Business simulation group exercise

[Ali]

Hi all,

I was wondering if someone would very kindly guide me on the following. I have an assessment centre coming up which will include business simulation group exercise. I understand the "group exercise" bit but not sure about the "business simulation" part. What can I expect? How does it differ from typical group exercises?

Also, I'm told I'd have to do a "drafting exercise" but they have not specified whether it'll be a commercial written exercise or some other. Any thoughts?

Many thanks for taking the time out to answer, it is immensely appreciated.

Alistair

 

[Jaysen]

Hey Alistair,

I'm not sure if @DeletedMember21 is still around, but she asked about a business simulation group exercise some time ago. You can find my advice on these exercises here: https://thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/help-with-tc-assessments.45/#post-273. Based on the questions she asked, it seems you may be applying to similar firms.

Typically, your group will be given a fictional case study and you will need to work together to achieve a particular objective. The content of what you are doing might be different to a typical group exercise, but the assessment will be the same: How do you operate in a group? How do you communicate? How well do you get on with others?

The drafting exercise is usually a written exercise. You might be asked to draft an email or memo to a lawyer or client. You could also be asked to draft a clause for a contract (I know @rhyu96 had one of these recently, so he may be able to share some advice).

Any further questions let me know.

 

[Ali]

Hi Jaysen,

Thank you for the prompt reply. I have had a look at the advice you previously gave, and it looks great. So I imagine there would be some information and goals of the company, accompanied by a list of objectives from which the group will have to pick one that is most suited to the company? Is that what you meant by achieving particular objective? I'm sorry if it's a terribly naive question, I've never been to an AC before so just trying to figure out exactly what I may encounter at WC.

You are right in your estimation, my questions are also in relation to W&C - I've tried to contact @DeletedMember21 but I can't seem to access her profile and send a message. Is there anyone else you might be able to put me in touch with who has done these exercises at W&C? Please let me know if that is at all possible.

First time I've come across a firm asking a candidate to draft a clause, so that's interesting! Yes, if you (@rhyu96) are able to share some advice, that'd be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

A

 

[rhyu96]

Hi Alistair,

The firm I had applied to was very property focused, which influenced the exercise. The client wanted to buy a house with his brother and the task was to draft clauses for a deed e.g client would have a greater share in the property if he made more payments towards the mortgage. I also had to write an e-mail to the client explaining the clauses and encouraging them to instruct other departments within the firm. In terms of advice, the firm said they wanted candidates to give the client a good number of options and they were grading based on tone and how persuasive they were (for the email). So the focus it seems more on whether you are able to think of options - which goes to your commercial awareness. I'm still not sure on how you could prepare for these exercises as it very much depends on the area they pick on the day and I think there's less of an emphasis on getting legal wording exactly right, so you could not prepare much in that sense. I would just focus on being clear and taking the commercial factors into account and recommending options in simple language - you could brainstorm common issues their key clients face, see what the firm does generally in these scenarios and practice writing e-mails to clients in which you summarise legal concepts.

I think it's more likely you'll get something like review documents related to a potential target for a merger and advise the client on whether they should go ahead. I got that for Osborne Clarke, and it just involved drafting an e-mail summarising key legal issues and advising on next steps. For these you just have to make sure that you spend time planning how you will set out the email, so that it is clear and identify any risks in terms of future liability/additional costs/ reputational damage etc.

Hope this helps!

 

[Ali]

That is brilliantly informative, thank you so very much!

 

[Jaysen]

Hi Alistair,

The firm I had applied to was very property focused, which influenced the exercise. The client wanted to buy a house with his brother and the task was to draft clauses for a deed e.g client would have a greater share in the property if he made more payments towards the mortgage. I also had to write an e-mail to the client explaining the clauses and encouraging them to instruct other departments within the firm. In terms of advice, the firm said they wanted candidates to give the client a good number of options and they were grading based on tone and how persuasive they were (for the email). So the focus it seems more on whether you are able to think of options - which goes to your commercial awareness. I'm still not sure on how you could prepare for these exercises as it very much depends on the area they pick on the day and I think there's less of an emphasis on getting legal wording exactly right, so you could not prepare much in that sense. I would just focus on being clear and taking the commercial factors into account and recommending options in simple language - you could brainstorm common issues their key clients face, see what the firm does generally in these scenarios and practice writing e-mails to clients in which you summarise legal concepts.

I think it's more likely you'll get something like review documents related to a potential target for a merger and advise the client on whether they should go ahead. I got that for Osborne Clarke, and it just involved drafting an e-mail summarising key legal issues and advising on next steps. For these you just have to make sure that you spend time planning how you will set out the email, so that it is clear and identify any risks in terms of future liability/additional costs/ reputational damage etc.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for sharing this - great help!