergers and Acquisitions (private companies)
When private companies seek to buy or sell other private companies, or where two or more private companies seek to merge together to become one

Mergers and Acquisitions (public companies)
As above, but involving companies who are listed on a stock exchange

Finance (for example, project finance, debt facilities or fundraising
The legal elements of finance arrangements, for example, securing an overdraft facility with a bank, arranging finance for a specific expansion project, or using a share issue to raise money

Real Estate
Any issues involving land, buildings, offices, rental agreements etc either as a standalone concern or as part of a larger transaction

Private Equity
A Private Equity firm is a firm that invests money into business ventures with the hope of growing that business and then selling their interest to realise a profit

Insolvency and Restructuring
Where a company becomes insolvent, it must take certain steps to ensure its creditors (other people and companies to whom it owes money) are paid. Restructuring may include selling parts of an unprofitable business in the hope of raising enough money to support other parts

Intellectual Property and Technology
This may include transactional issues concerning intellectual property or technological subject matter (for example, a vaccine or computer software)

Equity capital markets
The process of a private company becoming listed on a stock exchange or a public company raising a secondary offering

Advisory

Asset and Investment Management
The legal obligations of people and companies who manage and invest money or assets on behalf of others

Corporate (general advisory)
General corporate legal issues. This might include matters of company law, listing rules, shareholder agreements, director’s duties etc.

Employment
Advising on employment issues, for example, the rights and protections a company must afford to its employees

Pensions and Incentives
Advising on issues surrounding a company’s obligations to protect the pensions of its employees

Intellectual Property and Technology
Non-transactional advice on matters relating to intellectual property and technology

Tax
Advice on tax issues for companies, often advising on how a company may structure itself to remain tax efficient without breaching the law

Competition/Antitrust Law
Advising on matters relating to competition law and antitrust (such as preventing abuse by monopolies), for example, where two companies might be prohibited from merging due to the newly formed company becoming anti-competitive

Data Protection
Advising companies on their obligations under data protection laws
Environmental Law
Advising on companies’ obligations on environmental protection in the course of carrying on business (for example, oil companies’ obligations to prevent pollution of the ocean in off-shore oil rigs)

Financial Services and Markets
Advice concerning the provision of services which are regulated financial services (for example banking, offering credit, or investment management)

Corporate Governance
Legal obligations on companies to ensure their proper management and direction

Trade Risk
Advising on the legal elements of general risks (e.g., risk of incurring loss or liability) in the course of trading

Banking
Generally, focussing on the contractual relationships between creditors and debtors outside of transactional issues

Contentious

Disputes
A catch-all for disputes which may not fall under any other department. This may include claims made by a client against a third party and vice versa

Employment Disputes
Disputes raised by current or ex-employees of a company relating to their employment

Financial Services/Markets Disputes
Disputes concerning regulated financial services or obligations of people and firms who are regulated to carry out specific financial services (for example, if an investment management company is accused of breaching their duties to investors)

Intellectual Property Disputes
Disputes concerning intellectual property (for example, a disgruntled ex-employee alleging they actually have intellectual property ownership over something that a company has developed)

Competition Disputes
Disputes relating to competition law. This could be, for example, after a competition authority has attempted to block or challenge a merger or acquisition

Pensions Disputes
Disputes relating to pension funds

Business Crime and Investigations
When a company has been accused of committing a business crime (for example, corporate fraud) or is being investigated for civil proceedings by an external authority

Some firms also offer a Private Client service. This is generally geared towards high and ultra-high net worth individuals and serves all of their legal needs (for example, personal business interests, investments, wills and estates, among other areas).

Although the most common method of categorising is, as above, by the type of work being undertaken, some firms use a ‘sector-based’ approach to break down work industry-by-industry. Some of the most common classifications include:

• Aviation & Aerospace
• Sports
• Energy & Natural Resources
• TMT (Technology, Media and Telecommunications)
• Life Sciences

Generally, firms who choose to use a sector-based approach feel that this allows lawyers to become more expert in the nuances of different industries.

What types of lawyers work in Commercial Law firms?

Now we’ve considered the types of work that commercial law firms do, let’s look at the types of lawyers that make up a firm. Law is a hierarchical industry, meaning there is a clear chain of seniority from top to bottom. Furthermore, many of the biggest firms use a partnership model, the most common being the LLP (Limited Liability Partnership), although some firms (for example, Slaughter and May), use a traditional partnership model. Either way, this flow chart shows the hierarchy that makes up most firms (starting from the most senior):

Note: you may have to click to open the attached JPEG image.



Note also that some firms have lawyers called ‘Of Counsel’. This is sometimes used to denote senior and experienced lawyers as a ‘parallel’ position to partnership for those who have chosen not to follow that path. Alternatively, it may be a stepping stone to becoming a partner at a particular law firm.

Groups of Law Firms

The ‘trend’ towards grouping law firms originated in the early 1990s with legal journalists of the day using the phrase “Magic Circle” to denote a group of five particularly successful and well-respected British law firms. These firms included Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, and Slaughter and May). The phrase was used to identify them collectively as a group of particularly prestigious and highly profitable firms with the largest revenues, who typically outperformed the rest of the City firms on profitability (although note that this now is no longer the case).

Another one of the defining characteristics of the Magic Circle firms is the overwhelmingly multijurisdictional work they undertake. Whether by means of their own international offices or by instructing local firms in other jurisdictions where they don’t have office space, Magic Circle firms are very often instructed on legal issues which have global elements.

In addition to the Magic Circle, there are three other ‘groups’ of firms that we’ll now consider. Note, the firms mentioned below are only a fraction of the number of City firms who take applications for TCs.

Firstly, the ‘Silver Circle’ is a term coined by The Lawyer. It refers to a less tightly defined group of firms who don’t quite fit into the Magic Circle. But nonetheless, they fit the model of a successful, well-established, prestigious British-based commercial firm with a strong international reach. This is achieved either by establishing overseas offices or by other means, for example, close relationships with international law firms to refer international work.

Typically, the Silver Circle was considered to be comprised of Travers Smith, Ashurst, BCLP, Macfarlanes, and Herbert Smith Freehills. Note that, although BCLP and Herbert Smith Freehills are still classed as Silver Circle firms, they have both recently completed mergers: Herbert Smith (British) with Freehills (Australian) and Bryan Cave (American) with Berwin Leighton Paisner (British). More recently, in 2017, The Lawyer considered Mishcon de Reya to be a Silver Circle firm.

Secondly, there are ‘international’ (occasionally ‘international elite’) firms. This phrase is used very informally by legal publications as opposed to the more specific Magic and Silver circles. These are firms which don’t necessary fit the Silver Circle or Magic Circle model but remain substantial international firms with excellent reputations for providing expert legal advice. This bracket is much less clear than even the Silver Circle, but firms might include, for example, Norton Rose Fulbright, Baker McKenzie, Hogan Lovells, Dentons, Simmons & Simmons, DLA Piper, among other firms.

Finally, American firms are frequently grouped together. Generally, if a publication is talking about an American firm in London, it means a firm headquartered in the USA with a London office. Some of the most well-known American firms in the City include Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, White & Case, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, among other firms.

On the point of ‘grouping’ firms, there has, in recent years, been an increasing discussion of the continued relevancy of the current ‘classification system’ that has been used to group firms. Indeed, several Magic Circle firms have actually tried to shirk the moniker in the past, arguably with limited success. The main reason for this is that the current ‘system’ is seen as increasingly outmoded, from an era when the London commercial law market was a starkly different place. To that end, in the last few years, we’ve seen a new phrase being used by some legal journalists to describe some of the biggest and most profitable firms in the world - irrespective of their current classification - as the ‘Global Elite’. In practice, this may be seen as a hybrid grouping of the Magic Circle with some of the most profitable American firms.

How to Join a Commercial Law Firm

The final part of this article will consider the different means of actually getting a TC, most notably, direct Training Contract Applications and obtaining a Training Contract via a Vacation Scheme.

Vacation Schemes are typically one to four week work experience programmes, held in the firm’s office building. However, at the time of writing, these Vacation Schemes have turned virtual, due to the consequences of COVID-19. Vacation Schemes are typically open to penultimate and final year students, and graduates. Some firms will have different eligibility criteria, for example, operating some Vacation Schemes for law students and some for those with non-law degree backgrounds. Sometimes, firms will offer a Training Contract or a Training Contract interview after taking part in a Vacation Scheme with them.

Direct Training Contract applications are, as the title may suggest, applications for a Training Contract without first completing a Vacation Scheme. They are also typically open to penultimate year law undergraduates, as well as students, as well as graduates from all degree disciplines.

While most firms take on trainees from both Vacation Schemes and direct applications, an increasing number are primarily focussing on Vacation Schemes as the primary means of recruitment – indeed, some firms have even stopped accepting direct Training Contract applications in favour of taking on trainees only via Vacation Schemes (for example, Clyde & Co, Dechert, Herbert Smith Freehills, Jones Day, and Shearman & Sterling, among other firms). The reason for this is fairly simple: firms benefit from an extended assessment as this will be a much, much better indicator of your overall strength as a candidate than a half (or even full)-day Assessment Centre.

Vacation Schemes also have the benefit of allowing the candidate much more time to get a better feel for how the firm fits them. Speaking from personal experience of Vacation Schemes, this was a massive help to me in deciding where I wanted to train. I felt that the Vacation Schemes I attended let me find out more about nuances to each firm’s training model and also gave me more of an insight as to what life would actually be like there.

Generally speaking, the assessment processes for Vacation Schemes and Training Contract applications follow a similar pathway. Different firms obviously have nuances; but common features for many firms will include (chronologically):

Written application
This might include a CV and cover letter and/or extended written responses to prescribed questions

Verbal reasoning/ critical thinking and/ or situational judgement test/ gamification assessment
The most common type of test at this stage is the Watson Glaser test. This is an online timed test which has different categories of questions to test your critical thinking, analytical and evaluative skills. Some firms use a situational judgement test in place of the traditional Watson Glaser test; these usually give the applicant a situation (such as one they might experience as a trainee) and multiple different responses to that situation for them to choose between. A small number of firms have replaced the standard written application with an extended situational judgement test in recent years.

Telephone or video interview
As the title suggests, this is an interview which takes place over the phone, or video conference. Some firms use a recorded video instead, where the candidate is given a question and a set time to respond to it, and the recording is then assessed by the firm.

Assessment centre/ in-person interview
Before COVID-19 (remember those days?) in-person assessment centres and interviews were generally the next step in the recruitment process – note, however, that these have almost exclusively gone online in the wake of the pandemic. The assessment centre is usually a half or full day at a firm’s offices attending various assessments. Often, there will be three or four exercises, broken up by some form of networking lunch. A typical assessment centre might include, for example:

That’s all for this week’s Monday Article! Hopefully, this will have helped you gain enough of a foundational knowledge of what commercial firms are, key practice areas, and the application cycle that you will now be able to spread your digital wings and take even more from the vast array of information available elsewhere in the forum!

In answering the question, I would like to touch on DLA Piper's strong litigation practice (as I am currently a litigation paralegal at another firm), high ranking and innovative departments and its pro bono work. However I was wondering how best to structure this answer to reach the necessary level of detail. Are there any advice or prompts you could give me please?

Hi guys, I would love your opinion.

I got through to an internship last year, but unfortunately didn't get the TC offer at the end - I completly botched the final interview.

I now have an AC this year for the same firm in the hopes I can get the internship again. Does anyone have any tips on how to talk about how I didn't get the TC offer? And if they ask me what my biggest failure is, is it okay to say that it was not getting the TC offer? (because that is actually my biggest failure to date lol)

Thanks for your help!

Hi All,

Hope everyone is well!

I am currently practising for the PWC online test and was wondering if anyone has sat this test or if anyone could kindly give some advice for success at this stage (apart from the obvious: practice, practice, practice)?

Many thanks!

A question for one of my vac scheme applications is:

Please provide details of your main extracurricular interests and achievements. How have these interests and achievements helped you to develop the skills that you will need as a commercial solicitor?

What's the best way to approach this? Is it okay to pick a few activities and talk about the skills you developed, or, is it better to explicitly say "Through coaching the football team, I developed leadership and teamwork skills which will be essential as a solicitor due to XXXXX".

Thoughts much appreciated. Thanks!

Hello!

Just thought I would make a post to see if anyone had any insight into the CMS Video Interview and what to expect? I am currently trying to prep around why this firm questions, alongside general situational and competency questions, but if anybody has any direction as to what sort of questions they ask I would appreciate it.

Thank you!

What is your most significant achievement to date within your academic career? (250 words max)*

- would this include your working career or just at university/school?
- if university/school, could this include society achievements?