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<blockquote data-quote="George Maxwell" data-source="post: 89191" data-attributes="member: 17165"><p>Hello everyone!</p><p></p><p>Despite being a little late to the party, it is a real pleasure to be posting on here. My name is George and I am a future trainee at Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF). I am genuinely excited to be taking on this role with <a href="https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/members/17155/" target="_blank"><strong>@AvniD</strong></a> and <a href="https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/members/16764/" target="_blank"><strong>@James Carrabino</strong></a> (who are both scarily impressive as they will make very clear I am sure!).</p><p></p><p>I am currently studying the PGDL at BPP Waterloo, having just finished my undergraduate degree at Warwick University where I studied PPE.</p><p></p><p>People often said that I should think about becoming a lawyer because I liked to argue(!). When I was younger, I was also one of those children always looking to start little businesses. I liked the idea of using language to simplify complex ideas and of persuading others for a living. I also particularly enjoy working in a team and think I will do best being part of a larger organisation. I was therefore attracted to commercial law, specifically the solicitor route.</p><p></p><p>My first experience of commercial law was in the Netherlands in the Easter of my first year. I wanted to combine travelling with an internship (this is definitely a theme in my training contract journey!). I was lucky enough to speak directly with a client during a lunch with a Partner overlooking Amsterdam. It was all pretty exciting.</p><p></p><p>I quickly realised that I preferred working with words than numbers. I did my second year in Canada and then did an internship in Mongolia (again very cool), which largely involved researching property trends in emerging markets. This experience confirmed that I enjoyed writing discursive articles more than gathering data (and working with numbers!).</p><p></p><p>I spent my third year studying at Sciences Po in Lyon (France). By this point, I had decided that commercial law was something I should seriously consider. I applied to three vacation schemes, hearing back from two and being progressed to interview for one (Slaughter and May). I was unsuccessful but I found my interview invigorating. This experience inspired me to focus my efforts on applying to commercial law firms, with a view to obtaining a training contract.</p><p></p><p>Over the following summer (and lockdown), I reached out to a large number of trainees and associates at different firms, trying to find out about their experiences, how they ended up at their firm and why they become a lawyer (as well as other things!). I was also interested in finding out what "type" of firm would suit me best, using this time to reflect on what I really wanted to get out of my career. I am still beyond grateful to those that helped me. Becoming a Community Manager is part of the process of me “paying back” the kindness that people showed me when I was applying. That cycle I interviewed at a variety of firms, being rejected post-interview from three or four. However, I was lucky enough to be offered five vacation scheme places*, three of which I accepted (largely due to clashes with other things). I cannot emphasise enough, I did not expect to progress with this many firms, nor was I someone who was “always going to”. The process is, to some extent, down to luck.</p><p></p><p>I completed my vacation schemes, obtaining an offer from each.</p><p></p><p>I chose HSF for a number of reasons, including the range of seats available, a larger trainee cohort and the emphasis on structured training (as well as its reputation for litigation/contentious work). It was not an easy decision. I really did enjoy my vacation schemes and admired the firms for different reasons. That being said, I am delighted and feel proud to be training at HSF.</p><p></p><p>I feel that my success was rooted in my dedication to the process and always being enthusiastic. I also made a point of being myself throughout. Interviewers, supervisors, application reviewers (even other vacation schemers) are people too. Being a robot (or trying to hide your true self), however good your impression, just is not a good idea. Be yourself! In the short term it is important because people can always tell if someone is not being themselves which can be really off-putting. In the long-term, it is in your interest too. You will have to be yourself at some point and you want to make sure that the real “you” fits in wherever you end up.</p><p></p><p>This list is non-exhaustive, however I feel like I am best-suited to answering questions about:</p><p></p><p>-Resilience and keeping motivated</p><p></p><p>-Interviews/Assessment Centres</p><p></p><p>-US vs. UK law firms (specifically vacation schemes)</p><p></p><p>-Making strong applications</p><p></p><p>-Balancing university and making applications</p><p></p><p>-Networking</p><p></p><p>I really look forward to answering questions and providing guidance on the forum wherever I can add value. Please do also reach out to me directly if you would like to discuss something confidential. Unfortunately, I will not be able to answer direct messages unless they fall into this category. Due to capacity limitations (as well as being in the interests of other members), wherever possible we would appreciate it if you could post your questions on the public threads (just tag us as we are happy to help).</p><p></p><p>*these firms were: Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Norton Rose Fulbright, White & Case, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and HSF.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="George Maxwell, post: 89191, member: 17165"] Hello everyone! Despite being a little late to the party, it is a real pleasure to be posting on here. My name is George and I am a future trainee at Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF). I am genuinely excited to be taking on this role with [URL='https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/members/17155/'][B]@AvniD[/B][/URL] and [URL='https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/members/16764/'][B]@James Carrabino[/B][/URL] (who are both scarily impressive as they will make very clear I am sure!). I am currently studying the PGDL at BPP Waterloo, having just finished my undergraduate degree at Warwick University where I studied PPE. People often said that I should think about becoming a lawyer because I liked to argue(!). When I was younger, I was also one of those children always looking to start little businesses. I liked the idea of using language to simplify complex ideas and of persuading others for a living. I also particularly enjoy working in a team and think I will do best being part of a larger organisation. I was therefore attracted to commercial law, specifically the solicitor route. My first experience of commercial law was in the Netherlands in the Easter of my first year. I wanted to combine travelling with an internship (this is definitely a theme in my training contract journey!). I was lucky enough to speak directly with a client during a lunch with a Partner overlooking Amsterdam. It was all pretty exciting. I quickly realised that I preferred working with words than numbers. I did my second year in Canada and then did an internship in Mongolia (again very cool), which largely involved researching property trends in emerging markets. This experience confirmed that I enjoyed writing discursive articles more than gathering data (and working with numbers!). I spent my third year studying at Sciences Po in Lyon (France). By this point, I had decided that commercial law was something I should seriously consider. I applied to three vacation schemes, hearing back from two and being progressed to interview for one (Slaughter and May). I was unsuccessful but I found my interview invigorating. This experience inspired me to focus my efforts on applying to commercial law firms, with a view to obtaining a training contract. Over the following summer (and lockdown), I reached out to a large number of trainees and associates at different firms, trying to find out about their experiences, how they ended up at their firm and why they become a lawyer (as well as other things!). I was also interested in finding out what "type" of firm would suit me best, using this time to reflect on what I really wanted to get out of my career. I am still beyond grateful to those that helped me. Becoming a Community Manager is part of the process of me “paying back” the kindness that people showed me when I was applying. That cycle I interviewed at a variety of firms, being rejected post-interview from three or four. However, I was lucky enough to be offered five vacation scheme places*, three of which I accepted (largely due to clashes with other things). I cannot emphasise enough, I did not expect to progress with this many firms, nor was I someone who was “always going to”. The process is, to some extent, down to luck. I completed my vacation schemes, obtaining an offer from each. I chose HSF for a number of reasons, including the range of seats available, a larger trainee cohort and the emphasis on structured training (as well as its reputation for litigation/contentious work). It was not an easy decision. I really did enjoy my vacation schemes and admired the firms for different reasons. That being said, I am delighted and feel proud to be training at HSF. I feel that my success was rooted in my dedication to the process and always being enthusiastic. I also made a point of being myself throughout. Interviewers, supervisors, application reviewers (even other vacation schemers) are people too. Being a robot (or trying to hide your true self), however good your impression, just is not a good idea. Be yourself! In the short term it is important because people can always tell if someone is not being themselves which can be really off-putting. In the long-term, it is in your interest too. You will have to be yourself at some point and you want to make sure that the real “you” fits in wherever you end up. This list is non-exhaustive, however I feel like I am best-suited to answering questions about: -Resilience and keeping motivated -Interviews/Assessment Centres -US vs. UK law firms (specifically vacation schemes) -Making strong applications -Balancing university and making applications -Networking I really look forward to answering questions and providing guidance on the forum wherever I can add value. Please do also reach out to me directly if you would like to discuss something confidential. Unfortunately, I will not be able to answer direct messages unless they fall into this category. Due to capacity limitations (as well as being in the interests of other members), wherever possible we would appreciate it if you could post your questions on the public threads (just tag us as we are happy to help). *these firms were: Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Norton Rose Fulbright, White & Case, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and HSF. [/QUOTE]
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