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Hi all,

A friend of mine has recently accepted a TC offer but is now panicking because the TC contract requires that "all candidates pass all elements of the LPC at first attempt".

They have already completed (Self-funded) the LPC and passed the course but had to resit a few modules, which they passed at the 2nd attempt. They have a strong mitigating circumstance for having to resit the modules. Apart from this, their academic record is excellent, i.e., strong A-levels and high 1st class degree from a Russell Group University.

Moreover, they declared their LPC grades when applying to the firm and mentioned their mitigating circumstance re only achieving a Pass grade. However, when completing the application form, there was no option in respect to whether one passed the module at the first attempt or not.

In any case, is it fair to assume the firm carried out relevant background checks before offering a vacation scheme and subsequently a training contract or would the resit modules be a major issue?

I have advised them to ring the firm to discuss the matter further. Any thoughts on this issue would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Hello,

I've noticed that law firms have given 200-300 words for work experience/history. Do people tend to use all of the word count for this section? If so, what kind of details should be included to make the word count. I'm finding that my details are a bit short.

Martika

Hi all,

this can be a technical problem, but I am not sure how I can add more work experience at the application of Kirkland & Ellis. There are only six experiences while I have had nine so far.

Is it because the firm limits the number of experiences till six or is there any way to add that, which I have not found yet?

Thanks

Hi guys, I was wondering if anyone could help me out with this, I've hit a bit of a mind block with it.

I'm currently in the process of making an application to a sector focused firm, one of their questions is along the lines of 'what are the challenges facing this firm' - i'm not entirely sure how I should answer this without it sounding generic. I was thinking along the lines of the saturated legal market and how clients are increasingly wanting high level work for lower prices.

could someone help me out with this

Hi All,

Just a quick note to say it has been a pleasure working with such a fantastic, supportive community of aspiring lawyers over the past year.

I hope you all have a great Christmas and some time away from all the application stress.

Best,

Jaysen

Hello,

Something I always struggle with for applications is a lack of relevant work experience. I haven't done any vac schemes and my only legal experience is two months' part time at an immigration law firm. I've had various jobs since sixth form (cleaner, factory worker, bar staff, hostess, cashier etc.), but not proper business/commercial roles. I'm now in my first proper job since graduating (in the fund research team at a wealth management company) but I don't think this is enough.

Currently writing my application for Kirkland and an interview with grad rec said "In terms of other requirements, we’re looking for a minimum 2.1 and strong A level results, as well as work experience in a similar environment to ours". I've read a successful application and this person had done numerous shadowing, insight schemes and interned at places such as KPMG...

Not really sure what my question is, but feel like giving up because I think I'll be screened out already. How can I come across as a credible candidate when I'm already on the back foot so to speak??

Does anyone whether the Walker Morris vac scheme is open to graduates or only those currently at university?

Hi guys,

Following on from my video interview I have been invited to an AC with Bird & Bird. I just wondered if anyone had any experience with the firm and with what the day entails/what sort of things you do?

Any advice and tips would be much appreciated!

Thanks and Merry Christmas,
Daniel

I've always taken it for granted that law firms recruit from students and graduates alike and most generally do. However, as I look into other, maybe smaller firms, I've realised that whether or not they take graduates isn't as obvious anymore.

For example, see Sullivan & Cromwell's wording:
We will accept applications for our 2019 summer vacation scheme from penultimate-year law students and final-year non-law students, as well as those studying for postgraduate degrees, from 1 November 2018 through 11 January 2019.

Other firms are even more ambiguous and just say "postgraduates".

I'm guessing S&C aren't accepting graduates who aren't students anymore? Is this a conclusion I can make?

Anonymous -

First off, the whole partner interview is really based on luck.

The other interviewees had smiling partners but mine was this guy who looked super unhappy to be there.

Secondly, the case study is a contract. It seems like they don't care about your views or how you analyse, all they are looking for is for you to say the correct answer on their sheet and then they will make some markings on it. So my partner would literally cut me off when i gave him the answer he wanted. They just want u to tell them what they want to hear. He also got super impatient when i didn't manage to find the correct clause and stuff. Also they didn't really ask me competency questions. At the end of drilling me about the contract, he asked me what skills can you bring and why simmons together. When i got to skills i said i was an entrepreneur and had experience dealing with clients. He then grilled me about that and i didn't even get a chance to answer why simmons & simmons cos then he just didnt care to ask anymore and asked me another question instead.

I would say the only great part about the whole ac is the written exercise which wasn't that hard.

But overall i got many of the contract answers wrong and i am absolutely certain i can kiss any chance with simmons goodbye.

Overall, i felt the interview was really impersonal and they don't care about you as a person. The partner didn't even ask me any icebreakers. Just got straight to the point about the contract even whilst we were walking to the room.

The group interview was bad.
It consisted of 3 parts.
One part was u had 5 mins to quickly think which countries you want,

And then you were split into 2 groups of 3 to discuss 15mins. During the discussion the girl who dominated everything was from Cambridge and her ideas were actually really sound and good. So we went with her idea and the other girls idea. And then we agreed what we were going to say each.

Then we went back and discussed as a big group. But the two of them decided to say stuff that we agreed i would say. And they repeated alot of things that i said at the small group meeting and passed it off as theirs. For instance i said i didn't think Malaysia was viable cos they already have Singapore and the two countries are very close. And she repeated this during the big discussion and passed it off as her own.

Not gonna lie, out of the 6 candidates i think 2 people were actually really really nice Like i don't think the Cambridge girl meant to do that to me or had many mean thoughts. Its just that she was definitely a better and very strong candidate. Which sucks if you're not as good. ‍

Anonymous -

My interview was completely different to what I had expected or read about. I studied Politics and Sociology at Uni, and they started off the interview asking why I got higher grades in Sociology than Politics on average. Then they picked up one topic I mentioned in my answer (the use of Twitter during the Arab Spring which I had studied in my first year of university) and spent basically the entire interview discussing my thoughts on this. We moved across topics such as whether social media should be regulated / how free speech comes into this but it was largely just based on this one topic which threw me as I hadn’t studied it in 3 years.

Then with the current affairs article it is largely what you would expect, just quite debatey and they will play devil’s advocate but it’s fine as long as you have a (coherent) argument. I didn’t get the sense that they were trying to catch me out at all and both interviewers were very pleasant and asked very interesting questions.

The main thing that stood out to me is that I didn’t really get any of the typical questions I was told to expect such as ‘why Slaughter and May’ or ‘Why commercial law’. I was asked what other firms I had applied to but I genuinely think that was the only legitimate ‘interview question’ I was asked. Really not like your typical interview at all!

Hey guys,

Would anyone be able to share some advice on the A&O interview? Any help at all would be greatly appreciated

Also thought I would quote this here for easy access (thanks @John Wu), in case anyone else is also preparing for an A&O interview:

John Wu said:

From a friend who secured the A&O TC two years ago regarding the case study interview:

"For the case study I would say that the main two things to think about are the amount of information you are going to have to read and process within a short time, and second, make sure you take a look at the figures carefully. I summarised what was included in each piece given in the booklet on a piece of paper for reference so that if the partner asked me about something I needed to refer back to, I didn’t have to sit there flicking through the whole booklet every time.

They aren’t looking for legal knowledge as such, but more your ability to read and process a large volume of information, to present it coherently back to the partner, identifying the legal issues, and then to answer any questions.

To prepare for it I would just say honestly don’t forget to look at the figures - when I had my booklet of information I needed to calculate a different profit to the one mentioned in a table of figures.

And just have a plan for referencing the information.

So I remember the different pieces of information being called a, b, c, d etc, so I wrote a = refers to environmental concerns"

Click to expand...

Hi Guys,

So I've been invited to the Shoosmiths Insight Evening in Manchester. Has anyone been to an insight evening with Shoosmiths before and how would you advise me to prepare for it?

P.S. Is anyone else coming to the insight evening in Manchester this January.

Wondering how to approach the q 'what transferrable skills can you bring to the role of trainee solicitor'? especially because the q directly after that is 'Please give details of your extra-curricular activities, and any prizes, scholarships, positions of responsibility, or noteworthy achievements that will support your application'.

Is the question more about identifying what skills are useful as a trainee, or how should I answer without just listing skills?

I am a little confused about this application. The website clearly states "We’ll ask you about your academics, work experience, interests and activities as well as your motivation for applying to us." However, when I go onto the summer vac scheme app the only sections I can find are work experience + activities and interests, am I missing something?

Hi All,

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read and answer this post.

I have recently been fortunate enough to have been offered a training contract in London with my dream firm. While, I have accepted and signed the contract of employment, I am in fear that I may lose the training contract once I go through the full verification process as a result of the the firms A-Level requirements.

The firm in question requires AAB at A-Level and as a candidate who did not take A-Levels in high school, it has been quite hard for me to find a uniform guide that allows me to compare my qualifications to A-Levels.

If I go purely by a UCAS point comparison, I exceed AAB at A-Level. Yet, if I go by various University equivalence guides, I tend to fall short by a grade.

I was wondering if anyone had been in a similar position or if anyone knew whether a law firm would give a candidate the benefit of the doubt and let them through provided that they can prove that they have an AAB at A-Level equivalent one way or another (UCAS points or an Alternative).

Apologies if this sounds rather confusing, but it has tearing me up over the fear that I may have to start the whole application process again.

NB:Additionally, there is nothing on the firms website that appears to answer this question.

I was reading Chamberstudent and it is mentioned that White & Case works with European offices fairly regularly.

Now, I can communicate in French and Spanish and native speaker in another European language, My question should I believe to the above statement?

Hi Guys,

What would you say is the best way to research law firms especially when using the website. This is for Vac Scheme and Training Contract Applications.
The website can be really complicated and overwhelming sometimes, would you say I should focus on the sector I am interested in, or try to learn as much as possible?

Also, what questions or key points shall I focus on, e.g. deals, clients, mergers?

Do you use any books or other websites e.g. chamber students, lex100, chambers and partners?

Thank you in advance.

1. Which law firms require JUST a CV and cover letter?

2. Which law firms do NOT do psychometric tests? I.e. trad route of application > interview > assessment centre > etc.


These questions apply to both vacation scheme and training contract applications.

hi all so this is the question- I've been struggling for a little while because I think I am overcomplicating it:
One of Linklaters’ core values is that we strive for excellence. Tell us the ways in which you have sought to develop yourself personally and professionally

So this is my draft for mooting and how I have developed myself - it's just a start but would really appreciate a bit of feedback as to whether I am on the right lines or way off:

- I have sought to develop myself professionally by improving my problem-solving skills and analytical ability through mooting.
- Took part in university commercial moot competition- provided challenges because I had not yet studied the relevant modules but was competing against students who had
- This has helped me to work towards attaining excellence by developing my skills in a highly pressurised environment.

WBD has this question on its application 'If you could introduce any client to the firm, who would it be and why? Consider which sectors or teams could take advantage of this new relationship."
How would you approach this question? Any tips are welcome.

Hi All,

I am running weekly one-to-one sessions for several students at the moment and I wanted to market this service to everyone else.

I am available to chat about your applications/interviews/vacation schemes over Skype. You may want to use this service to discuss your applications, prepare for video/in-person interviews, practice commercial questions or develop your interview technique.

You can book here. Once you book, you will be asked to provide information about your background, your strengths/weaknesses, the firms you are applying to, your prior interview feedback, and more. This will help me to design a tailored session.

Please note, the Christmas period is particularly busy, but we should be able to find a suitable time on weekdays or weekends.

Best,

Jaysen

I'm writing an answer for Norton Rose Fulbright. Their question is:

"Tell us about a project you have recently worked on as part of a team. Describe your role, the outcome and what you learned. (150 words max)*"

I absolutely hate the word project. It suggests it has to be something fully-fledged that you dedicated yourself to for some time, right? So, is writing about my role in a negotiation exercise at a law firm insight day, not approaching the question correctly?

I have another example if so, but it's not as strong because I don't think I had as much involvement as the negotiation.