Clifford Chance Interview 2021

[BK]

Please state the month/year you interviewed at the firm.
February 2021

Please specify what the interview was for.
Direct Training Contract

Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.

1. 10-15 minute Graduate Recruitment Welcome
2. (around) 30 minute Written Exercise
3. 75 minute Commercial Interview with 1 Partner and 1 Senior Associate

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

Written Exercise: - You are given approximately 30 minutes to read a short article (4-5 pages) on an article by Clifford Chance. The topic will generally require some wider knowledge of commercial trends - ESG, Tech, etc. - You have to write an email to a client, summarising the key issues of the article - all within the 30 minutes given to you.

Commercial Interview: - 75 minutes - they do not discuss your written response with you, but will discuss wider issues relating to the article you will have just read during the written exercise. It is generally a 50:50 split between commercial and competency/motivation questions.

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.

Written exercise advice:
- Practice writing client emails, memos and reports. I felt that practicing helped me get on with the task way quicker and it saved a lot of time. One of the key things they are looking for is whether you can write in a clear, structured way. Have clear headings, signpost and remember the formalities.
- Practice condensing thick amounts of information. The article I was given included a graph, so familiarise yourself with interpreting graphs quickly, as you may be asked about it in the actual interview too.
- Pay attention to who you are writing to. Is it a a partner? Another colleague? A client? What type of client is it: buy side or sell side? My instructions clearly stated that the client was a bank, so make sure to pay close attention to the instructions!

Interview advice:
- Familiarise yourself with the wider commercial and legal trends that are going on.
- Make sure you know the basics: fundamentals of a business, business strategies, basic SWOT/PESTLE analysis. (Clifford Chance have a great video on this on their Youtube Channel!)
- Have stellar answers to "Why Clifford Chance", "Why you", "Why law". - Above all, I feel that Clifford Chance pay attention to the type of person you are. Build rapport from the very beginning!
- Have a mixture of personal and commercial questions to ask them at the end.

Were you successful?
Yes

 

[BK]

Please state the month/year you interviewed at the firm.
February 2021

Please specify what the interview was for.
Direct Training Contract 2023

Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.
9 to 9.15am - (virtual) arrival and introduction from graduate recruitment. 9.30 to 10am - case study exercise that will also form part of your interview.
9.30 to 10.45am - general and commercial interview with one partner and senior associate.

Please provide a summary of each assessment on the day with approximate timings.
Case study: 30 minutes to read around 15 pages of a Clifford Chance Thought Leadership report and write an email to a client summarising key points to address their problems.

Interview: 35 to 45 minutes is spent discussing the case study report and ask a few commercial questions. They then ask a few general competency questions before elevating 10 minutes for questions.

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.

Written case study: The article is usually a report from CC’s Thought Leadership pieces. Reading some of these beforehand can be helpful. Essentially these are reports lawyers from the firm have produced on certain contentious issues/topics. I received a report that centred on the rise of International Arbitration dispute resolutions in Chinese construction/belt and road initiative projects. You only have 30 minutes so make sure you plan your time appropriately, I did slip up on the timing and had to rush towards the end (don’t make the same mistake). They want you to write an email to a client/partner summarising key points from the report (the question varies). Make sure you read the report properly and make notes, because during the interview they will ask you about it.

Interview: CC barely asks any competency questions (there was just one towards the end). Remember it is CV blind, they only know what you tell them (so you can shape their understanding of who you are). This also means that they will definitely ask you to summarise who you are in the beginning, prepare for this, but do not sound too scripted. CC’s questions are very commercial - keep abreast of current affairs. I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to research the firm thoroughly, as you can tell from the aforementioned interview questions, you need to know the firm very well (looking at the website is not enough, speak to people, what is the firm good at specifically and why does that interest you). Don’t just mention capital markets and expect that to be suffice, you need to be very specific, what type of work interests you. If you are interviewing for a TC, they will be harsher in observing you, slacking in any one of these areas can be detrimental. For example, when I received the offer, grad rec told me that candidates are marked out of 40, so you need to make sure you get as many marks as possible.

Attitude and behaviour is also a definite contributor. Both my interviewers were quite stern, but I kept up my cheerful demeanour and received really good feedback on this.

Were you successful?
Yes