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Hey


I am looking to start my LPC (LLM) this September hopefully! And I just wanted some advice on whether there are any disadvantages to this? Apart from having to pay for it lol

I have applied to a few VS and been able to get through to video interviews/ ACs but unfortunately have not been offered anything. And I've also applied to commercial paralegal work and I just feel like the moment someone with an LPC applies for the role, my CV is put at the bottom of the pile.

So, as long as I pick electives which are similar to the majority of commercial firms - is there anything else I’m failing to consider?

Like the way I’m looking at it, is that, I do the LPC, apply for commerical paralegal work to help boost my commercial legal experience and hopefully this whole process will help me grow as a person and I will be able to perform better in ACs and have a better chance of securing a TC.


Thanks so much for all your help!

I’m currently applying for training contracts having failed to secure any spring and summer vacation schemes. I’m a little concerned, though, that it’s too late to apply for TCs - that you need to apply for deadlines in the autumn/winter and unless you are truly exceptional (ie worked in a high powered finance role and are now switching to law or something) it’s unlikely you’ll be offered an interview now. Indeed, I applied for two silver circle firms two months ago and haven’t heard anything.

Does anyone know if my concerns are unfounded? What is the timeline for training contracts like? Do they tend to review on a rolling basis and get back to you within a few weeks or do they leave it until summer, once they’ve done all their vac schemes? Has anyone heard back from any firms?

Thanks!

I have a vacation scheme at Trowers coming up in the Summer. I know all applicants do an Assessment Centre which consists of a test that is a mixture of short maths and verbal reasoning.

The test at Trowers is different to the tests other law firms which generally ask candidates to decide if something is 'true', 'false' or if it is 'impossible to tell'. Instead, with this test each question is followed by several potential answers, and candidates must decide which one to choose.

Unfortunately, maths is not one of my real strong points. Therefore, has anybody had experience of the Trower AC and know what sorts of maths questions would come up or what they would consists of?

Also, any advice on preparing for the maths part of the test would be greatly appreciated.

Hi guys,

I have been asked by @Jaysen to create this thread to summarise what I believe are the big stories in The Lawyer and Legal Week every week. I will aim to try and do at least one summary per week given I know that many of us don't have premium subscriptions to both so I will try to ensure you guys can get the key articles from both publications!

I hope you find this useful and any feedback please just comment below and I'll do my best to improve week by week!

Best,
Dan

Hi all,

I've got a VS lined up this summer at a firm's Bristol office. When applying, I thought I wanted to be in Bristol but I have since changed my mind and would like to be in London. What do you think is the best way (in the event of me receiving a TC offer) of saying "I'd really like a TC with you, but in your London office"? Is this something I should bring up before I (hypothetically) get a TC offer? any advice/anecdotes would be much appreciated!!

Hello!

I wouldn't normally ask for help on a uni assignment, but I'm quite stumped on this one so any general advice would be much appreciated.

I also figure this is one of the most concentrated communities of students who are likely to be studying or have studied company law!

I'm faced with an essay question which reads as follows:

“The idea of limited liability presents different challenges for equity investors and company creditors”.

Critically assess the methods English law has developed in dealing with these challenges.

Quite simply, I've written most of my essay in reference to the principles of separate corporate personality and the circumstances in which the corporate veil may be lifted. However, I've really struggled to see what challenges, if any, equity investors may be faced with from this perspective.

This has led me to begin questioning whether I'm completely misunderstanding the question and I should actually be looking at limited liability in the context of disclosure obligations, security, indemnity and insolvency law.

Obviously, this would be an entirely different essay (cue mental breakdown).

Any ideas or help clarifying this would be greatly appreciated!

Sorry if this is elsewhere but I couldn't find anything

I have been looking at GDL and LLM options and one option I have come across is an online GDL at the University of Law - I was wondering if law firms would look down on you if you chose to take this route? Also if there is a difference between a regular GDL and an online one? I have done a bit of research but couldn't find any differences to the work one does on the course.

Any information would be great! Thank you in advance

Hi all,

I think i have managed to confuse myself when calculating the UCAS points part on applications. The Shearman & Sterling guidance note says "As the UCAS Tariff changed in 2017, you should calculate your tariff based on your grades at the time you completed your A-levels." Now does this mean i should calculate all my grades (AS grades included) following the old system because I completed them before the new system came into place or do i use the new system to calculate all my grades? I know this is simple but i'm currently overthinking...

Hi all!

- Apologies if this query is a repeat -

I'm currently drafting a Personal Statement (max 500 words) for a TC Application. Obviously from reading previous threads, this is where your skills and experiences are outlined, however I'm conscious that most applications have a 'Work History/Experience' section which allows you to detail your positions of responsibility within the role etc. As most of my skills come from legal based work experience, how would I avoid repetition?

Thanks in advance!

Hannah

Please feel free to use this thread for any off topic questions/comments discussions.

One question from me - I'm in the market for new headphones, does anyone have any suggestions? I listen to music every day while I work, so quite happy to splash out a bit for some good ones.

Hey guys!

Anyone have any tips for BM video interview or video interviews in general?
Thanks!!

Hi everyone!

Hope you have all been well, and welcome to the first commercial news update in April! Happy reading!

Commercial News Update - 3rd April 2019

Topics covered this week:

1. Progress in US-China trade talks – @Abstruser
2. Approval of Draft EU Copyright Directive – @kitk
3. Jaguar Land Rover’s victory in the Chinese Courts - @bugsy malone
4. The Mueller Report – @Angel

(Personal views of authors may be implied)

Progress in US-China trade talks (by @Abstruser)

The story:

Last Friday, China and the US concluded the latest round of trade talks between the two countries. US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin described the talks, which took place in Beijing, as “candid and constructive”, and negotiations are expected to continue in Washington this week.

The negotiations take place against the backdrop of an uneasy truce between the two countries. President Trump had previously threatened to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25% if a trade agreement was not reached by March 1. However, in mid-February, President Trump delayed the deadline in light of progress being made in negotiations, stating that “[t]he date is not a magical date because a lot of things are happening.”

Presently, 10% tariffs continue to be applied on $200 billion of Chinese goods, including items such as soybeans and medical equipment. As President Trump did not officially commit to extending the deadline, the threat of higher 25% tariffs still hangs over US-China trade negotiations.

Spokesmen for both countries have indicated that a trade agreement is not expected to be reached for a significant while yet. Chinese officials stated that they hope to reach an agreement by April or May, while US economic advisor Larry Kudlow stated “If it takes a few more weeks, or if it takes months, so be it.”

Impact on businesses and law firms:

The ongoing political tension between both countries is particularly disruptive for businesses running international operations. US LNG supplier Cheniere, for example, has been unable to renew substantial supply contracts with its Chinese buyers, due to China imposing 10% tariffs on US LNG imports. Similarly, one of China’s largest carmakers, Guangzhou Automobile Group suspended its plans to export its new line of sports vehicles to the US due to steep tariffs on Chinese cars.

Law firms will likely continue to monitor the political landscape and take steps to manage political risk in clients’ business activities. The US-China trade talks also serve to underline the growing trend of countries concluding preferential trade agreements with one another. For instance, just last year, the EU concluded two prominent trade agreements with Singapore and Canada. The proliferation of these international agreements, which are governed by international law, is likely to continue creating new opportunities for law firms to assist businesses with treaty interpretation and dispute resolution under these agreements.

HI all,

I'm a graduate who is currently doing a senior-status LLB and with exams coming up I wanted to ask about the specific grade requirements in my unusual situation. I have a first-class degree BSs from a Russell group uni which means I fulfil the academic requirements. What are the expectations of law firms regarding non-law students' education after their bachelors? How strictly are individual grades at postgraduate/GDL level looked at?

Thank you.

Hi, I am currently applying for direct TCS and I have some questions.

1) How do you structure your answer to why you want to be a trainee solicitor at x fir. I would mention three points. I want to be a trainee solicitor at X firm for three reasons: practice area, type of training and diversity.

2) When you have to explain how a firm stays competitive, attract new clients without compromising its profitability, would you mention agile working?

Thank you very much

Hi All,

I was sent this from a Goldman associate, thought I'd share in case anyone is interested.

Goldman are running this 3.5 week program for LGBT+ Law Students graduating in 2021/2022 in partnership with Hogan Lovells, EY, and Hyatt. Deadline is 11 April 2019.

You can find the programme here: https://www.goldmansachs.com/career...ea/goldman-sachs-legal-insight-programme.html

Hey guys! I know there are a few posts in the forum relating to how we can impress on a vacation scheme, but I thought it would be great to start a new thread with spring vacs just around the corner! If anyone has done a vac scheme before it would be great to hear your top tips and maybe things you wish you had known and done differently! thanks everyone and hope you’re having a great week!

Details of the 2019 Orrick Open day, thank you to this poster for sharing.

1. Drafting exercise

a. Responding to a letter

2. Interview with HR and Senior Lawyer

1. Why law?
2. Why Orrick?
3. Why do you think are Orrick’s competitors? And who else have you applied to
4. What qualities do you believe are important for a lawyer and what have you done?
5. What are the biggest challenges facing the legal sector and how do you find out information about that
6. also how have clients changed and their expectations apart from innovation etc?
7. When have you demonstrated qualities like resilience and organisation and those qualities that are essential to being a lawyer?
8. When have you worked in a team where others contributed and what was their contribution? what were your own?
9. When has a deadline changed and how did you deal with that and why did that come about
10. When did you have to convince someone or a group to go your direction and were there any difficult members?
11. If you hosted a dinner who would you invite? (dead/alive)
12. How would your friends describe you in 3 words?

Negotiation

• Three party negotiation in teams of 3

4. Lots of sessions to talk and network

• Day was 9.30am-6.30pm
• Friendly lawyers

The Corporate Law Academy is delighted to announce its new podcast: Trainee Talk. The podcast is run by @Yee Rou Quah, a member of the TCLA team and a future trainee at DAC Beachcroft.

Episode 1: An interview with Laura B., a trainee from CMS. In this episode, TCLA talks to Laura about her application journey, from graduating from university into the recession, to being crowned CMS UK Trainee of the Year in 2019.

Episode 2: Our first interview with Lewis Malkin, who secured six vacation schemes and is now a trainee solicitor at Baker McKenzie.

More episodes coming soon!

Check it out here: https://soundcloud.com/traineetalk

Are any members of this site based in the Greater Toronto area? I'm in need of motivation to keep applying for training contracts, but am feeling a bit isolated from the whole process as I'm currently based so far away.

As we all know, excellent academics build the foundation of an impressive application. With exams coming up, I thought that it is a good idea to have a revision thread to help us get through these two/three months and provide support to each other. I always find contributions from friends at other universities very creative and thought-provoking given the slightly different syllabus in different universities. I will be recording my daily activities here so to provide some motivation for others and to help my organisation. I encourage you to do the same. This year, I'm covering Contract Law, Land Law, Tort Law, and Public Law.

Recording N1:
- Tasks to complete: Tort Law Essay 2000 words on police negligence by April 2nd; Public Law PQ 3000 counter-terrorism and human rights by April 26th.
- What did I do: read and took notes of the three key judgements, still reading commentary on police negligence and the Robinson case in particular. (If anyone has a reading list or any reading recommendations on police negligence, I will find it very helpful).

If you guys have any ideas on how to organise/structure the revision thread, please do share them in the comments.

Now, let's go work! Have fun revising and remember - it's never too early to start!

Hi all,

I'm looking for advice on the best time to apply for a GDL course this coming September. I was initially warned not to apply too soon. Does anyone have any advice? My funding options are as yet unclear, which will potentially affect my preferred location.

Thanks!