A&O First 2021 Scheme - Application Question

[student101]

Hi guys!

This question came up in the application and I'm unsure how to go about answering it, i.e. what kind of article to find, how to link it back to A&O etc.:

Discuss a recent news article that interests you and how it is relevant to Allen & Overy (250 words)

Any advice on how to go about it? Thank you!

 

[sabma]

Hello,

I was on A&O First. In hindsight, if I was writing this q now I would:

• Find something of genuine interest that you can talk about with passion if you get an interview and you're asked about it.
• Find something that's not too complex so that you can give basic low down of it and still have enough word count left to analyse.
• Think about who A&O's clients are and how that story would affect them.
  • will it present businesses with a problem that they would come to A&O to solve for them? i.e new regulations, tougher business conditions so more financings/restructurings...
  • will it present new opportunities for A&Os clients and how would they come to A&O to help them capitalise on this opportunity i.e new opportunities in emerging markets - how can A&O help there. make sure you're as specific as possible though if you do this.
• Think about how it might affect A&O as a business? will it change the way they operate? change the advice they give? maybe it might make A&O consider opening an office in the relevant jurisdiction in the upcoming years.

I think thats how I'd approach it systematically. When I wrote my answer, I already had an idea of what I wanted to speak about so I'd didn't approach it like this. But if I was starting from scratch, this would be my approach

 

[student101]

Hello,

I was on A&O First. In hindsight, if I was writing this q now I would:

• Find something of genuine interest that you can talk about with passion if you get an interview and you're asked about it.
• Find something that's not too complex so that you can give basic low down of it and still have enough word count left to analyse.
• Think about who A&O's clients are and how that story would affect them.
  • will it present businesses with a problem that they would come to A&O to solve for them? i.e new regulations, tougher business conditions so more financings/restructurings...
  • will it present new opportunities for A&Os clients and how would they come to A&O to help them capitalise on this opportunity i.e new opportunities in emerging markets - how can A&O help there. make sure you're as specific as possible though if you do this.
• Think about how it might affect A&O as a business? will it change the way they operate? change the advice they give? maybe it might make A&O consider opening an office in the relevant jurisdiction in the upcoming years.

I think thats how I'd approach it systematically. When I wrote my answer, I already had an idea of what I wanted to speak about so I'd didn't approach it like this. But if I was starting from scat

Thank you so much! This is really helpful

 

[SAA]

Hi,

I'm also really struggling with this question. Can someone point me to a news article that may help in answering the question? I've been trying to answer the question for so long and couldn't come up with anything .Would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Dheepa]

Hi,

I'm also really struggling with this question. Can someone point me to a news article that may help in answering the question? I've been trying to answer the question for so long and couldn't come up with anything .Would greatly appreciate it.

Hi,

If you're having trouble picking a news article I'd suggest first thinking about what industry particularly interests you. Is there a particular theme affecting businesses that you find interesting? Maybe the regulation of Big Tech, ESG investing, etc. You could then work backwards and find a news story that touches on some of these themes to build your answer.

Alternatively, you could have a look at the A&O website and read some of their insight/industry update articles. This should also give you a good idea of what issues are already affecting the firm's clients and you could again work backwards and find a news story from there.

The key to answering these kind of questions well is to really develop an opinion on the story (i.e how you think it will develop/any future effects it might have on the industry) and also tie it into how it will affect the firm. Will the firm see an uptick in work in some areas? Will they need to develop stronger expertise in others to better cater to the trends arising out of the story? Would they maybe need to look to expanding their presence globally so they can better cater to the increase in work in other regions?

I hope that gives you some ideas!

 

[m2001]

Hello,

I was on A&O First. In hindsight, if I was writing this q now I would:

• Find something of genuine interest that you can talk about with passion if you get an interview and you're asked about it.
• Find something that's not too complex so that you can give basic low down of it and still have enough word count left to analyse.
• Think about who A&O's clients are and how that story would affect them.
  • will it present businesses with a problem that they would come to A&O to solve for them? i.e new regulations, tougher business conditions so more financings/restructurings...
  • will it present new opportunities for A&Os clients and how would they come to A&O to help them capitalise on this opportunity i.e new opportunities in emerging markets - how can A&O help there. make sure you're as specific as possible though if you do this.
• Think about how it might affect A&O as a business? will it change the way they operate? change the advice they give? maybe it might make A&O consider opening an office in the relevant jurisdiction in the upcoming years.

I think thats how I'd approach it systematically. When I wrote my answer, I already had an idea of what I wanted to speak about so I'd didn't approach it like this. But if I was starting from scratch, this would be my approach

Hi, hope you don't mind me gatecrashing the thread - just wondering how you answered the question about your extra-curricular activities? How did you structure it and are they wanting legal/academic based interests or also sports/what you did at school?

Thank you!

 

[sabma]

Hi, hope you don't mind me gatecrashing the thread - just wondering how you answered the question about your extra-curricular activities? How did you structure it and are they wanting legal/academic based interests or also sports/what you did at school?

Thank you!

Hey, no worries at all.
I don't know if it's still the same q but mine was:
Please bullet point your main interests, activities and pastimes, including any positions of responsibility you have held during or after education (200 words)
Because they said bullet point that was an indication to me to keep it short and sweet. I simply stated my position of responsibility and then summarised my commitment. Example (made up based on one of my bullet points): I am Captain of the Netball team. I train five times, totalling 10 hours a week. I am in charge of x y z.
This way I got in 6 points.

With regards to what they want to know, just follow what the question says: main interests, activities and pastimes. This doesn't necessarily exclude law in the question but I think it's hinting towards you talking about your extra-curriculars/non academic interests. Sports, societies, committee positions, awards, charitable causes.

Hope this helps