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This is one of those situations where it is best to ask the firm individually as each firm will have a different approach. You should also pay attention to the wording, some firms label them as a 'preference' (White & Case) whereas other firms have an 'expectation' but are willing to view the application holistically (Mayer Brown and Norton Rose clarified this at their open day). There are also other firms known to be quite stringent with this requirement (Shearman & Sterling). It's different if you have extenuating circumstances as most firms take that into consideration.