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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jaysen" data-source="post: 42981" data-attributes="member: 1">Please state the month/year you interviewed at the firm.November 2020.Please specify what the interview was for.Winter Vacation scheme.Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.The whole assessment day was virtual. The day began with a 30 min welcome call with graduate recruitment and a partner, and then a Q&A with a trainee. Although the HSF AC usually includes a scenario, case study and motivational/competency interview, each 35 mins long, as this AC was virtual the case study was replaced with a second scenario.Please provide a summary of each assessment on the day with approximate timings.My first interview was the motivational/competency interview. This was very casual and after your standard Why law / why HSF, included no other competency questions- only follow ups on my work experience, which was a relief. The associate did mention he might ask me to give some examples of competencies at the beginning of the interview but it seemed like the firm takes a very flexible approach to this.My second interview was a scenario with a litigation partner and lasted 30 minutes, with time left for questions at the end. The partner introduced themselves briefly and then summarised a recent litigation case they had been working on. He asked me a few questions, generally about what I might do at each stage- who we might look to sue, what evidence we might use, in which jurisdiction we might sue, what issues there might be etc. I knew very little about litigation, but you are not really expected to. I tried to take time to consider, ask questions and really break down and articulate my thought process to show I was approaching the question logically. The partner actually did a fair bit of speaking and explaining, and once or twice it was clear I had missed something and he was trying to guide me to the answer.The second scenario was with a corporate partner. The partner gave a brief summary of a hypothetical M&A deal and asked what the relevant issues might be. The initial summary was very brief, and I think this encourages you to give a bit of advice and then ask questions. My scenario concerned a consumer product company, but the partner emphasised their USP was related to new technology they had developed, and I would watch out for clear steers in the question to push you towards issues like IP/ data protection.After about 20 minutes the partner said we had covered most of the basic points of the scenario and asked a number of more complex/ unusual questions (e.g. one was regarding consumer regulation in Thailand…). Clearly you are not expected to know anything about that sort of subject matter, but they just want to see how you react and so again I tried to lay out my thought process in as structured and logical a way as possible, though I was essentially just guessing. Please list any interview questions you were asked.Why Law? Why HSF? - follow up questions specific to my answers and work experience.What is your best advice for each aspect of the assessment on the day? Please break this down for each assessment. This can include advice for preparation, as well as tips for the day.GeneralThe whole AC was virtual, and I actually found this beneficial- I was more in my comfort zone and less nervous, and as all my interviewers were working from home I think this applied to them as well. The whole AC was very casual, and everyone was very friendly and laid back. I would avoid coming across overly formal- one of my interviewers actually commented on the fact I was wearing a tie, which I thought was standard. All of my interviews were really back and forth/ two way processes, which has definitely not been the case for me at other ACs.I also had some brief notes behind my screen- graduate recruitment had said they encouraged this though we should obviously not go overboard or read off them, but it reassuring to be able to glance at a few sticky notes as a reminder of the firms practice areas etc.Motivational/CompetencyMake sure your answers to Why Law and Why HSF are strong- these seem to be a lot more important than tick box style competency answers. General advice on these questions applies. The best advice I received about answering these questions was 1. To give an answer you can actually believe- if not it won’t be convincing; 2. To try to cover off follow up questions in your first answers and drive the interview where you want it to go.ScenarioThis is hard to prepare for and will depend on the individual partner, (though I actually prefer this style of interview). Having said that, the firms two biggest practice areas are litigation and corporate, so it is a good idea to go over these. It would have been helpful e.g. to know the basic structure of a litigation case for that scenario. For the M&A scenario, I found Jaysen’s M&A course very helpful, particularly in terms of knowing the different ways to address and cover off risk in a contract or through other means. I would advise approaching the scenarios logically and articulating your thought process. Also, it is obvious but listening to the question is important- in the past I have definitely panicked and assumed I was being asked something very complicated, only to realise once it was over that the answer was painfully simple!One other thing I would flag is that although graduate recruitment said that law and non-law students were assessed identically, it did not seem that this was the case- in both scenarios partners confirmed what stage I was at and said as a result they would assume some legal knowledge. Were you successful?Yes- I found out the same afternoon.</blockquote>

Verification: Our company is called, "The Corporate ___ Academy". What is the missing word here?

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