2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion

[Larry HC]

Did anyone get a confirmation email in your inbox after submitting an application for Milbank? I can see that apply4law says a confirmation has been sent but I haven't received anything in my emails, have checked spams/marketing folders etc... I did have some issues accessing apply4law yesterday so not sure if that has affected it.

 

[golden99]

Hi guys very random question. But does anyone know if solicitors would have played a role in the approval of the Covid-19 vaccine, ie advising during the regulatory process? I believe they did but can't find anything online to back this up and want some confirmation before submitting an application. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Lumree]

Hi guys very random question. But does anyone know if solicitors would have played a role in the approval of the Covid-19 vaccine, ie advising during the regulatory process? I believe they did but can't find anything online to back this up and want some confirmation before submitting an application. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Gowling worked on the AstraZeneca vaccine https://gowlingwlg.com/en/news/firm-news/2020/astrazeneca-and-university-of-oxford-collaboration/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJa1sFrJ0Jo/?igshid=1jcvfopoqjd1d

I believe Linklaters worked on one of the other vaccines too.

 

[Lisa Lowe]

How long have people waited before hearing back from CMS after completing the WG test?

 

[golden99]

Thank you @Lumree !

 

[OB]

How long have people waited before hearing back from CMS after completing the WG test?

Took about 2 weeks for me to hear back post WG

 

[ellwilsen]

Congratulations! When did you apply? I'm still waiting to hear something back

22nd Oct

 

[Monkeyray]

Hi! I hope I'm posting in the right place!

Debevoise's app form asks: "Please tell us about a recent commercial deal that has captured your interest. If you could represent a side, which would it be and why?"

I want to check:
a) Should I line this up to my skills / experiences to explain why I am interested in the deal?
b) What factors should I consider when choosing my preferred side?
c) Would it be better to pick a big / well-renowned deal or to stay away from these?

Thanks so much!

 

[M1999]

Hi! For the Debevoise application. The questions:
'Why do you want to be a solicitor and what attracted you to Debevoise?' and 'What do you hope to get out of a career at a firm like ours?' are very similar and I do not really know how to differentiate between these two. Obviously, in the first one, I have detailed my motivations for commercial law as well!

 

[leolegal]

Hi everyone, I would be grateful to get help with this question: If you were unsuccessful in the process previously at [law firm] please give us further information and how have you developed since? (150 words)

I applied to the firm last year but my application was rushed so I'm not surprised I didn't get through to the next stage. How could I approach this question? TIA x

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi! I hope I'm posting in the right place!

Debevoise's app form asks: "Please tell us about a recent commercial deal that has captured your interest. If you could represent a side, which would it be and why?"

I want to check:
a) Should I line this up to my skills / experiences to explain why I am interested in the deal?
b) What factors should I consider when choosing my preferred side?
c) Would it be better to pick a big / well-renowned deal or to stay away from these?

Thanks so much!

1) It doesn’t have to align to your skills, but you should be able to reference why you are interested in the matter.

2) that really depends on you - what interests you, what would be more interesting, is there something about one party that aligns with you than the other

3) really depends on if it is something you are genuinely interested in and can talk about reasonable well, or if you are picking something just to try and impress.

 

[golden99]

Hi guys

I am discussing how fast-track drug trials after Brexit will affect law firms. My current analysis includes that if pharmaceutical clients do more business in the UK due to the fast-track drug trials, this will create more work for law firms. In addition, with the UK framework for drug approval diverging from the EU, there will be more advisory work for law firms. Do you think these are strong points and would you have any suggestions for further analysis of the issue?

I would be really grateful for any help you can provide!

 

[Dheepa]

Hi! I hope I'm posting in the right place!

Debevoise's app form asks: "Please tell us about a recent commercial deal that has captured your interest. If you could represent a side, which would it be and why?"

I want to check:
a) Should I line this up to my skills / experiences to explain why I am interested in the deal?
b) What factors should I consider when choosing my preferred side?
c) Would it be better to pick a big / well-renowned deal or to stay away from these?

Thanks so much!

a) I agree with Jessica, it doesn't need to align with your skills, but I think it always comes across better when you are able to back up your interest in a particular area with tangible experiences. This can be anything from maybe attending a presentation with a firm on a certain practice area, doing a module at university, or any work experience you've had. You could also think of this not just from the perspective of what type of legal deal it is (i.e. disputes/M&A/finance) but about what industry the deal touches on. So if its a deal in the pharmaceutical, automobile or retail industry for example - think about if you have any experiences that could help tie your interest to those areas.

b) Definitely just pick the side that interests you. However, if you feel worried about not having enough things to discuss some things you can consider when picking a side -

• Was there a non UK client/side? (if it involves an emerging market there could potentially be a lot to discuss in terms of emerging regulations and political complexities of executing the deal)
• Was there a side which needed the deal to go through because particularly of urgent commercial considerations? (maybe it was an investment in a new technology needed to keep up with competitors)
• Is it a particularly well known/big client? - could introduce further issues like confidentiality (particularly if it was a listed client)

Side note: If you are choosing an M&A deal/transactional deal, I'd say don't pick the side that's advising the banks just because lender documentation on these types of deals can be very standard and its usually the companies that have a lot of issues they want to push back on in negotiations.

c) Don't think this matters as much. If it is a well known deal you could find a lot of background information that could really help you go into detail but if it's an obscure one you might struggle slightly more.

 

[ski1239]

To what extent can the answers in your video interview overlap with the answers on your original application form?

 

[Dheepa]

Hi! For the Debevoise application. The questions:
'Why do you want to be a solicitor and what attracted you to Debevoise?' and 'What do you hope to get out of a career at a firm like ours?' are very similar and I do not really know how to differentiate between these two. Obviously, in the first one, I have detailed my motivations for commercial law as well!

I've never applied Debevoise but if it was me, I think I'd spend the first question elaborating more on the work that the firm does and maybe the second question on the kind of personal/professional development opportunities that Debevoise in particular provide. I've just had a look at the GR brochure and this are some points in their "fundamental values" section:

• Recognition of the importance of the quality of our lives and of the need for balance and mutual support to deal with the pressures of practice and our lives
  
• Strong commitments to public service and public responsibility, equal opportunity and the improvement of our profession - This could tie in very well to the huge emphasis they seem to have on pro bono work. I know from attending an event with SEO that they have an online magazine written/edited solely by the women at the firm that (which I thought was pretty impressive) discusses a lot of gender equality issues in the professional world

Maybe thinking about how these values link up with anything you have demonstrated matters to you (through anything you've done at university or otherwise)/ what you want from your career will help.

Sorry if this is a bit vague, just thought I'd drop my thoughts anyway!

 

[Dheepa]

To what extent can the answers in your video interview overlap with the answers on your original application form?

I think it's completely fine if they overlap significantly. If the VI time allows, you'd evidently want to provide more elaboration but otherwise I think overlap is expected, especially when answering questions to do with why commercial law or why this firm as those kind of motivations rarely change for people!

 

[M1999]

I've never applied Debevoise but if it was me, I think I'd spend the first question elaborating more on the work that the firm does and maybe the second question on the kind of personal/professional development opportunities that Debevoise in particular provide. I've just had a look at the GR brochure and this are some points in their "fundamental values" section:

• Recognition of the importance of the quality of our lives and of the need for balance and mutual support to deal with the pressures of practice and our lives
  
• Strong commitments to public service and public responsibility, equal opportunity and the improvement of our profession - This could tie in very well to the huge emphasis they seem to have on pro bono work. I know from attending an event with SEO that they have an online magazine written/edited solely by the women at the firm that (which I thought was pretty impressive) discusses a lot of gender equality issues in the professional world

Maybe thinking about how these values link up with anything you have demonstrated matters to you (through anything you've done at university or otherwise)/ what you want from your career will help.

Sorry if this is a bit vague, just thought I'd drop my thoughts anyway!

Thank you so much! I was thinking about putting the pro bono aspect in the second question and this confirmed I should. Thanks again

 

[Jacob Miller]

Hi guys very random question. But does anyone know if solicitors would have played a role in the approval of the Covid-19 vaccine, ie advising during the regulatory process? I believe they did but can't find anything online to back this up and want some confirmation before submitting an application. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Callum,

Indeed, there was a huge amount of legal input on the vaccines and it will have been major commercial firms advising on this work. The chances are that most vaccine providers and stakeholders will have used long-term panel firms- I happen to know that Linklaters advised Gavi on a c.€0.5bn funding drive for the vaccine; Travers Smith advised Benchmark on the offloading of various vaccine manufacturing assets to CGT catapult and that CC, Pinsents and (I think) Burgess Salmon advised the UK government on various aspects of the UK vaccination programme.

There will be several other firms involved in vaccine-related projects, I doubt any of the top 20-30 firms in the City have had absolutely nothing to do with it on any level!

 

[golden99]

Thanks @Jacob Miller !!

 

[Jessica Booker]

To what extent can the answers in your video interview overlap with the answers on your original application form?

Overlap is fine but I would expect a video interview to be more in-depth or specific