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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Abbie Whitlock" data-source="post: 243644" data-attributes="member: 42112">Hey!This is a very fair question, and I think it can be quite common to hear contradictory advice on the topic (which made me super confused last cycle too!).In my view, for TC assessment centres, firms are not expecting you to know financial terms and concepts inside out, but they do expect you to show credible legal and commercial awareness. It's likely that the right balance is somewhere between the two examples that you mentioned.I would aim to have a working understanding of core concepts, rather than trying to master all of the technical elements. That means knowing what things are and why they matter, rather than being able to recite their definition. For example, it is useful to understand what conditions precedent do in a transaction, why a lockbox structure might be used, and the broad different between representations and indemnities and how risk is allocated - but you are unlikely to be penalised for not knowing technical details or the specifics of how they work in practice.At the same time, relying only on basic trends and general economics might come across as underprepared (depending on the firm), especially at AC stage. Firms will want to see that you have started trying to apply your commercial awareness to a legal setting (i.e. viewing it as a trainee) - this could involve spotting risks, understanding what drives clients, and appreciating how lawyers add value in a transaction.It helped me to create a bank of key concepts and structures that you might find in a commercial transaction, so I could: (a) understand what they were and when they might be used in a transaction, and (b) understand why they were used in practice and what value they brought.As I briefly mentioned above, it is likely to be dependent on the firm you are interviewing at. For example, a very PE-heavy firm such as Paul, Weiss might expect you to know more of the details on private equity transactions, whereas other firms might not expect the same level of detail on that area. I would always try to tailor your commercial awareness preparation in advance of an AC to the firm that you are applying for - for example, a lot of my Reed Smith preparation focused on the client sectors that they work in (e.g. Shipping and Aviation), rather than the specifics of PE.I would say that overall, depth is less important than applying the concepts in real-time and understanding their effects for clients and law firms <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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