Ask A Graduate Recruiter Anything!

[Bee6]

Hi Jessica! I was wondering if Freshfields' WG test is timed?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica! I was wondering if Freshfields' WG test is timed?

I don’t know unfortunately - I would assume it is though.

 

[ALawP]

Very normal.

The grad rec/development teams are at one of the busiest times of the year with recruitment, preparing for next year’s recruitment cycle, getting ready for all their new marketing campaign, preparing for onboarding their September intake, getting people ready for law school, qualification processes, seat rotations etc.

And also people take leave at this time of year too!

How long have you been waiting for answers on your questions and how important are the questions?

Hi Jessica,

I received an offer on Tuesday 28th and was told to confirm my acceptance by Friday 30th COB - i confirmed just before 5.30 but haven’t heard anything since provisionally accepting via Email. I have since sent email chasers and voicemails requesting that the contract documents be sent to me but I have not received a response. Can a firm revoke your offer once you’ve provisionally accepted?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

I received an offer on Tuesday 28th and was told to confirm my acceptance by Friday 30th COB - i confirmed just before 5.30 but haven’t heard anything since provisionally accepting via Email. I have since sent email chasers and voicemails requesting that the contract documents be sent to me but I have not received a response. Can a firm revoke your offer once you’ve provisionally accepted?

Yes, a firm could revoke an offer. But that isn't what has happened here.

Contracts can take a while to be sent to you. All it could take is for someone to be out of the office unexpectedly and there can be delays. But it isn't in known for contracts to take a couple of weeks to be sent to you.

You have chased up, through several means by the sounds of it. You just need to be patient and wait to hear back. If you haven't heard anything by the start of the w/c 16 August, then call them again.

 

[ALawP]

Yes, a firm could revoke an offer. But that isn't what has happened here.

Contracts can take a while to be sent to you. All it could take is for someone to be out of the office unexpectedly and there can be delays. But it isn't in known for contracts to take a couple of weeks to be sent to you.

You have chased up, through several means by the sounds of it. You just need to be patient and wait to hear back. If you haven't heard anything by the start of the w/c 16 August, then call them again.

Thanks Jessica!

 

[Legalregal]

A form I have to fill out pre interview asks for the contact details of two reference which it states should be your last two employers. Does this include voluntary? If not, for my second reference I'll have to give a summer job in the USA from 2017

 

[Jessica Booker]

A form I have to fill out pre interview asks for the contact details of two reference which it states should be your last two employers. Does this include voluntary? If not, for my second reference I'll have to give a summer job in the USA from 2017

Yes voluntary jobs would be appropriate if they are on your CV/application.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. Is it necessary/good to stretch your "why commercial law" answer and also mention stuff about how your interest developed in the core practice area of the firm that you are interviewing at? Or would that be considered a bit needless?

Thanks

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. Is it necessary/good to stretch your "why commercial law" answer and also mention stuff about how your interest developed in the core practice area of the firm that you are interviewing at? Or would that be considered a bit needless?

Thanks

Yes, you can focus on practice areas that are specifically of interest to you.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. Could you please answer a question that I have regarding application strategy?
The question is, is it completely fine to not write/mention deals? To be honest, I feel that the only unique part about deal dropping is why that deal interested me in the first place. The rest of the answer is pretty standard. It involves great intricacies of law involved in the deal which obviously the applicant has to agree to and for this reason, I feel quite unnatural even when I imagine mentioning them in the app/interview. Or it could also be that I don't know how to use deals properly to make the desired point.

Thanks

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. Could you please answer a question that I have regarding application strategy?
The question is, is it completely fine to not write/mention deals? To be honest, I feel that the only unique part about deal dropping is why that deal interested me in the first place. The rest of the answer is pretty standard. It involves great intricacies of law involved in the deal which obviously the applicant has to agree to and for this reason, I feel quite unnatural even when I imagine mentioning them in the app/interview. Or it could also be that I don't know how to use deals properly to make the desired point.

Thanks

Yes - there is no requirement to mention a deal unless it's integral to your motivation for applying.

 

[RoughWood]

Hi Jessica,

I have recently been promoted to Operations and Legal Manager and my duties now include contract drafting and reviews, drafting distributor agreements, NDA's, Terms of Sale and purchase agreements. I also manage tenancy agreements, trademarks and patents, all of which are then signed off by our external law firm for use.

As I work for a company, not a law firm, would this be considered to be legal work experience on an application? Do you think any of these duties would be considered as prior experience for the SRA, as I don't work in a law firm I am not sure as they state it as experience in legal environment.

I appreciate any input/advice on how to best leverage these experiences!

Thank you

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

I have recently been promoted to Operations and Legal Manager and my duties now include contract drafting and reviews, drafting distributor agreements, NDA's, Terms of Sale and purchase agreements. I also manage tenancy agreements, trademarks and patents, all of which are then signed off by our external law firm for use.

As I work for a company, not a law firm, would this be considered to be legal work experience on an application? Do you think any of these duties would be considered as prior experience for the SRA, as I don't work in a law firm I am not sure as they state it as experience in legal environment.

I appreciate any input/advice on how to best leverage these experiences!

Thank you

The SRA will no longer regulate qualifying work experience under the SQE. You’d have to get the experienced signed off by a qualified lawyer or a compliance officer.

If you are qualifying under the existing route, you’d need to look into the requirements under the equivalent means qualification process.
The SRA will no longer regulate qualifying work experience under the SQE. You’d have to get the experienced signed off by a qualified lawyer or a compliance officer.

 

[RoughWood]

The SRA will no longer regulate qualifying work experience under the SQE. You’d have to get the experienced signed off by a qualified lawyer or a compliance officer.

If you are qualifying under the existing route, you’d need to look into the requirements under the equivalent means qualification process.
The SRA will no longer regulate qualifying work experience under the SQE. You’d have to get the experienced signed off by a qualified lawyer or a compliance officer.

Thank you for clarifying, would this be considered to be legal work experience on a TC application? Or just regular employment history as I don't work at a law firm?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you for clarifying, would this be considered to be legal work experience on a TC application? Or just regular employment history as I don't work at a law firm?

Yes - it’s legal work experience for an application basis.

Legal work experience isn’t limited to law firms.

 

[RoughWood]

Yes - it’s legal work experience for an application basis.

Legal work experience isn’t limited to law firms.

Thanks Jessica, great to know!

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. Could you tell me if the question "Why do you want to be a commercial lawyer at an international law firm?" is a mix of "Why commercial law?" and "Why do you want to work for a city firm instead of your home country?"

Thanks.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. Could you tell me if the question "Why do you want to be a commercial lawyer at an international law firm?" is a mix of "Why commercial law?" and "Why do you want to work for a city firm instead of your home country?"

Thanks.

I don’t think it’s really covering the latter. You can be an international commercial lawyer in many locations. I think it is really asking you what is it about the international work that appeals to you.

 

[djqb]

Hi Jessica, it's been nearly 6 weeks since I completed a WG test for a direct TC and I'm yet to hear back.

Should I email GR to ask politely for a status update?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica, it's been nearly 6 weeks since I completed a WG test for a direct TC and I'm yet to hear back.

Should I email GR to ask politely for a status update?

Personally I wouldn’t chase unless you know a lot of other people are hearing back.