New Threads

hello everyone,

what practice area is sidley austin known for?

and please don't say "just google".on their websites, almost all firms depict that they practice in all sectors and industries, but the market knows what the market knows. i have interned at a law firm in my non-UK country..they were really good, but it was not until i interned there that i realized that oil and gas practice was their strong suit. they usually got matters in that sector, clients knew them for it. the point i'm trying to make is that law firms usually have practice areas that they are really deep in. for sidley austin (particularly,the london office) , what practice area would that be? what are they known for? who are the leading lawyers?

i need this info as i research and draft my answers for their VS.

thank you so much.

Hi everyone,

I recently completed my LLB with a 2:1 from a Russell Group university and am now preparing to self-fund my SQE journey. As an international student on a graduate visa, I've been accepted into the University of Law's LLM (SQE 1 & 2) Online programme, starting this September.

However, I'm torn between pursuing the LLM or opting for the University of Law's in-person SQE 1 & 2 Preparation course.

Given that I’m not currently working, do you think the online format might be a disadvantage for me? Would enrolling in the LLM program offer significant benefits in terms of knowledge and employability, or would the standalone preparation course be more practical?

I understand that the LLM is often chosen by those who seek student loan funding, but since I'm not eligible for that, it’s not a relevant factor for me.

I would really appreciate any insights, experiences, or advice you have on which option might be more advantageous in the long term.
Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I recently graduated LLB with a 2:1 from a Russell Group university and am now preparing to self-fund my SQE preparation. I’m an international student on a graduate visa and have been accepted into the University of Law's LLM (SQE 1 & 2) Online programme, which starts this September.

However, I'm currently debating whether to pursue the LLM or opt for the University of Law's SQE 1 & 2 Preparation course offered in-person. Or should just for the BARBRI Online courses as it's cheaper

Given that I’m not currently working and the pass rate for the SQE is quite low, do you think the online format would be a disadvantage for me? Would enrolling in the LLM program offer significant benefits in terms of knowledge and employability, or would the preparation course be more practical?

I would appreciate any insights, experiences, or advice you have on which path might be more beneficial in the long term. Thank you!

Has anyone received any response after the WG? I gave mine in July and it's almost September now with no respose.

Hi there. I am a foreign qualified solicitor (did my LLB overseas) looking to do the SQE 1 in January. Which course would you recommend based on those who have passed SQE1?
For example ULaw, BPP or Barbri.
Thanks so much! Any tips are also welcome!

Hi all,

I'm in need of some advice after having a dilemma at the stage in my life where I have accepted a training contract and the firm is funding the SQE.

For London, the salary isn't great at all, in second year as usual salary rises but that will be year three (after one year of the SQE). I am due to start the study year imminently.

The TC is within the public sector with a public law emphasis. I have unfortunately, already has doubts about this and the potential or likelihood of being able to practice in a different area. I have met lawyers in private practice firms within public teams and researched the likelihood of switching into private after but haven't found concrete evidence of this.
After discussing with friends, peers, colleagues I know, the salaries as we all know in tech/sales/recruitment is so much more than in law. Being in my mid 20s I want to feel like I am making the right decision and focusing long term on my future but I can't help feeling like I'm about to fall behind/see friends earning a substantial amount without the stress of the SQE and I fear of going into a profession that isn't well paid in the future.

Any advice from trainees/qualified solicitors/those in other sectors would be much appreciated.

Does anybody know if Milbank has gotten back regarding their decisions for University Campus Ambassadors 2024/2025?

The selection process was run with The Lawyer Portal and the deadline for applications was 9 August but there seems to be no announcements made thus far.

Thank you so much for any responses!

Hi @Jessica Booker, do you know how far in advance firms tend to recruit paralegals/legal assistants and what is the best way to go about this, as I am applying for vac schemes/TCs but would like to secure something for when I graduate in May. Thank you!

Hi all,

Has anyone studied the PGDL part-time at Birkbeck?

I’ll be working full time alongside it but am wondering what the teaching and experience is like? Will it be any better/worse than BPP or the University of Law?

Likewise, I’d be interested to hear of any experiences working alongside studying the gdl part-time.

I work for government as an economist and plan to stay in this job throughout.

Thanks!

Hi, I could do with some advice...

I achieved BCC (mitigating circumstances - parental death) in my A levels and attend a lower-middle ranked university. I averaged a first class in 2nd year and believe I will graduate with a first. My degree has an integrated placement year & I'm doing an internship with a large national firm in which I was selected out of a competitive 200 applicants. I also have law clinic volunteering experience.

However, being honest, am I likely to struggle when getting a training contract due to my mediocre A levels and university's rank? I'm aiming for firms like DLA Piper, Gowling etc. I suffered parental loss (via traumatic circumstances) & poor mental health as a result during my A levels - and I will add this as mitigating circumstances to my application, however are they really likely to consider me regardless of this?

Thank you for reading & I look forward to your input.

This is either a nice idea or a terrible one - would love to hear someone's thoughts:
I recently read an article in which a partner was interviewed about an area of law I'm really interested in. The partner shared this article on LinkedIn, saying they are happy to take questions on the area via DM.
Whilst their target audience was probably other lawyers/clients, would it be a good/bad idea to ask a genuine follow-up question to them?
Copying in @Jaysen @Jessica Booker as I would really appreciate your wisdom & anyone else's
Thank you

Hi,

I'm planning on applying to A&O Shearman's VC. Does anyone know where I can practice the specific test for A&O Shearman (not the Watson Glaser - although resources for those would be helpful too, even if they're paid).

Cheers

Hey everyone!

a little bit about me - I'm an international student and graduated from a non-Russell group university in London (can you guess?) with high merit in LLB Law honours. My current stage is studying the LLM Legal Practice (SQE 1&2) starting this September, and I'm self-funding it.

I have never actually fully applied for vac schemes - don't get me wrong, I've tried to get myself to apply, and I've done a lot of research, but call it imposter syndrome - I just haven't been able to send in applications because I don't want to deal with rejection possibly

When talking about legal work experience - I actually have done a quiet 4 legal internships through the past three years of law school during my winter/summer breaks but in my home country - which is an international hub. Additionally I had volunteered all through second and third year of law school at a legal clinic - which technically does qualify as "qualifying work experience" but its too short of period to be considered. While I haven't applied for vac schemes, I have attended several open days and was a campus ambassador for a law-adjacent company and a brand ambassador for another. I have also just been selected for the Baker McKenzie and AS mentorship programme starting soon + I'm also currently on the ASPIRE programme to get ahead this year.

This is my last year to apply for vs/tc's before I have to leave the country + I'm also doing the sqe which adds even more pressure. I know that I can stay for two more years through the graduate visa but currently I'm not sure if that is something I would invest in, I do prefer staying in London so I'm for sure considering it but more so as a last option.

I was inspired to make a forum of my own so that I could hold myself accountable and actually apply. I've done a lot of research and the firms I'm interested in are big international law firms (Dentons, Baker Mckenzie, A&OShearman, Bird&Bird etc). I do have actually go into a deep dive and actually research firms but the goal is to apply for 5 firms a month so that's 20 firms in total over the course of 4 months (Sep-Dec) I know I'm being very ambitious in applying to so many - but hopefully it works out in the end. I will also be applying to their oversees offices as most firms have an office in my home country.

On my to do list :

1. RESEARCH FIRMS
2. Keep up to date with commercial news to get my commercial awareness up to date.
3. Apply for open days so that I get at least one foot in through firms.
4. REVISE REVISE REVISE all 7 core modules (for the sqe)

I'm just starting out and I'm a bit lost and I have loads of information in my head so this forum is very much gonna be a digital dump for my brain! Oh also I've never really done a Watson Glazer test before so any thoughts, starting tips, or advice would be greatly appreciated ( whether it's in general or regarding the test).

I know everyone asks this question, but I’m becoming relatively hopeless. I’m unsure what to do as I’ve got a few years experiencing as a paralegal under my belt. Now, I admit, my A-Levels and my LPC grades aren’t the best but I’m unsure how to improve at this point. I’m limited to extra curricular as I’m a part time carer and it’s exhausting me. I keep trying and I’m not getting anywhere. I even paid for mentorship as well and having free mentoring and I’m just not getting to any ACs.

Also for context, I’m really reluctant to do the SQE route. I appreciate I can self fund this, but the LPC really took its toll on me, and I genuinely can’t put myself through that again. I hope to do the LPC route although this route is running out.

Hi all! For the purposes of the skilled worker visa, are trainee solicitors regarded as “solicitors” or “legal professionals not elsewhere classified?” I presume being a trainee qualifies one for the lowered salary requirement of 70% of the going rate (please correct me if I’m wrong), but even so my TC salary will only clear this bar if trainees are considered legal professionals not elsewhere classified. Thanks!!

Are the questions a main deciding factor or do they not matter as much when looking at other factors such as grades, work experience etc?

Is end of November too late if the final deadline is early January?

Hi, I found this new resource for the Watson Glaser test called 'how2become.com'. Has anyone used this before that could vouch for the authenticity of the materials provided?

Best wishes

Hi everyone, so I received my a level grades and I got ABC. This is better than what I was expecting considering I was suffering the loss of my grandad throughout my exams which was extremely difficult for me.
I was unaware that I would be able to apply for mitigating circumstances until the end of my exams and so I then filled in the application that my school sent me to be given special consideration by my examboards. This was around June 21st. My school said that they would shortly check this however I did not hear back from them. I was unsure of whether or not my application had been successful.
My question is, when it comes to applying for firms and I fill in the section of mitigating circumstances, what proof will they ask for? If lets say my mitigating circumstances application was denied for whatever reason (they can be quite stingy giving these out), however I still tell them what had happened showing proof of my grandad's death will firms not accept it if it wasn't accepted by exam boards?
Please let me know I appreciate it .

Hi there. I am super new to this page, and more specifically new to pursuing this career path. I am a UK non law student with no legal work experience, but with work experience in strategy and finance, and I have decided to pivot to focus on law. I know that due to my lack of experience, my strengths lie in my personality, innovation, and entrepreneurship - I have gained lots of transferable skills from different unique opportunities. I know that I need to apply strategically to firms, focussing on ones who prioritise this in their applicants. I was wondering if anyone knew of any top firms who look for this more so over technical expertise and experience? Sorry - I don't know whether this is the kind of question people would ask on here, but figured the answers would also be helpful for other students in my position. Thank you.

_

Hi all,

I'm a future trainee solicitor at a US firm due to start my training contract in March 2026. My firm doesn't require me to sit the GDL exams and I start my SQE course in February 2025. However, I am slightly worried going into the SQE without completing the GDL for a multitude of reasons, and wanting some advice:

- Could I have legal knowledge gaps without completing the GDL?
- Will having the GDL make me more employable, or having JUST the SQE make me less desirable post-qualification?

I found a full-time GDL course with the College of Legal Practice that runs for 20 weeks. Has anyone completed it before, and if so, what are your opinions? If I can find the money/time to do the course, would you recommend I complete it?

Thank you!

I'm a final year non-law undergrad, looking to apply to TCs and vac schemes this academic year. I have pending military service obligation (1.5 years) to complete after I graduate. Now, practically speaking, I was wondering if it's possible to take leave to complete my military service during my TC? Perhaps something like the period between the GDL and the SQE? I feel nervous thinking of going into do my military service without any job in the pipeline and securing a TC initially would give me some comfort. Practically speaking, I just have to do the military service at some point and not restricted to a certain time period, so it is flexible to a certain extent in terms of when I can start it.

I would be most grateful for any insight on this tricky matter.

Has anyone got a timetable of the part time course at ULAW for doing the LLM SQE 1 and 2? Just wondering how much work is required each week and the order of study.

Hi,

I intend to create a bank of application questions for the firm I intend to apply for this cycle. I strongly believe this will help with my firm research as their questions illustrate the value they seek in their applicants. Additionally, I think this will help with the upcoming application questions where many of them will be quite similar to their previous recruitment cycles. If anyone has applied before and has a log of their responses, or they just simply know, could you please list the questions used by firms for their vac scheme recruitment cycles?

I'm only interested in Hogan Lovells, Mishcon de Reya, Addleshaw, and Bates Wells at the min (particularly in the last 3 years as I applied for these firms last year so I know the questions already). However, I recognise many of you might interested in other firms so I thought would be good to have this thread so people can list the questions for other firms if they can!

Below is a list of ones I have so far

Mishcon (2023/24)
1) Aside from wanting a challenging career, why do you want to be a commercial lawyer, and why do you want to train at Mishcon de Reya? (300 words max)
2) We believe that successful lawyers are great Shapers: individuals with interests, hobbies, passions or visions; and the drive and motivation to develop these in order to shape the world around them. We're looking for people who can shape the information they are given; shape arguments; shape relationships; shape solutions (see https://www.mishcon.com/graduates/mishcon-shapers). Tell us about a time that you have demonstrated being a Shaper. (300 words max)
3) If we were to invite you to interview, what issue would you most like to talk about and why? This can be a non-legal issue and should be something you genuinely feel passionate about. (300 words max)

Addleshaw (2023/24)
1) What attracts you to a career in commercial law and why specifically at Addleshaw Goddard?
2) Is technology and AI an opportunity or a threat for Addleshaw Goddard and why?
3) Choose one of Addleshaw Goddard's practice areas or sectors and tell us about a major change in law or government policy that clients in that sector/practice area are facing and what opportunities that creates for us?
4) If you were in government what one thing would you change to make it easier for UK businesses to succeed and why?


Bates Wells (2023/24)
1) Tell us what has attracted you to a career in the legal industry. Please address why you want to qualify as a solicitor, and why you believe Bates Wells is the right place for you to train.
2) We are incredibly proud to be the first UK law firm to be awarded B Corp status back in 2015. Making a profit is core to all businesses but our goal is to combine this with a real social purpose. What do you predict to be the major commercial trends over the next five years which will create purpose and impact in our society?
3) Describe a recent experience which presented you with a challenge which required you to do something differently, or find a new innovative approach. You may draw on experiences from your work, voluntary experience or educational history.
4) Please tell us about an outstanding personal achievement which added value to either your academic or working environment. When answering the question, please consider the Bates Wells values.