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thank.you

I have been invited to an AC with Clifford Chance. I work for the firm so was classed as a priority candidate.

This is my second time interviewing there so I am very keen not to make the same mistakes as last time and to get as much insight as I can into the best way to prepare for the 75 minute commercial interview.

Should I brush up on big recent news stories? Key terminology? Mergers and acquisitions?

Also what is the best way to tackle a case study? This is something I have struggled with at previous assessment centres at other firms.

I am also nervous because the firm does not mention a competency interview like last time I interviewed there, are competency questions likely to form part of the commercial interview?

I recently failed an SJT, and it is not the first time I failed an SJT. I know people always say you can't practise an SJT, but I am really frustrated by it, especially after spending so much time on the app form questions.

I understand that the scenarios are more or less the same across firms, so I really want to learn from my mistakes and seek advice from you guys.

1. When you are busy but the other trainees need help, are we supposed to choose the answer to offer help in any event (assume not the same project)? Let's say if we are working on the same project and the other trainee needs help but I am busy as well, is offer help or find our supervisor to sort out for us the better answer?

2. Very often there are questions about multitasking. Should we take up the task in any event or inform the partner about the deadline you got? On the other hand, is there a preference over helping your trainees first or taking a new task from the partner?

3. Is our personal interest matter? Questions sometimes emphasize the task is not something you are interested in. I usually answer that I will still take it but I have no idea whether this is right or not.

I will be really grateful if any of you can give me any advice on it! At least I want to know what are the questions that I am making a mistake

Hi Everyone! I was just wondering for current trainees/associates in London, or those making plans to move to London to begin their LPC/GDL and beyond, how did you make your decision for accommodation?

I am in the midst of looking for accommodation and am not too sure where to begin. What are the average prices one should expect, and where best should I consider? Does anyone has any landlord or company recommendations I could refer to?

Also, @Jessica Booker , do you have any advice on this?

Would appreciate any help I can get, thank you so much!!!

Hello! I am working on my Baker McKenzie VS application and one of the questions is this:

Please tell us about a goal you set out to achieve. Why was this important to you and what was the outcome?

Does anyone know how to approach this question? I know it's best to use the STAR approach but what competencies are they trying to get out of it? Are they looking for a general life goal (e.g. to improve X skill) or a more specific goal (e.g. I had a goal to get a first class at uni)?

Any ideas will be much appreciated.

Thanks!

@Jaysen

Came across these in my practice and was a bit stuck! What would you say (two questions from same statement) from Watson Glaser Test?

Statement: "People should not expect the best medical attention rather than the mediocre if they are not willing to invest their own resources in paying for it."

Proposed assumptions:
1) People expect good quality medical support (made or not made??)

2) Some free medical services are not the best (made or not made??)

Hey guys, I’m quite interested in doing the Oxford BCL and am really keen to hear from anybody who’s done/currently doing the course. Any application tips or advice is also very welcome. Thanks

As we get to the end of the year, I thought you guys would benefit from reading the Most Bookmarked Content of 2019/2020. With our upcoming forum upgrade, we'll have a page where it is far easier to access the best advice on this forum.

In first place comes Alice's advice on case studies:

So asides from article interviews I only ever prepared for M&A case studies. @Jessica Booker has duly noted that not all case studies are M&A case studies so please do remember that this advice is catered to M&A.

1. Start reading commercial news for ten minutes a day and be consistent. Strong candidates will support their points in case study interviews with real-life examples. so, if you recognise a competition concern in a case study you might want to reference something like the failed Sainsburys/Asda merger to substantiate and strengthen a point.

2. Look at the departments in law firms and understand what each of them does. This will allow you to go into the case study with a framework through which to think. If you remember about IP departments in law firms then your mind will trigger you to think about branding concerns or patents in a case study even if it is not explicit or obvious - this will show the interviewer you can think more broadly and beyond the scope of what is written if required. If you remember about disputes, then you might be better attuned if you read something which might subtly hint at a litigious claim.

3. Try to read thought leadership pieces and listen to podcasts about the trends and themes in certain departments: for competition you might want to explore the increasingly interventionist nature of competition authorities and think about the impact this can have - by mentioning these topical issues you can make yourself stand out. For M&A, you might want to look at shareholder activism and the impact of this too. There are many other issues and trends you can research which might give you helpful information which can be leveraged at the interview.

4. Look at share vs asset purchases.

5. Look at debt vs equity financing and understand the pros and cons of each and when they might be most appropriate

6. Look up the following and know what they are:

- warranties, indemnities and representations
- restrictive covenants i.e. non-compete and non-solicit clauses
- Look up what a non-disclosure agreement is and what heads of terms are.
- Look up a balance sheet and just try to become more comfortable with what this is and what it shows.

7. Practise writing out diagrams which explain an M&A deal - try to have an understanding of the different parties, who they are, their motives and what type of transaction it is (i.e. share or asset) and how the transaction is being funded.

8. On the above, always consider what the motives are of each party - this is really important to show your understanding

9. keep your client's interests in mind - you will no doubt need to make a decision on this proposed deal - whether to advise for or against. Always remember you are acting in the interests of your client so try to balance the opportunity with risk and offer solutions. So many candidates can issue spot, but really strong candidates are those who can recognise issues and risks and advise the client as to how these might be mitigated.

10. Look up SWOT and PESTLE as these can offer you some more frameworks in which to structure your analysis and opinion whether the case study is written or presented. Always leave 7-10 mins to consider your structure and to make sure you have an opinion as this is crucial.

11. Don't forget to look at the price and any financials - they won't be too tricky but just try your best to weigh up whether you think the price seems reasonable/fair or not and whether there are any financial imbalances/issues you can spot.

I’m due to start the accelerated LPC soon and was wondering if any future trainees could shed light on their experiences? I’m interested in more general feedback, how to found the workload etc. But also from those completing the course during Covid.

Some of the reports about BPP are worrying. But there seemed to be a divide between people self-funding vs sponsored by firms.

How is Osborne Clarke different from the other firms to which you have applied? (250 words max)

Would this question require just acknowledging the reasons why OC is different or the reasons why this appeals to me also?

Also if anyone has experience with OC, what is different about the firm that appealed to you? I have mentioned their sector focused approach, and training but cannot find much else
Thank you

Hi Everyone! I'm just wondering which US firms in London have 'good' disputes practices. Off the top of my head, I have Debevoise, Skadden, Gibson Dunn. Was hoping to add a few more onto my list so I could shoot some appliations off to them Thanks so much.

I completed the GDL this summer, I had one vac scheme this summer which I didn't manage to convert into a TC. I've been working full-time since August in a job that I really don't like, but I'm about to start another non-legal role, one that's a bit more of a career than a job, in January. I did some winter vac scheme applications but had no luck, and I'm struggling to motivate myself to do them for upcoming deadlines. One reason why I've struggled is fitting it in with my full-time job, especially as it mentally and physically drains me (probably made worse by the fact that I can't stand it!), and weekends and evenings off have been my lifeline, especially during covid. I can't help but think of all the time and energy I've put in so far for basically nothing, and how much I'll have to continue to put in for likely the same outcome, not to mention having to take precious days off work early on in my new job if I do get through to ACs etc. I really feel like I've been at a disadvantage as a graduate who works full time, and as I get further away from university, I feel like I'm less and less attractive to firms. Some of the questions seem more geared towards university experiences, yet I don't want to be relying on experiences from 2017/2018 for my applications. I feel like I've mentally checked out of the whole process, which makes me feel like such a failure and like I've wasted a hell of a lot of time and money. Does anyone else feel the same? Has anyone felt like this and managed to bounce back?

Does anyone know at what stage UK law students become eligible to take the New York bar? Is it after the LLB, after the LPC, or after qualification? I haven't been able to find this information anywhere.

Hi All - I am trying to answer the Reed Smith research questions. One of the question states:

'What current issues do you think have an impact on the legal profession? What impact do they have and why?'

I might be overthinking this - but does this mean trends affecting the legal profession (i.e Big 4, AI etc) or current news headlines that are having an impact on the legal profession (for e.g the downfall of the retail sector)?

Will appreciate some advice on this

Just wondering if anyone has experience in listing mitigating circumstances in applications and then getting an interview?
My academics are not stellar but I am a bit reluctant to discuss my personal struggles as I am unsure about how they are received.
I'm also not sure about the best way to discuss this on applications?
And then having to "evidence" them!

So far, I have had no luck past the application stage when putting something in about that.

In my application form to Mayer Brown, for example, I answered questions such as 'why law' and 'why Mayer Brown' in my cover letter. I now have a telephone interview with the firm tomorrow and was wondering whether it is okay to simply repeat the answers that I wrote on my application form during the interview (obviously altering them slightly to convey them better during speaking).

Hi everyone!

I just got an invite to the Simmons & Simmons logical reasoning & verbal reasoning tests as well as the written exercise and video interview. I searched on the forum and haven't found any advice for these assessments so I thought I'd start this thread.

If anyone has taken these assessments, can you please share any tips and advice? Especially for the written exercise and video interview, I'd appreciate it if you can share the format of the assessment and what to expect.

Thank you so much!

Hey guys,

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice when talking about the quality of work at a law firm.

How you go about explaining why that law firm in particular offers a high quality/diverse array of legal work?

I know some candidates who failed to covert their last vs into a tc have been asked this before. How would you go about this, especially if the feedback you got wasn't the best?

For any firms recruiting on a rolling-basis, any chance if I apply within 10 days? Can someone please direct me to firms that will not just disregard my app as most spaces/all spaces are filled?

Hi all! I was unable to find the answer to this in the main thread. Do Latham read apps on a rolling basis for the summer vac scheme?

Could anyone help me for this Clyde & Co question:

What are the main challenges for the firm?

I have thought about writing more about general concerns for law firms such as threat from Big 4, ABS and freelance lawyers but was wondering whether anyone has any more industry specific ideas such as challenges for insurance industry or any of their other sectors?

Thanks

Hey everyone,

Just to let you know that we've recently revamped our new video interview simulator with a range of new questions, all based on law firm video interview questions as of this cycle. Silver members are entitled to one practice with our simulator, whereas Gold members are entitled to unlimited practice.

You can check out the trailer for our video interview simulator here:
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Best!

Jaysen

Hi everyone,

For those of us who haven't had winter vac schemes, it's probably a bit of a wait to hear back til around January/February.
Just wondering what's everyone's distracting themselves with whilst waiting? Writing applications has been my life for the past four months but that's probably not sustainable/healthy haha

Hi all,

Thought I'd create a Debevoise thread as I've seen a few posts here and there regarding the application.

Is anyone else stuck on: Please tell us about a recent commercial deal that has captured your interest. If you could represent a side, which would it be and why? (300 words)

I was looking at the Gymshark IPO which I find interesting. I don't think I'd be able to write 300 words there though. Not sure if anyone is having any issues with this question?