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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

Hey everyone!

I had initially embarked on the barrister route. However, during the course and my experience during mini-pupillages, I realised I am better suited for a career as a solicitor.

Given that I have already been Called to the Bar, I was just wondering if:
(a) I would need to do the LPC or if I would be exempt from it;
(b) anyone has had a similar experience to mine, and would be willing to offer some guidance on how best to approach the TC applications to justify this position.

Thank you!

I am in the midst applying for the TC and would anyone know more about their corporate department, considering they are specialists in the insurance sector. Since my research has not yielded much about their corporate team, and how it operates, any assistance would be appreciated.

Hello everyone, in prepping for interviews and ACs, I have decided this is one of the trickier questions I have come across. Reason being, this is such a general question and it is so easy to slip up and talk about something cliche (BRExit) but how is it NOT possible to talk about Brexit??? It's an elephant that needs to be addressed in the room! This applies to the Technology Revolution as well. So, I have decided to do a summary and quick write-up on why I think the Technology Revolution is one of the main challenges facing commercial law firms today.

The common theme of this is change and competition. The Technology Revolution is going to change the way the legal sector operates, but how?: (Bear in mind these points also work as an opportunity for the firms, based on how you want to answer the question and argue it)

1. The change in client expectations
The flexibility and convinience of technology has transformed clients expectations. Clients will increasingly deamand for legal services that can offer them great value. This generation of clients who are demanding on the go legal services is otherwise known as the "Amazon generation" clientele. (Being able to order legal services from our fingertips like how w order things from Amazon) Examples we can see in how clients expectations are changing and firms need to innovate to accommodate this is how innovative firms like Bird and Bird, BCLP and Pinsent Masons are emphasising on client solution technology to offer them the most convinient, reliable and secure legal services ranging from contracting services to asset protection.

2. The diversification of the legal business
Since we have now seen how clients expectations are changing, law firms wILL innovate to compete. Their incentive to innovate becomes higher and thus, with all the legal tech opportunities that exist around us, law firms can also take advantage of this and diversify their revenue streams by investing in legal technology opportunities. (This can be argued as a challenge for firms that haven't shown signs of innovation because this means competition for them) Examples we can see are how Allen & Overy have invested in a legal tech space called FUSE and they utilise and develop cutting-edge legal technology in changing the legal landscape. Mishcon de Reya are also investing in a legal tech space called MDR LAB. with the help of technology, we can also predict that smaller firms can utilise technology to surpass big firms that are resistant to innovate.

3. The challenges of seeking talent
with the change that comes with the technology revolution, the role of a lawyer is also changing. Lawyers need to be a legal and commercial expert, as well as possessing an acute sense of literacy in technology. Firms need to select their legal talent carefully to ensure they hire the best people for the job. This is coupled with the competition of other firms in attracting top talents. Examples of how firms are changing the way they are looking for candidates include Clifford Chance and Freshfields' new emphasis on STEM graduates who have critical thinking skills and technology literacy.

4. The fragmentation of the legal market
The technology revolution has brought about alternative legal service providers such as Axiom and Riverview. Coupled with alternative business structures, law firms are facing an unprecedented competition in offering legal services to clients whose expectations are constantly changing. There are ways to adapt to this challenge, such as merging, specialising and expanding its international reach. However, firms that are resistant to innovate and adapt will shrink. It is clear that the legal sector is no longer the traditional sector we once knew, so firms need to differentiate their offering and digitally transform.

This is the end of my summary of what I think is one of the main challenges law firms are facing today! Please leave comments on what you think are the main challenges law firms today are facing. I would like to hear more about regulatory changes and geopolitical instability in-depth.

Hi All,

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

How would you go about structuring this question for Lathams Open Day (250words)?

Do you use the STAR format for Work Experience sections? Do you elaborate on the skills that you learn during your internships or is it supposed to be factual-based i.e. explaining what you did in detail?

Any tips or 'hacks' that people use to balance their lives .....between app and studying for uni

Hi All,

If anyone has interviewed at Latham & Watkins or Cleary in the past, I'd be grateful if you could drop me a PM. I'm running mock interviews for these firms next week and it would be very helpful if a student could share their thoughts/experience.

For your time, we'd be very happy to offer you an application review in return.

Thanks!

Jaysen