Slaughter and May Interview

Nicole

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Feb 28, 2018
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Future trainee at Slaughter and May, anonymous

Of course! I’ve jotted down a couple of points below which will hopefully be of some use (they’re probably slightly generic, but perhaps useful).

1. The written exercise is very time restricting. I was provided with information and had to write a business strategy for a company, so general knowledge of business models (SWOT, Porter’s Five Forces etc.) is definitely useful! Avoid going into too much detail, otherwise you will not finish it in time!

2. After you finish the written exercise you’re given around 15 minutes to read an article, and you sit in the reception to read it (which I hadn’t experienced elsewhere). My article was on technology in business, so touching on AI. The partner then comes to collect you and takes you to the interview. Don’t expect them to start with the article first! The first 30 minutes of my interview was based on me, motives, commercial awareness etc. Apparently it depends on the partners, so just be aware that this may be the case.

3. My interview was very commercially focused in comparison to other interviews, although that was just my experience. My interviewers also placed a lot of emphasis on which other firms I had applied to, and why! So be prepared to back your decisions up. Make sure you know why they are different to the other firms you have applied to (i.e multi-specialist, their international approach is very different). The interview itself is very much a conversation. The interviewers are really interested in getting to know you! Definitely be commercially prepared and be up to date with the news, and have opinions on everything you read! (I know everyone says that, but it was particularly true of Slaughter and May).

4. For the article, my advice would be the same for all firms - make sure you clearly articulate yourself succinctly, and sum up the article in your own words and outline the key arguments in the article. The partners really do push you! They do challenge your views, so stand firm when they do challenge you! They will challenge everything you say (more so than at other firms). I’ve heard a lot of people say how terrible the “interrogation” was at Slaughter and May, but I really didn’t feel that. It is challenging, but I think it challenges you in a good way. I genuinely felt that I was having a debate with the partners.

5. The short interview with HR at the end is a strange one. You sit in the reception and they ask you how you think they day went, what you thought went well/bad, what you had learnt etc. I had a really positive experience, so it was easy to discuss the day with HR. They ask again which firms you have applied, whether you’ve had any interviews/offers etc. Just be friendly and yourself. It’s part of the interview, but it’s just very informal.
 
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Jaysen

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    When was your Slaughter and May interview?

    April 2018

    What was it for?


    Training Contract

    Please describe the interview process at Slaughter and May.

    Very organised, relax and stripped back. This firm's assessment day is straightforward and puts you at ease. You arrive and are directed to sit down in the client waiting area. A member of HR greets you and takes you to a meeting room where you complete the written exercise. This is a 1-hour activity, normally a merger or acquisition, or advice on how and whether to expand. You type your answer on a computer - they recommend typing 2-3 A4 pages. It is time pressured. Once the time is up, you are taken back to the waiting area and given an article to read with a pen and some paper to make notes. This will be on a current topic.

    After 15-20 minutes one of the partners will collect you and take you to another meeting room. Both partners will introduce themselves and ask some ice breaker questions, and then launch straight in. Once the interview is finished, a trainee will collect you and give you a tour of the offices, before dropping you back to the waiting area. Finally, a member of HR will do a quick rundown and ask about other offers, where else you applied etc.

    What advice would you give to future applicants for the Slaughter and May interview?

    For the written exercise, do research on how mergers and acquisitions work, what things are relevant when expanding, how companies work, and basically what clients worry about when they are expanding or need your advice. Time manage extremely well because it is pressured. For the partner exercise, understand that it is entirely motivational - they will dig deep, for me they spent 15-20 minutes just talking about my A-levels, why I chose them and how I decided that doing a law degree was the way I wanted to go. They also asked my about my university choice, one of my module marks and why the firm. I felt it was quite relaxed and not as harsh as others made it out, but this definitely depends on which partners you get. For the commercial article, they asked for a summary, what the author was arguing, what I thought and what my position would be and why, and they challenged me in that respect. Definitely take a look at your CV and forensically go through how everything on it supports your decision to pursue a training contract.
     
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    Jaysen

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  • Feb 17, 2018
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    When was your Slaughter and May interview?

    April 2018

    What was it for?


    [Not provided]

    Please describe the interview process at Slaughter and May.

    An hour to read through some documents and to write an email with recommendations to the client; 15 minutes or so sitting in reception reading an article; an interview with two partners about competencies, motivations and discussing the article; an office tour by a trainee; an interview with someone from HR.

    What advice would you give to future applicants for the Slaughter and May interview?

    The case study is pretty straightforward, but it's really important to manage your time well. For me, it was reading through different possible business strategies and writing a recommendation to a client for which would be the best future option. Maybe brush up on your SWOT analysis for this, it could be helpful when it comes to structuring your answer. You're given the option to type it or write it.

    After this, you're given a short article to read for about 15 minutes in the reception area. I had more than 15 minutes because my interviewers were late. You can take notes. A partner then collects you from the reception.

    The interview with partners was okay. It wasn't very conversational in my experience though - it felt a bit "question-answer" and the partners both had extreme pokerface. Don't expect them to start talking about the article straightaway - this was the second half of my interview. Form an opinion and be able to articulate your arguments clearly.

    The HR interview is a strange one. I'm not really sure what this is all about - I think just getting a feel for you and putting a face to the name when it comes to eventually having a discussion about who gets an offer. It covered the partner interview, what I felt had gone well and not so well, other work experience. They said that this wasn't actually "assessed" but that's rubbish, it 100% is and the HR person takes loads of notes so stay in interview mode.
     

    Jaysen

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  • Feb 17, 2018
    4,692
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    When was your Slaughter and May interview?

    May 2018

    What was it for?


    Training Contract

    Please describe the interview process at Slaughter and May.

    The interview was unlike any other interview I'd done before. On the whole it's not really one you can prepare for. It was mainly commercial and business based. Start off with the standard why law, why commercial law. Then they choose a module you did in uni and ask you to discuss some of the issues you learnt about and your opinion. Very technical stuff. From there its all business based. I didnt get asked any questions about my experiences they didnt even mention anything from my cv other than the module i did. Thats the first half of the interview. The next is discussing an article. Essentially there will be an element of debate and whatever side you take they take the opposite. Again I found mine to be very technical focusing on what legislation id put in place to deal with the issue. They question thoroughly at this part!

    What advice would you give to future applicants for the Slaughter and May interview?

    The only part of the interview you can prepapre for is the article. I'd say if you read the FT everyday for 2 weeks before your interview you'll be fine. (The article I got was one I read before.) Focus on current trends because it is very unlikeley they'll choose something very obscure. Also dont be worried about knowing about the topic, despite having read the article I got before, I found that its more legal based and having an opinion as opposed to having a thorough understanding of the news story. If you vaguely know what's going on you'll be safe.
     

    Jaysen

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  • Feb 17, 2018
    4,692
    8,564
    When was your Slaughter and May interview?

    May 2018

    What was it for?


    Training Contract

    Please describe the interview process at Slaughter and May.

    Case study/ Partner Interview/ HR interview

    What advice would you give to future applicants for the Slaughter and May interview?

    HR interview covered competency. Partner Interview was very interested as to why Slaughter and May and what differentiates the firm. Asked why law and not other subjects at university. It was a fast-paced interview but they did not push me too much. They would definitely probe my responses but they did not push further. Be prepared to support every statement as in all interviews. Mostly about my CV/experiences/competency/my vac scheme I did. Asked what my plans are next year (final year student)

    When discussing the case study they asked technicals, not as a separate technical part (e.g. what is debt finance) they asked about the case study - what are the benefits of merging...etc. Was interested in comparing other magic circle and did ask about 2 of my grade results. (just to add on to last post)
     

    Jaysen

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  • Feb 17, 2018
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    Anonymous -

    The primary focus of my interview was what I had put in my CV.

    I got asked the standard questions, Why Slaughters? , Why Law? Alternative Careers? (like if you couldnt be a lawyer)

    I then got asked some specific questions, modules Id done poorly on they asked why? They then probed my reasoning for why ( this was my downfall as I hadnt properly thought about the the follow up questions) They also asked about the modules I had done well in (non commercial ones) and why I didnt want to go into that area?

    They also asked my interests and why, weirdly they then went onto ask what else? This sort of threw me off as I had just given three of my hobbies and I was unsure if this wasnt enough? In hindsight was really just to see how Id respond to a more curveball-esque question.

    I got asked about my involvement in societies and why?

    In terms of commercial questions the only question was a recent article that interested you? Another downfall of mine was that I didn't have a broad enough knowledge of the subject matter of the article, so when the probing follow up questions began my responses were relatively weak. You then also have to do a similar article probing with the case study exercise, so the majority of my interview was literally talking about two articles.

    I also asked some follow up questions, which they didn't actually answer and just said "I actually really want to ask you that question" So I ended up answering all my own questions and then got the partner perspective who basically agreed with me.

    Ultimately I wasn't successful, but I think my biggest downfall was not preparing / thinking about the follow up questions to everything your asked. So Id recommend looking at your CV and really thinking about the sort of things they'd ask you, how'd you respond and the follow up questions.
     

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