Ashour's Journey to a TC

[AvniD]

it has been a while since I posted...

since then, I WON 6 months of bronze TCLA subscription! the best gift I could get to start the new year!
I'm extremely delighted to have won this as it came while I was a bit disappointed about my application campaign.

Law Firm applications:
week ago, I received a WG invite form CMS which is awesome, it means finally my written applications are getting noticed and it makes me feel that i have accomplished something and my hard work is paying off, I also have TCLA to thank for that. I haven't heard back yet but the test was quite challenging. my season wasn't the most successful i only applied to 3 law firms so far which is frustrating to think about, although I have learnt much through the journey and I'll end this section by what Jaysen wrote in one of his emails "it's not a race it's a marathon"

but this isn't the end just yet, I still have NRF summer VC and Sherman and sterling VC. resilience is key and I won't give up!

You've got this!! 💪🏼 So happy to hear about your WG invite - I hope it goes well for you🤞And you're very right - this is a marathon and not a race! Your resilience will pay off, I'm sure of it! You've just gotta keep hustling, keep working on this process bit by bit and finding ways to improve wherever you can till you get to where you want to be.

 

[Mohamed Ashour]

Womble Bond Dickinson

• after about four rejections so far (2 after WG invite) I still have another chance with WBD, they are different when it comes to graduate recruitment; the open question, no Watson Glacer (yet there is another test) no work experience section but LIFE experience. all of these when taken into consideration and talking to graduate rec. it's rare to find a graduate recruitment that makes you feel special (beside Jessica!) so I'm applying and putting as much effort in this as possible through this plan:

The Plan

• Commercial awareness:

1. I'll read Watson's daily and take notes and upload here and call it "Watson's bites" and read Watson's yearly.
2. do the SWOT exercise with TCLA
3. reach 25% of the TCLA commercial awareness course.

• The open-ended question in WBD app.

1. I'll choose a story (green energy)
2. Study WBD 36p pdf on the UK's energy transition which should help me write my answer.
3. I'd like to test my ability to write, analyse and learn to the full by writing two answers the first I'll finish by ninth of this month and the second 13th for TCLA review.

my deadline should be 15th of this month. I'll return to daily updates to stay accountable.
I'll work for about 6h daily,
tomorrow
1-4 hours on commercial awareness
which includes 2 hours on the course and 2 hours for TCLA exercise.
2-2 hours for the WBD research.

 

[Mohamed Ashour]

Daily goals!
yesterday's goals:
1-the Commercial awareness exercise from TCLA.
2-2 hours on the commercial awareness course "understand the city"
3-2 hours research on the firm. not done yet.

today:

• 2 hours on commercial awareness course.
• 1 hour on the Energy Transition pdf by WBD.
• 2 hours to research the firm.

to be more precise with my goals, I'll write a mock answer on the eighth and then I'll write the final answer on the 12th and send it for review on the 13th. to explain the question is a commercial story and why you're interested with a 2000-word limit. and when graduate recruitment was asked, they said they need more depth and to show your understanding not just throwing legal jargon hence the extensive preparation.

 

[Jaysen]

Daily goals!
yesterday's goals:
1-the Commercial awareness exercise from TCLA.
2-2 hours on the commercial awareness course "understand the city"
3-2 hours research on the firm. not done yet.

today:

• 2 hours on commercial awareness course.
• 1 hour on the Energy Transition pdf by WBD.
• 2 hours to research the firm.

to be more precise with my goals, I'll write a mock answer on the eighth and then I'll write the final answer on the 12th and send it for review on the 13th. to explain the question is a commercial story and why you're interested with a 2000-word limit. and when graduate recruitment was asked, they said they need more depth and to show your understanding not just throwing legal jargon hence the extensive preparation.

Keep up the great work Mohamed!

 

[Mohamed Ashour]

Hello!
Watson's bites!

• Nationwide's finding last week that points to a trend of falling house prices. there'll be more houses on the market when these interest rates hikes hit, as mortgage set to face lowest growth since 2011.
• rock and feather tactics to big banks as the PMs are questioning them this week to keep high NIM, low interest rate for borrowers which should translate for high interest rates for savers but doesn't!
• Amazon to sublet UK warehouses as growth plans go awry (expected after the great tech lay off).

Daily goals!

1. 2 h for the course
2. 1 hour for the energy transition pdf
3. done some research on the firm but still off target.

same for tomorrow!

 

[Mohamed Ashour]

Watson's bites:

• BP scales back climate goals as profits more than double to £23bn and Serica deal with Tailwind Energy will almost double its oil output sounds like old days for oil companies with strong oil prices!
• Annual property price growth slowed down to 1.9% from 2.1% in December, cites the data from Halifax. falling house prices seems to be a reality with mortgage rates on the rise along with inflation.
• Zoom to lay off 1,300 employees as work from home craze ends, when you have return to work schemes and incentives it feels inevitable to reach a pre-covid state.
• Arm profits up 28% as chip licences reach new heights, I brought this one up to look at its owner Softbank with another 5.9 billion losses last quarter! (th number is debatable!)

 

[Mohamed Ashour]

Watson's bites

• MCSI revises Adani Group weightings after free float review as a direct result to the Hindenburg Research report. this would result in smaller weightings and very much less investors. (Free float: numbers of shares that could be publicly traded)
• one for aspiring lawyers as Hermes bag a win in digital copyright case as New York jury has ruled that a digital token featuring images of Hermes Birkin bags!
• rich home buyers are taking advantage of the current market conditions to buy properties as cash buyers have replaced mortgage buyers as the dominant force in the market.

----------------------------------------
Daily goals

• I spent 4 hours on the commercial awareness course reaching 12% in the course.

for the weekend I should

• finish WBD virtual program
• write my first answer
• read Watson's yearly

 

[divaination]

this thread is so pleasant to read, rooting for you Mohamed !!!

 

[Mohamed Ashour]

Watson's bites:

• we see that the UK economy managed to narrowly avoid a recession in the fourth quarter of 2022, with real GDP growing by 0.01%. This was just £76m more than what was needed to fall into a recession! this is some of the best news I have heard of lately, gives you a breath of fresh air away from we're all going to die" scenarios!
• From Apple to VW, CEOs Gradually Returning to China After Its Reopening. we are at a crossroads with the reopening of China, the high tensions between the US and China and how they will develop will affect the growth we wish to see form China's reopening. but personally, the spy balloon thing will be used as a pressure point in negotiations, escalation is quite unlikely...
• Why eurozone is forecast to buck recession fears and outgrow Britain, this is good news as well.
• US inflation eases again for seventh consecutive month. interest rates are doing well for now also heard this morning that UK inflation started slowing

and I Got 14/20 in the weekly Quiz, which is better than my 9/20 in the week before!

 

[Mohamed Ashour]

Watson Bites:

• Allen & Overy introduces AI chatbot to lawyers in search of efficiencies, now this quite interesting to see and follow, Chatgpt is the new thing after smartphones and it's the start of a new storm not just in tech.
• Microsoft Bing chatbot professes love for journalist and dreams of stealing nuclear codes still a long way to go though...

 

[Mohamed Ashour]

Watson's Bites

• UK’s resilient economy points to a mild recession, positive sentiment across the UK for a second half bounce but peter identifies 3 points that may affect this. 1- inflation 2-war in Ukraine 3- US-China tensions
• Facebook and Instagram to launch paid-for subscription services, and that's the moment when you think social media isn't as creative...they didn't even wait to see how twitter's subscription looks in the near future.
• Birmingham Airport set for hydrogen take-off with Zero Avia deal
• China no longer viable as world’s factory, says Kyocera, this may be a direct result of US export controls, but we can see a trend as Apple aims to diversify its production away from China yet for varied reasons. (don't forget that Kycoera has 70% global market share in ceramic components for chip manufacturing equipment).
• Class action claims earned lawyers £1bn
• UK inflation could fall below 2% this year, Citi forecasts

 

[Mohamed Ashour]

HHeLLoOO there!

SO far in FEB!

• Applied to WBD with the help of @Ghana M. and TCLA, Ghana was extremely helpful and gave me advice when needed I wish her the best and THANK YOU!
• these Watson's Bites where efficient, they helped me absorb more and focus on more important pieces developing my commercial awareness.

in MARCH

• Won't miss another ASHURST direct TC app
• I'll pursue a Fulbright scholarship per @Ghana M. advice Thank you again!
• Towards being a commercial awarness black belt, I figured that this has to be a life style (cliche I know) a way of life to stay on top of every corner related to you and understand why this stuff happen through observation and hands on experience (which is my ultimate goal from working in a law firm) I'll join TCLA academy in cohort 2!
• I'll aim for the third time to finish (understand the city) this month.

The journey so far:

• It has been amazing so far, so much knowledge! I started empty handed and towards the close without a TC (but still hopeful of WBD and ASHURST) however, my learning curve is soaring high, in matters of drafting applications, writing, reading the news and being aware and meeting amazing people. I still have a long way ahead of me maybe this year or the next, but I would do it again and again.

 

[Ghana M.]

Thanks so much for your kind words! I really appreciate it. I'm glad I could help, but honestly, you did all the hard work. You're destined for amazing things, and I have no doubt you'll achieve them. Best of luck in all your future endeavours! 😌

 

[Mohamed Ashour]

Watson's bites:

Tech & AI:

• US-listed tech companies face cash crunch after burning through billions from IPOs According to Dealogic data, 150 tech companies raised at least $100m each in 2020 and 2021, but most of their valuations are now below what they were at IPO and their share prices are down by around 35% on average.
• EVs Boost Chip Demand Despite Semiconductor Makers’ Woes
• Twitter hit by biggest malfunction since Musk deal, it's not getting better for twitter anytime soon...
• Intel: Chips Act subsidies may impede a return to former glory, even though this might sound good news for Intel but as Watson says this also could add an edge for competition such as Nvidia which created the Omniverse, and their chips are used in AI research over at Meta for the metaverse.

Law

• City law firms to set up in Saudi Arabia, Clifford Chance and Herbert Smith Freehills – along with US giant Latham & Watkins – have been granted foreign law licences that will enable them to open their own offices in Saudi Arabia. IMO this had to happen even earlier the PIC added 12 more branches in the Middle East alone and law firms need to capture this momentum as fast as they can.

 

[j.s.cox]

Hi! I haven't heard from you in a while. How goes the TC journey?

 

[Mohamed Ashour]

Thanks @j.s.cox for checking on my journey!
After much thought, introspection and consulting my trusted friends, I have decided not to pursue a career in law all together, I found that it doesn't suit my ambition. I've decided to invest the same resources to pursue an MBA and to manage my family's business and reach new heights in my home country and serve my community and give back some of what I've been given. gathering knowledge and using it to make change has always been my priority and dream, I just decided to do it in a different manner. I believe this concludes my goal to become a solicitor.

Can't thank the whole community here enough!
I've talked much on this being a journey not a sales target and indeed it was, I've learned much and met incredible people whom I won't forget!
Thanks, TCLA!
also, many Thanks to @Ghana M. who helped me through many reviews and have been and still an exceptionally good friend you're nearly there GHANA!
@Jaysen man you're an absolute legend man!
and to @Jessica Booker and the calls they were and still unbelievably valuable to me!

Goodbye TCLA