Hi
@flower1 this is a really good question, and one I also used to struggle with quite a lot back in the day. The first thing I will mention is that making a detailed analysis of the impact of news to law firms is really difficult, as general commercial awareness resources and publications normally do not teach you to make such connections.
Importantly, it is also worth remembering that, for this reason, there is a limit as to how detailed and novel a firm would expect your answer to be. In many cases, commercial awareness questions based on an article will not focus that much on the specific impact to the firm; and generally, even when they ask this direct question, firms will not mark you down for having a "generic" answer such as one that points out what practices and sectors will likely experience an increase/decrease in demand.
That said, of course, the more nuanced, well-researched, and going beyond and above in depth of analysis an answer is, the better. A number of ways you can seek to add these layers of depth to your answer include:
- Focusing on firm-specific bits of information you can include, such as anything specific to the firm that may make new opportunities particularly important for them? For instance, if there is a projected increase in PE activity, the likes of Kirkland and Latham would benefit a lot more than other rivals with PE practices, given their dominance in this market.
- Focusing on how firms may respond to the challenge/opportunity - i.e. beyond saying what is the likely impact, you can consider if the firm should be looking to hire more associates/partners in a given area, expand geographically, invest in technology, reduce operational costs, etc.
- Link the main story you read about to any related trends/stories that are relevant to your analysis and conclusions - e.g. if you are discussing increased demand for corporate work as a result of decreasing inflation and a more relaxed monetary policy, you could also mention how this will be further reinforced by the calming of tensions around tariffs and trade wars, a built up of dry powder in private funds, and a potential decrease in geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Finally, I just wanted to recommend to you some additional commercial awareness resources which were particularly helpful to me in improving my ability to analyse the impact different commercial news have on law firms:
- The Lawyer is a great publication for this kind of analysis, although you will need an organisational subscription; if you are a student, check if your university has one. If not, their podcast is still freely accessible, so I would advise you to take a look.
- The Global Legal Post is an amazing resource which does not require a subscription at all, so I would advise you to browse through it.
