- Feb 17, 2018
- 4,695
- 8,576
Please state the month/year you interviewed at the firm.
Not Completed
Please specify what the interview was for.
Summer Vacation Scheme 2020
Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.
10 am – Arrival/Greeted by HR/ Briefing for the day
10. 30 am – Case Study Exercise
11.40 am – Partner Interviews/Negotiation Exercise (candidates are split into two groups by HR with one group doing interviews first while the other group does the negotiation exercise)
1.30pm – Lunch and tour of the firm with trainees
3.00 pm – End
Please provide a summary of each assessment on the day with approximate timings.
Case Study
The case study is a hand written exercise to be completed within 40 minutes. The case study this year was about your client acquiring a fictional company. You are given a list of issues with the acquisition are asked to write a report to the client detailing the consequences of these issues to the client, any further information you would require, and potential resolutions to the issues.
Negotiation Exercise
The negotiation scenario is essentially a follow up from the case study scenario. It was a two party negotiation with two people representing each side. You are given 20 minutes to read through your materials and prepare points with your teammate and then 30 minutes to negotiate. We were only notified 5 minutes before our time was up, so I think we were also assessed on keeping time and how we were using our time. During both the preparation and the actual negotiation an associate was in the room assessing us.
Interview
1-hour interview with two partners. My interview was solely focused on my application with no competency questions.
Please list any interview questions you were asked.
Some general questions they asked were:
1. Why law?
2. What would we have to consider when opening a new office in a different country?
3. Where do you think we should open our next office?
Scenario based questions
1. I was asked if NRF should decide not take on certain types of clients. They specifically asked if they should agree to do work for North Korea.
2. You put your money in a vending machine and don’t end up getting your item. You are a particularly litigious person and want to sue someone for it. Who would you sue and why?
I had quite a lot of follow up questions to this like “Since your claim is contractual what are the basics of a contract?” “Why sue the manufacturer and not the operator of the machine?”
Commercial Awareness Questions
These were very much based on things I said I had done during different internships. I specifically got asked:
1. What issues do you think are facing the automobile industry?
2. Can you explain what’s happening with LIBOR?
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.
Case Study
Practice handwriting the day before so having to use a pen and paper as opposed to typing does not throw you off. I think having a good understanding of how certain contractual provisions like indemnities; warranties etc. will help with trying to suggest resolutions to the client. Highly recommend the M&A Course on TCLA Premium for this. Or you could read Jake Schogger's book.
Negotiation Exercise
For the negotiation exercise, definitely make a list of all your clients’ demands and what you and your partner’s starting points (to offer to the other side) are for negotiating these demands. Also it will really help if during the preparation period you and your partner spend a few minutes deciding who will take the lead on which issues so that both of you have equal opportunity to showcase your skills.
The instructions specifically say make sure you come to an agreement on all terms so be conscious of time, offer to put a timer on the table so everyone knows if negotiating one point is taking too long, and don’t take too much of a hard/non-negotiable stance on certain issues.
Interview
Make sure you really know the ins and outs of anything you mentioned in your cover letter or application form.
Look out for anything they could use to ask you a commercial awareness question and read up on its latest developments in the news. This could be anything you've done during your work experiences or deals you've mentioned.
I would also recommend being prepared for the “where should we open our next office” question because a couple of other people on my AC were asked that and from researching the NRF AC online I know this is a common question that gets asked.
Try and link your answers back to NRF as much as possible because if you don’t get asked why NRF (I wasn’t) then there would be no other way to show them that you really want to be at their firm/have done your research.
You can’t really prepare for the scenario-based questions, especially because they really push you and then give you new information to consider/confuse you with. Just do your best to work through the question logically and really explain your thought process. Don’t be afraid to really defend your answer but at the same time they’re fine with you taking back something you said or admitting maybe you’ve made a mistake with something you said.
Were you successful?
Yes
Not Completed
Please specify what the interview was for.
Summer Vacation Scheme 2020
Please give an overview of the day with approximate timings.
10 am – Arrival/Greeted by HR/ Briefing for the day
10. 30 am – Case Study Exercise
11.40 am – Partner Interviews/Negotiation Exercise (candidates are split into two groups by HR with one group doing interviews first while the other group does the negotiation exercise)
1.30pm – Lunch and tour of the firm with trainees
3.00 pm – End
Please provide a summary of each assessment on the day with approximate timings.
Case Study
The case study is a hand written exercise to be completed within 40 minutes. The case study this year was about your client acquiring a fictional company. You are given a list of issues with the acquisition are asked to write a report to the client detailing the consequences of these issues to the client, any further information you would require, and potential resolutions to the issues.
Negotiation Exercise
The negotiation scenario is essentially a follow up from the case study scenario. It was a two party negotiation with two people representing each side. You are given 20 minutes to read through your materials and prepare points with your teammate and then 30 minutes to negotiate. We were only notified 5 minutes before our time was up, so I think we were also assessed on keeping time and how we were using our time. During both the preparation and the actual negotiation an associate was in the room assessing us.
Interview
1-hour interview with two partners. My interview was solely focused on my application with no competency questions.
Please list any interview questions you were asked.
Some general questions they asked were:
1. Why law?
2. What would we have to consider when opening a new office in a different country?
3. Where do you think we should open our next office?
Scenario based questions
1. I was asked if NRF should decide not take on certain types of clients. They specifically asked if they should agree to do work for North Korea.
2. You put your money in a vending machine and don’t end up getting your item. You are a particularly litigious person and want to sue someone for it. Who would you sue and why?
I had quite a lot of follow up questions to this like “Since your claim is contractual what are the basics of a contract?” “Why sue the manufacturer and not the operator of the machine?”
Commercial Awareness Questions
These were very much based on things I said I had done during different internships. I specifically got asked:
1. What issues do you think are facing the automobile industry?
2. Can you explain what’s happening with LIBOR?
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.
Case Study
Practice handwriting the day before so having to use a pen and paper as opposed to typing does not throw you off. I think having a good understanding of how certain contractual provisions like indemnities; warranties etc. will help with trying to suggest resolutions to the client. Highly recommend the M&A Course on TCLA Premium for this. Or you could read Jake Schogger's book.
Negotiation Exercise
For the negotiation exercise, definitely make a list of all your clients’ demands and what you and your partner’s starting points (to offer to the other side) are for negotiating these demands. Also it will really help if during the preparation period you and your partner spend a few minutes deciding who will take the lead on which issues so that both of you have equal opportunity to showcase your skills.
The instructions specifically say make sure you come to an agreement on all terms so be conscious of time, offer to put a timer on the table so everyone knows if negotiating one point is taking too long, and don’t take too much of a hard/non-negotiable stance on certain issues.
Interview
Make sure you really know the ins and outs of anything you mentioned in your cover letter or application form.
Look out for anything they could use to ask you a commercial awareness question and read up on its latest developments in the news. This could be anything you've done during your work experiences or deals you've mentioned.
I would also recommend being prepared for the “where should we open our next office” question because a couple of other people on my AC were asked that and from researching the NRF AC online I know this is a common question that gets asked.
Try and link your answers back to NRF as much as possible because if you don’t get asked why NRF (I wasn’t) then there would be no other way to show them that you really want to be at their firm/have done your research.
You can’t really prepare for the scenario-based questions, especially because they really push you and then give you new information to consider/confuse you with. Just do your best to work through the question logically and really explain your thought process. Don’t be afraid to really defend your answer but at the same time they’re fine with you taking back something you said or admitting maybe you’ve made a mistake with something you said.
Were you successful?
Yes
