General Discussion Thread 2020-21
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Thank you so much! It’s a group negotiation, a written exercise and an interview (includes a case study)
Hi @kls
To prepare for case study based scenario interviews I would suggest becoming familiar with legal terms relevant to M&A transactions as this is the basis of most case studies. A good place to start is to consider:
1. What is a Sales Purchase Agreement (SPA)?
2. What is the difference between a Share v Asset Purchase and the advantages and disadvantages of either?
3. What are the different ways to finance an acquisition e.g. via equity or debt?
4. What are some ways to absolve liability in a contract e.g. the use of conditions, warranties, and indemnities
5. What are some key due diligence issues e.g. outstanding liabilities, employment & staffing concerns, IP concerns (e.g. licensing agreements), the existence of clauses such as change of control clauses, competition and tax concerns etc.
These are just some useful ideas to get you thinking, but I have linked below one of our extremely helpful guides which should provide greater insight! https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/mergers-and-acquisitions-case-study/
For written exercises- I think these are twofold. You'll need the legal knowledge above firstly, then the next focus is on your presentation skills. For this my advice would be:
1. Remember who your audience is - if it is a client ( more succinct/ less legal jargon), if another solicitor e.g. a partner or associate still keep in mind the format of your information e.g. if it is an email keep it brief.
2. Clarity- I personally often used headings to keep my information clear and easy to read
These are some of my key tips. @Jacob Miller recently wrote some great articles which I have linked below.
Definitive Guide to Law Firm Case Studies! *Monday Article Series*
Hi all, please see below the third of my Monday Article Series! This week is my definitive guide to case studies. It's a long one - you might want to go get a coffee and settle in! Introduction This week’s Monday Article will cover how to approach law firm case studies, one of the most...
www.thecorporatelawacademy.com
Definitive Guide to Assessed Negotiations! *Monday Article Series*
Hi All! Please see below my Guide to Assessed Negotiation Exercises at Assessment Centres and during Vacation Schemes. This guide has been built from my own experiences of assessed and real-world negotiations as well as having consulted with Grad Rec specialists. This is also the first in a...
www.thecorporatelawacademy.com
Hope this helps & best of luck
In addition to these, next Monday's article will be a breakdown of the competency interview with a series of answer frameworks for key questions.Hi @kls
To prepare for case study based scenario interviews I would suggest becoming familiar with legal terms relevant to M&A transactions as this is the basis of most case studies. A good place to start is to consider:
1. What is a Sales Purchase Agreement (SPA)?
2. What is the difference between a Share v Asset Purchase and the advantages and disadvantages of either?
3. What are the different ways to finance an acquisition e.g. via equity or debt?
4. What are some ways to absolve liability in a contract e.g. the use of conditions, warranties, and indemnities
5. What are some key due diligence issues e.g. outstanding liabilities, employment & staffing concerns, IP concerns (e.g. licensing agreements), the existence of clauses such as change of control clauses, competition and tax concerns etc.
These are just some useful ideas to get you thinking, but I have linked below one of our extremely helpful guides which should provide greater insight! https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/mergers-and-acquisitions-case-study/
For written exercises- I think these are twofold. You'll need the legal knowledge above firstly, then the next focus is on your presentation skills. For this my advice would be:
1. Remember who your audience is - if it is a client ( more succinct/ less legal jargon), if another solicitor e.g. a partner or associate still keep in mind the format of your information e.g. if it is an email keep it brief.
2. Clarity- I personally often used headings to keep my information clear and easy to read
These are some of my key tips. @Jacob Miller recently wrote some great articles which I have linked below.
Definitive Guide to Law Firm Case Studies! *Monday Article Series*
Hi all, please see below the third of my Monday Article Series! This week is my definitive guide to case studies. It's a long one - you might want to go get a coffee and settle in! Introduction This week’s Monday Article will cover how to approach law firm case studies, one of the most...Definitive Guide to Assessed Negotiations! *Monday Article Series*
Hi All! Please see below my Guide to Assessed Negotiation Exercises at Assessment Centres and during Vacation Schemes. This guide has been built from my own experiences of assessed and real-world negotiations as well as having consulted with Grad Rec specialists. This is also the first in a...
Hope this helps & best of luck
Hi @kls
To prepare for case study based scenario interviews I would suggest becoming familiar with legal terms relevant to M&A transactions as this is the basis of most case studies. A good place to start is to consider:
1. What is a Sales Purchase Agreement (SPA)?
2. What is the difference between a Share v Asset Purchase and the advantages and disadvantages of either?
3. What are the different ways to finance an acquisition e.g. via equity or debt?
4. What are some ways to absolve liability in a contract e.g. the use of conditions, warranties, and indemnities
5. What are some key due diligence issues e.g. outstanding liabilities, employment & staffing concerns, IP concerns (e.g. licensing agreements), the existence of clauses such as change of control clauses, competition and tax concerns etc.
These are just some useful ideas to get you thinking, but I have linked below one of our extremely helpful guides which should provide greater insight! https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/mergers-and-acquisitions-case-study/
For written exercises- I think these are twofold. You'll need the legal knowledge above firstly, then the next focus is on your presentation skills. For this my advice would be:
1. Remember who your audience is - if it is a client ( more succinct/ less legal jargon), if another solicitor e.g. a partner or associate still keep in mind the format of your information e.g. if it is an email keep it brief.
2. Clarity- I personally often used headings to keep my information clear and easy to read
These are some of my key tips. @Jacob Miller recently wrote some great articles which I have linked below.
Definitive Guide to Law Firm Case Studies! *Monday Article Series*
Hi all, please see below the third of my Monday Article Series! This week is my definitive guide to case studies. It's a long one - you might want to go get a coffee and settle in! Introduction This week’s Monday Article will cover how to approach law firm case studies, one of the most...Definitive Guide to Assessed Negotiations! *Monday Article Series*
Hi All! Please see below my Guide to Assessed Negotiation Exercises at Assessment Centres and during Vacation Schemes. This guide has been built from my own experiences of assessed and real-world negotiations as well as having consulted with Grad Rec specialists. This is also the first in a...
Hope this helps & best of luck
Hi @kls
To prepare for case study based scenario interviews I would suggest becoming familiar with legal terms relevant to M&A transactions as this is the basis of most case studies. A good place to start is to consider:
1. What is a Sales Purchase Agreement (SPA)?
2. What is the difference between a Share v Asset Purchase and the advantages and disadvantages of either?
3. What are the different ways to finance an acquisition e.g. via equity or debt?
4. What are some ways to absolve liability in a contract e.g. the use of conditions, warranties, and indemnities
5. What are some key due diligence issues e.g. outstanding liabilities, employment & staffing concerns, IP concerns (e.g. licensing agreements), the existence of clauses such as change of control clauses, competition and tax concerns etc.
These are just some useful ideas to get you thinking, but I have linked below one of our extremely helpful guides which should provide greater insight! https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/mergers-and-acquisitions-case-study/
For written exercises- I think these are twofold. You'll need the legal knowledge above firstly, then the next focus is on your presentation skills. For this my advice would be:
1. Remember who your audience is - if it is a client ( more succinct/ less legal jargon), if another solicitor e.g. a partner or associate still keep in mind the format of your information e.g. if it is an email keep it brief.
2. Clarity- I personally often used headings to keep my information clear and easy to read
These are some of my key tips. @Jacob Miller recently wrote some great articles which I have linked below.
Definitive Guide to Law Firm Case Studies! *Monday Article Series*
Hi all, please see below the third of my Monday Article Series! This week is my definitive guide to case studies. It's a long one - you might want to go get a coffee and settle in! Introduction This week’s Monday Article will cover how to approach law firm case studies, one of the most...Definitive Guide to Assessed Negotiations! *Monday Article Series*
Hi All! Please see below my Guide to Assessed Negotiation Exercises at Assessment Centres and during Vacation Schemes. This guide has been built from my own experiences of assessed and real-world negotiations as well as having consulted with Grad Rec specialists. This is also the first in a...
Hope this helps & best of luck
Wow! Thank you so much for your thoroughness and clarity! This is amazing and is so appreciated ☺️
@Jacob Miller - thank you! I will look out for it!
Issue just means "matter" or "topic" in this context, so talking about VR is totally fine!
You can, within reason, talk about most commercial matters/ trends here. The things to really consider when choosing a topic are:
- Is the issue one which will have some form of legal backing surrounding it?
- Is the issue substantial enough to speak in an extended manner on?
- Is the matter of general significance, enough to be on the radar of a big commercial law firm?
In terms of VR, I would personally tend to think that you may struggle to have enough real substantive content there - my understanding, at least, is that most of it would simply be covered by existing principles relating to intellectual property (although there is an interesting academic debate on the classification of software in sales contracts, this isn't unique to VR per se), so I would personally struggle to attach enough legal complexity/ significance to it. That said, I'm far from an expert on the topic so you may well know more than me!
For perspective, things that I discussed for questions like these which were relevant when I was applying included stuff like Carrillion and Thomas Cook etc.
I have the opportunity to have an informal chat with a partner at a firm I’m quite keen on. I worked with her in my current job and sent her an email expressing interest in the TC and she very kindly agreed to have a zoom call with me next week. Now that I’ve done that, though, I’m not quite sure what kinds of questions to ask. I’d normally ask trainees about the firm’s culture or training or working style. I thought I could ask the partner about the firm’s long term strategy. Any other thoughts? Thanks, all!
You could ask things like, "knowing what you know now, is there anything you would do differently/change in your career"?
"What advice would you have for me as someone entering the profession at this time?"
"What traits/qualities do trainees/junior lawyers you work with have that make them stand out and make you want to have them in your team?"
I'd tend to agree with Daniel here.
If I were in your shoes, I would be framing questions in terms of the insight that someone at the Partnership level can provide as opposed to questions which are more suited to junior lawyers. People also do naturally like to talk about themselves, so ask about her career progression, her experiences in the firm etc too - maybe do some further research on her position (e.g., does she lead a team etc). In my experience, it's often the most simplistic questions which actually give the most useful answers. Great opportunity to have though!!
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General rule of thumb: People love talking about themselves, so I'd really focus on asking questions related to her own personal journey.
In addition to everything Daniel has already said, when talking to partners I'm always curious about:
1. How they decided to specialise in the area they're in?
2. What has kept them working in commercial law? Did they ever consider a career change/a move in-house?
3. What has kept them in that one firm all these years? Alternatively if they've moved around, what did this firm offer that the others didn't?
4. What has been the most personally challenging moment of their career thus far?
Oh I definitely didn’t mean I’d ask her the question I’d ask a trainee but I just wasn’t sure what kinds of questions to pitch. She has moved from another firm quite recently so asking her thoughts on the difference between the two and the attractions of her current firm was one I was thinking about. Great call on asking about her own progression!
she moved from a large established practice to this smaller firm with a nascent practice in her area of expertise. Would it be ok to ask if the firm plans on focusing on growth in that area in the future?
I think that would be a perfectly good line of questions - I definitely think asking about that transition would be relevant. One of the most helpful conversations I've ever had was with a friend who trained at one firm I had a TC offer from and, by pure coincidence, moved to another firm I had a VS with on qualifying. It was incredibly helpful to get that level of inside knowledge and understanding from a retrospective standpoint, so I would really use that to your advantage. use it to begin to understand points and nuances about the firm which you couldn't have picked up otherwise to make your applications really stand out
Hi everyone, I’m new to the forum.
I’m not sure if this is the right place. But I would like to know if it’s worth applying to international law firms if you are from a non-Russell group university. I do have the entry requirements as I gained A*AA at a-levels. However I am a bit concerned and I have heard a lot of people mention that law firms do not consider applicants from a non-Russell group background. I graduated with a 69% in law. But I feel I should have now went to a more reputable university as I did have the grades to. Please can someone put my mind at rest. I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts. I’m worried law firms will bin my app straight away due to coming from a non-Russell group university.
I’m not sure if this is the right place. But I would like to know if it’s worth applying to international law firms if you are from a non-Russell group university. I do have the entry requirements as I gained A*AA at a-levels. However I am a bit concerned and I have heard a lot of people mention that law firms do not consider applicants from a non-Russell group background. I graduated with a 69% in law. But I feel I should have now went to a more reputable university as I did have the grades to. Please can someone put my mind at rest. I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts. I’m worried law firms will bin my app straight away due to coming from a non-Russell group university.
Not true at all! I’m sure @Jessica Booker can say this more than me but law firms do not judge what university you went to! You have as much chance as anyone so long as you can demonstrate your commitment, values and motivations.
Absolutely not! If you're really worried I'd recommend getting in touch with the firms you are interested in directly. However, the vast vast majority will mainly care about your grades rather than the university you went to. Clearly, you more than meet the grade requirements for so I wouldn't worry at all if I were you
Thank you so much for your reassurance. I am mainly targeting magic circle firms and haven’t seen much people there from non-Russell group universities
Thank you so much Daniel, I’m glad to hear that. It seems like I have been talking to the wrong people, I’m so glad I found this forum. Congratulations on your TC offerAbsolutely not! If you're really worried I'd recommend getting in touch with the firms you are interested in directly. However, the vast vast majority will mainly care about your grades rather than the university you went to. Clearly, you more than meet the grade requirements for so I wouldn't worry at all if I were you
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