How to research law firms

[Ritika Acharya]

Hey everyone,

I recently started to research law firms to decide which ones to apply to for a vac scheme next year, and I feel like I'm not getting anywhere. I feel confused between different law firms. If someone has tips on how to go about the research step-by-step to figure out which firm is the perfect fit for you, I'd really appreciate it if you could help me out!

I'm an international student studying in India. I've observed that a lot of firms require their applicants to physically be present at the firm on the assessment day. Financially, this is a challenge for me because I would have to fly all the way to London from India for that one-day interview/assessment. Are there more firms like Linklaters that conduct their assessment days in India itself for Indian students?

Thanks for reading this, have a nice day!

Best regards,
Ritika Acharya

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hey everyone,

I recently started to research law firms to decide which ones to apply to for a vac scheme next year, and I feel like I'm not getting anywhere. I feel confused between different law firms. If someone has tips on how to go about the research step-by-step to figure out which firm is the perfect fit for you, I'd really appreciate it if you could help me out!

I'm an international student studying in India. I've observed that a lot of firms require their applicants to physically be present at the firm on the assessment day. Financially, this is a challenge for me because I would have to fly all the way to London from India for that one-day interview/assessment. Are there more firms like Linklaters that conduct their assessment days in India itself for Indian students?

Thanks for reading this, have a nice day!

Best regards,
Ritika Acharya

A&O also used to have an Indian Clerkship programme - don’t know if it still exists.

Some firms will reimburse some travel expenses to London, and the increase of virtual assessment centres will mean attending an assessment centre is easier than you think.

Your biggest issue is that most firms will not apply for a visa for internships as they are expensive and make little sense for such a short internship.

My advice would be to work out which firms you want to apply to. Think about your own criteria first and then contact the firms that meet that criteria and ask them whether they will apply for a visa for you for an internship. That will then allow you to focus your application to those you are eligible to apply for (I suspect it won’t be a large number unfortunately).

 

[D]

Hey everyone,

I recently started to research law firms to decide which ones to apply to for a vac scheme next year, and I feel like I'm not getting anywhere. I feel confused between different law firms. If someone has tips on how to go about the research step-by-step to figure out which firm is the perfect fit for you, I'd really appreciate it if you could help me out!

I'm an international student studying in India. I've observed that a lot of firms require their applicants to physically be present at the firm on the assessment day. Financially, this is a challenge for me because I would have to fly all the way to London from India for that one-day interview/assessment. Are there more firms like Linklaters that conduct their assessment days in India itself for Indian students?

Thanks for reading this, have a nice day!

Best regards,
Ritika Acharya

Hey Ritika,

One excellent piece of advice I was given by a trainee during a Scheme at a Magic Circle firm was to be clear on the following:

- What type of work does the firm do?
- What does their training scheme look like?
- What is their business strategy/model?
- What are the people like?

I used this "model" when I was looking at firms to answer my questions on why I was interested in that particular firm, linking those points back to me.

 

[Ritika Acharya]

A&O also used to have an Indian Clerkship programme - don’t know if it still exists.

Some firms will reimburse some travel expenses to London, and the increase of virtual assessment centres will mean attending an assessment centre is easier than you think.

Your biggest issue is that most firms will not apply for a visa for internships as they are expensive and make little sense for such a short internship.

My advice would be to work out which firms you want to apply to. Think about your own criteria first and then contact the firms that meet that criteria and ask them whether they will apply for a visa for you for an internship. That will then allow you to focus your application to those you are eligible to apply for (I suspect it won’t be a large number unfortunately).

I'll do that, thanks Jessica!

 

[Ritika Acharya]

Hey Ritika,

One excellent piece of advice I was given by a trainee during a Scheme at a Magic Circle firm was to be clear on the following:

- What type of work does the firm do?
- What does their training scheme look like?
- What is their business strategy/model?
- What are the people like?

I used this "model" when I was looking at firms to answer my questions on why I was interested in that particular firm, linking those points back to me.

Thanks a ton! I'll definitely research these aspects of a firm!

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

What are the differences if an Indian student is applying to Linklaters via the India programme vs the normal route that most people in the UK take? @Jessica Booker could you please explain? Infact, not just Linklaters, what is the difference if we apply to firms via the UK route if they already have an India based program? Will they say that you should apply via the India program and reject our application if it is made via the UK Route?

 

[Jessica Booker]

What are the differences if an Indian student is applying to Linklaters via the India programme vs the normal route that most people in the UK take? @Jessica Booker could you please explain? Infact, not just Linklaters, what is the difference if we apply to firms via the UK route if they already have an India based program? Will they say that you should apply via the India program and reject our application if it is made via the UK Route?

Different applicant pool, different requirements, different budgets (eg Indian clerkship will have budgeted for visas, UK internship probably has not).

This is why you need to speak to/or contact firms to find out what is the best route for you rather than making assumptions and just applying anyway.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Understood @Jessica Booker , thank you. One question, what to do if the Grad Rec doesn't respond to email? Please help

 

[Jessica Booker]

Understood @Jessica Booker , thank you. One question, what to do if the Grad Rec doesn't respond to email? Please help

1) Be patient if it’s not urgent

2) Try another method like asking them on their social media pages (Facebook/Twitter etc)

3) Try to call them instead (although understand this last option may not be practical if you are calling from abroad).

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hello @Jessica Booker Hope you are doing well Ma'am. Just one question, please.

Linklaters has an India Internship programme, so do the students who are selected for the Vacation Scheme from the India Internship programme, experience the same scheme which is being run for the UK students? I mean are all the students ( the ones selected via the UK Route and the ones selected via the India Internship programme) part of the same vacation scheme? If yes, then is this pool of Vacation Schemers assessed on the same basis regardless of their application route? As in, do the interviewees ask more or less the same questions to everyone regardless of whether the Vacation Scheme student has come from India or the UK?


I mean some questions are really UK specific in interviews- for example a person's views on SQE and Brexit etc etc. So if a Vac Schemer has come from India- is he expected to know all this or is there a specific set of interview questions for him/her since he is not from the UK?
Thank you.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker Hope you are doing well Ma'am. Just one question, please.

Linklaters has an India Internship programme, so do the students who are selected for the Vacation Scheme from the India Internship programme, experience the same scheme which is being run for the UK students? I mean are all the students ( the ones selected via the UK Route and the ones selected via the India Internship programme) part of the same vacation scheme? If yes, then is this pool of Vacation Schemers assessed on the same basis regardless of their application route? As in, do the interviewees ask more or less the same questions to everyone regardless of whether the Vacation Scheme student has come from India or the UK?


I mean some questions are really UK specific in interviews- for example a person's views on SQE and Brexit etc etc. So if a Vac Schemer has come from India- is he expected to know all this or is there a specific set of interview questions for him/her since he is not from the UK?
Thank you.

You need to speak to the firm directly really to get an answer on this.

My assumption would be:

1) they would only experience the same scheme if the dates are identical. It’s often the case that the Indian internships are not the same period of time (they are typically longer) than an vacation schemes which may only be 1-3 weeks long

2) No - they are separate programmes and therefore may be assessed differently. Although there is some cross over in what the firm is looking for, with the Indian internships they are generally looking for people who have ties to India so that the firm can manage/maintain future relationships with their “best friend” firms there, or if the Indian market ever opens up (which they have been saying would happen for the last 20 years and still hasn’t), then they would have people who would potentially be interested in building their office(s) in India. The same rationale doesn’t apply to general U.K. internships - there they are just recruiting for their London office.

3) Given the above, the questions/assessments could be different, although as mentioned, there could also be some similarities.

If you are doing an internship in London, you’ll be expected to have an opinion on things like Brexit and the SQE though. But you’d also expect to have a much better knowledge of the Indian legal market too, which wouldn’t be expected if you were just applying to the London vacation scheme

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

@Jessica Booker Ma'am, all this is so confusing but thank you so much.

 

[Jessica Booker]

@Jessica Booker Ma'am, all this is so confusing but thank you so much.

I understand it can be confusing.

the issue is that these things aren’t identical - whether it’s across different firms, or even within the same firm. Assessments/types of questions can even vary between different programmes for the same firm in the same country unfortunately.

 

[CarinaH]

Hello @Jessica Booker Hope you are doing well Ma'am. Just one question, please.

Linklaters has an India Internship programme, so do the students who are selected for the Vacation Scheme from the India Internship programme, experience the same scheme which is being run for the UK students? I mean are all the students ( the ones selected via the UK Route and the ones selected via the India Internship programme) part of the same vacation scheme? If yes, then is this pool of Vacation Schemers assessed on the same basis regardless of their application route? As in, do the interviewees ask more or less the same questions to everyone regardless of whether the Vacation Scheme student has come from India or the UK?


I mean some questions are really UK specific in interviews- for example a person's views on SQE and Brexit etc etc. So if a Vac Schemer has come from India- is he expected to know all this or is there a specific set of interview questions for him/her since he is not from the UK?
Thank you.

You’re applying to a London law firm to work in London, so that’s hopefully quite self-explanatory! Linklaters happens to offer a specific programme to enable applicants from India to come to the UK, but by the end of the day it doesn’t matter where in the world you’re from, you are required to know about the jurisdiction you’re applying to and what will affect that jurisdiction. If you don’t, you’re seriously going to struggle to explain why you want to work in the UK! And in that regard as an Indian applicant they may ask you why you don’t want to work in India in the same way they asked me why I don’t want to work in Germany! So that’s where it would be helpful to have a general understanding of the Indian legal system and how deals work. But it is mainly that you’re required to know about the jurisdiction you’re applying to and what they ask of you will be the same as they will ask of a UK applicant.

 

[S87]

One excellent piece of advice I was given by a trainee during a Scheme at a Magic Circle firm was to be clear on the following:

- What type of work does the firm do?
- What does their training scheme look like?
- What is their business strategy/model?
- What are the people like?

I used this "model" when I was looking at firms to answer my questions on why I was interested in that particular firm, linking those points back to me.[/QUOTE]

I struggle with understanding the firm’s business/strategy model. Could you give some tips on how to do it?

Thank you in advance.