New Threads

Hi all,

I hope everyone is well and had a nice summer, despite the unusual circumstances. My name is Tom and I am a brand ambassador at CMS.

CMS has just opened applications to its 2020/1 programmes.

Follow this link to find out more: http://ocply.co/cms2020-ucl-web

Here are some quick facts about these opportunities.

CMS First Steps Programme is open to first-year law and second-year non-law students. During this 1 week programme you will:

• Have the opportunity to shadow a trainee solicitor
  
• Take part in various skills sessions (networking, presentation, commercial awareness)
  
• Undergo a variety of case study seminars

CMS Academy is open to second-year law students, third-year non-law students and graduates/post-graduates. During this 3 week internship you will:

• Interact with CMS' clients
  
• Work with thought leaders in the legal and industry sectors
  
• Work towards securing a training contract with CMS

If you are studying a Scottish degree, follow this link to speak with Jade, CMS' Glasgow Brand Ambassador: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/cms-opportunities-scotland.2601/

Applications close on January 4th.

If anyone has any questions at all, do not hesitate to get in contact with me through this forum or through my LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/levytom/

I started the LPC in January and everything has been moved online and with living in remote area the wifi is not great and most times the live lectures lag by 10seconds meaning I can barely understand what is being said.

It is really difficult to self-teach everything and quite frankly ULaw have been abysmal in their handling of the teaching and exams (no proctor showing up to ALL FOUR of the CPAs).

Now the elective exams are around the corner and we then have to do the CPAs in December, some 6 months after teaching stopped; I dont care about distinctions and commendations I just want this nightmare course to be finished. So I need some advice; how hard is it to merely pass it? What sort of methods would people recommend for revision?

Emailed my tutor 4 weeks ago and still no reply; heres hoping TCLA can come to the rescue.

Hi everyone,

As TC and VS applications open, I have started applying to various firms. Therefore, I want to get all my documents ready in a pile for efficiency purposes.

I would be really grateful to anyone who could assist me by telling me what documents do law firms require prior to accepting you onto their scheme or TC? Will they ask for all of my GCSE and A-Level certificates? Is there anything else I should be aware of, or prepare for?

Thanks!
Ruby

I attended the Legal Cheek Law Fair today and thought it would be a good idea to have a thread which shares some of the useful info you have heard from specific recruiters and other employees of firms. Of course take everything with a pinch of salt..

Some of the stuff I learnt today:
- NRF have changed their application by putting their work experience section before their grades section so that they don't have a pre-judged opinion based on grades alone.
- NRF are sending out out invites to WG tests and telephone interviews on a rolling basis but won't be inviting anyone to an AC until all applicants have been considered.
- Squire Patton Boggs are no longer doing a Winter VS but will have additional places on their Summer VS
- At Ashurst, everyone who meets their basic criteria will be invited to the games assessments. If you meet their threshold for the games, your application will then be considered. (Unsure if the games will continue to be considered when assessing the application).

It would be great to hear some of the things you learnt from these types of events, whether it be about their application process or more specific/interesting information about different firms

Hi everyone, I'm stuck on answering CMS' app question "How would you describe the relationship between law and business?" I'm struggling with how vague the question is, what exactly am i supposed to answer here? Any ideas to get me started would be fab thanks!

Hi all! I'm starting my applications for the 2020/21 Cycle and I was wondering how everyone chooses their firms. Personally, I look at the culture of the firm, their D&I initiatives as well as their training style/commitment to trainees. I am attracted to a warm, inclusive culture with a more classroom/structured-style training and I value working with individuals from diverse backgrounds. Naturally, these are the main points I use when answering the 'why us' portion of my firm applications. However, I was wondering if it would be wiser to answer the 'why us'/choose firms based on their industry specialities or practice areas- ie: would law firms be more prone to select candidates who have selected them based on such technical interests as opposed to candidates attracted to their culture/training?

Thank you so much!

Hi

I have progressed to the next stage of a paralegal job app where I have been asked to undertake a few tasks. They were given to me at 6pm yesterday and I have to do them by COB today. I have had a late one but am working 9-5 today so thought I would ask the forum for help and see if I am on the right track as I have never really dealt with a question like this before and have extremely limited time.

Question summary is that partner has asked me to undertake an urgent conflicts assessment for a potential new client on its potential acquisition of a company that firm had previously worked with. Firm has never dealt with new client before and doesn't know much about their business but has reason to understand that the acquisition may proceed on a hostile business.

Report shows firm has a long-standing relationship with old client across diff practices areas and jurisdictions but bot currently advising on any matters as relationship was effected when new counsel came around nine months ago. 2 most recent matters were dated 2014 and relate to a global ant-trust compliance programme in NY office and contract issue in London office. We are Manchester office. It is likely that firm holds confidential information in relation to the matters.

Further research is carried into the potential client and they are found to be based in Kazakhstan- have number of divisions including chemical, manufacturing, defence and transport. There are press reports of alleged human rights violations involving certain board members past and present.

My task is to write an email to partner setting out potential issues in assessing whether we can take on the new client.

My thoughts are to use conflict of interest and confidentiality to discuss whether we could act for the client. Bring in the code of conduct and the principles. The current client is a previous client and we are bound by a duty of confidentiality etc. Unless exceptions apply, but as this will be a hostile takeover, it would not make sense to act for new client as we could potentially lose a long-standing one, etc. Does this sound about right?

In relation to the other client being from Kazakhstan, I have never dealt with something like this. Do I just follow the anti-money laundering due diligence guidelines or is that more of a commercial risk analysis, i.e. my firms reputation and risks if they take on a client with human rights violation accusation etc.

I feel like the areas of divisions are also of importance but I am unsure of how to discuss this.

Sorry for the long post I just wanted to be able to speak to someone to bounce my ideas.

Thank you so much

Hello

I wanted to ask if you hanve any advice for writing open day applications. Most applications for open days consist of a questions around the lines: "Why are you applying for an Open Day?"

I dont know what graduate recruitment want to hear. Do you talk about your skills / Do you show firm knowledge / Do you show commercial awareness?

Really no idea and all my open day applications so far have been rejected

I'm planning to apply for some firms which recruit on a rolling basis. A number of them offer open days, have campus events, or will be present at law fairs. Should I delay my application until after I've been able to get to know the firm better through these events or should my priority be to get it in ASAP?

Hi

Has anyone on this forum had any experience applying to the Government Legal Department? I have an Assessment Day in a few weeks. Any tips or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I am beginning to help Jaysen with the application review service that we offer for our TCLA Premium (Silver) members and as part of this and my training, we have decided to review three applications for free!

This offering is open to anyone and if you are keen to take us up on this please reply below! We will be selecting our three candidates entirely at random and so it is not a first come first served basis.

Looking forward to doing this and wishing you all a wonderful weekend!!

***EDIT: The deadline for responses is Sunday 6th September at midnight.***

I applied to the Bird & Bird vacation scheme last year and progressed past application and test to the video interview, however didn't progress past this. The grad rec emailed me saying that they were impressed with my app, test, interview and wanted to keep them on file to review in the next application cycle, explaining that I don't need to redo any of them to be considered for this cycle.

I was wondering if anyone has gone through this before? I'm a little confused as to how this works and what I am meant to do this application cycle? On the site I still have to create a whole new app but apparently (according to another email from grad rec) I should submit an app 'with updated information' - does this mean I should amend my application substantively or just with work experience, modules etc?

Hi guys,

Could anybody offer some advice on how to answer this question 'If you could introduce a new law, what would it be and why?'. It is very broad, what sort of issues should I be looking at?

Thank you

Hi all, I have a training contract set to begin in Spring 2022 (after GDL and LPC, with a three month gap in between). When offered the TC in late 2019 my firm gave me the choice between a Spring or Autumn 2022 start.

I am starting to regret my choice as I strongly want to improve my language skills abroad before the TC starts, and as the LPC requires a month of prep, currently I only have two free months, which still could be disrupted by Covid.

If I ask my firm whether it’s possible to defer my start date will this put me in a disadvantaged position by showing indecision and lack of commitment? I’m concerned it will effectively mean I would become first out of the door if any layoffs are made if Covid worsens.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation? I’d really appreciate any thoughts!

Hi
How would you approach the question, 'In your first 3 months as a trainee at BCLP, who would you seek to build relationships with, and what strategies would you implement to ensure that these relationships are long lasting?'
Thanks

I've seen quite a few people posting on the forum, asking when applications open for X firm. There is no substitute for looking for yourself. Other than that, you are waiting on a website to collate the information for you. If this helps, here are last year's dates.

Hi everyone First time poster so sorry if I'm posting in the wrong forum but I was wondering if there's any website (or place on here) that makes a consistent list of when vac scheme/TC applications are open, not just of the deadlines. Although I got a (cancelled) one last cycle I made the mistake of only applying for 5 or 6 so I never really learned how to check for other firms. I'm planning to apply for a lot more this cycle so I was wondering if there's a less tedious way than having to go through every firm's website individually every couple of days to make sure I get in early for the rolling ones! Thanks in advance

Hi all, just joined TCLA so apologies if im posting in the wrong thread, i really dont know how to use this yet!

I'm applying to a small firm for a TC at the moment. i really know and like the firm and previous work experience there has encouraged me to apply. However, i'm stuck on how to structure the answer to this kind of question:

"How does this firm differ from other firms you've applied to?"

I'm really struggling on how to tackle this question, which is annoying because i have all the information! Anyways, theres a word limit of 250 words so I know i need to be concise. Is it advisable to mostly talk about the firms competitors here or should i rather highlight the way the firm is unique in its market WITHOUT explicitly mentioning how it differs from its competitors?

Any advice is appreciated!

Many firms have both winter schemes (which tend to be shorter) and summer schemes. Are either more difficult to get into? Do the TC conversion rates differ?

This is going to sound like a dumb question, but it occurred to me recently that I only have a very vague idea of how it all works.

For commercial firms, I understand reputation within the directories and pitching for positions on the legal panels of companies is important, but how does this actually work in practice? I also know that it is not unheard of for clients to jump ship to a new firm if the relationship partner goes there. But are there other avenues I'm missing?

For private client and smaller firms, I'm also not really sure how they win business, but I would guess that they build referral networks with other services for HNW clients (e.g. wealth management) as well as rely on their directory reputations and perhaps even word of mouth. Maybe for firms with substantial practices in more commercial areas (like BCLP, Mishcon or Macfarlanes) I imagine they could win work through cross-selling their services from other departments.

Does this sound about right? Does anyone else have any thoughts?

Hi,
I was just wondering if anyone here has appeared for the SEO London Corporate Law Programme Assessment Centre before and if they have any idea as to what kind of questions are asked?

Thank you!

Hi all, I have two questions.

First, I am wondering how to answer this question: "What are the most important rewards you expect in your career?" (250 words max)

Second, a cover letter must be uploaded, so the motivational questions seem quite repetitive to me. These are all the questions in the app:

• Why have you chosen a legal career in [country]? Explain what motivates you.
• What attracts you to Akin Gump and how do you consider you would add value during an internship/training contract in our office?
• Describe a particularly challenging experience you have faced and the way you dealt with it.
• Identify a current commercial issue which has recently attracted your attention. Why do you consider it to be significant? Who are the key stakeholders in this situation and what are the implications for those concerned?
  
• Please give details of any prizes, scholarships, positions of responsibility and any other noteworthy achievements that will support your application.

I'm not sure what approach I should take? Would love to hear advice from you all Many thanks, hope you all are safe.

Hi all,

As TC/VS applications start opening, I would like to be more considerate of the factors that I take into account when applying.

One of the main factors is pay. I understand that with most firms, higher pay equals less free time.

I am quite a family orientated person and enjoy spending time socialising with friends. Therefore, having free time is important to me and I consider it to be more important than having a huge salary.

With the above in mind, what do you consider is a 'comfortable' salary for someone living in London who wants to be able to buy a flat, have a decent car, go on holiday and raise a family?

Also, if I were to train at a firm such as Pinsent Masons (or any other similar tier firm) would I be able to move up the ladder upon qualification e.g. magic/silver circle? Or, would my options be limited?

Apologies for the long thread, but I really want to take this application cycle serious and give it my all this time.

Thank you to everyone taking the time to read and respond to this!

Has anyone previously undertaken the K&L Gates AC and can shed a bit of light on the nature of the group exercise as I have really struggled to find details of anyone's experience on the day. As an aside I have also managed to secure a first round TC interview at Paul Hastings; does anyone know the style the interview takes/what they are looking for at this initial stage? Thank you!