New Threads

Please state the month/year you interviewed at the firm.

January and February 2020

Please specify what the interview was for.

Training Contract

Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.

Each interview lasted approximately one hour.

Please provide a summary of each assessment on the day with approximate timings.

The three rounds of interviews are designed to ascertain your motivation for applying to Curtis, as well as your decision to pursue a career in law. You will be interviewed by a range of lawyers, from trainees right up to the London office's managing partner. The interviews are also designed to gain a genuine insight into who you are as a person. In other words, would you be a fit for the firm? This is not to say they have a particular character type. I met a diverse range of people, from a variety of backgrounds with different personalities. Focus on ensuring you come across as motivated, personable and professional.

Make sure you can clearly explain why you like Curtis in particular compared to other US firms with small intakes. Aim to demonstrate why their intake, non-rotational training contract and flair for international arbitration (especially when it comes to representing states and state-owned entities) appeal to you. Bring in specific and detailed case studies to evidence this interest and signpost your commercial awareness. Furthermore, make sure you can explain why you would be able to meet the challenges presented by these factors. I tried to evidence my ability to handle additional responsibly with case studies from my studies, work experience and extra-curricular activities.

The process is somewhat different to other firms. There are no tests, video interviews or assessment days. The firm is genuinely interested in who you are as a person, your character and wider interests, as well as your skills and motivation. Be yourself and do not try to over-prepare when it comes to conveying these qualities.

There will be a lot of time allocated for you to ask questions. This is not only a fantastic opportunity to ask trainees, associates and partners questions you have, but a chance to further impress them with your knowledge of the firm. Use what you know to ask thoughtful questions.

Please list any interview questions you were asked.

As above

What is your best advice for each aspect of the assessment on the day? Please break this down for each assessment. This can include advice for preparation, as well as tips for the day.

As above

Were you successful?

Yes

Please state the month/year you interviewed at the firm.

January 2020

Please specify what the interview was for.

Spring/Summer Vacation Scheme 2020

Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.

12:30pm Arrival, 12:45-1:30pm Firm presentation with a partner & trainee, 1:30-2pm Office tour, 2-3pm Workshop 1 (Commercial Negotiation), 3-3:15pm Coffee break, 3:15-3:45pm Interview with two associates, 3:45-4:15 Coffee break with trainees, 4:15-5:15pm Workshop 2 (Competition case study) 5:15-6:30pm Drinks reception

Please provide a summary of each assessment on the day with approximate timings.

Workshop 1 - Commercial Negotiation, given a short document with information of the deal and the positions/terms that our client wanted. Given 20 minutes to prepare with the 2 other members of your side - figuring out our strategy etc. About 30 minutes of this contract negotiation which was basically to come up with the best deal for everyone whilst ensuring that you made sure the non-negotiables/important things for your client were kept intact. Following this, there was about 10 minutes of reflection where the associates running the exercise asked us questions on what we thought we did well, what we could improve on etc.

Workshop 2 - Competition case study, given a short document about a merger including information about the two merging companies. People were allocated either the side to argue for the merger to the CMA or to block the merger. Given about 20-25 minutes to each prepare our point (there were 3 points that had to be addressed along the lines of: 1) introduction of the proposed merger, 2) what factors do consumers use to determine what products to buy, general information of the company 3) the effects of the proposed merger). Similar structure as to workshop 1, also had about 10 minutes of a reflection after the exercise.

Interview - The interview was split up into a technical and personal/competency side. The technical questions, which lasted about 15 minutes, were quite specific about debt & equity financing, the pros and cons of both as well as any considerations a company should take when merging/acquiring another. The more personal/competency side also lasted about 15 minutes and focused on your CV, your application, the usual questions.

Please list any interview questions you were asked.

What is debt? What is equity? What are the advantages/disadvantages of them? What are other forms of financing? If a company was acquiring another foreign company what are some considerations to be thought of/what would they have to instruct local counsel to do? Why commercial law? Asked about my undergraduate dissertation. Tell me about yourself? What are some trainee tasks and how would you be good at these? How do you motivate yourself when doing less exciting tasks?

What is your best advice for each aspect of the assessment on the day? Please break this down for each assessment. This can include advice for preparation, as well as tips for the day.

I would say that overall my advice for the day is to keep the momentum up - it is a long day and depending on which group you are in the order of things will be different. So I had Workshop 2 last and by the end of it, felt really tired. For the competition workshop, I would say there isn't really any specific way to prepare but know that reducing competition is generally bad for consumers as this means less choice! For the commercial negotiation workshop, make sure that you put your point across, but do not be too dominating either (someone in my group was like this and during feedback, they said that they had noticed this as well and they did not get an offer) but also don't forget to include a fellow team member if they haven't spoken much as this comes across well. For the interview, I would say to know the basics of financing and also to watch the A&O Deal video as that helps to know what sorts of things to consider when acquiring a company.

Were you successful?

No

Please state the month/year you interviewed at the firm.

March 2020

Please specify what the interview was for.

Vacation Scheme 2020

Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.

9:30 am - 4:00 pm

Please provide a summary of each assessment on the day with approximate timings.

Drafting exercise - 45 minutes, speaking task 15 minutes, negotiations task 1 hour, interview 45 minutes

Please list any interview questions you were asked.

Drafting exercise task:
This was a case study of a company looking to expand and to give advice about which company to expand with.
Advising an [redacted] company if they should finance an [redacted] purchase of [redacted]. You have an hour for this. Think carefully about structure and timing as it is very time pressured. Also, consider refreshing your memory of SWOT analysis and keep the language you use simple and non-legalistic.
Look up relevant commercial knowledge in relation to:
• Financing;
• acquisition and mergers;
• the potential issues that a company looking to grow inorganically must worry about;
• but also the advantages.
• SWOT analysis.

Speaking task:
You will have 15 mins to prepare. It is basically just speaking to a partner about your conclusions from the above task and why you came to them. It only lasts ten minutes if that.

Negotiation task:
Don’t be too inflexible, but stand your ground and always find out why the other side is asking for what they are asking – if you can understand why they are asking for ‘X’, then you may be able to counter-offer something that is advantageous to you both.
You will have to negotiate a deal between a [redacted] and [redacted]. I was the [redacted], make sure you get a break clause of some sort, the retailer does not have much coverage outside of Europe. They will offer a [redacted] deal, which is at the limits of what they can offer. We got a very good offer of like 150,000 units at £425 over 18 months; but signed over exclusivity for Europe and UK. Also consider differentiating between online and retail sales. You will need to consider closely the financial details of each company. [redacted]

Interview:
A very strange experience. Not very competency-based in a traditional sense. A Very HR interview, aka, difficult to build rapport. The usual questions such as Why law, what distinguishes BCLP from its competitors. Why not the Bar. And then strange ones such as what would you do if a staff member was being rude to you, would your response differ if they were a partner? Think carefully about situations you may find yourself in a law firm.

What is your best advice for each aspect of the assessment on the day? Please break this down for each assessment. This can include advice for preparation, as well as tips for the day.

Know why you want to join BCLP and be yourself. They are looking for people with personality.

Were you successful?

Yes

Please state the month/year you interviewed at the firm.

January 2020

Please specify what the interview was for.

Summer Vacation Scheme

Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.

10am - arrival
10.15 - interview
11am - presentation
11.45 - written task
12.30 - finish

Please provide a summary of each assessment on the day with approximate timings.

Interview - only half an hour, mix of SJT and strength-based questions, no competency questions at all. interviewers guide you to the right answer if you hadn't quite gotten the correct answer

Presentation - 15 minute presentation with a partner and member of grad rec, with a flipchart aid. 10 minutes of questions after this about the topic, where the interviewers would try and challenge you

Written task - half an hour to read a bundle about 6 pages long, and answer 3 questions. quite time pressured and most intense task of the day

Please list any interview questions you were asked.

What motivates you?
Why BLM?
What do you do in your spare time?
Why law?
What would you do if a client tells you you've performed a piece of work extremely badly?

What is your best advice for each aspect of the assessment on the day? Please break this down for each assessment. This can include advice for preparation, as well as tips for the day.

Interview - this was the easiest part of the day, try and be pragmatic with your answers, especially with the SJT section of the interview. the interviewers will correct you if you're wrong, so try and seem as open minded as possible, even if they tell you you hadn't quite got the right answer

Presentation - try and avoid cue cards and be as confident as possible. the interviewers will ask you some tough questions afterwards, so try and stick to your convictions if they ask you to consider an alternative viewpoint

Written task - extremely time pressured and there was no clock in the room, so make sure you leave enough time for drafting/editing. there's also very specific instructions, so if it asks you to ignore a piece of evidence, make sure you do so!

Were you successful?

Yes

Please state the month/year you interviewed at the firm.

September 2019

Please specify what the interview was for.

Training Contract 2021

Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.

Interview 1
==========
10am Interview with Partner & Associate
11am Tour around the office

Interview 2
==========
10am Written Exercise
11am Interview with 2 training partners

Please provide a summary of each assessment on the day with approximate timings.

Interview with Partner & Associate - very motivation based, not very technical. Some questions designed to make you think. Associate tends to play good cop and partner tends to play bad cop, although this is very mild.

Written Exercise - 1 hour to read through various articles on GDPR and provide a letter of advisement to a fictitious client in a scenario. There is a lot of information so you are required to pick out specifics, and you are given a word limit to get everything in which I recall being quite small (around 700-1000 if I recall correctly).

Interview with 2 grad recruitment partners - much harder interview, one of the hardest interviews I've ever had. Lots of technical questions - they are an IP/Life Science firm, so not necessarily legal questions but not your standard commercial questions. Every single answer I provided would be met with 3-4 followup questions going deeper and deeper into my answer (more than the usual 1 followup you might get elsewhere).

Please list any interview questions you were asked.

Why Bristows?

If you were sat on the train and you saw opposing counsel reading a confidential bundle about your case, which you could read, what would you do?

If you finished a meeting and were clearing out papers and you realised that opposing counsel had left a confidential document on the table, what would you do?

Tell us about a recent story in the news and why it relates to Bristows.

If you were leading a research project at your University, where would you look for funding and why?

What kind of issues do you think you would get with regards to getting this funding?

What role do you think Bristows plays in the IP and Life Science sector, and why does that appeal to you?

If you were a doctor who had produced a new program which would help other doctors diagnose disease, what kind of liability do you think you might encounter?

How would you give other people the rights to use your program, and what legal issues might arise?

Also a small exercise where you are given 2 products and you are asked to walk through any potential IP claims that might arise (they are very similar).


What is your best advice for each aspect of the assessment on the day? Please break this down for each assessment. This can include advice for preparation, as well as tips for the day.

Written exercise - plan your answer. You have a very small word limit, and lots to write, so make sure you write a plan for yourself first as there is a lot of information to get through.

Interview - applies for both interviews, and I can't stress this enough - don't be afraid of thinking about your answer for a good 20-30 seconds before replying. They were impressed that I thought through each answer instead of saying the first thing that came to my head, which meant that when I answered follow-up questions (and there were a lot), I was able to come up with reasoned answers.

Were you successful?

Yes

Please state the month/year you interviewed at the firm.

March 2020

Please specify what the interview was for.

Summer Vacation Scheme 2020

Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.

09:30: Arrival for graduate recruitment introductions
10:00: Group split into two to rotate through the day's exercises
Individual motivational/competency-based interview with an associate
11:00: Break
11:15: Group exercise
12:00: Lunch with trainees
13:00: Document checking exercise
13:30: Case study interview with two partners
15:00: Depart

Please provide a summary of each assessment on the day with approximate timings.

Associate interview: This was mainly motivational and competency-based. Lasted for around an hour with 8 questions as well as general conversation.

Group exercise: In groups of 4 or 5, we were given a case study about how a firm was reviewing tenders for a different charity partner. We were given 15 minutes of silent reading time then 30 minutes to discuss. Each candidate had different information to support a different potential charity. We were then asked to come to a unanimous decision, give recommendations on what events they may run, why they're most suitable and how much it may cost, based on a costings sheet provided.

Document checking exercise: You are given 25 minutes to comb through a contract to spot any errors. You must highlight any spelling, punctuation or grammar errors, as well as any illogicalities or inconsistencies throughout.

Partner case study: You are given 30 minutes to go through a case study based on a fictional business. There were terms and conditions of a contract, plus clauses of an employment contract annexed. There were then 5 questions based on the information in the case study and the annexes. The two partners start by introducing themselves, then ask for a succinct summary of the issue at hand. They then ask the set questions in order but also may probe at answers you give. They will also bounce ideas back and play devil's advocate, asking you what would be the case is x was different or y was different.

Please list any interview questions you were asked.

Why Baker McKenzie?
Why commercial law?
What makes us stand out (against another firm I had on my CV)?
How do you balance your busy life schedule?
Tell me about a time a situation made you feel emotional
Tell me about a time when you've shown leadership skills
Tell me about a time you've dealt with a complex task
Tell me about a time when you've had to handle difficult people
What other careers have you contemplated and why?
How do you balance multiple pieces of work with tight deadlines?

What is your best advice for each aspect of the assessment on the day? Please break this down for each assessment. This can include advice for preparation, as well as tips for the day.

Associate interview: Know your CV and application form inside out. They use this to form the basis of any ad hoc questions they may have, but it also helps them have a genuine conversation with you. It's likely they'll talk about anything interesting or unusual in your application. Have competency examples for typical strengths ready. Try and make it as conversational as possible.

Group exercise: Stick to the brief. Make every contribution valid and related to the task in hand. Don't overpower others - try and invite them to give their ideas if they're quiet. Keep a track of time and always try and bring the team back to the brief if they've diverged slightly.

Document checking exercise: Aside from obvious spelling and grammar rules, look to make sure the bullet points are in numerical order. Likewise, page and paragraph numbering. Also, check to see if the cross-references in the document to another paragraph actually match up.

Partner case study interview: Once again, try and build a rapport to make it as conversational as possible. Keep up to speed with ongoing commercial news. This can help relate the case to real life with some examples. When giving an answer, try and show the authority for that without being prompted i.e. which paragraph led you to that conclusion. One thing the partners really liked was talking step by step through the thought processes that were leading me to my answers. They said they could clearly see a logical trail of thought. When they're trying to pressure you for answers, pause and consider it without rushing in. Explain that you think the answer is x because of y and z but you're not 100% sure so you'd check. The biggest tests in the interview challenged you to think laterally - a partner would say what happened if this factor changed or this decision was made. Overall, I think it's important to show you can be calm under pressure and can still work through something methodically.

Were you successful?

Yes

Please state the month/year you interviewed at the firm.

November 2019

Please specify what the interview was for.

Winter Vacation Scheme 2019

Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.

9.15am Arrival, 9.30am welcome from a member of Graduate Recruitment, 9.40am Written Exercise, 10.45am Interview with a member of Graduate Recruitment, 12pm Tour with Trainees

Please provide a summary of each assessment on the day with approximate timings.

Written Exercise - All of the AC attendees were sat in one room together and we were each given instructions and a stack of paper. I have heard that they circulate two different exercises and mine was on renewable energy, but the person next to you may have the other one. We had one hour to read through the documents and complete the exercise, following a brief. The exercise is done by hand. I found the instructions were very clear and you have to answer a set of questions; acting as if you are advising a fictitious council on your decision about a renewable energy project. I had no problem completing it in the time, but I am a fast writer. Make sure you read through all the documents, and there are a fair few of them (but not too many) and I found it helpful to highlight as I went through. Remember to give yourself enough time to write it. I stuck to 5-10 minutes reading/planning and the rest writing. Stick to a clear structure from the brief, be concise and where you can include relevant information from your own commercial knowledge. I enjoyed this exercise and did not find it too difficult at all.

Interview with Graduate Recruitment - The AC attendees were split into two groups, with some having their interviews first and some having their trainee tour first. I was the former and I was interviewed with a member of Graduate Recruitment. This was the most straightforward interview I had out of all the firms I interviewed at and I did not have any unexpected questions. The questions were a blend of motivational and competency. A lot of questions seemed to allow you to link in to 'why Ashurst' - I would do a lot of firm research beforehand. I was given the opportunity to ask questions at the end and I found my interviewer very friendly. It was overall an enjoyable experience.

Tour/Chat with Trainees - This was very informal. A few trainees took a group of us around the office and answered any questions we had.

Please list any interview questions you were asked.

- Why Ashurst?
- Why law?
- Why did you apply to our vacation scheme?
- If you attended the scheme, which practice area would you like to sit in?
- Tell us about a time you had to work in a team and any challenges that arose
- Would you say you prefer to work in a team or be a leader?
- What skills do you think a trainee needs to have?
- Which other firms did you apply to?
- What has been your application strategy?
- Tell us about a time you had feedback. What was the feedback?
- What would you say is a weakness of yours?

What is your best advice for each aspect of the assessment on the day? Please break this down for each assessment. This can include advice for preparation, as well as tips for the day.

Written Exercise - If you are not used to writing in exam-style conditions, practise writing a lot by hand. Be aware of what is going on currently that could affect the business world. Write quickly, skim through everything and have a good structure. If you have the time, read through at the end to check you have used good spelling and grammar.

Interview - Be friendly and personable. Brush up on your motivational answers. Be expected to justify which other firms you have applied to and what your application strategy was - I think this is quite important to them. Do thorough firm research from different sources. Prepare three questions for the end.

Tour - Ask lots of questions.

Were you successful?

Yes

This year I decided I would make a conscious effort to decrease the number of VS applications that I did in comparison to last year, in order to be able to fully research the firms that I was applying to. I took a lot of time and effort out to do this, to also note I'm dyslexic and had some very tough mit circ's that affected my whole degree that were pretty serious. Yet I didn't let it get in the way of the career aspirations I had. The problem was the MC's that I had did affect my grades and currently I'm predicted a 2:2.

I currently work an admin job and volunteer

I received two rejections within a matter of minutes today and it was really soul destroying when I actually put in so much time and effort, not to mention how many times I made drafts and edited them numerous times. Im not sure where I've gone wrong and I genuinely have no interest in any other career path.

Any advice?

Please state the month/year you interviewed at the firm.

January 2020

Please specify what the interview was for.

Summer Vacation Scheme

Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.

I arrival at 2pm, I was greeted by three other candidates undertaking the AC. We were then taken into a separate room to have a casual conversation with the woman from graduate recruitment. She gave an overview of the day. Then at around 2:30 we were taken into separate rooms and handed our case studies with 30 minutes to go through the material. Once the time was over, a partner arrived to discuss the questions. After this we were given a 10/15 minute break until another interview with somebody from graduate recruitment in the same small room. Everything was fairly personal since it was 1:1.

Please provide a summary of each assessment on the day with approximate timings.

Case Study - 30 minutes to read through the bundle and prepare answers to a set of questions. As many scenarios, it was an M&A study where we had to advise whether it would be worth acquiring company A.
With A&O there is generally a maths question - mine was to work out the estimated value of the company. Make sure you take a calculator!
Interview - this was approximately 30 minutes long and was very conversational. We were discussing a bit about my extra-curriculars but then swiftly moved into the situational judgement sort of questions.

Please list any interview questions you were asked.

Why A&O?
Why the city?
Where else have I applied?
After looking at my experience in accounting, why not accounting or the Big Four?

Then I was asked questions about different situations
- what would you do if you have a flight to catch in the morning and work to get done tonight but a partner asks you to attend a client dinner?
- also asked something about a trainee being rowdy at an event. How would you approach this?

What is your best advice for each aspect of the assessment on the day? Please break this down for each assessment. This can include advice for preparation, as well as tips for the day.

M&A Case Study - organise your notes, my notes became messy and difficult to understand. This was reflected in my presentation. Please bring a calculator and ensure that you have answered the maths question because that seemed to be discussed in quite a lot of detail. Try to create diagrams where possible.

Interview - this was laid back and I think staying relaxed is the best approach. Try to make it conversational, I was attempting not to be too rigid in my approach - particularly with the STAR answers. Make sure that you remember what you had written in the application, things were brought up that I had slightly forgotten about in the description of my work experience. Also, I think honesty is very important with the situational judgement interviews. Sometimes it would be unrealistic to give an answer that you think they want to hear (eg the questions about your flight - you wouldn’t miss your flight to get the work done but perhaps work until late or start early before the flight).

Were you successful?

Yes

Hi everyone!

My name is Anna I am an online distance learning student (for now before moving to London) at the BPP doing my GDL. I am feeling quite lonely in all this process and wanted to ask if there are more students doing this or if you are a student there and know perhaps if there are any groups on social media for the GDL students at the BPP?
Thanks so much!

Hi,

I have an assessment centre at Trowers, does anyone have any advice or tips they can share? It involves:

• Group Task/ presentation
• Written Exercise
• Interview

What is the best way to prepare for unseen presentations/group exercises and interview?

Thanks in advance!

Hi All,

Just a quick note to say @Alice G, our longstanding community manager, is now taking on a more formalised role within TCLA. As you may have seen, she is now a future trainee at a magic circle firm, and will be around in the forum to share her wealth of experiences having been through both the good times and the bad!

The one thing I'd add: please avoid private messaging Alice unless it's a particularly sensitive issue that cannot be posted in the forum. If you have a question for Alice specifically, you can post in a thread and tag her (the same goes for me or Jess). We try to have this rule so we can keep all the information/advice/resources available for everyone to access, as well as making the best use of our time.

I hope you'll join me in welcoming her again!

Best,

Jaysen

Hello everyone,

I have an upcoming interview and would appreciate any guidance on this matter.

My application included answers to the questions "why you" and "how did you come to the decision to apply to us". Suppose they ask these questions (or any application question) in the interview albeit with different wording, will I be "marked down" if I answer using the same/similar points I stated on my application?

Thanks

If we don't have the grades at A-Levels- I have one A+ ( I got 91/100 IN ENGLISH SO I DONT KNOW WHAT GRADE THAT WOULD BE IN UK) & 2 Cs (69 ON 100 IN CHEMISTRY AND 63 IN COMPUTER SCIENCE), DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO ABSOLUTELY NOT APPLY AT FIRMS WHICH ASK FOR 2 As and a B.- I feel my rest of the application is solid- should I go for it? ( I will ultimately end up getting a 2:1 at Uni very easily but during my first year I got 40/100 in a few modules), now I am getting 65 on 100.
Should I apply to magic circle?

Thought it might be helpful to have an updated thread that lists law firm interview/open day/vacation scheme cancellations/changes in one place. Please note, these are all student reported and shouldn't be taken as definitive.

Open Days

• Allen & Overy (March 2020) - Cancelled and Replaced with Webinar
• Cleary Gottlieb (Spring 2020) - Postponed to June
• Davis Polk (March 2020) - Cancelled
• Freshfields (April 2020) - Postponed until late Summer
• Howard Kennedy (March 2020) - Cancelled
• Vinson & Elkins (March 2020) - Cancelled

Assessment Day/Interviews

• Hogan Lovells (March 2020) - Postponed/Cancelled
• Gateley - Postponed
  
• Irwin Mitchell London/Birmingham PLS (March 2020) - Postponed
• Trowers & Hamlins (March 2020) - Replaced with online assessments, taking place from Monday 6 April 2020 to Friday 17 April 2020. Summer vacation scheme offers to be made after this.
  
• Vardags - Scheme to run next year
• VWV (March 2020) - Cancelled

First Year Schemes

• CMS First Steps - Postponed
  
• Linklaters Pathfinders - Postponed until May 2020
• Pinsent Masons Prime - Postponed

Easter Vacation Schemes

• Addleshaw Goddard - Postponed
• Charles Russell Speechlys - Postponed
  
• Dechert - Postponed
• Dentons - Postponed
  
• Gowling WLG - Moved online, everyone to do a TC AC regardless of vacation scheme attendance
• Kirkland & Ellis - Postponed
• HFW - Postponed
  
• Herbert Smith Freehills- Postponed to June
  
• Jones Day - Postponed
• Latham & Watkins - Postponed
  
• Linklaters - Postponed
  
• Mishcon de Reya - Transferred to Summer
• Norton Rose Fulbright - Postponed
  
• Ropes & Gray - Cancelled
• Russell Cooke - Postponed
• Shearman & Sterling - Postponed
• Skadden - Moved to Summer
  
• Slaughter and May - Postponed
• Stephenson Harwood - Postponed to Summer
• TLT - Postponed
  
• Weil Gotshal & Manges - Postponed
  
• White & Case - Postponed

Summer Vacation Schemes

• Arnold & Porter - Moved to August (TBC)
• Baker McKenzie - Moved to 2 week virtual scheme
• BCLP - Moved to 1 week virtual scheme
• BDB Pitmans - Cancelled
• Browne Jacobson - Cancelled (Asked applicants whether they'd like to be considered 2022 direct TC)
• Charles Russell Speechlys - Cancelled vacation scheme, interviewing for direct TC instead
  
• Cleary Gottlieb - Cancelled both summer vacation schemes (firm is still hoping to run a scheme in 2020)
• Clifford Chance - Moved to virtual scheme (with work-shadowing aspect and TC interviews taking place in Winter)
• Covington & Burling - Moved to 1 week virtual scheme, attendees reimbursed for original 2 weeks
• Deloitte - Moved to 4 week online mentoring programme + fast-track to final interview
• DLA Piper - Moved to 1 week virtual experience
• Fieldfisher - Postponed vacation scheme until next year
• Forsters - Cancelled (Interviewing for direct TC)
• Freshfields - Moved to two shorter virtual schemes
• Gibson Dunn - Moved to virtual scheme in early July
• Herbert Smith Freehills - Cancelled Summer vacation scheme (changed to TC interview and followed by a 4-day virtual scheme for those offered a training contract)
• Hogan Lovells - Cancelled (giving out some direct TCs, rest moved to Winter)
• Linklaters - Virtual Scheme TBC
• Irwin Mitchell London BLS - Reduced to 1 week, still to go ahead last week of June(?)
• Latham & Watkins - Moved to 1 week virtual scheme, 1 week work experience in the Winter
• Norton Rose Fulbright - Moved to 3 day scheme in in September
• Pinsent Masons - Moved to virtual scheme
• Reed Smith - Delayed until autumn (and changed to 2 x 1 week schemes)
• RPC - Moved to 4 day virtual scheme
• Shoosmiths - Cancelled (Candidates to be considered for TCs)
• Sidley Austin - Moved to shorter virtual scheme (still paid for 2 weeks)
• Slaughter and May - Moved to 1 week virtual scheme
• Taylor Wessing - Moved to week-long virtual scheme in Summer
• Travers Smith - Moved to 1 week virtual scheme (still paid for 2 weeks)
• Vinson & Elkins - Moved to virtual scheme
• White & Case - Moved to virtual scheme
• Weil Gotshal & Manges - Moved to virtual 2 week scheme (still paid for 2 weeks)

Training Contracts

• Fieldfisher - Cancelled final training contract assessment centre which was due to take place in March
• Orrick - Postponed TC Assessment Centres until 2021

Updates August 2020 +

• Gateley has moved its recruitment process for this year (i.e. AC and VS) to next year.

As the news develops, feel free to post here and I can update this thread.

Have there been instances of students who don't have the required grades at A- levels, have a 2:1 at university but have lower grades in key modules like contract company torts, making it to Magic Circle law firms? If, barring my grades, I can absolutely show my worth in the rest of the application and with solid mitigating circumstances, do I have a shot?

Hi All,

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King & Spalding Vacation Scheme Interview 2020

By Anonymous

1. Presentation + interview (30 minutes for both)

The presentation was to be prepared ahead of AC (one week notice) with the presentation handouts (if any) to be sent to the grad team two days before the AC. We were asked to prepare a 5 minute presentation on a recent news topic that we find interesting and how it relates to the legal sector and what opportunities it presents to the firm. Even though it was said to last roughly 5 minutes, it was not actually timed.
The first part of the conversation with partner and associate revolved around the presentation, so prepare for potential follow-up questions.
The interview part was quite short due to the lack of time, the questions were standard "Tell me about yourself", "Why did you decide to apply to K&S?", etc.

2. Negotiation exercise (30 minutes)

We received a scenario whereby a small town received a fund of £50mln and had to divide it between different investments which would make the town more attractive and stronger economically. Everybody (about 8 people in the room) was assigned a project (e.g. a car park) which had its value on it and was given 10 minutes to prepare a 2 minute pitch to the room convincing others to agree to their project.
This was followed by some 10 minutes of discussion on which 3 project the town should invest in.

3. Letter writing (1 hour)

Let me start by saying, it was NOT your usual letter writing exercise that you would expect! The scenario had little to do with legal knowledge but more with making convincing arguments in general so there is little you can do to prepare for it.

4. Lunch

We were told that this was an important part of the day, too!

Thanks to this anonymous candidate who shared this detailed insight. Tough questions here! If anything, this reflects the importance of staying up to date with topical news stories and reading around a topic (particularly here with Thomas Cook and CVA related questions).

Clifford Chance Vacation Scheme Interview 2020

Competency Interview (45 min)

• Tell me about yourself?
  • Tangent about Competitive Food eating
• Why CC?
  • [Follow up] How does that differentiate CC from other firms like A&O?
• Issues facing CC’s clients? How are they positioned to counter these?
  • I said cyber security (my answer wasn’t all that focussed, more suited for the question of what will affect the firm most)
  • [Follow up] Any other issues?
  • I said AI and legal tech – shit answer
  • Maybe looming recession would have been a better
• What other firms have you applied to and what have you felt going through the application process?
• How do you deal under pressure?
• Dealing with difficulty and what did you do to solve it?
• Project you’ve worked towards and the steps you took

Case Study Interview (1 hour 15 min prep time, 45 min interview)

Case Study Bundle: About the liquidation of Thomas Cook. A few FT articles (Analysis article from the FT) and BBC news articles. Some more in-depth reports about AI biases and their consequences / in-direct consequences. [Redacted]

Case Brief:

• Partner and you working on a case
• [Redacted] is an online holiday provider, providing cheaper holiday bundles
• Client is looking to acquire Thomas Cook’s retail portfolio
• Partner had suggestions for the client and potential actions for the acquisition
  • 1) Using CVA’s to let go of leases on retail stores. Only retaining stores in key locations to reduce costs.
  • 3) Happy Retail to operate in Europe under the name Thomas Cook
  • 4) Using influencers on social media to appeal to a younger audience
  • 5) Using AI facial recognition in their stores
• Task 1: (a) What you understood about the downfall of Thomas Cook from the bundle? (b) To go in depth / raise issues with any action that partner was supposing and suggest any other alternatives to achieve the same aim?
• Task 2: Board member emailing in asking what is algorithmic bias? And if we were to implement it into these AI systems in our shops what issues will we need to consider? (It pointed towards a specific article in the bundle)

Questions (45 min Q&A):

Partner and associate had a set list of questions covering a few topics that they read off and asked you. No presentation like previous years

• What went wrong with Thomas Cook? Why did it fail?
• Similar company that wants to acquire them. Why? Are there differences between the two companies?
• Drew upon the similarities and differences between the companies and how that affected them / their goals?
• Do you know about the Chinese conglomerate Fosun’s bailout package?
• Why didn’t the government bailout Thomas Cook?
• Can you think of a similar company in the news this week that is undergoing something similar? (was referring to Flybe)
• Why is Flybe getting a bail out? Whereas Thomas Cook did not
• What are CVAs?
• Got told what they are. Their use. In the Company Act

Thomas Cook would have contracts with hundreds of landlords to use their retail space. But because the company is going bankrupt, they cut a deal (75% vote) to decrease their rent payment and make a plan to repay less.

• Fall of the high street: using CVAs

• What are Credit Default Swaps and how are they used?
• Issues surrounding AI technology in stores?

Where I failed?

· Commercial Awareness: knowing the basics of big headline stories, and what would interest lawyers e.g. how Thomas Cook failed and the legal / commercial implications on an acquisition of it

· Knowing the clients business

o Every issue you raise and solution you give, must be through the client’s eyes.

· Tactical communication

o ANYTHING you say, be prepared to talk about it more

Thought I would start a thread to share job opportunities I see that might be of interest to people...

Is anyone aware of any interview suspensions/delays due to the breakout of the coronavirus? Any procedures posted by law firms? Thanks!!

Do you think that virtual internships are worth it? Do you put them in the work experience section of your applications? How do you gain the most out of them? Have you done any outside of the legal sphere to boost your commercial awareness?

Hey all,

I just wanted to know what everyone thinks is the best way to ask for work. I've heard some people say that going around your department knocking on doors and asking isn't good but I've also heard some people say they think this helped them land a TC.

Other people have told me its better to reach out to someone when you're genuinely interested in the work they're doing so I'm a bit confused as to which would be the best approach to take.

Would be great to hear some thoughts

Thanks!

I would really appreciate some advice on how to answer a question like this:
Please give brief details of any interests including hobbies and sports. (250 words)

The question seems quite simple, but there is something that throws me off. Would work with different societies count as interests? How would I demonstrate any skills through hobbies or interests such as playing basketball?

I am on the lowest chain of this Commercial Awareness bandwagon, I dont even know how money, oil prices , exchange rates work- can anyone suggest me all the resources that can take me from where I am currently to having commercial awareness like a trainee should have. Please mention each and everything you can think of as I have ample time to do it.