2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion

[Leen]

How do you guys deal with the agony of waiting for a response after an AC? This has been the longest week of my life…

 

[Dheepa]

I'm trying to prep a commercial awareness story for an interview and I have already prepared a Fintech one and a COVID related one and now I wanted to prep one to do with ESG but I can't find too many specific news stories recently - do you think it's ok to just talk in general about the rising importance of ESG factors and drop in some examples? And then connect it to how law firms can be involved?

I think talking about the rising importance of ESG on its own may be too broad and you may still want to link it to how its affecting specific industries. For example, in the retail or consumer goods industry the primary issue is the negative press global companies have and will continue to face if they don't adopt ethical sourcing methods for materials, pay workers (especially in third world countries) fair wages, etc. For the oil & gas industry, it's a far more direct impact to revenues, current projects and the threat of losing relevance to its investor base if they don't transition to green energy swiftly. For financial institutions, there is the increasing relevance of the EU Sustainable Finance Action Plan.

Once you identify the industry you want to focus on I think finding a corresponding news story becomes much easier. You can then tie in your own broader research on these trends when discussing the story.

There's also this thread with some great resources on ESG https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/esg.3273/

 

[topsawyer]

Ropes & Gray Assessment Day Invite! They've got everything on their AC: interview, negotiation, written exercise and an elevator pitch style presentation. The TCLA forums have excellent advice regarding negotiations, case studies and interviews (looking at @Jacob Miller's articles!), was just wondering if anyone's ever delivered an elevator pitch presentation and what your tips would be?

 

[jan28]

Ropes PFO, damaged my laptop by spilling water on it and have an interview coming i need a camera for whewwwww life is coming at me fast

edit: having said this, at least I'm not Uber today 😅

 

[Lily721]

I am actually impressed with Ropes & Gray's relatively quick turnaround - glad to see people are hearing back already, whatever the news! Wish other firms were more prompt.

 

[E.A]

How do you guys deal with the agony of waiting for a response after an AC? This has been the longest week of my life…

Totally know how you feel. Once I was so nervous I found one of the candidates from my AC on LinkedIn and asked if that person had heard back yet, desperate much?! 🤣😬

 

[Soccerox73]

Hi, did anyone hear back from Weil post-AC this week at all?

 

[Lily721]

How do you guys deal with the agony of waiting for a response after an AC? This has been the longest week of my life…

I once had to wait over two months.....totally put me off.

 

[C]

When the interview question is something like "tell us about a recent commercial story you've been following" is it better to discuss a specific headline and its implications? or can it be better to discuss general trends in the market like ESG or investment in tech and tie it back to law firms?

 

[21wajsz]

Does NRF send an email of confirmation once you've completed the WG test?

 

[Leen]

Totally know how you feel. Once I was so nervous I found one of the candidates from my AC on LinkedIn and asked if that person had heard back yet, desperate much?! 🤣😬

I am literally seconds away from doing that!! Stop me please 😂

 

[cloud9]

Just finished my VI for Addleshaw Goddard London. I think it went ok considering it was my first! How long do they generally take to respond?

 

[E.A]

I am literally seconds away from doing that!! Stop me please 😂

Hahaha, I had no shame I was too nervous and needed to calm my anxiety. Needless to say, I think always asking others if they have heard back makes us 10 x more stressed out. I try to take some time away from this as it drives me crazy. We'll know the outcome at some point anyway!

 

[lawloser]

Does NRF send an email of confirmation once you've completed the WG test?

No!

I had completed it back in October for the winter scheme, forgot, emailed grad rec, asking them to please please let me do it again since i missed the deadline, and they emailed back and were like 'hmm I dont understand, you took the test two weeks ago' 😅

 

[Leen]

I once had to wait over two months.....totally put me off.

Wow, law firms are really teaching us how to be more patient

 

[Asil Ahmad]

I have such a range of grades (49% to 84%, however a 2.1 in both years) and have had ACs with MC and US firms whilst also having a VS last year! So it really depends more on the individual firm rather than the group!

Grades are definitely looked at closely.

A overall 2.2 in your second or third year will not be ideal. Occasional module is fine, but a 2.2 average in a year will be a concern for many firms, even if you did average a 2.1 by the end of your degree.

I don't necessarily agree - I lean towards the view that firms look at your applications holistically.

For instance - I didn't do too well in one of my public law modules last year, and it dragged my grade down to a low 2.1, whereas I did well on the rest of them, namely contract, criminal and tort which I presume are the more important ones for some firms. I don't feel like it has hindered me, and I seem to be doing better with US firms which tend to have more stringent academic requirements.

So I think firstly, sometimes it depends on which module you have done poorly in, but also the quality of the rest of your application, how well you score on the tests/WG etc.

I agree with that some MC firms are not strict with grades for example Linklaters I know people with 2.2 got a VS there.

Thank you Jessica and I think some firms are more strict with grades I mean having a 2.1 overall but one 2.2 is okay but do US firms take a stricter approach on grades.

Thank you guys and I agree with that certain modules like contract law grades matter more.

 

[Legalmel_99]

Just finished my VI for Addleshaw Goddard London. I think it went ok considering it was my first! How long do they generally take to respond?

I don’t know how long it is for AG but I did a VI for BLM and it took 3 weeks for them to respond

 

[JoeyTr]

Does NRF send an email of confirmation once you've completed the WG test?

nope

 

[GK8997]

When the interview question is something like "tell us about a recent commercial story you've been following" is it better to discuss a specific headline and its implications? or can it be better to discuss general trends in the market like ESG or investment in tech and tie it back to law firms?

So I personally discuss a specific headline initially to answer the 'commercial story' bit- I give brief details of the article I read. I then link it back to general trends in the market/ specific industry. Following this, I talk about its impact on law firms i.e. if these sectors are being impacts how will this affect law firms and I make sure to link it back to the firm I am interviewing at specifically (I pick a commercial story that links back to the firm's practice areas or industries). This is my approach but by no means is it the right one!

 

[Asil Ahmad]

Not sure about your chances at US and MC firms but I know some firms just care if you have that minimum 2:1 so definitely try to a few places

Yes US firms are more strict towards grades and they want people with top grades but I guess not every US firm takes that approach.