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Interview Experiences 2019 - 2020 Cycle
Linklaters Interview 2019 - 2020
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<blockquote data-quote="Jaysen" data-source="post: 32371" data-attributes="member: 1"><p>Thank you to this recent successful candidate who shared their experience of the Linklaters vacation scheme interview/assessment day and vacation scheme:</p><p></p><p><strong>Vacation Scheme Interview/Assessment day</strong></p><p></p><p>The assessment day consisted of 3 main parts: an HR interview, a case study & eTray exercise, and a partner interview. It’s important to note that different people have the parts in different orders, except for the partner interview, which is always last.</p><p></p><p>The HR interview was fairly simple. The interviewer was nice, but pokerfaced, reading questions from a sheet and writing down your responses. Very important – tailor your answers to the Linklaters agile mindset, they’re very clearly looking for that.</p><p></p><p>Questions asked:</p><p></p><p>· Why Linklaters?</p><p></p><p>· Why commercial law?</p><p></p><p>· What would you be doing on a vac scheme at Linklaters?</p><p></p><p>· Which leader do you admire?</p><p></p><p>· Greatest life achievement</p><p></p><p>· A time your integrity was questioned</p><p></p><p>· A time you failed</p><p></p><p>· A time you could have handled a situation better</p><p></p><p>· A time you showed good leadership</p><p></p><p>· A time you dealt with a difference of opinions within a team</p><p></p><p>· A time you worked under pressure</p><p></p><p>· A time you worked well within a team</p><p></p><p>The eTray and case study exercise were done in a single sitting. They are timed, and you have to do the exercises in order – you only get given the info for the second task once the time to do the first task has elapsed.</p><p>Two very important issues to note here. First up, spell checker is disabled, so leave time to proofread. Secondly, you’ll be working on Lenovo Thinkpads, which have a strange keyboard layout (press shift for capital letters etc), so allow time to get to grips with this.</p><p></p><p>The eTray exercise was fairly simple, and had two parts. The first was an imaginary email inbox at work with lots of emails. You had to decided whether to do a task, delegate it to someone else, or delete it. Next up was some standard contract scrutiny – they provided you with the edited contract, and the relevant bits of legislation, and you had to answer some questions on this. These aren’t difficult tasks, but can take time, so good timekeeping is vital.</p><p></p><p>The case study centered around an imaginary M&A deal. You had to do due diligence, flagging the most important issues in email format. Read the instructions <strong>CAREFULLY</strong>.</p><p></p><p>Shortly before your partner interview, you get a ‘crisis’ email. I can’t say exactly what it was, but essentially you have a few minutes to decide what you would do in this situation. Then you go to your interview. The partner interview has 2 main parts. One part is going over your response to the crisis. They will probe you on everything, so be prepared to think on your feet. The other part is going over the case study exercise, what you did, what you might do as a trainee in this scenario. Having an in-depth knowledge of M&A/due diligence is important here – more than just what was in the TCLA guide.</p><p></p><p>Questions asked:</p><p></p><p>· Differences between warranties, representations, indemnities?</p><p></p><p>· Share vs asset purchases pros and cons </p><p></p><p>· Types of lawyers working on this deal?</p><p></p><p>· What would you advise this client to do?</p><p></p><p>· Do you have any questions for me?</p><p></p><p><strong>Vac scheme structure</strong></p><p></p><p>The scheme had four main parts to it: practice overviews (ie talks from the relevant partner/Managing Associate), tasks to complete for our principals, tasks to be marked by an external examiner, and a client pitch. We were also encouraged to network with people throughout the firm (webex chats, phone calls etc), and there were also 2 socials.</p><p></p><p>The first thing to note here is that Links crammed the entirety of their 4 week scheme into a shortened 2 week scheme. Speaking to previous vac schemers revealed that the same amount of work was expected of us, in half the time. This meant pretty much every day working until 11PM/midnight: most of the “work” day was filled with sector talks. Even some departments were unaware of this, and the grad rec team didn’t seem to have a clear understanding either – they were really shocked to discover people were working on weekends/into the evening. Obviously, this is a more accurate representation of trainee life, but be warned – it is far more demanding than most other vac schemes, so take this into account.</p><p></p><p>Practice overviews were quite simple, and were explained well. You’re encouraged to ask questions, so make sure to have 1 or 2 per talk – and make sure they are <strong>GOOD</strong> ones. Don’t roll out the standard “effect of Brexit/Covid on your area” question – make sure they are interesting questions that a quick Google cannot answer. I’d advise making some notes on interesting points, either so that you can reach out to people in the firm to answer these, or else so that you can mention them briefly in your final interview.</p><p></p><p>We had a booklet of tasks to complete for our principals: there were three practice areas, and 2 options per area. You had to pick one from each area to complete. There was a deadline to submit each task to your principal, and they would give you feedback on it. They were for the most part standard M&A tasks, but could be quite lengthy, and required a lot of research.</p><p></p><p>We also had tasks to be marked externally. They were emailed to us one by one, and had deadlines. They focused on due diligence for a deal – each task was on the same deal, but with a different focus. Tasks 1 & 2 were marked by an external examiner. Task 3 was marked by the partner who would be interviewing you for a training contract.</p><p></p><p>For the pitch, we were split into groups, and given a real-life client of the firm who we were pitching to. You don’t have a lot of time to plan and construct your presentation, and the time limit for the presentation itself is tight (group of 6 people have 7 minutes). You have to pitch to 3 partners who are posing as the client’s representatives. The questions from the partners were tough, so preparation and thinking on your feet is vital.</p><p></p><p>Networking was also very much encouraged. You have a principal and a trainee solicitor “buddy” to give you basic advice (although obviously they can’t help you in-depth), but need to reach out to other people to catch up. This isn’t technically obligatory, but it’s highly recommended, and – especially since it’s virtual – is one of your only chances to show active enthusiasm and interest in the company and your seats.</p><p></p><p>Due to the virtual nature of the scheme, for the most part, lawyers didn’t have any work to give us themselves, although there’s no harm asking. It’s worth noting that this varied sharply between principals though – my principals were extremely busy, and didn’t have any work to give me when I asked, whereas other people were given tasks by their principals/invited to sit in on client calls.</p><p></p><p>We had 2 socials, which were both pleasant, but as we all had so much work to get on with after they had ended, they were a little strained. That said, it’s obviously hard to organise a social virtually – and social events are understandably bottom of the list of priorities for creating a virtual vac scheme – so no criticism of grad rec here.</p><p></p><p>You also have to fill out a training contract application form, which is essentially the same structure as any TC direct application - a box to write your application letter/essay in. Make sure to leave time to do this well - don't rush it!</p><p></p><p><strong>Training Contract Interview</strong></p><p></p><p>The interview revolved primarily around task 3, which I had submitted in advance. Be prepared to know your argument back to front, and to be able to explain it clearly and concisely to the interviewers. Also make sure you have an overview of what has happened so far – the first two tasks are related to the same deal, and basic knowledge of them will help you setting the scene if asked to.</p><p></p><p>The interviewers were very different for different people. Some people had interviewers who barely asked them anything, I was sharply questioned on whatever I said. Even though they agreed with what I had written, there would be follow-up questions about how one might do something differently. A good, in-depth understanding of the pros and cons of the different methods of financing a deal is vital, and so too is a detailed understanding of the advantages/disadvantages of share & asset purchases. Some commercial awareness goes a long way in supporting your answer.</p><p></p><p>There were also some more general questions, relating to niche/passing elements of my CV/job history, so know both inside out!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jaysen, post: 32371, member: 1"] Thank you to this recent successful candidate who shared their experience of the Linklaters vacation scheme interview/assessment day and vacation scheme: [B]Vacation Scheme Interview/Assessment day[/B] The assessment day consisted of 3 main parts: an HR interview, a case study & eTray exercise, and a partner interview. It’s important to note that different people have the parts in different orders, except for the partner interview, which is always last. The HR interview was fairly simple. The interviewer was nice, but pokerfaced, reading questions from a sheet and writing down your responses. Very important – tailor your answers to the Linklaters agile mindset, they’re very clearly looking for that. Questions asked: · Why Linklaters? · Why commercial law? · What would you be doing on a vac scheme at Linklaters? · Which leader do you admire? · Greatest life achievement · A time your integrity was questioned · A time you failed · A time you could have handled a situation better · A time you showed good leadership · A time you dealt with a difference of opinions within a team · A time you worked under pressure · A time you worked well within a team The eTray and case study exercise were done in a single sitting. They are timed, and you have to do the exercises in order – you only get given the info for the second task once the time to do the first task has elapsed. Two very important issues to note here. First up, spell checker is disabled, so leave time to proofread. Secondly, you’ll be working on Lenovo Thinkpads, which have a strange keyboard layout (press shift for capital letters etc), so allow time to get to grips with this. The eTray exercise was fairly simple, and had two parts. The first was an imaginary email inbox at work with lots of emails. You had to decided whether to do a task, delegate it to someone else, or delete it. Next up was some standard contract scrutiny – they provided you with the edited contract, and the relevant bits of legislation, and you had to answer some questions on this. These aren’t difficult tasks, but can take time, so good timekeeping is vital. The case study centered around an imaginary M&A deal. You had to do due diligence, flagging the most important issues in email format. Read the instructions [B]CAREFULLY[/B]. Shortly before your partner interview, you get a ‘crisis’ email. I can’t say exactly what it was, but essentially you have a few minutes to decide what you would do in this situation. Then you go to your interview. The partner interview has 2 main parts. One part is going over your response to the crisis. They will probe you on everything, so be prepared to think on your feet. The other part is going over the case study exercise, what you did, what you might do as a trainee in this scenario. Having an in-depth knowledge of M&A/due diligence is important here – more than just what was in the TCLA guide. Questions asked: · Differences between warranties, representations, indemnities? · Share vs asset purchases pros and cons · Types of lawyers working on this deal? · What would you advise this client to do? · Do you have any questions for me? [B]Vac scheme structure[/B] The scheme had four main parts to it: practice overviews (ie talks from the relevant partner/Managing Associate), tasks to complete for our principals, tasks to be marked by an external examiner, and a client pitch. We were also encouraged to network with people throughout the firm (webex chats, phone calls etc), and there were also 2 socials. The first thing to note here is that Links crammed the entirety of their 4 week scheme into a shortened 2 week scheme. Speaking to previous vac schemers revealed that the same amount of work was expected of us, in half the time. This meant pretty much every day working until 11PM/midnight: most of the “work” day was filled with sector talks. Even some departments were unaware of this, and the grad rec team didn’t seem to have a clear understanding either – they were really shocked to discover people were working on weekends/into the evening. Obviously, this is a more accurate representation of trainee life, but be warned – it is far more demanding than most other vac schemes, so take this into account. Practice overviews were quite simple, and were explained well. You’re encouraged to ask questions, so make sure to have 1 or 2 per talk – and make sure they are [B]GOOD[/B] ones. Don’t roll out the standard “effect of Brexit/Covid on your area” question – make sure they are interesting questions that a quick Google cannot answer. I’d advise making some notes on interesting points, either so that you can reach out to people in the firm to answer these, or else so that you can mention them briefly in your final interview. We had a booklet of tasks to complete for our principals: there were three practice areas, and 2 options per area. You had to pick one from each area to complete. There was a deadline to submit each task to your principal, and they would give you feedback on it. They were for the most part standard M&A tasks, but could be quite lengthy, and required a lot of research. We also had tasks to be marked externally. They were emailed to us one by one, and had deadlines. They focused on due diligence for a deal – each task was on the same deal, but with a different focus. Tasks 1 & 2 were marked by an external examiner. Task 3 was marked by the partner who would be interviewing you for a training contract. For the pitch, we were split into groups, and given a real-life client of the firm who we were pitching to. You don’t have a lot of time to plan and construct your presentation, and the time limit for the presentation itself is tight (group of 6 people have 7 minutes). You have to pitch to 3 partners who are posing as the client’s representatives. The questions from the partners were tough, so preparation and thinking on your feet is vital. Networking was also very much encouraged. You have a principal and a trainee solicitor “buddy” to give you basic advice (although obviously they can’t help you in-depth), but need to reach out to other people to catch up. This isn’t technically obligatory, but it’s highly recommended, and – especially since it’s virtual – is one of your only chances to show active enthusiasm and interest in the company and your seats. Due to the virtual nature of the scheme, for the most part, lawyers didn’t have any work to give us themselves, although there’s no harm asking. It’s worth noting that this varied sharply between principals though – my principals were extremely busy, and didn’t have any work to give me when I asked, whereas other people were given tasks by their principals/invited to sit in on client calls. We had 2 socials, which were both pleasant, but as we all had so much work to get on with after they had ended, they were a little strained. That said, it’s obviously hard to organise a social virtually – and social events are understandably bottom of the list of priorities for creating a virtual vac scheme – so no criticism of grad rec here. You also have to fill out a training contract application form, which is essentially the same structure as any TC direct application - a box to write your application letter/essay in. Make sure to leave time to do this well - don't rush it! [B]Training Contract Interview[/B] The interview revolved primarily around task 3, which I had submitted in advance. Be prepared to know your argument back to front, and to be able to explain it clearly and concisely to the interviewers. Also make sure you have an overview of what has happened so far – the first two tasks are related to the same deal, and basic knowledge of them will help you setting the scene if asked to. The interviewers were very different for different people. Some people had interviewers who barely asked them anything, I was sharply questioned on whatever I said. Even though they agreed with what I had written, there would be follow-up questions about how one might do something differently. A good, in-depth understanding of the pros and cons of the different methods of financing a deal is vital, and so too is a detailed understanding of the advantages/disadvantages of share & asset purchases. Some commercial awareness goes a long way in supporting your answer. There were also some more general questions, relating to niche/passing elements of my CV/job history, so know both inside out! [/QUOTE]
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