General Discussion Thread 2020-21

[Celestie]

AG don't have anywhere to add in your extracurriculars apart from a box stating "Is there any additional information you would like to disclose for us to consider alongside your application?"
I have had elected 5 society positions so the 2,000 character limit does not let me cover it properly. In this occasion, could I add the most demanding (one is a presidency) to the work experience section?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

AG don't have anywhere to add in your extracurriculars apart from a box stating "Is there any additional information you would like to disclose for us to consider alongside your application?"
I have had elected 5 society positions so the 2,000 character limit does not let me cover it properly. In this occasion, could I add the most demanding (one is a presidency) to the work experience section?

Personally I wouldn’t. It might be the case that the firm just doesn’t value extra curriculars in the same way.

 

[KT]

Hi everyone!

I am currently preparing for an upcoming assessment center and have heard that a competency question about integrity usually comes up. For example: Tell me about a time when your integrity was challenged.

I'm very unsure how to answer this question and have been trying to think of an example to use but have found this quite difficult. Any information I find online talks about how in a previous position someone was asked to lie for a client or to alter timesheets etc. but being a university student still I obviously do not have anything of that sort to say.

Does anyone know how someone without substantial work experience can go about answering this question? Is there something specific that the interviewer is looking for that I am missing?

Thanks a lot for any help!

 

[Helpme12345]

Hi everyone!

I am currently preparing for an upcoming assessment center and have heard that a competency question about integrity usually comes up. For example: Tell me about a time when your integrity was challenged.

I'm very unsure how to answer this question and have been trying to think of an example to use but have found this quite difficult. Any information I find online talks about how in a previous position someone was asked to lie for a client or to alter timesheets etc. but being a university student still I obviously do not have anything of that sort to say.

Does anyone know how someone without substantial work experience can go about answering this question? Is there something specific that the interviewer is looking for that I am missing?

Thanks a lot for any help!

Maybe a university colleague asked you to send your assignment to them? You can talk about plagiarism guidelines etc...
Or if you ever worked in a restaurant/bar, maybe a colleague tried to skip some cleaning duties and you had to remind them of health & safety guidelines?

 

[Jacob Miller]

Hi everyone!

I am currently preparing for an upcoming assessment center and have heard that a competency question about integrity usually comes up. For example: Tell me about a time when your integrity was challenged.

I'm very unsure how to answer this question and have been trying to think of an example to use but have found this quite difficult. Any information I find online talks about how in a previous position someone was asked to lie for a client or to alter timesheets etc. but being a university student still I obviously do not have anything of that sort to say.

Does anyone know how someone without substantial work experience can go about answering this question? Is there something specific that the interviewer is looking for that I am missing?

Thanks a lot for any help!

You can also be a little more abstract here: did a sibling once break something at home and ask you to lie for them, for example? The key thing isn't the situation per se but more how you handled it in a manner to show good personal integrity.

 

[KT]

Maybe a university colleague asked you to send your assignment to them? You can talk about plagiarism guidelines etc...
Or if you ever worked in a restaurant/bar, maybe a colleague tried to skip some cleaning duties and you had to remind them of health & safety guidelines?

These are some great examples Not sure why I didn't think of the plagiarism one as it definitely happened to me before so thank you so much for helping jog up my memory!

 

[KT]

You can also be a little more abstract here: did a sibling once break something at home and ask you to lie for them, for example? The key thing isn't the situation per se but more how you handled it in a manner to show good personal integrity.

Thanks a lot for the prompt answer Jacob! I'll make sure to focus more on how I handled things.

 

[bibss]

I am currently finishing off my personal statement for the Freshfields app. Should I sign off or not?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

I am currently finishing off my personal statement for the Freshfields app. Should I sign off or not?

not necessary to have a greeting or a sign off

 

[M1999]

This is actually a really interesting question!

Personally, I would say that it needs a bit of planning. Firstly, I would start by going through a few different recent deals (probably start with ones that Debevoise have been involved in) and do some wider research on them. The key in this instance is to choose a deal where a good amount of analysis can be done rather than 'any old deal' with no added dimensions of complexity. I would consider whether the deal was particularly challenging (e.g., was it challenged by competition authorities?) or whether it was particularly nuanced in some manner or another (was it using a particularly unusual type of financing, for example?). If you can find a deal with which you have some sort of personal link or interest, this is all the better. Notwithstanding the fact that Debevoise haven't been involved in the process (I think Skadden and Sullivan were the lead counsel respectively), I think the Tiffany-LVMH deal is a prime example of the sort of deal you might look to discuss in a question such as this- it's one which I personally have used.

Read in a decent amount of depth about both sides of the deal- decide which you think is the most interesting from a legal standpoint, and then build your answer from there.

Hope this helps!

Thank you! I did in fact use the LVMH - Tiffany deal as I worked for Pandora so direct interest there! Hopefully they like my answer. Thank you so much

 

[LS12]

If I am asked the question outline a time you have demonstrated leadership skills do I need to make reference to a particular event or can I discuss my time leading a pro Bono project and my achievements over the period I was in this role (2 years)?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

If I am asked the question outline a time you have demonstrated leadership skills do I need to make reference to a particular event or can I discuss my time leading a pro Bono project and my achievements over the period I was in this role (2 years)?

Either is fine. You need to focus on the leadership aspects though.

 

[Dheepa]

When talking about a commercial deal (this one is M&A) do I have to focus purely on the transactional aspect of it? Or can I bring up the disputes that came out of it and implications.
It’s the word ‘deal’ that’s throwing me off.

Just to add to Jacob's response, I highlighted some things you can think about when considering what was challenging/interesting about the deal here:

a) I agree with Jessica, it doesn't need to align with your skills, but I think it always comes across better when you are able to back up your interest in a particular area with tangible experiences. This can be anything from maybe attending a presentation with a firm on a certain practice area, doing a module at university, or any work experience you've had. You could also think of this not just from the perspective of what type of legal deal it is (i.e. disputes/M&A/finance) but about what industry the deal touches on. So if its a deal in the pharmaceutical, automobile or retail industry for example - think about if you have any experiences that could help tie your interest to those areas.

b) Definitely just pick the side that interests you. However, if you feel worried about not having enough things to discuss some things you can consider when picking a side -

• Was there a non UK client/side? (if it involves an emerging market there could potentially be a lot to discuss in terms of emerging regulations and political complexities of executing the deal)
• Was there a side which needed the deal to go through because particularly of urgent commercial considerations? (maybe it was an investment in a new technology needed to keep up with competitors)
• Is it a particularly well known/big client? - could introduce further issues like confidentiality (particularly if it was a listed client)

Side note: If you are choosing an M&A deal/transactional deal, I'd say don't pick the side that's advising the banks just because lender documentation on these types of deals can be very standard and its usually the companies that have a lot of issues they want to push back on in negotiations.

c) Don't think this matters as much. If it is a well known deal you could find a lot of background information that could really help you go into detail but if it's an obscure one you might struggle slightly more.

Hope it helps gives you some ideas

 

[thirdtimelucky]

Just to be clear, when discussing a ‘commercial deal’ its an M&A/transaction not a case/dispute? I’ve been applying to a few litigation firms that ask for a case and so was thrown by the working ‘commercial’ deal

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Just to be clear, when discussing a ‘commercial deal’ its an M&A/transaction not a case/dispute? I’ve been applying to a few litigation firms that ask for a case and so was thrown by the working ‘commercial’ deal

Technically it would suggest deal only, but I suspect it is just bad wording by the firm and that if they are a litigation specialist they mean “matter” rather than “deal”

Probably worthwhile contacting someone at the firm to get their thoughts though.

 

[LS12]

If a firm asks you to ‘discuss a recent deal that has interested you’ can you link your answer back to why this deal makes you want to work at the firm? Or are they looking for more commercial fluency here?

 

[Legal_rawn]

If a firm asks you to ‘discuss a recent deal that has interested you’ can you link your answer back to why this deal makes you want to work at the firm? Or are they looking for more commercial fluency here?

If you can do both then I would imagine that would be a good route! If you can link your deal back to something law related I should imagine that would suffice. I usually do a paragraph on the deal then why it interested me, then why it would be important to a law firm! Although this is my perineal approach so it may not be for everyone!

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

If a firm asks you to ‘discuss a recent deal that has interested you’ can you link your answer back to why this deal makes you want to work at the firm? Or are they looking for more commercial fluency here?

more commercial fluency. Don’t force answers in that firms aren’t looking for.

 

[Numerius Negidius]

Do trainee retention rates refer to the percentage of people who want to be retained who are offered a job, or is it the percentage of all trainees who end up qualifying at the firm even if some of them voluntarily decided to move to another job?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Do trainee retention rates refer to the percentage of people who want to be retained who are offered a job, or is it the percentage of all trainees who end up qualifying at the firm even if some of them voluntarily decided to move to another job?

Depends how the firm spins it. Technically it should be anyone who works as a qualified lawyer at the firm, so should exclude anyone who leaves of their own accord.

But it’s not unknown for firms to spin the wording carefully to exclude someone who leaves of their own accord.