New Threads

Hi All,

Sign ups for our next commercial awareness class close tomorrow. See a snapshot of the prep material below.



Note this is our penultimate class of 2018.

This question often comes up in applications and I think that one opportunity for law firms is expanding into emerging markets such as China.

I recently found this article from The Lawyer magazine which I think offers a really good insight into China's Belt and Road initiative and the opportunities this creates for law firms. See below - I hope it is useful for people!

*EDIT: Only just realised that @yanerlim posted a similar thread on this so would probably best to be added to that*

The Belt and Road Initiative

A particular driver for growth in China right now – and, by extension, litigation in China – is the country’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative. Also known as ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR), the trade and infrastructure project is aimed at linking China with the West. Mirroring that ancient Silk Road route, China is planning to build roads, railways and gas and oil pipelines into the West.

For both Chinese and foreign firms alike, the opportunities are potentially huge. Firms are setting up teams to focus on the Belt and Road project and some Chinese firms are beginning pushes into locations sitting along the Silk Road route. For example, DeHeng launched in Almaty last year, in the knowledge that Kazakhstan – which borders China – could play a key role in the success of the project.

As research conducted by The Lawyer last year showed, international firms are especially focused on the Belt and Road. “We believe that lawyers and other service providers who properly understand the One Belt, One Road initiative and its potential ramifications for clients who do business, or are looking to do business and build relationships in the jurisdictions and target industries covered by the initiative, will be the most successful in capitalising on the expected growth,” says Akin Gump Hong Kong litigation partner Daniel Cohen.

“Outbound transactions emanating from China will require law firms to provide multiple areas of expertise such as financing, regulatory, contracting, environmental, and infrastructure,” adds Greenberg’s Ding.

“Given that many countries relying on the traditional Silk Road are in different stages of development, compliance issues such as anti-corruption should also remain a focal point.”

China-based lawyers agree that the Belt and Road initiative will undoubtedly lead to more disputes – such as litigation between Chinese state-owned enterprises and state bodies of developing countries along the route, as well as disputes between Chinese contractors and international sub-contractors.

“The OBOR initiative by nature has increased deal levels, particularly in the projects and infrastructure sector – one which traditionally sees a pipeline of disputes,” points out Clifford Chance Hong Kong litigation partner Cameron Hassall. “The mere fact that there are more deals in the market means that inherently there are more opportunities for disputes and challenges to surface that will need to be addressed. This may also involve contentious restructuring and insolvency work.”

Hi,

Does anyone know if you receive a VS or TC offer, do you need to provide copies of GCSE and A Level certificates? I can't find mine. I can request from the exam boards but they will charge per certificate so wondering if it is necessary? Thanks

Hey guys! I’ve been working on an A&O app which is taking me a little longer than expected, and a question I have particular doubts about is this:

“Provide an example of a change in the legal sector, which has happened or yet to happen, which interests you and discuss the impact it has had or could have.”

Has anyone answered this question, and have any tips on how to go about it? My main areas of concern are:

- Does it have to be strictly confined to the legal sector? If so LawTech might an (overly) obvious topic?
- In terms of impact, should I be linking it back to the firm and how it might be well placed to address those impacts?

Any thoughts or comments are appreciated!

Hey guys,

I have an upcoming White & Case interview (30 mins) with a Senior Associate and a member of HR. Has anyone done this/have any tips?

Secondly, I was wondering how you guys prep for competency questions - I feel like they could ask any question, and there's only so many scenarios I can extract from my work experience to demonstrate a skill! Also, what if they ask a competency skill and I can't think of a scenario where I demonstrated it - I can't exactly lie :/

Thanks guys

Has anyone been on the Skadden evening event? I don't know what to expect and how to prepare.

Hi All,

A while back you may have seen our posts inviting applicants to join our commercial writers team. The successful applicants have since been chosen: @bugsy malone, @kitk, @Angel and @Abstruser (forum usernames not all real names!).

Each week they will be publishing a commercial awareness update in the this forum. This will be made up of the most important business news that students need to know for that week. For each news story, they will also examine the impact on businesses and law firms to help you better understand the link between the two.

You can find their first summary here: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/commercial-awareness-update-november-2018.798/.

A big thank you to our writers for working hard to put this together over the past week and a special thanks to @Angel for managing this week's post.

Hello, everyone! This week’s commercial awareness update is brought to you by a new team of commercial writers for TCLA. We will be posting weekly updates throughout the month and more. Do use this thread to share your thoughts and questions!

14th November 2018
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. UK Digital Services Tax

The story:

The UK has proposed to introduce a 2% digital services tax in April 2020. This would be levied on UK-generated revenues of “specific digital business models”, like search engines, social media platforms and online marketplaces, with global revenues of at least £500m.

This tax aims to ensure that large technology companies pay their “fair share” of taxes on the profits made from services which are provided to users in the UK. This can level the playing field between them and companies that are geographically bound and hence, have been paying a proportionately higher amount of tax.

The UK is now seeking feedback on the design and implementation of this tax ahead of its inclusion in the 2019-20 Finance Bill.

Impact on businesses and law firms:

There are concerns that, even with the minimum revenue threshold, the digital services tax could still unnecessary burden smaller technology companies. Also, given the extent of digitalisation of many businesses, it can be unclear which companies should be considered as entities which are subject to this tax.

Furthermore, as this tax could be seen as discriminatory against large technology companies like Google and Facebook, it could trigger retaliatory measures from the US, where many of these companies are based.

To ensure compliance with the digital services tax, law firms would have to advise their clients on issues like whether they are subject to the digital services tax and how they can structure their operations to minimise the amount of tax they need to pay.
Contributed by: Kit
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Danske Bank Money Laundering

The story:
Danske Bank, the largest bank in Denmark, has come under fire for the largest money laundering scandal in European history. It is estimated that $234 billion worth of questionable money was circulated in Danske Bank’s Estonian branch from 2007 to 2015.

Danske Bank is currently under criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice for money laundering activities. In 2013, 99% of the Estonian branch’s profits came from non-resident accounts. Many of these were based in Russia, which is currently the subject of US sanctions.

Impact on businesses and law firms:

Businesses breaching money laundering regulations may be subject to massive financial penalties. Just last year, Deutsche Bank was fined $630 million by UK and US authorities for its failure to prevent Russian money laundering activities. Earlier in September, ING Group paid a $900 million penalty for violating Dutch anti-money laundering regulations.

Such businesses may also face significant non-monetary sanctions, such as freezes on dollar funding. In February, the US Treasury accused Latvia’s ABLV Bank of laundering billions of dollars for North Korea’s ballistic missile program, and froze the bank’s dollar accounts. Cut off from the world’s most important market, ABLV subsequently collapsed and was wound up by the European Central Bank.

In addition to direct penalties, businesses associated with money laundering may suffer significant indirect repercussions. For instance, due to shaken investor confidence, Danske Bank’s share price has dropped by more than 30% this year.

The Danske Bank scandal highlights the importance of having active checks on internal anti-money laundering systems. Danske Bank had adopted a three-pronged anti-money laundering strategy, made up of operating guidelines, risk management and internal audit. However, due to the small size of the Estonian branch, Danske Bank did not actively monitor this defence strategy, which ultimately led to its downfall. In May 2018, Denmark’s Financial Services Authority published a report highlighting “deficiencies in all three lines of defence” at Danske Bank’s Estonian branch.

Finally, the EU is facing significant pressure from the US to strengthen its rules on money laundering. Under present rules, the European Central Bank has no independent power to investigate money laundering – it may only do so once a national authority has brought an issue to its attention. However, national regulators in smaller European countries such as Estonia or Latvia may not have the resources or expertise to detect sophisticated financial crime, allowing criminals a window of opportunity. In light of this, several pressure groups have expressed an interest in forming a centralised authority to police money laundering in the EU.

For law firms, the escalation in the global fight against money laundering may present direct opportunities in assisting businesses with drafting internal anti-money laundering policies, or conducting ‘Know Your Customer’ due diligence. Law firms may also be called upon to assist businesses with regulatory compliance and keeping up with their reporting requirements as the regulatory landscape may evolve in the coming years.
Contributed by: Shu Qin
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. US’s Iran Sanctions

The Story:
In response to Iran’s continued testing of ballistic missiles, on 5th November, Trump reintroduced sanctions that were once removed under the 2015 nuclear deal in exchange for Iran’s cease of nuclear tests. Sanctions imposed on 5th November are part of the second batch of sanctions, with the first batch of sanctions already imposed on August 7th, 2018. This second batch of sanctions is expected to be fatal to Iran’s economy as it targets the core sectors of the economy, from oil exports to banks. The sanctions were re-imposed despite the objections from the UK, Germany, and France, all part of the 2015 nuclear deal.

Impact of businesses and law firms:
What seems important is EU’s response. In a joint statement, the UK, Germany, France, and EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said that they will protect European companies engaged in legitimate business with Iran, in accordance with EU law. The EU is currently seeking ways to bypass the US sanctions. Some of the methods being discussed include creation of a new European payment system independent of the US-dominated SWIFT, and the use of special purpose vehicle (SPV), which will involve EU member states setting up a legal entity to handle transactions between EU companies and Iran.

These conflicting attitudes of the US and the EU means that lawyers would have to advise companies doing business with Iran on their obligations under US and EU law and how they can mitigate the impact of the sanctions. Law firms would also have to keep abreast of how provisions of US and EU law are being enforced and implemented. Since different firms are affected differently, depending on the industry they are in and their relationship with the US, law firms must make sure that the client’s specific circumstances are considered to accurately capture the impact of the US sanctions.
Contributed by: Sara
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I was wondering if any of you had read useful books on commercial awareness, interview answers and techniques, or just generally about careers in the city?

I find it hard to pick good ones just looking online.

Finally finished with this whole law shambabloyyy (this made up word somehow sums how I feel)... I now have time to read good books and I was wondering if anyone had any favourites they would like to share?

Looking forward to seeing some responses

Herbert Smith Freehills Vacation Scheme Interview 2018

When was your Herbert Smith Freehills interview?

November 2018

What was it for?

Winter Vacation Scheme

Please describe the interview process at Herbert Smith Freehills.

Structured in 3 parts with one partner each: competency interview, case study interview and a scenario based interview.

The day starts off with a mini q&a with a partner to try and ease you in and get any questions you might have out of the way. Then, the participants are split in half and allocated different interviews together (i.e. 4 of you do a case study separately, while the other 4 do the competency interview separately). Note: every partner is told to read your application and your CV details (i.e. what you studied) so they can cater the interview to you. I quite liked that because it suggested this was a two-way process. I put effort in and so do they.

I had the competency interview first which eased me in for the rest of the day. The partner gave a little background to himself then started by asking me why I had chosen to pursue law and commercial law in particular, and why I had chosen the firm.

Other questions included:

• Why city commercial law?
• Tell me about a time when you managed a team and faced challenges?
• (Follow up question to the above question's answer) How did you motivate your team, as this is a skill most lawyers need?
• Tell me about a time when you had many priorities/deadlines and how you met them?
• Tell me about a time when something went wrong and how you resolved it?
• Unlike your above example, tell me about a time when you had to deal with a problem you didn't foresee/a curve ball issue? (this one was pretty difficult)
• Tell me about a time when you had to deal with someone's different opinion?

Then I had my case study interview which consisted of a presentation too. You're put in a room where you have 40-45 minutes to read and prepare a presentation based on a list of questions the "client" (your partner) will want answering. My case study was a sponsorship deal gone wrong and you have to act for the subscription TV company that's having issues with their sponsored - expensive, but popular - tennis player.

My partner quizzed me on a lot of things and made me realise I hadn't spotted a few things. I quickly rectified them, but because he asked me if I was sure, it threw me off and I backtracked on some things I said, only to return to my original opinion again.

Finally, the interview I had no idea about: the scenario-based interview. This is entirely up to the partner to set-up so they usually take a case they've worked on/are currently working on, give you the bare bones of it and ask you questions relating to how their client should proceed. I had a banking litigation partner who spoke to me about an issue their client, a retail bank, had with repayments of a loan from a hotel group. We spoke about the retail bank's reputation, reasons why they wouldn't immediately secure collateral from the bank (their hotel buildings essentially), alternatives to securing it (I suggested increasing interest rates incrementally), how this would have differed if it were an American investment bank, why the hotel buildings were worth more than their literal worth (the answer is goodwill, look it up!) etc. etc.

He could ask me anything we wanted but what was great about this part was that it was a discussion and not a grilling. He didn't sit in silence waiting for my answer. At some points I hazarded a guess, which he made me feel comfortable to do, and usually liked the answer. At other points, he coaxed and helped me get to the answer. This interview suggested they're looking for potential and not the finished product.

What advice would you give to future applicants for the Herbert Smith Freehills interview?

The biggest thing you can do to prepare for this AC, because it's harder than most, is learn the fundamentals of commercial awareness.

I was so glad I knew that HSF don't necessarily quiz you on recent news/commercial updates, but on how well you know how a business runs, how they raise finance and other terminologies. I did this by reading and revising the entirety of Commercial Awareness by Chris Stoakes (Know the City is also OK), signing up for a class on M&A with Jaysen and signing up for a mock interview with him too, which allowed me to bounce off questions and answers about the case study part of the interview and get a bit more confident about it.

Other ways you should prepare are: practice and practice again your answer to why commercial law and why HSF? To have an eloquent answer to these two is crucial when giving a good impression to your interviewer.

Additionally, if one of your reasons for applying is the firm's sector-specific/practice area strengths, have an equally strong answer as to why you're attracted to them and put them into your answer without waiting for the partner to ask why. Also, this might go without saying but prepare some questions to ask your interviewer, but also, on the day, ask him about things he might have brought up himself. I asked my interviewer about how he developed his own practice area and I think he liked that.

Some things to remember for the competency interview:

• Be careful with answering your motivation for commercial law. If they ask you why city law in particular, answer it with regional firms in mind. It might seem obvious but that wasn't my first thought, annoyingly
• A question is never started off "tell me about..." but they were obviously competency based so a STAR approach to your answers should be the way to go. Be careful with how much you speak. Waffling is so easy, but so is giving too little information.

To prepare for the case study you should remember:

• Don't neglect your presentation as the quality of it is judged
• Have a strong understanding of the contract that's in front of you, so what it covers the employer for and what it doesn't. Don't get bogged down on the background information. While it's important, your answers about terminating the contract to the "client" will be based on the contract. Therefore, it makes sense to know it well.
• There should also be draft letter at the end that sets out the termination of the contract but has a few errors. You will know they are errors because the contract sets out how the termination letter should be addressed/written.
• The text that the HR lady reads out to you doesn't need to be revisited when you highlight/make notes. They read it to you to save time with background info
• EVERY line in the background information and contract beyond that is in there for a reason. Ask yourself what the relevance is for them giving you certain information.
• Be quick. 45 minutes is good time but still never enough. Knowing the contract well is your best bet for a good interview

With thanks to Hazal for sharing this very detailed experience.

Hogan Lovells Vacation Scheme Interview 2018

When was your Hogan Lovells interview?

November 2018

What was it for?

Winter Vacation Scheme

Please describe the interview process at Hogan Lovells.

There were two interviews during the day.
The first interview was a partner interview, they began by introducing themselves, then asked me some questions about why I studied history. The questions then went on to my motivations for a career in law.
Some of the questions included:

• Why law?
• Why commercial law?
• Why HL?
• Who else have you applied to and why them? Are they similar to HL?
• Where would I open a new office and why?

In the last 10 minutes we briefly discussed the case study that I had been given earlier in the day. One of the questions was- what kind of practice areas would be involved to deal with the issues that may arise.

My second interview was the situational interview and was with HR and a senior associate. They both explained that the purpose of the interview was to assess how I would react to everyday situations trainees may find themselves in. They said that there were no right or wrong answers and that it was more about seeing how I approached different situations. I was then given a few seconds to consider the situation and discuss how I would respond. I was then asked further questions stemming from my answers. Questions included 'You are staying late in the office tonight because you are leaving work early tomorrow to go away for the weekend. A partner invites you to a client dinner. How would you respond?' and 'A first seat trainee is being quite rude to support staff and this is beginning to rub off on you and other trainees. You hear support staff complaining about the "trainee attitude". How would you respond?'

Then we were taken on a tour of the office followed by lunch.

What advice would you give to future applicants for the Hogan Lovells interview?

Make sure you have an understanding of HL's international strategy, as this came into particular use when I answered the question about a new office.

Try and be flexible during the partner interview. Especially, if you do not know the answers to certain questions asked by partners, be honest to them and ask for further guidance.

For the situational judgement questions make sure you explain why you chose your answer, and also tell them why you didn't choose the other answers.

Jones Day Interview 2018

When was your Jones Day interview?

November 2018

What was it for?

Winter vacation scheme

Please describe the interview process at Jones Day.

Interview by two partners. Very informal and laid back, focussed on your application and your experiences with some competency questions.

What advice would you give to future applicants for the Jones Day interview?

Know your application really well. I suggest looking at it in detail and think of the questions they might come up with. Just because it is less formal than an AC, do not make the mistake of being too casual - but do let your personality shine!

Ashurst Interview 2018

When was your Ashurst interview?

October 2018

What was it for?

Winter Vacation Scheme

Please describe the interview process at Ashurst.

The morning was split into two, firstly I had 60 mins to write a business report. A lady had started a healthy food, dips business, which in its first year did quite well. She now wants to [redacted] further in years 2, and 3. You need to advise on this, and then in year 4 you need to choose between three options and advise on a strategy. You have to address some of the following questions.

• What is the business USP
• Who are the competitors
• What are the threats
• What are the opportunities
• Describe the way UK consumer tastes are changing
• What is the current UK business industry trends
• What is the food industry trends in the UK

Following this there was an interview with a member of graduate recruitment, some of the questions that I can remember included

Why law?
What makes Ashurst different?
What is the best team you worked in, what made it such a good team? Why is that important?
Describe a team that you were in, that was not performing well together, how did you fix it?
When have you had a setback? How did you overcome this setback?
When did you take constructive criticism?
How do you think things will change in that time, what are the challenges currently facing the legal industry, and the wider business world in general?

What advice would you give to future applicants for the Ashurst interview?

I think for the written task just think of the audience, try and do an executive summary at the start. Have headings, and underline these. Watch grammar and punctuation.
The interview is competency based so make sure you've got loads of examples prepared for the questions.

Stephenson Harwood Interview 2018

When was your Stephenson Hardwood interview?

October 2018

What was it for?

Vacation scheme

Please describe the interview process at Stephenson Harwood.

The interview process is in two parts. The first part is an interview with two members of Graduate Recruitment or HR. This interview consists of a number of questions, which I think are split into three parts. The first set of questions are are mainly competency questions, so I used lots of STAR examples. The second part of the interview is based on your motivation for becoming a lawyer and the final part of the interview is based on Stephenson Harwood.

After getting through the first stage of interviews you are invited back to an assessment day. On the assessment day there are between 6-8 candidates, but there is no group task. The group are split into two, and one half will go and do a written task, whilst the others begin with their interview.

The written task was straight forward and did not require any legal knowledge. It did include a balance sheet so make sure you have a basic understanding of these.

Next, I moved on to my presentation and interview. A week before the assessment day you are given a presentation question and you are expected to prepare for the presentation in advance. Following your 10 minute presentation to a partner and a member of HR, you are asked a few questions on it, and then you move straight on to your interview. The interview was fairly similar to the first interview, with motivations for becoming a lawyer and why you wanted to work for Stephenson Harwood.

Finally, the last interview was based on the written task I did in the morning. These questions were quite fiery, and you should expected to be questioned on why you wrote certain things.

What advice would you give to future applicants for the Stephenson Harwood interview?

With the interview following the written task, if you've realised that something you might have originally written is wrong don't try and defend your wrong answer. You can admit that after reflecting you probably would have changed your answer. For the presentation make sure that you are presenting on something you are genuinely interested in and don't feel too restricted to the question as it is easy to make any commercial topic relate to the question.

Kennedys Interview 2018

When was your Kennedys interview?

November 2018

What was it for?

Vacation scheme

Please describe the interview process at Kennedys.

Partner interview (1 hour), group assessment (45 minutes), written assessment (1 hour) - partner interview covered a broad range of topics and felt like effort was taken to get to know you. The other tasks were well managed.

What advice would you give to future applicants for the Kennedys interview?

Prepare for commercial awareness questions and understand the firms competitors. Also go over your letter writing skills and make sure you can read through a large amount of information quickly - ensure you’re vaguely aware of limitation laws for this task. For the group task get the balance right between listening and contributing.

Hi All,

We're trying to build an extensive catalogue of interview experiences at different law firms. We think it'll be invaluable for applicants so they get a sense of what to expect at their interviews.

So once again, we are inviting students to share their experiences of interviews in this cycle (October 2018 onwards). We are offering a £5 Amazon voucher for your time.

Click to access the Google Form.

NB: Offer is valid until 30 November 2018 or until our money runs out (whichever is sooner ).

Thanks!

Jaysen

hi all,

it is the second time I come across this type of question in an application, so I was wondering which is the best way to approach it? can I talk about literally anything? would be good to see what some of you has answered if you have had it before!

thank you!

Apologies for the click-bait title.

I came across this on LinkedIn - it's better than many of the generic articles I see on interviewing, so I thought I'd share:

https://www.thisisinsider.com/how-t..._source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=BI-linkedin

Hi all,

Was wondering if somebody from the TCLA Committee would be able to compile a list of firms that still accept direct TC applications this year (not on an exceptional basis)? Might be pretty useful considering most of them are now looking to take 100% of their trainees from vacation schemes.


Just a suggestion

Identify a current commercial story which has attracted your attention recently? Please explain why you have identified this issue and why you consider it to be significant to the stakeholders involved?


The part in bold is causing me some difficulty I am failing to understand what is this asking me as stakeholders generally refer to the people involved in a company...?

Any thoughts on this?

I am a HUGE fan of Eve Cornwell (yes I said it, hmu if you are too). I really enjoy watching her videos and just came across this one (see below) she posted this morning!

Login to view embedded media
In the above video she provides a lengthy timetable of what steps she took from first year onwards to secure her TC at Linklaters, for those who are first year/second year students I would take her advice on board.

Unrelated point - like and subscribe she’s nearly at 80K subscribers xoxo