Ask Reed Smith Anything! (2026-27)

[BealMcAlly]

Good morning Rebecca and Rik!

Thank you for taking time out of your day to answer our questions. I am mostly interested in knowing more about how you assess the video interview stage. It's my third time applying and I want to make sure I can finally get to AC as Reed Smith has been in my top three for the last two cycles.

1. Strength-based questions: How much space should our experiences take in these answers? Would you expect just a brief mention of a time we faced a similar scenario as a way of backing up our reasoning or are we expected to give a detailed explanation of how we dealt with xyz?

2. Motivational questions: How much are we encouraged to speak about Reed Smith's culture compared to the type of work we would be expected to do and what we may learn at Reed Smith? I have found it hard to balance this as there's so much to talk about and I often felt I ran out of time.

Additionally, are we marked down if we reiterate something we put in our written application in our video interviews? A lot of it may overlap, would you say to hold off some points in either stage so it paints a bigger picture holistically or would you say it's fine to have some common themes?

And finally one for Hollie, how much support has the firm given you from the point of offer? Do you find that your knowledge of the firm has grown massively compared to when you were going through the application stage, and what is one thing you would do differently having more knowledge on the firm?

 

[henry1050]

Hello everyone! Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. My question was what is the key difference between a good, a great, and an outstanding application? Once again, thank you for being here today!

 

[Winifred]

Hi @RikPalmer-ReedSmith, thank you for this opportunity. I attended the Legal Cheek Law Fair, and I really appreciated your insight on answering the Open Day application questions for Reed Smith.

My question today is about the eligibility of foreign-qualified lawyers to apply for training contracts at Reed Smith. Is the training contract open to foreign-qualified lawyers, especially given that I have not qualified in the United Kingdom and did not practice in any of the seats that I am now interested in at Reed Smith?

 

[ReedSmithBecca]

Good morning!

For Rebecca and Rik: How much weight is given to open day attendance when it comes to later stages of the application?

For Grace and Hollie: Was there a moment in the process that made you feel like Reed Smith was the right fit, beyond what you could independently research about the firm?

Open Day attendance alone is not considered at all by us - it doesn't give an advantage to candidates.
However, attending can definitely help candidates with written applications and VI responses as it will deepen your knowledge of the firm. If you write about it, it can also be good evidence that you've researched the firm and have a genuine interest in us.
So in summary, just attending an open day won't help, but if you use the insights from it in your applications, they can help.

 

[Finnc890]

What makes the firms training contract unique?
Would you describe the training processes as formal classroom based learning or more by way of osmosis by being surrounded by excellent lawyers?

 

[aspex]

Hi, I hope you’re all doing well! I had a question for current trainees. How often do you get to do work in the entertainment and media sector (e.g. in relation to film & TV, music, gaming, etc.)? And is this work more transactional-based, non-contentious, or a mix of both?

 

[Grace - Reed Smith]

Hi there, I am Grace, a Professional SQE intern and future trainee at Reed Smith. My job involves supporting the Early Careers team at Reed Smith alongside my SQE studies. Please feel free to ask me anything!

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Hi, brief question.

RS only accepts one application per cycle - does this just apply to VS and TC, or does it include open days?

Thanks for your time.

Good morning,

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions! I am applying for the Firm's open day and have a couple of questions about the application.

For Rik and Rebecca:
1. For the second question on the Open Day Application (about what practice or industry groups you’re interested in), is it more important to show examples of curiosity (e.g. I researched xyz) or examples of personal links to/interest in the industry group?

For the trainees Grace and Hollie:
1. Did you/someone you know attend an open day at RS? What was your favourite part? What was the most useful takeaway?
2. It’s impressive to see the recent trainee retention was 92% - do you have any insight into why it was such a good year/what you guys/the firm did particularly well?

Thanks!

Hi There, The best advice is to answer the question as we have asked it. We want to see what passion you have. So its going to be a bit of research to show motivation, mixed with a genuine interest in finding out more

 

[Hollie - Reed Smith]

Good morning!

For Rebecca and Rik: How much weight is given to open day attendance when it comes to later stages of the application?

For Grace and Hollie: Was there a moment in the process that made you feel like Reed Smith was the right fit, beyond what you could independently research about the firm?

Thanks for your question. Personally, I think having the opportunity to talk to trainees, associates, and partners beforehand demonstrated how passionate they were about both their work and the firm itself. I got to find out more about the kind of matters they work on, but also how they find the firm as a whole. This suggested to me that Reed Smith offers exciting and complex work, but also a welcoming environment to work in. I saw this same passion from everyone I met during my assessment centre and this, again, confirmed that I could see myself growing and developing professionally at the firm.

 

[Finnc890]

What makes the firms training contract unique?
Would you describe the training processes as formal classroom based learning or is it more centred around learning by way of osmosis through being surrounded by excellent lawyers.
Thank you

 

[Visaalakshi]

Hi there! Two questions for the trainees:
1. What made you choose Reed Smith? Was there any moment where you realised that this is where you want to train?
2. Would you have any advice on preparing for and performing well in the video interview? I have previously found it awkward meaning that I haven’t answered in the best way I can.

Thank you for taking the time to do this!

 

[BealMcAlly]

@RikPalmer-ReedSmith @ReedSmithBecca

One more please! On our work experience section, would you say you like to see candidates speak more about impact compared to what they did on a given job?

I am a career changer from quite a technical background and I find it hard to communicate what my job is without eating up a lot of space explaining my role. Also would grouping be recommended in instances where the job has been the same but with a different company on fixed-term contracts?

 

[ReedSmithBecca]

I have one more question as well! For the recorded video interview, what do the strongest responses tend to have in common, and are there any common mistakes you see candidates make? Thank you!

The similar mistakes are quite common (e.g AI generated scripts, not tailored enough). Another one is responses that aren't well structured and rambling. We'd like to see a intro, main body of an answer and then a conclusion. As an applicant, this can also help keep you on track and ensure you've fully answered the question.
For scenarios, some applicants also spend too long on examples, which can come at the expense of fully answering the question. An example should enhance an example (so taking 30-50% of your response time), but not overshadow it.

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Hi Reed Smith!

I was interested in applying to the firm and am in the process of applying for the Open Day.

My question was what qualities does Reed Smith look for in an outstanding candidate? Also for the work experience would you prefer bullet points or prose paragraphs?

For the future trainees, what was the main draw of Reed Smith, and why did you choose the firm over other firms?

Best wishes,

Jas

Hi Jas,

I would say the key thing we want to see is that the candidate has a genuine interest in the Reed Smith and our open day. So we want to see that specifically our firm is your interest, and the things you want to get from it can't be found by just a google.

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Good morning,

I am currently working on my Open Day application and was wondering whether we should focus on what the Open Day entails and what we will gain from it or why we want to learn more about the firm.

For future trainees, what advice would you give someone at the start of this application cycle to help make it successful?

Thank you for your time.

Hi Sophie - Its a bit of everything. If you are refining down what to include just think "Has the question specifically asked me about this" if not, in most cases, its not relevant.

 

[Hollie - Reed Smith]

Good morning,

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions! I am applying for the Firm's open day and have a couple of questions about the application.

For Rik and Rebecca:
1. For the second question on the Open Day Application (about what practice or industry groups you’re interested in), is it more important to show examples of curiosity (e.g. I researched xyz) or examples of personal links to/interest in the industry group?

For the trainees Grace and Hollie:
1. Did you/someone you know attend an open day at RS? What was your favourite part? What was the most useful takeaway?
2. It’s impressive to see the recent trainee retention was 92% - do you have any insight into why it was such a good year/what you guys/the firm did particularly well?

Thanks!

Thanks for your question.
I didn't attend an open day, unfortunately. However, I think open days do offer some valuable insight into the firm and what it has to offer. They give you a chance to see the firm, meet people from Reed Smith, and ask any questions to inform your decision on applying.
Regarding the retention rate, I think something that Reed Smith does really well is bringing a trainee cohort together. Rather than being made to feel as though you are competing against one another, you are encouraged to support one another where possible. This ensures that everyone can learn from other trainee experiences and, in my opinion, maximises professional development and growth. As a current PSQE Intern and future trainee solicitor, I'm already growing close with my cohort with the firm's encouragement!

 

[mannat]

Hi Rik,

Thanks for answering my previous question. Just another quick one - can we reference events we attended with the firm 1-2 application cycles ago in this application cycle? For example, I attended an AS Reed Smith Open Day and still remember the valuable insights from the day - so does referencing it now look bad? (The event was not referenced in an application anytime before)

 

[Grace - Reed Smith]

Good morning!

For Rebecca and Rik: How much weight is given to open day attendance when it comes to later stages of the application?

For Grace and Hollie: Was there a moment in the process that made you feel like Reed Smith was the right fit, beyond what you could independently research about the firm?

Hi there!

The high levels of direct mentorship from partners and being entrusted with client-facing tasks on my Vacation Scheme showed me that Reed Smith cared deeply about my learning and development even at the early stages of my career. Such commitment to my professional and personal growth made the firm stand out to me.

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Hi everyone! I hope you’re doing well. I had a couple of questions for grad rec:

1. Is the online assessment (High Potential Legal Assessment) an Amberjack test?

2. Is the online assessment timed, and if untimed, is the time spent completing the assessment considered when deciding whether to progress applicants to the next stage?

3. Does the video interview only ask strength-based and motivational questions, or are competency, commercial and situational questions asked as well?

4. Do the strength-based questions in the video interview include competency questions?

Thank you for your time!

Hi there,

Hope you are well too

1. Yes - Amberjack is our provider
2. The test section is not timed and we don't consider the time when move candidates to the next stage
3. The video focuses on your strenghts and motivations but these could be tested through Commercial awareness and situational questions, so be prepared for all types of questions
4. The questions don't require competency answers but you might choose to include examples of strengths, so its good to have prepared if you have relevant experiences you might want to talk about.

 

[ReedSmithBecca]

Hello, thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions! I noticed Reed Smith has a very sector-focused approach, while also putting a lot of emphasis on AI and legal innovation. How do you see those two things working together as AI changes the way different industries and clients operate?

The two things naturally work together - the sector approach is about how the firm is structured and how we work for our clients.
As an example, we don't just have departments only focusing on traditional practice areas. We also have our industry groups. So in our Energy and Natural Resources Group, we have lawyers that specialise in transactional, regulatory and disputes, but all for clients working in this sector. This means that their advice is tailored not just to the law but also to that specific client and the nuances of their industry.
The innovation focus is pervasive across all departments and is more about exploring new ways of working to ensure that we're working in the most efficient and effective way for our clients.