General Discussion Thread 2020-21

[TCLA Community Assistant]

question about international law experience: I am British but live in another country and have most of my legal experience in a firm in the foreign country. I do have UK experience but the most extensive experience is from this country. Has anyone who has foreign experience ever been asked to justify why London, and why not the country they have the experience in?
Also, do firms tend to see UK experience as better than experience in a different jurisdiction?

The UK experience will have more correlations to the work a UK firm does. You’ll be dealing with English law much more regularly than you would do in another jurisdiction. If you have been working in another country for sometime, there will be a question of why don’t you qualify under that system and then come to the UK as a qualified lawyer, rather than having to start from scratch again. So that’s often the logic you have to explain when your experience is outside of the UK.

 

[josemourinho]

Not a million miles away from your situation: I'm on a Scots Law LLB programme, live in Scotland and have legal experience across both jurisdictions. I'll be training and qualifying as a solicitor in England (eventually!)

Seems like we are in a very similar situation! Thank you very much for your advice about making it a USP!

The UK experience will have more correlations to the work a UK firm does.

Thanks for your insight here! I will be prepared to talk about why the UK instead of the other country in my AC next week.

 

[Daniel Boden]

Anyone heard from Orrick following the Dec 2020 AC?

I know someone who had a call with an offer on Thursday so think they're starting to get back to people now!

 

[cryingoverTCs]

what are some key considerations for a firm when considering an acquisition?
would this be things like identifying growth opportunities in the target company, finding out if they have any ongoing litigation, if there are any contracts they are tied to etc?

 

[Jacob Miller]

what are some key considerations for a firm when considering an acquisition?
would this be things like identifying growth opportunities in the target company, finding out if they have any ongoing litigation, if there are any contracts they are tied to etc?

My article on case studies breaks down all the potential issues surround an acquisition, might be useful even if your task isn't in a case study setting. It's available via my signature

 

[cryingoverTCs]

My article on case studies breaks down all the potential issues surround an acquisition, might be useful even if your task isn't in a case study setting. It's available via my signature

Thank you, Jacob! I had a feeling that was similar to what I was looking for relieved that I'm not thinking about it completely wrong

 

[Alex3107]

VS for Eversheds, and just had my AC for Dentons. Happy to share any tips/have a chat!

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Random question for my application reviews:

Does Hong Kong follow UK or US English?
Same for Singapore?
And Dubai/Middle East?

 

[Dheepa]

Random question for my application reviews:

Does Hong Kong follow UK or US English?
Same for Singapore?
And Dubai/Middle East?

I think HK and Singapore both follow U.K. English because they are commonwealth countries. I’m from South East Asia and generally I think UK spelling, grammar etc. prevails on this side of the world. Not too sure about Dubai/ME though.

 

[LEL]

Random question for my application reviews:

Does Hong Kong follow UK or US English?
Same for Singapore?
And Dubai/Middle East?

As far as I'm aware, the ME follows Islamic Sharia law

 

[Sl1410]

Random question for my application reviews:

Does Hong Kong follow UK or US English?
Same for Singapore?
And Dubai/Middle East?

In Dubai, it is dependent on what schools you attend, but it is majorly US English unless you have studied at a British school. Although, I could be wrong.

 

[tk166]

As far as I'm aware, the ME follows Islamic Sharia law

shes talking about english grammar

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

shes talking about english grammar

To be fair, my post wasn’t 100% clear

 

[LEL]

To be fair, my post wasn’t 100% clear

Lol my bad, I just instantly assumed you meant UK or US law - maybe I need a break hahah

 

[ZR1998]

What topics are best to talk about when discussing the challenges that law firms are facing in 2021? I was thinking of talking about the rise of ALSPs and legal tech but I was wondering if I should base it more around Covid and working from home etc.

 

[Jacob Miller]

What topics are best to talk about when discussing the challenges that law firms are facing in 2021? I was thinking of talking about the rise of ALSPs and legal tech but I was wondering if I should base it more around Covid and working from home etc.

I talk about some challenges you could discuss in my Interviews article, accessible via my signature below.

 

[ZR1998]

I talk about some challenges you could discuss in my Interviews article, accessible via my signature below.

Thank you!

 

[Law2022]

Just found out I got 58 on my trusts law exam. Lol as if the process wasn’t hard enough feeling super deflated

 

[tractor12]

Just found out I got 58 on my trusts law exam. Lol as if the process wasn’t hard enough feeling super deflated

As long as the majority of your grades are decent, I doubt this would be an issue.

 

[Holly]

Just found out I got 58 on my trusts law exam. Lol as if the process wasn’t hard enough feeling super deflated

It sounds like this is typically lower than your usual grades. So, I can assume you usually score 60+ which means you’re averaging a 2:1 (at the very least). Firms want candidates who graduate with a 2:1 overall, so you’ll be fine!