Hearing Back from Firms + AC & Interview Tips Share - 2018 - 2019

[Salma]

Possibly too late a response to be of any use, but last year I attended an AC at HSF and was informed by grad rec that there is no limit to the number of ACs they hold - they continue interviewing candidates until they fill up spots, so they can afford to be picky. I was interviewed in mid-Nov for a spring VS, but there was a candidate in my group interviewing for a winter VS (which she eventually secured). Hope that helps!

Ahh that makes sens, as they only ‘open’ spring vac scheme apps on the 12th Nov!

 

[Giles]

Yes I completed it two weeks, on the top of my head, the VI consisted of five questions:

1. Tell me about yourself
2. A favourite business you admire and talk about why you admire it, the opportunities and risks for the business
3. A question relating to ambition or colleagity and how you have demonstrated it l/the importance of it
4. A question relating to challenge/ how do you challenge people and would you feel comfortable doing so?
5. Why are you interested in law and what will you be doing as a trainee solicitor day to day

You have 30 secs to prepare and 1 minute, 30 seconds to answer the question

I hope the above helps somehow! Good luck.

Amazing thank you so much!

 

[Salma]

Amazing thank you so much!

No worries, ignore the typos in the previous post, I was half asleep

 

[Sandrou]

Can anyone offer some guidance on the HSF AC? I’ve seen a few people interviewed there.

Has anyone received an offer?

P.s, the person in question passed the online tests 27/10/18 and received an AC invite on 6/11/18.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Helena]

It's tough, competency interview, case study and scenario interview with partner - there is no way you can prepare for the scenario as it depends which partner you get. I would say look carefully at the firm's main practice areas and think about deals in those areas and what the firm might be doing. You could get anything thrown at you. They were all very friendly but it was tough. Also brush up on contract.

Can anyone offer some guidance on the HSF AC? I’ve seen a few people interviewed there.

Has anyone received an offer?

P.s, the person in question passed the online tests 27/10/18 and received an AC invite on 6/11/18.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Sandrou]

Thank you, very helpful. Have you heard back post AC or do you still await the outcome?

It's tough, competency interview, case study and scenario interview with partner - there is no way you can prepare for the scenario as it depends which partner you get. I would say look carefully at the firm's main practice areas and think about deals in those areas and what the firm might be doing. You could get anything thrown at you. They were all very friendly but it was tough. Also brush up on contract.

 

[Helena]

Thank you, very helpful. Have you heard back post AC or do you still await the outcome?

Still waiting

 

[Sandrou]

Still waiting

I hope it’s good news!

 

[Hazal]

Can anyone offer some guidance on the HSF AC? I’ve seen a few people interviewed there.

Has anyone received an offer?

P.s, the person in question passed the online tests 27/10/18 and received an AC invite on 6/11/18.

Thank you in advance.

Can anyone offer some guidance on the HSF AC? I’ve seen a few people interviewed there.

Has anyone received an offer?

P.s, the person in question passed the online tests 27/10/18 and received an AC invite on 6/11/18.

Thank you in advance.

hey Sandrou, completed mine today actually!

I agree with Helena in that it's tougher than most but there are things to prepare for/keep in mind when going into it.

So for the scenario interview you will need to have some general commercial knowledge. How a business works, how banks lend money, all the basic financial terms you hear thrown about. I prepared for this by reading Christopher Stoakes' Commercial Awareness and signing up for one of Jaysen's commercial classes, specifically the M&A one. While m&a didn't come up, banks and loans did. I recommend signing up to his possible upcoming class on debt and equity if this stuff is confusing. Personally, I didn't find knowing their sectors well a requirement but maybe that's because I got a partner in banking and not something niche like energy.

For the case study, a good presentation structure and a really close attention to detail is important. What I mean by the latter is, read the contract details as closely as possible because they put things in to trip you up and see if you notice.

Do you have one coming up? Good luck to your friend and to you too @Helena Boyd !

 

[Salma]

Out of interest, for those who applied to HSF. How ‘legal’ was your chosen topic when answering the question ‘explain something that interests you and why it does’?

 

[Hazal]

Out of interest, for those who applied to HSF. How ‘legal’ was your chosen topic when answering the question ‘explain something that interests you and why it does’?

Hey Selma,

Not legal at all but commercial leaning. I have a friend who wanted to write something legal, asked if it should be something legal and hsf said no so I think it threw her off a bit.

I think if you can write a great answer about a legal matter because you're genuinely passionate about it, go for it. Otherwise, it might seem like you're trying to fit a certain mould or you don't have an interest beyond law? I say that with a pinch of salt because I don't want to put you off. I personally stayed away from my degree choice but that's because I had two options to choose from.

 

[Salma]

Hey Selma,

Not legal at all but commercial leaning. I have a friend who wanted to write something legal, asked if it should be something legal and hsf said no so I think it threw her off a bit.

I think if you can write a great answer about a legal matter because you're genuinely passionate about it, go for it. Otherwise, it might seem like you're trying to fit a certain mould or you don't have an interest beyond law? I say that with a pinch of salt because I don't want to put you off. I personally stayed away from my degree choice but that's because I had two options to choose from.

Poop I meant commercial so a business related topic I am interested in or should I sway away from it and do something different. What are your thoughts?

 

[Hazal]

Poop I meant commercial so a business related topic I am interested in or should I sway away from it and do something different. What are your thoughts?

I would 100% advocate that it doesn't need to be commercial but at the same time, if that's your interest, go for it. Either way, if your writing is top notch, they'll want to invite you in. When I read it, I actually initially thought I had to do something more personal but I ended up choosing a commercial story because in the end, that's what I knew and that's what I liked.

Mine was pretty commercial just to be clear

 

[Helena]

I would 100% advocate that it doesn't need to be commercial but at the same time, if that's your interest, go for it. Either way, if your writing is top notch, they'll want to invite you in. When I read it, I actually initially thought I had to do something more personal but I ended up choosing a commercial story because in the end, that's what I knew and that's what I liked.

Mine was pretty commercial just to be clear

I echo Hazal - I chose a commercial story too because it was what truly interested me. At the end of the day it has to be something you are happy to talk about and your writing will flow because of it.

 

[Helena]

hey Sandrou, completed mine today actually!

I agree with Helena in that it's tougher than most but there are things to prepare for/keep in mind when going into it.

So for the scenario interview you will need to have some general commercial knowledge. How a business works, how banks lend money, all the basic financial terms you hear thrown about. I prepared for this by reading Christopher Stoakes' Commercial Awareness and signing up for one of Jaysen's commercial classes, specifically the M&A one. While m&a didn't come up, banks and loans did. I recommend signing up to his possible upcoming class on debt and equity if this stuff is confusing. Personally, I didn't find knowing their sectors well a requirement but maybe that's because I got a partner in banking and not something niche like energy.

For the case study, a good presentation structure and a really close attention to detail is important. What I mean by the latter is, read the contract details as closely as possible because they put things in to trip you up and see if you notice.

Do you have one coming up? Good luck to your friend and to you too @Helena Boyd !

Thanks Hazal and to you - m&a didn't come up for me either - it was a complex litigation case.

 

[Salma]

Thanks @Hazal @Helena Boyd! I wish you both sucess with the AC outcome.

 

[Sandrou]

@Hazal Thank you for this detailed response. Best of luck with the outcome of you AC.

@Selma95 Re the interest question, I can only echo what’s already been mentioned. A good strategy may perhaps be to draw from your job (if you work in a somewhat commercial environment) and to link it with a commercial story.

 

[Salma]

@Hazal Thank you for this detailed response. Best of luck with the outcome of you AC.

@Selma95 Re the interest question, I can only echo what’s already been mentioned. A good strategy may perhaps be to draw from your job (if you work in a somewhat commercial environment) and to link it with a commercial story.

Thanks @Sandrou! I was hoping to link my chosen topic to an interest of mine.

 

[J Malone]

How about Norton Rose Fulbright?

has anyone got the result? (well i have not yet)

 

[yanerlim]

Recently heard back a rejection from Burges Salmon