New Threads

Hey all, hope you're doing well!

I'm a career changer looking to move into law after three years of working in unrelated industries and hopefully will be embarking on the GDL in January.

The only thing is, I'm very very nervous it won't pan out. It feels like for every story I hear about a career changer managing to secure a TC, there are five more who are struggling to make it happen.

I'm curious as to whether there are any other career changers on TCLA who have managed to successfully secure a TC, what your backgrounds are like and how you proved your commitment to law with an unrelated background? In addition, I'd also be curious to know how long it took to secure a TC?

If anyone has any advice on how to move forward, I'd love to hear it! I'm reluctant to start the GDL without a TC but at a Virtual Open Day I went to, the grad recruiter said that it was rare for non-law graduate career changers to apply to TC/Vac Schemes without having at least started the GDL already.

Thanks so much

Hi all,

I am currenyly applying to Mishcon de Reya and try to answer to this question: "Please could you discuss a legal case the recently caught your attention. Why did this interest you and what were the implications?"

Do you think I need to talk about a case that the firm worked on?

Thank you in advance.

Genuine question to anyone doing applications right now. is it the salary? prestige? buzz? competitiveness? London life? Or is it actually the work? if so why?

What makes it worth the mindnumbing hours going into applications right now?

I'm applying for HL BaSE Legal Learning Hub and I've come across a question asking me about a notable personal achievement. I'm highly torn on what I should use for this. There are three major things I did over the past few years that I think are all good for their own unique reasons, but simultaneously also have their respective downsides. They are as follows:

1. Months of research, co-ordination and writing to finally produce a report featuring quantitative analysis of certain regulatory data for a number of financial institutions, which I then co-presented to two executives (including the CEO) at a quite large fintech startup. This involved sifting through a lot of disclosures, doing a lot of other research and doing some number-crunching. The end-product was great and the startup was very happy with it.

Pro:
Quantitative, quantifiable and financial. It overlaps somewhat with what the firm does and is the longest and most complex of the three. This was, on a personal level, also my favourite experience and the one that I'm most inclined to use here.

Con:
Too impersonal. It might come across as trying too hard to sound professional at a stage when I'm obviously not. I also really feel like they want something more "human" as it were.

2. A month or so of preparing and researching for an event with an associate from a major law firm (not HL) and a very senior figure at a large fintech company.

Pro:
Quantifiable (event attendance, timeframe, etc.) and focused somewhat on an area that is interesting to the firm. I was quite proud of this one as well.

Con:
At the end of the day, it's just one event and in terms of scale not the most groundbreaking one at that. It's not like I prepared a massive conference or something. About 60-70 people ended up coming (which I think is a pretty good number, esp considering the time of year this was held during) and it lasted about two hours.

3. A student journal I launched back in high school (outside the UK) and managed for a year (editorial, recruiting, co-ordinating writer meetings, etc.)

Pro: Feels the most "human" and personal.

Con: Too old and too low-level. Everyone has one of these experiences I'm fairly sure. I get that it's all about "how I sell myself", but I really feel that there'd be no way to sell this compared to some really damn impressive things I'm sure most other candidates have done. I feel like the previous two examples would be way better to use here.

What should I go with here? Which of these three sound most like an appropriate answer? Note that all three had a personal impact on me and I was quite proud of each of them.

Thank you!

Hi all!

So I've been spending a bit of time trying to wrap my head around the below question and even Trainee friends I have asked have said they are very confused by the structure of the question.

Name a company / firm you admire for its business strategy, tell us why and tell us what you consider will be important to the company / firm in terms of the legal services which it sources.
/350 words.

What confuses me more is the second half of the question. Does this mean what legal services will x company need and why or does it mean what might they look for in a law firm when seeking legal services?

One contact told me it might be worth going via the I respect x firm because x but they could improve their services by recruiting paralegals who x etc. But I am not sure if that is moving too far away from the business side of things?

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Thank you

Hi guys

just finished my Macfarlanes application and my work history (which is supposed to be and has been input in chronological order) is in a random order when i click 'preview application'. This is not the first time this has happened! anyone else had similar?

Thanks x

Hi Guys!

I have an Assessment Centre at Bird & Bird for a Trainee Trademark Attorney position. Does anyone have any advice or tips that they could share. Any help would be appreciated!

It involves:
- Written Assessment
- Interview
- Group exercise

Thanks in advance!

Hello!

Anyone have any idea when the applications for NRF's summer VS will open? Currently, only their winter and spring VS are open.

Thanks

Hello, I'm applying for bird and bird vacation scheme and im wondering if you can rate my answers - they all have a 150 word limit.

1] Based on your research, what do you understand to be the biggest opportunity for one of the sectors in which we specialise?

Data will be the biggest opportunity for Bird and Bird as it will become the most sought after commodity, due to digitalisation taking over every facet of consumers lives. With one of the most specialised privacy and data protection practise area’s, Bird and Bird will be presented with innovative legal challenges as digitalisation will generate a new rush of legal activity. One of those activities will be an increase in Government regulation, which businesses will resist as they argue hindering full access to its customer’s data will restrict their business’ potential. These new legal challenges development’s will provide great opportunities for Bird and Bird, as it has precedent of mounting successful legal challenges against data regulations for their clients, such as in Scarlet v Sabam (2011) when Bird and Bird argued that data collected on Internet Provider Services was subjective thereby policing it would contravene EU law on internet user’s privacy and freedom.


2] In your view, what will be the greatest innovation to influence the firm in the next 5 years and why?

Due to the covid-19 restrictions preventing mass attendees, the live sports business model will innovative into a majority gaming form, specifically in the Esports market. This change will be paramount to Bird and Bird as it has represented clients from the live sports industry, such as advising Celtic Rugby who have in the past relied on expanding its membership to include South Africa. This shift in advice includes: A larger role for Bird and Bird’s IP team, as developers will want to protect their ideas from being stolen or copyrighted without their approval. The data protection team will need to make sure developer’s data protection is in line with industry standards, so their customer’s data isn’t vulnerable to theft or hacking. As an insurance policy, Bird and Bird will need to make sure their private litigation team is prepared for any incoming lawsuits.

3]
Please tell us about the key event or experience that has influenced you to develop yourself as an individual. As we are interested in learning about your non-academic experiences, try to use an example from your extra-curricular activities (music, sport etc) or your work/voluntary experience.

• What was the key event/experience and how did it come about?
• What obstacles did you have to overcome?
• What was the key learning for you?

The LSE Women’s Rowing team had their first boat race in November 2019 and to prepare for it I set myself a goal of two rowing and gym sessions per week. The hard slog of waking up at 6AM and rowing in the morning winter hardened my resolve and enabled me to focus my mind on my end goal. The training schedule over six weeks was fundamental in developing my appreciation for delayed gratification. My success was enabled by creating a thoroughly researched schedule from the beginning, which enabled me to gain the optimum likelihood of success. I used flexibility as a way to bolster my chances of winning, as when new recommendations were given to me by my coaches, I modified my training sessions to fit their advice, because I knew that as experienced rowers they had an in-built knowledge on how to win that I didn’t.

Has anyone applied to the Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Dispute Resolution Internship in Dubai? I applied and haven't heard back yet..

Out of the many sector specialisms that Bird & Bird has, what is the biggest opportunity facing one its sectors?

Due to the emergence of COVID-19, a vaccine is at the heart of thought and manufacturing at the moment so Life Sciences and Healthcare could be it?
Also, the e-sports industry is growing heavily and since technology has been zooming in the past 10 years it looks to grow even bigger. Perhaps then the media, entertainment and sports sector.

What do you guys think? Any recent news that could mean a big opportunity for twobirds

Sector Specialisms:
Tech and Communications
Automotive
Media, Entertainment and Sport
Financial Services
Retail & Consumer
Aviation & Defence
Energy & Utilities
Life Sciences & Healthcare

A great tip that I have been given is in order to develop my commercial awareness, inter alia, I should discuss what I have read with other people.

Who can I talk to about this? Is there a group/groups where people go to discuss current business affairs - would defo join? Any advice?

Thanks

Hey everyone,

Just wondering if anyone had any though on the SH vac scheme question 'Tell us about responsibilities you have taken on outside of work and/or study'?

I assume since it says outside or work and/OR study that means it would be appropriate to talk about responsibilities I had working at my gap year job? Just struggling to understand the language of the question - since if they're excluding both work and study then that leaves a very small type of responsibility to talk about if you can't refer to previous non-law related jobs...

Thanks in advance

I'm struggling slightly with Shepherd and Wedderburn's application form, namely how best to allocate my experiences to the application questions. Three of the questions are:

1. Why does a career with Shepherd and Wedderburn particularly appeal to you and how would it suit your skills?
   
   
2. Describe your greatest achievement and outline what skills you believe were demonstrated in the attainment of this achievement.
   
3. Describe how your personal planning and organisation resulted in the successful achievement of a personal or group task

For the first question, I'm finding it hard to relate different aspects of the firm back to my own skills without talking about experiences that I want to talk about later in the application form. If I understand correctly, it's best to take a "show, don't tell" approach when it comes to skills and competencies, but is this the case where it'd involve repetition of experiences (even if from a slightly different angle/very briefly in comparison to the more focussed question).

Second, I am undecided as to which of my experiences to use for the other two questions. In terms of my greatest achievement, I haven't achieved anything spectacular but I'm probably personally most proud of my involvement with my university's widening participation programme, as I made a tangible impact on school pupils' lives and encouraged them to follow a legal career themselves. However, at the law fair I was told by grad recruitment that one of the main things the firm is looking for is to be able to put trainees in front of a client, and for them to have the confidence/independence to do so. Therefore, is using the example of my Erasmus year and the independence involved perhaps a better example?

Similarly, for the third question I could potentially Erasmus example if not used in question number 2 (focussing more on the planning involved, the fact I independently developed my language skills before and during the year etc). Alternatively, whilst I was on the committee for my university's law society I organised various events throughout the year including a pub quiz event that ended up selling out and raising £600 for a refugee charity. I was wondering if you could help me to decide which of these examples would fit best with the above questions?

Thanks in advance!

Hi all!

Not sure if I have posted in the correct section but I was looking for some advice or opinions on my decision to pursue further study after I qualify my training contract.

I am currently a second-seat trainee at an international firm at the City. However, I have always had the thought of pursuing higher education (postgraduate studies) some time in my life. As I am currently busy in my training contract, the only feasible time to pursue further education would be after I qualify (as opposed to working as a NQ for a few years and then taking a break for study).

However, I am unsure how this would be viewed by a) my current firm and b) future employers. This decision may seem arbitrary but it has been something I have always wanted to pursue as I have been fond of researching my areas of interest in further detail.

I would therefore appreciate it if anyone could provide their views or perhaps personal accounts if you know or have found yourself in this situation?

Many thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I was about to submit my HSF Open Day application when I noticed that there wasn't a section where we could fill in our activities. Does the firm want us to put our extracurricular experience (e.g. being a committee member at a university society) in the work experience section as well?

Also wanted to ask those who have started their vacation scheme application whether there's a section where we can specifically fill in details about extracurriculars and achievements, or whether it's better to just put everything in the work experience section.

Thank you!

Hi,

I submitted my application for the 2021 summer vacation scheme at Slaughter and May around a month ago but haven't heard back since. Is there anyone who received a response from the firm already or knows when we are supposed to hear back regarding the outcome?

Thank you!

Hi there! Not entirely sure where I should have posted this question so here goes:

I am trying to really make my applications stand out by using some inside knowledge about the firms I am applying to. I know that the best way to do this is through personally speaking to employees at law fairs or by attending events hosted by the firm.

However, it seems that most events I have seen are only open to students and not people who have already started a career? I was not proactive enough at university (completely kicking myself for that) as I was not sure about a career in law at the time. I have been working as a paralegal for 2 years since completing the GDL, now 100% dedicated and would love to just prove myself. What is the best way to go about this?

I have messaged some trainees on LinkedIn with questions, do you think this is a good route to take?

Thank you!

Hey!

Has anyone received the practice test invitation yet? They said Wednesday but I haven’t received anything yet.

Thanks!

Hi,
I am an engineer so apologies in advance if the question is stupid and/or in the wrong forum. If so, could you please point me to a place where I can ask such question.

I am also NOT looking for legal advice or anything that makes anybody liable in any way, shape or form, I am just looking for pointers/clarification on this paragraph, especially the second part about indemnifying (highlighted).

"By this Agreement, and conditional on the transfer of the IP and delivery of the Deliverables, the Parties release each other from any and all claims, causes of action, demands and liabilities of whatever nature which either Party had in the past, has now or may have in the future arising from or related to the Contract.
The Parties further release and indemnify each other from any and all claims, causes of action, demands and liabilities of whatever nature which may arise from either Party’s obligation to any and all third parties under the Contract."

1. What does it mean?

2. If I sign a document containing that, can it backfire in any way? Can it make me liable in any way? If yes, what reason, excuse or example can I provide to my client to remove it from the document?

Just to provide the full picture...

I have done work for a client for a small amount of money and in order to get paid they insist I sign a release contract to give them all IP and design items. They have been misleading with words in correspondence in the past to get lots of extra work for free so I want to be extra cautious with anything I sign.

Again I am NOT asking for any legal advise, just pointers and clarification on what that does or might mean so I am fully informed when I approach a company law advisor.

Thank you in advance
Rick

in a vac scheme application which asks whether you would like to disclose any further information, is this advised? and is there be anything in particular which would be valued?

Please use the space below to provide details of any careers events you have attended e.g. insight days, workshops, presentations etc. These do not need to be White & Case specific. (Max. 350 words)

Not so sure how to go about this question - I have attended some career events just don't know what to talk about specifically in this question. What are they looking for?

To anyone who has taken the Foot Anstey interview, what questions were you asked?

Hi everyone, last year I reached the HSF's assessment day. A part of their process is to conduct a case study interview that is aimed at putting you under lots of pressure by reading a substantial amount of information, as well as constantly challenge your points of view.

Unfortunately, I did not get an offer for a VS, and according to the feedback report, the main reason was that I did not perform well in the case study interview.

Can anyone tell me the best ways to practice a case study interview by myself? I find it quite difficult to put myself under pressure and challenge my own points of views.

Thank you!

Hi all,

I'm wondering if anyone can offer any insight for the best way to approach the Jones Day vac scheme application.

The only free text section asks you to complete a covering letter with maximum 300 words. Normally, I'd follow a standard formula of:

• Why law?
• Why me?
• Why this firm?

In this case, it is possible to do it justice with just 100 words on each? Is there one that should take more priority over the other?

Thanks for your help!