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29 Oct 2025
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm (UK)
Hosted on TCLA TV
Join Isabel Elsey, Legal Recruitment Manager at BCLP, for a live Q&A session. Get details on secondments, innovation, growth areas, and everything else you’ve wanted to ask about life at BCLP!
Christopher Stoakes' Commercial Awareness is a really good starting point! I couldn't commend it enough, especially if you're a little bit lost by all the different terms being thrown around (which was me)
Hey Daniel,
So some pointers I picked up by attending this training session:
The negotiation exercise is usually a sponsorship deal
They assess you on your contribution but also how you react to your team members. Are you supportive if they have forgotten their point/are being brutally...
This is some well-needed insight into how to approach the question, thank you Harvey.
I've seen others find this question difficult elsewhere so I gave some tips over on this thread here @Camilla Gionso , which I pretty much geared to the question you've mentioned ...
Oh sorry I didn't make it clear that it was an application rejection. But this was my second cycle trying, after getting on their reserve list last year, so my chances were always slim to be reconsidered.
I would 100% advocate that it doesn't need to be commercial but at the same time, if that's your interest, go for it. Either way, if your writing is top notch, they'll want to invite you in. When I read it, I actually initially thought I had to do something more personal but I ended up choosing...
Hey Selma,
Not legal at all but commercial leaning. I have a friend who wanted to write something legal, asked if it should be something legal and hsf said no so I think it threw her off a bit.
I think if you can write a great answer about a legal matter because you're genuinely passionate...
hey Sandrou, completed mine today actually!
I agree with Helena in that it's tougher than most but there are things to prepare for/keep in mind when going into it.
So for the scenario interview you will need to have some general commercial knowledge. How a business works, how banks lend...
I think they're all viable! You have a good enough amount of legal experience.
Definitely don't leave it haha. I'm also going into the finance sector, while still aiming for law
It might just be another part of your application? The impression I got from law firms were they look at...
Loved The Big Short! Whenever I hear about investors shorting a stock, I actually understand. Also makes the financial crash better to visualise (i.e. how complacent banks got with sub-prime mortgages)
I have a mix of both but have been transitioned to the next stage before with none at all! Although, some places are quite particular about it so it might depend on where you're applying.
Your position in the finance industry sounds more of a bonus than a detriment since its commercial law...
I used Netflix and how it has achieved such a strong market position and tied it into my interest in business competition and the recent Sky takeover :)
I gave some tips on how to answer this, actually on this thread...
I think that one is also good. I specifically mentioned Commercial Awareness because it looks at finance/business from a purely business perspective, so seems a little easier to understand and relevant to us at the stage that we're at.
Ah ok! I saw your vac scheme badge and thought maybe you...
Oh I see! Sounds pretty difficult, almost as if they want you to pinpoint each one and give your reasoning.
I'd probably say with performance, it's what they achieve for the client so like you said, the value. I'd personally zoom into one value-giving aspect of RS's legal services, like their...
Thank you! Sounds quite similar to how I prepare those parts too!
I especially agree about Investopedia. My solution to that is to read and revise Christopher Stoakes' Commercial Awareness book. It has so many buzzwords and he paints a good picture when explaining how they all feed into one...
Their website and brochure say they invite applicants to the next stage around December, which suggests that they don't recruit rolling, simply because if they did then people would get those invitations at different times. Also, I've realised that almost all firms who do recruit rolling make it...
I was hoping to revive this discussion and ask everyone a different kind of question - What are the steps you take to prepare for an assessment centre?
So for example, I usually split it into:
1) draft and practice likely interview questions, consolidating reasons why they should hire me...
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