New Threads

Hi All,

I have been really struggling to answer this question at interview. On the application I usually struggle just because my answer requires more than the usual 200-300 words and when I condense it, for me it seems very staged but it appears to not be an issue bypassing the application stage.

However, at interview on both occassions the feedback has been that the partners have not been convinced. I want advice on how to structure and best answer this question. I know why I want to do law but its obviously not convicing enough and I want some advice on how I can go about changing this.

Thought I’d leave this here:

https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-l...e-win-in-uk-means-january-brexit-near-certain

Nicely summed up piece from Pinsent Masons on what the new government will mean for certain sectors

i have done averagely in my first half of law school but during the other half i have done decently well, what are my chances now

I know this is quite a common interview question, particularly for video interviews and I'm wondering how best to structure it, would you mention basic information such as 'I'm a third year LLB undergraduate at..' or go with more of a selling yourself approach e.g. mentioning work experience, achievements etc?

Thanks in advance to any replies!

Hey everyone!

The two questions for the Fieldfisher application I am currently working on are:

1. Why do you want to train as a solicitor at Fieldfisher? (300 words max)

2. What interests you about a career in commercial law? (300 words max)

Usually when it comes to questions like no.1, I would split the question into two, i.e. , 'Why do I want to train as a solicitor' and then separately answer 'why at X firm'. However, because the second question asks about why I am interested in commercial law, I do not want to put all my motivations for being a solicitor in the first question.

Would it be better to focus q1 on my reasons purely for applying to Fieldfisher or should I answer the question the way I usually do?

Thanks so much!

Hey everyone,

So I’ve been keeping an eye on Aramco’s IPO listing and the value has rocketed to £1.9tn. With this, there have come talks of the investment fund utilising a greenshoe option. I want to explain what I think this means and hopefully someone can tell me if it’s right!

Essentially, a greenshoe option is an agreement with an investor to allow for up to 15% of additional shares to be sold to a specific investor. The idea is that this enables the share price to be balanced out against the influx of demand which has caused shares to trade above expected value. The idea, then, is selling additional shares will balance out the demand and stabilise the price.

From a law firms perspective, the work comes from drafting this IPO to include such a clause.

Is this correct?

Thanks!

I was wondering if I could discuss the 2019 general election and debate surrounding stability to the political landscape of the country.....The hope of greater stability to financial markets and investment.]

But I'm not sure how to structure this into a strong answer? Help!!

Hey all,

I am a couple of years out of university, with a (demanding!) full-time job on a consulting grad scheme while also studying part-time for exams. Because I also try to have a social life when I can, I really do no extracurriculars apart from a volunteering day here and there through work, so I'm really struggling to answer application questions related to these. When at university I held society and charity positions, but that was almost four years ago now so doesn't seem relevant - is anyone else is a similar position?

Hi! I've just been accepted onto the NRF Open Day 2019 and wanted to know if anyone had any tips? Also, how long do open days typically last as I need to book a train home!
Thanks

One of the questions on the Irwin Mitchell application is:

"What are the main challenges you anticipate you may face as a trainee solicitor and how would you approach them?"

I have to admit I am struggling a little with this. Would it be appropriate to include something along the lines of adjusting to the workload or interacting with clients? Any thoughts would be welcome!

The DLA Piper vacation scheme application requires you to fill out a section titled "your education" and also submit a CV. The education section appears to have no section for individual module grades. I would put them on the CV but I don't want to exceed two pages and it is unusual for a CV to list every single module and the grade.

Are they just not interest in seeing individual module grades? Should I put them onto my CV?

Hi everyone,

I am currently working on my Vac Scheme app for Macfarlanes and was wondering if anyone had any advice on: Please explain why you are applying to Macfarlanes and what your career ambitions are. (500)

Thanks so much!!

Hi Everyone!

Currently working on the Mayer Brown vac scheme application, any advice would be appreciated!
I am specifically wondering, for the work experience section, would it be encouraged for us to detail the specific competencies that we developed/utilised in the work? Or should we be more subtle about them?

Thank you so much!

removed

Hello everyone,

I just got through to the Mishcon VI and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on the process or knew of any questions that typically come up?

I would really appreciate the help! I did a VI last year and it did not go too well so really want to hedge my bets with this one.

Thanks!

Hi! I have to complete a video interview with Bird & Bird this week and am struggling to find information about it online.

Specifically, does anyone have any insight into the questions they ask and roughly how long they give you to think between presenting the question and the recording beginning.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! This is my first recorded video interview so feeling a bit nervous.

Thanks!

I have an interview with Sidley Austin in three new year. However, this will be the first firm I've interviewed with that I haven't previously visited or interacted with in some way. Usually I suppliment my reasons for applying with personal experiences and interactions from my visits. Any suggestions of how to express equivalent interest despite not visiting the firm?

Hi @Jaysen

Would you be able to tell me what teams/areas would be involved in a fundraising round for a private company?

Many thanks!

Callum

Hi guys!
Happy to be on board

One of my grades (55.5%) is currently under appeal and the Law Department at my uni is unlikely to share the result with me before the applications' deadlines come up.

Would you suggest me to:
1. Write down the grade and then note in the relevant box that the grade is currently under appeal? If so, would you also mention why I appealed?
2. Write down something like "pending" and then explain in the relevant box?

Similarly, I have mitigating circumstances which apply to exams I have taken in my first year as well as in my second year but they are very different in nature. How would you advise me to proceed when explaining them in the relevant box in terms of length, importance, detail etc.?

Thank you for reading this, I really appreciate it!!
Giulia

4th December 2019

December has come around so quickly but we will still be providing you all with the need-to-know news of this month! Our commercial team would like to wish you a lovely month of festivities, whatever it is you are up to, and hope you all get a well-deserved break as 2019 draws to a close.

Topics covered this week are:

1. Trump’s Tariffs on French Goods (@Alice G)

2. Saudi Aramco Update - IPO Bids (@Sairah)

3. Tesla’s Cybertruck (@Sara Moon)

**************************************************************************************************************************

Trump’s Tariffs on French Goods @Alice G

The Story:

This week, President Trump proposed the imposition of tariffs on all French goods, totalling up to $2.4bn worth. This is in retaliation to France’s digital services tax which the Office of the United States Trade Representative has found ‘unfairly discriminates against US companies’, following a US investigation into the tax. The French tax, a 3% levy on the French revenue of digital companies, has been imposed over concerns that many US tech companies are avoiding taxation through their use of digital transactions. Trump has publicly voiced his disapproval that France are levying a tax against American companies, citing it a matter of importance that America taxes American companies. The tariffs on French goods will not be immediately imposed and the matter of digital services taxation is something to be discussed in 2020, when it is hoped a shared system of taxation might be agreed between nations multilaterally.

Impact on Businesses and Law Firms:

Naturally, this will be a significant issue for French producers should the tariffs come into force. The United States is France’s second largest export market behind Germany and so a 100% tariff levy will have a significant impact to its economy’s health.

The digital tax is a really interesting opportunity for lawyers who will be integral in drafting and advising on such matters. The technology sector is a burgeoning space, and should there be a multilateral digital services tax, lawyers will be relied upon to ensure that transactions are still structured in the most efficient way whilst being fully compliant with any new regulatory changes.

Saudi Aramco Update - IPO Bids @Sairah

The Story:

Saudi Aramco’s share sale attracted bids worth 166 billion Saudi riyals (£34.3 billion) last Friday, approximately 1.7 times the amount the government plans to raise.

According to Samba Capital, more than half of the bids (54%) came from Saudi corporate investors. It is estimated that institutional investors as a whole have made subscriptions worth £24.5 billion. It is possible bids will still be on the rise, as they have until this Wednesday (4th December) to submit bids. This is when Saudi Aramco will formally set the valuation of the IPO, with the start of trading on the Saudi Stock Exchange expected to commence around 11th December.

Non-Saudi investors accounted for 10.5% of the bids, around £2.5 billion. It has been estimated the United Arab Emirates, a key Saudi ally, is likely to have invested at least £1.1 billion through its government investment vehicles. With Kuwait expected to have invested around £770 million.

Impact on Businesses and Law Firms:

Although Saudi Aramco’s IPO has exceeded its amount of bids, the level of interest is relatively low compared to other emerging market IPOs, such as the listing of Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank in 2014 that was oversubscribed 23 times over. In addition to this, in 2006, 10 million Saudi citizens, about half of the adult population, applied to purchase shares in the local unit of the Middle East’s biggest property developer, Emaar Properties.

Despite this, Saudi Aramco is convinced it is still on track to be the world’s largest IPO, which could see the company being valued at $1.7 trillion. The government is still determined to encourage more Saudis to invest, promoting such investment in Aramco to be a ‘patriotic duty’, particularly after Aramco’s oil facilities were attacked in September. This comes after Aramco scrapped its international roadshows in New York and London due to international investors unwilling to accept the proposed valuation. Therefore, Aramco had no choice but to focus on pushing the offering among its wealthy Gulf Arab allies.

It is also believed that Saudi banks have been offering citizens easy loans to bid for shares in Aramco with some financial institutions offering loans four times their usual limits and others setting no benchmark on the amount clients could borrow.

Tesla’s Cybertruck @Sara Moon

The Story:

On 21st November, Tesla unveiled the ‘Cybertruck’, an all-electric pickup truck. Elon Musk, the co-founder and CEO at Tesla, said at the launch of the vehicle that “We need sustainable energy now. If we don’t have a pickup truck, we can’t solve it.” Given that the top three selling vehicles in America are pickup trucks, he believes that a sustainable pickup truck is essential to solving sustainable energy problems.

Impact on Businesses and Law Firms:

“Sustainability” has been a crucial part of many businesses’ initiatives and companies of all industries are introducing creative projects to contribute to a more sustainable future. Apart from Tesla’s new vehicle, a famous American cosmetic brand Estée Lauder and a fast food chain McDonald’s have both signed power purchase agreements (PPA) last month. The deals mean that both companies will be converting to renewable energy by procuring energy they use for their businesses from wind farms. Baby food brand Little Freddie partnered with Sainsbury’s to introduce in-store recycling services, which will place bags in Sainsbury’s stores where consumers can place used pouches of baby food to be recycled by Little Freddie’s recycling partner Enval.

Law firms are also incorporating various environmental initiatives and are using them to promote their business. For example, Linklaters has been a Carbon Disclosure Project supply chain responder since 2012 and has consistently disclosed its firmwide greenhouse gas emissions. DLA Piper launched a Global Sustainability Initiative in 2007 and has been strategically managing its impact on the environment.

In addition to initiating sustainability policies themselves, law firms have also been affected by environmental issues their clients are facing. The government’s commitment to protecting the environment, such as phasing out coal by 2025, and various regulations arising out of it, meant that law firms are increasingly advising on the implications of these regulations on client businesses to help them keep abreast of quickly changing laws.

Hi all,

We have one position available to join our commercial writers' team. This position will begin 9 December 2019 and end 7 February 2020.

You'll work closely with TCLA and the rest of the team to produce a 300-350 word commercial update each week. This is a great chance to improve your writing skills, develop your commercial awareness ahead of interviews, and reach a substantial audience (thousands read our newsletters each week!). We'll also give you free access to TCLA Premium.

To apply, please send a short cover letter highlighting why you'd be a good fit to [email protected]. Please also attach a relevant writing sample.

We expect to receive many applications, so to increase your chances of being picked, note that we care most about the quality of your writing. Your commercial understanding is something you'll develop along the way .

Applications close 10 December 2019.

Thank you!

Thank you to this poster, we really appreciate everyone who comes back to share such detailed write-ups !

Linklaters Winter Vacation Scheme 2019

Assessment Centre

There were three parts to the AC – Graduate Recruitment Interview, Case Study and Partner & Managing Associate Interview. When we arrived, we were given a program and told the order of the day (it was 4 of us). We had the GR interview first, then case study and then a partner interview last, but groups that arrived at different times had it differently. I liked that the group was small as it felt more personal and less stressful!

1. GR Interview – 45 minutes

The interviewer was very nice to talk to, and I generally enjoyed this interview. It was more like a conversation based on my three work experiences that I submitted prior to the AC. Many of the questions were quite visibly testing my competencies, and often there were direct scenario-based/competency-based questions (resilience, teamwork, my contributions to the team, how I dealt with a difficult person). From the more difficult ones that came later, I was asked what my values are and how I have demonstrated those (I found it very difficult to explain how I demonstrated them). I was also asked who I thought was an excellent leader and why. Then there were general questions about my motivations for Linklaters and commercial law (why Linklaters, why commercial law) and what other firms I applied to (I mentioned two, but there were not really any follow-up questions on this).

(15-minute break)

2. Case Study – 1 hour 30 minutes

The case study was split into two parts and was done on laptops. They use Think Pads, which I found very challenging as I am not accustomed to typing on this specific type of keyboard and lost so much time deleting information and editing. I believe this was one of the reasons why I had so many typos and was running out of time, so be prepared for this and leave enough time to check.

Part 1 – online exercise on the laptop (30 minutes)

There was a contract review exercise, where we were given a confidentiality agreement to review and answer questions in relation to this (e.g. do they have to tell the client if they have done this, can they disclose info to this person) and SJT-type questions reflecting Linklaters’ values.

(5-minute break)

Part 2 – M&A case study (1 hour)

We were given a booklet of documents to review (term sheet, e-mails, press release, pie charts) for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, we were given an e-mail from our supervisor that “just arrived” asking us to send them an e-mail highlighting key issues that he could send directly to the client (and telling us that the client would like one of the issues to be commercial). We had 30 minutes to do this.

I found this very difficult (probably as I did not practice before) as even though I knew what issues were in the documents, I was panicking a bit and did not know how to organise this information into the e-mail. So, my tip would be to know your M&A terminology (TCLA’s course is excellent) and practice!

3. Lunch with Trainees & Tour of the Office

4. Partner and Managing Associate Interview – 45 minutes

This was a tutorial-style interview based on the case study. You also receive a “surprise” about 5 minutes before the interview; it is an e-mail telling you about a different issue relating to the client that you just advised. I think it tests how you think on your feet and that you consider broader business/commercial issues when advising a client, not only legal.

We talked through my case study answers, and I was asked to explain my reasoning as I went along. Whenever I mentioned specific terms (e.g. possible types of financing), I had to explain what it is and why it would be a good option. Also asked some questions about what shareholders would rather like etc. I had the opportunity to build on my answer and correct some mistakes that I made (I misread the pie chart). Then we talked about the surprise e-mail that I received.

I was also asked about my motivations for commercial law and Linklaters, and they really pushed in this one. As I did a lot of pro-bono-related work and volunteering, and have been working on a start-up, they questioned my motivations for commercial law and for working at a magic circle firm. I was asked how I would get motivated to work long hours and asked for examples where I demonstrated I could deal with seatbacks and with difficult situations. I recommend to stay calm through these questions and explain your reasoning for going into a career in commercial law to them and explain how everything that you have done actually led you here!

Generally

All the people that I met at Linklaters during the day were very nice, and I did not feel like the interviewers were trying to catch me out. They genuinely wanted to find out more about me and whether I would be a good fit for Linklaters. My main advice is to go into the AC with a positive & enthusiastic mindset and be clear about why you want to work as a commercial lawyer in the City. Practice for the case study so that you know how to structure your answer, and get ready that the day will be quite long - I was there 10am - 4pm! Good luck

Hi all

CC only has one application question and it’s about hobbies and achievements. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to approach this? Do I need to link it back to the firm somehow?

Thanks!

Hi - I'm currently applying to Irwin Mitchell and am a bit confused about the "Education" section of the form. Do we enter each individual module and grade for our undergrad/postgrad results individually, or are we only required to indicate the overall result?

Thanks for the help

Is it just me or is this question rather forced? I recently had a interview and the partner asked me who I believed their competitors are (I was quite puzzled as I have no idea how I am even supposed to research this) and it resulted in an awkward silence for a few seconds and then I replied with a few firms in the same "category" as the firm in question (City firm).

Needless to say I was rejected about 45 minutes after the interview (amazing turnaround in all honesty) - now this question just seems quite desperate. I was hoping someone could give me a way to find out who a firms compeititors are and how to go about answering this.

I take quite a bleak view of the question in general, rather I cannot fathom why a law firm expects a law student to know who a particular firm is under threat from. Not to mention that students do not just send out one application (pretty much self-explanatory) and its often the case that they are applying to said "competitor" firms too and surely everyone knows this.

I dont believe for one second that law firms are really that naive to believe students have only applied to their firm so the other "who else have you applied for" question just seems absurd.