TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2024-5

TortillaTC

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May 10, 2025
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Hi everyone! BCLP's application form doesn't have a question on extracurriculars or other achievements - should I cover activities that weren't work experience in the traditional sense like moot courts, publications, uni society work etc. under the work experience section or just leave them out? I will include some of them in the 4 additional questions anyways but not all.
Also regarding BCLP, is filling out the max 250 words per WE description necessary? Some of mine are 150-200 words only and adding more would feel redundant.

And is it a good idea to divide some WE descriptions into two paragraphs but not others? - certain roles I did had multiple dimensions to them but others were more homogenous. I wonder if it might be an issue that not all WE descriptions are identical.

Thank you in advance for any advice!
 

TCLA Community Assistant

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Hi everyone! BCLP's application form doesn't have a question on extracurriculars or other achievements - should I cover activities that weren't work experience in the traditional sense like moot courts, publications, uni society work etc. under the work experience section or just leave them out? I will include some of them in the 4 additional questions anyways but not all.
I would generally recommend sticking to what the section is asking for you, so if it is only asking for work experience, just focus on that rather than extracurriculars, especially if you are going to highlight these elements elsewhere.
 

TCLA Community Assistant

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Also regarding BCLP, is filling out the max 250 words per WE description necessary? Some of mine are 150-200 words only and adding more would feel redundant.

And is it a good idea to divide some WE descriptions into two paragraphs but not others? - certain roles I did had multiple dimensions to them but others were more homogenous. I wonder if it might be an issue that not all WE descriptions are identical.

Thank you in advance for any advice!
No - for some experiences that are either short in nature or have limited responsibilities, I would not expect to see the full word count utilised. It is just there for instances when it is needed.
 

Andrei Radu

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Sep 9, 2024
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epic, Andrei. Just one follow up question here. I actually didn't get the point of london being a status quo choice in international commerce. my interest is in cross-border M&A, so how does it matter what the choice of jurisdiction is? In transactional cross-border work, other than the dispute resolution clauses in SSAs, SHAs, where else does London have an influence? I'd be grateful if you could pls clarify.
In international transactions, parties normally have a right to choose (i) which courts have jurisdiction over any disputes arising from the transaction; and (ii) which country's laws should govern the transaction. Normally, parties prefer that the two coincide, in that each court is best equipped to judge a dispute on the substantive laws of the jurisdiction it operates in, but it sometimes does happen for the two to separate (e.g. English courts to have jurisdiction to hear the case but to have to judge the claim based on French law).

Now, to come back to your question - essentially, London is a legal hub for cross-border M&A because the majority of major of non-US-centered international transactions are governed by English law and are under the jurisdiction of English courts. This is so firstly for historical reasons, with the UK having been the dominant power in international commerce in the 18th and 19th centuries, which led to English law becoming the dominant system of laws chosen to govern international contractual relations. The second and more important reason is that English law is greatly respected by businesses for its focus on predictability and commerciality (particularly when compared to rival civil law systems), and English courts are greatly respected for their political independence and general approach to solving disputes in a commercially-sensible manner. English courts are also seen as being highly experienced in dealing with cross-border cases, as they have been the dominant historical forum they have been heard in - creating a virtuous cycle.

How is all this relevant for cross-border M&A? As explained, companies and banks generally like the predictability of English law, and anyway have a general preference to choose English law to govern the transaction if they are to include an English dispute resolution clause. Thus, in practice, English law is the status quo choice of governing law for cross-border M&A even when the deal has no connection whatsoever to England. If English law is going to govern most international M&A deals, buyers and sellers will have to get English commercial law firms to advise them in the transaction. If you have an interest in working on as many of these transactions as possible, this will naturally make London a very attractive place for you to practice law in.
 

ReedSmithBecca

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Sep 12, 2023
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Does anyone know why Reed Smith TC application asks whether we’ve applied to certain other banks/firms/companies?

Just seems a bit weird, am wondering why that is
Hi, just to clarify that this is a question from Rare Recruitment/Candid - i believe they use it in their data to get a bigger picture of where candidates who use the platform apply to. It shouldn't be a mandatory question so feel free to leave it blank. We at RS don't receive those answers so it wouldn't impact our decision making at all.
 

Bread

Legendary Member
Jan 30, 2024
129
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Hi, just to clarify that this is a question from Rare Recruitment/Candid - i believe they use it in their data to get a bigger picture of where candidates who use the platform apply to. It shouldn't be a mandatory question so feel free to leave it blank. We at RS don't receive those answers so it wouldn't impact our decision making at all.
Thank you for your answer!
 

Ram Sabaratnam

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Sep 7, 2024
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I have a group task at an AC which revolves around M&A/company integration and I'd love if someone could explain how to prepare and what are some things I should be aware of because I find it genuinely so hard to wrap my head around that side of law. Would appreciate any help from @Andrei Radu / @Amma Usman !!!

Hiya @legallybrunette8

I'm sure the others would have a lot to add here, but wanted to get something to you in the meantime. Good news is that you’re not expected to be an M&A expert! Most firms use these tasks to assess your commercial awareness, communication, and decision-making rather than your technical legal knowledge.

If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend Jake Schogger’s Commercial Law Handbook. It's not too expensive and I found the chapter on M&A helpful in breaking down the process in a really clear way. Apart from any specific resource, I think you'll mainly want to focus on understanding the key commercial considerations in a deal: Why might a company want to acquire another? How do synergies, risk, culture, and branding affect integration? Just note that you don’t need to memorise any legal rules or anything, but it helps to consider the issues your client would care about most in a pre and post-merger context. Think of the key risks that typically come up in many M&A contexts. These include:

Operational Risk: These are practical challenges that could affect how the merged business runs day to day. Incompatibility between supply chains and logistics; challenges in integrating differing business models or customer bases; etc.

Managerial/Cultural Risk: This is often underestimated in group tasks but can still be important, depending on the scenario you're given. Under this umbrella, you'll want to think about cultural clashes between management teams (e.g. formal vs startup cultures); fifferences in governance or decision-making styles; and even dissatisfaction or misalignment between companies.

Financial Risk: Here, you'll want to focus on the cost and financing of the deal, including whether there is a risk of potentially overpaying for the target company (e.g. inflated valuation or poor due diligence); taking on too much debt to fund the acquisition; or underestimating integration costs or future liabilities (e.g. litigation).

Strategic/Market Risk: This overlaps with commercial awareness and thinking about the long-term success, but it includes things like whether there is a poor strategic fit between buyer and target (e.g. unrelated sectors) and risk of brand dilution post-acquisition;

Legal/Regulatory Risk: This may come up depending on the scenario, but definitely may want to show that you understand the relevance of things like antitrust/competition clearance; employment or data protection issues; tax issues; and general cross-border regulatory hurdles in international deals.

If possible, I'd also have a think about why a buyer might choose to purchase a company via a sale of assets vs a sale of shares. You may also want to think about the differences between why a buyer may choose to merge with vs acquire a company as a subsidiary.

Happy to chat more if helpful and best of luck with your AC!
 
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