Hearing Back from Law Firms, Assessment Centres & Interview Tips - 2019 - 2020

[TFLawyer]

I did my WG for freshfields last Tuesday but have heard nothing since so not holding out too much hope...

 

[Amandeep]

Nothing from Travers. Got an invite from Pinsents to do the online test.

What kind of test you have been invited to do for Pinsents?

 

[LawGal]

What kind of test you have been invited to do for Pinsents?

They describe it as "abstract reasoning test." It's the one where you understand patterns of shapes etc.

 

[LawGal]

Did Pinsent Masons recruit on a rolling basis this year for their TC? - I can't seem to find much information regarding it and i know on TCLA relevant page it says they 'may not' - not sure if you have any knowledge of this - but if you do that'd be great, cheers! (Also, good luck with the test!)

Sorry I have no idea if they recruit on a rolling basis. I don't think so though because I sent my application on the date of the deadline, wouldn't recommend doing that though!

 

[NatAsh]

@Jessica Booker and @Jaysen do you think it’s a good idea to send an email to the recruitment partner/HR contact after an AC to thank them for their time etc? If yes, how do you advise I include in the email?

I had my assessment centre yesterday and it consisted of 3 things: proofreading exercise, legal analysis, group discussion followed by a negotiation exercise. I think I did pretty good on the first and last one but not so well on the legal analysis because I Didn’t get to finish my answer. In your experience is the same weight assigned to all exercises or some are more valued than others?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

@Jessica Booker and @Jaysen do you think it’s a good idea to send an email to the recruitment partner/HR contact after an AC to thank them for their time etc? If yes, how do you advise I include in the email?

I had my assessment centre yesterday and it consisted of 3 things: proofreading exercise, legal analysis, group discussion followed by a negotiation exercise. I think I did pretty good on the first and last one but not so well on the legal analysis because I Didn’t get to finish my answer. In your experience is the same weight assigned to all exercises or some are more valued than others?

Nothing wrong with doing it - I just don’t think it is a necessity to do it. Most people don’t and it has no implications on how they are reviewed.

Just keep it short - if it’s anything more than a paragraph it’s too long. Both the recruiters and partners will want to be able to read it on their phone between meetings. Quite frankly they will read it, think “that’s nice” and then delete it - they may drop you a quick email back saying thanks and you’ll hear back by x time. It’s not going to contribute to any decision making or influence them in anyway.

No set answer on the above - it isn’t quite as simple as one exercise though. Typically firms will be looking for competencies or strengths across exercises and they are reviewed holistically because of that. Wouldn’t worry too much about not finishing the exercise - exercises are designed in a way that a significantly proportion of people are likely not to finish them. Doesn’t mean you haven’t done well in it either.

 

[Penelope]

@Jessica Booker and @Jaysen do you think it’s a good idea to send an email to the recruitment partner/HR contact after an AC to thank them for their time etc? If yes, how do you advise I include in the email?

I had my assessment centre yesterday and it consisted of 3 things: proofreading exercise, legal analysis, group discussion followed by a negotiation exercise. I think I did pretty good on the first and last one but not so well on the legal analysis because I Didn’t get to finish my answer. In your experience is the same weight assigned to all exercises or some are more valued than others?

Can I ask what the proofreading exercise entailed? What was the legal analysis exercise?

Thanks!

 

[Jaysen]

@Jessica Booker and @Jaysen do you think it’s a good idea to send an email to the recruitment partner/HR contact after an AC to thank them for their time etc? If yes, how do you advise I include in the email?

I had my assessment centre yesterday and it consisted of 3 things: proofreading exercise, legal analysis, group discussion followed by a negotiation exercise. I think I did pretty good on the first and last one but not so well on the legal analysis because I Didn’t get to finish my answer. In your experience is the same weight assigned to all exercises or some are more valued than others?

Completely agree with Jess. I never did it and didn't know others were doing it at the time, but it's completely up to you.

I'd also echo keeping it short and to the point with any email you send to a firm. I quite often get candidates messaging to ask if their email is OK before sending. Most of the time their draft emails are too long and there's too much waffle. (It's also sometimes passive aggressive when candidates are emailing having not heard back from a firm).

 

[Ourmon]

Has anyone heard back from Freshfields after AC?
Or anyone got a Freshfields AC coming up?

 

[Aminata]

Hi I just received a Mayer Brown Test invite. Does anyone have any advice/tips for their VRT? As I’m not the best at verbal reasoning tests.

 

[tcplz]

Hey! Has anyone heard back from Reed Smith about ac? They said they will get back to all candidates but I’m yet to hear back from them despite the ac being scheduled for this or next week :/

 

[HenryGirton]

Hey! Has anyone heard back from Reed Smith about ac? They said they will get back to all candidates but I’m yet to hear back from them despite the ac being scheduled for this or next week :/

I have no idea what has happened to Reed Smith this cycle. I have noticed they have sent out quite a few SST rejections but have yet to see an AC offer. I get the impression they have been inundated with applications this year hence the constant update emails.

 

[NatAsh]

Nothing wrong with doing it - I just don’t think it is a necessity to do it. Most people don’t and it has no implications on how they are reviewed.

Just keep it short - if it’s anything more than a paragraph it’s too long. Both the recruiters and partners will want to be able to read it on their phone between meetings. Quite frankly they will read it, think “that’s nice” and then delete it - they may drop you a quick email back saying thanks and you’ll hear back by x time. It’s not going to contribute to any decision making or influence them in anyway.

No set answer on the above - it isn’t quite as simple as one exercise though. Typically firms will be looking for competencies or strengths across exercises and they are reviewed holistically because of that. Wouldn’t worry too much about not finishing the exercise - exercises are designed in a way that a significantly proportion of people are likely not to finish them. Doesn’t mean you haven’t done well in it either.

Thanks @Jessica Booker and @Jaysen for your replies and advice. I note your point Jaysen that it is passive aggressive to email not having heard back so I will not send the email. Plus like Jessica said, they will probably read it then delete it and it wont make any difference to the outcome anyways. Thanks again

 

[NatAsh]

Can I ask what the proofreading exercise entailed? What was the legal analysis exercise?

Thanks!

For proofreading we were given a 3 page order that was to be published. The document had spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, repetitions and some omissions too. We had 30mins for this task.
For the legal analysis, we were given a 2 page document and a briefing note. We had to list statements from the docs supporting its categorization as a Guarantee and statements supporting its categorization as an Indemnity. we had an hour to do this.

 

[Jaysen]

Thanks @Jessica Booker and @Jaysen for your replies and advice. I note your point Jaysen that it is passive aggressive to email not having heard back so I will not send the email. Plus like Jessica said, they will probably read it then delete it and it wont make any difference to the outcome anyways. Thanks again

Yep makes sense.

Just to be clear, it's not passive aggressive to send an email to chase up, it's more that candidates sometimes phrase an email in that way.

 

[Atrayee De]

Hello,
Thank you for all the advice. I was thinking of applying to Slaughter and May and I had a question regarding the cv, so how exactly are we to give the breakdown because at undergrad level as an international student I had several subjects so I dont really know how should I approach this part

 

[Vany]

Hey! Has anyone heard back from Reed Smith about ac? They said they will get back to all candidates but I’m yet to hear back from them despite the ac being scheduled for this or next week :/

I'm still waiting to hear back too..

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hello,
Thank you for all the advice. I was thinking of applying to Slaughter and May and I had a question regarding the cv, so how exactly are we to give the breakdown because at undergrad level as an international student I had several subjects so I dont really know how should I approach this part

How many modules per year?

 

[Oliver Wick]

Does anyone know last year’s vac scheme application questions for any of the following firms: Ashurst, BCLP, Bird and Bird, Charles Russell Speechlys, DLA Piper, Hogan Lovells, Norton Rose Fulbright, Reed Smith, Taylor Wessing? Would be amazing to get ahead with the applications before they open.

 

[Julian Ng]

Hi I just received a Mayer Brown Test invite. Does anyone have any advice/tips for their VRT? As I’m not the best at verbal reasoning tests.

AssessmentDay have some good practice tests! Make sure to do the ones specific to Capp, the test provider. https://www.assessmentday.co.uk/capp.htm

Something I wish I had done when I did my MB tests was do the practice on they attach in the email. Even though its not scored, its good to get an idea of the exact test format. Because the ones I linked above, while helpful, in retrospect were a bit easier than the real thing imo.