Hey, preparing for an AC (although a little nerving) gets easier with time, so long as you know what you’re doing. Now, it may seem like you’re going into new territory, but if you prepare well you should be able to perform your best regardless.
With the AC, the most important thing to remember is each component (interview, case study, group exercise) is assessing a different set of skills, for which you’ll be graded and the total coalition of your marks will be used to decide how strong you performed on the AC and whether it will amount to an offer. So, the aim here isn’t just to be yourself and hope for the best, but to actually strategize your approach and make sure you’re hitting the key competencies.
I have highlighted these competencies below, and attached some links to detailed TCLA posts that I feel go to the heart of each exercise in a way that best prepares you to meet the marks.
Interviews -
https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....de-for-competency-interview-preparation.9380/
The interview is simply the firm’s chance to learn about you and decide whether your motivation for the career and firm is strong enough, so as to confirm if they are going to be investing in helping you qualify. It is therefore important to research the type of skills they look for in a candidate, and make sure you think about what experiences you have to prove that you’re capable of doing this.
Lastly, it’s also a chance to see who you are beyond the legal world – as in, are you going to be a good cultural fit for the firm. Now, you don’t need to match interests and hobbies with the assessor, but you do need to be able to show a little insight into what makes you tick. For many of us, this isn’t a recent development in the world of aviation law, but more so something pretty base level like football or travelling. These kinds of insight into you are important to set yourself apart from the rest of the candidate pool.
Written Exercise/Case Study -
https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....firm-case-studies-monday-article-series.3232/
A time-pressured situation, where it’s easy to lose sight of what you’re being asked to do as you rush to provide as much information as possible. You are being assessed on the quality of your work, and your ability to analyse/cater to your audience, under the bracket of being efficient with your time. This takes practice, more than the other two, so you need to make yourself comfortable with writing at speed, structuring, understanding the question and being able to answer just that (nothing less and nothing more).
As these tend to change across firms, it is difficult to provide a one-stop answer for how to structure your answers/content – but think about who you’re writing this for, is it for yourself, a client, or a colleague. Consider what might be most helpful to them, and present your answer in that format.
If it is more to do with your ability to interpret information, like a case study, consider the implications of each fact with your clients interest at heart. You don’t need to have the ideal solution, but you do need to be able to flag concerns that you think could arise and the resource attached helps with that.
Group Exercise/Negotiation -
https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....ssed-negotiations-monday-article-series.3018/
Probably the most nerving aspect of any AC is being asked to work with others. It’s easy to shy away in a group full of strong personalities, or overshadow those around you so that you seem like the strongest. The trick is not to do either, you don’t need to be the loudest but you also can’t be the quietest. Find the balance. The best way to approach is consider what makes a good team-player, and strive your best to fit that profile.
It is usually the one that listens, includes others, mediates conflict/aggression, offers their opinion but is open to feedback and change, and essentially someone who keeps the progress moving. Remember, at this stage you are not competitors but a collective, working towards a common goal. Have that in your heart and you can’t go wrong.
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