Baker McKenzie Interview 2021

[Elizabeth K]

Please state the month/year you interviewed at the firm.

March 2021

Please specify what the interview was for.

Summer vacation scheme

Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.

9am - Log on, instructions and chat with the other candidates
9:20am - Document review exercise
9:40am - Competency Interview with an associate
10:30am - Group task
11:30am - Read through case study
12:00pm - Case study interview

Please provide a summary of each assessment on the day with approximate timings.

1. Introductions and general chat with candidates (15-20 mins).
2. Document review exercise (15 mins). I was given a contract and had to identify any mistakes and briefly say what was wrong (e.g., spelling, grammar, numbering etc).
3. Competency interview (45 mins). This was a standard interview assessing my motivation for law, Baker McKenzie and my skills. We also had a discussion about a commercial topic that I was interested in.
4. Group task (45 mins). We were given a mock business scenario to read through individually (around 10 mins) and then had to prepare a presentation as a group on recommendations for business expansion based on the information.
5. Case study interview (1 hour). I was given 30 minutes to read through a business case study and think about some questions that I was given on the information. In the interview I then presented my answers and expanded on some of my points with guidance from the interviewers. Then there was a general conversation about my motivation for law and Baker McKenzie.

What is your best advice for each aspect of the assessment on the day? Please break this down for each assessment. This can include advice for preparation, as well as tips for the day.

1. Chat with candidates. Whilst this isn't assessed, graduate recruitment were on the call whilst we introduced ourselves and get to know one another so it's an opportunity to make a good first impression. It can also be useful for the group task as you get an insight into the group's personalities which can impact how you go about working as a team.
2. Document review exercise. Time management is key as you want to get through the whole contract, not spending too long on each page but identifying as many errors as possible.
3. Competency interview. With the competency questions, the interviewer wanted to know about experiences that I hadn't spoken about in my application and so it is important to know your application well and also have more experiences to draw upon. I had a commercial topic that I was particularly interested in, had opinions on and could discuss from multiple angles - I would recommend finding your own niche as it makes for a more interesting discussion.
4. Group task. I found that the time for reading the material went really quickly and there was a lot of information - try to focus on the most important parts and make sure that you definitely read the final section as this is different for each candidate and therefore it is crucial that you feed this back to the group. Make sure that you voice opinions, but then let others speak and make sure that everyone is contributing/feels supported.
5. Case study interview. General commercial awareness is really important for this interview (e.g., big tech, relations with China and Russia, ESG etc) so I would suggest reading the news in the lead up to your AC and making sure that you are familiar with general political/economic issues - there was no real legal knowledge needed at all, it was more about my understanding of global events and the impact on law firms, clients and Baker McKenzie specifically.

Were you successful?

No