2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion

[unknownt]

Does anyone have any great tips on preparing for an AC? Currently, I'm making mock answers for potential questions and reviewing my application form in depth. My AC for Clyde's is next week, keen to know if anyone else has theirs as well?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Currently working on my macfarlanes app last minute lol. When talking about why the firm cani mention their pro bono and diversity inclusion or do they not want references to what their "culture" is?

You can - but I'd make sure you have a good cover of why you want to do the day job with them too.

 

[Jacob Miller]

Why is that Jessica? Genuinely curious...by funneling people at an earlier stage, in an industry where other firms accept older applicants, they are doing that? Like it’s not saying age is the factor but if a protected characteristic like age is affected by the policy, doesn’t that apply?

I would not consider working at CC because the policy is silly in terms of sourcing talent but putting that aside it just feels wrong that you’re excluding people in a way that the effect is agism..

I think what Jessica is getting at is that it can't be age discrimination because one can start a degree programme at any age and the stage of one's educational progression isn't a protected characteristic within the meaning of the 2010 Equality Act

 

[Mxkry]

You can - but I'd make sure you have a good cover of why you want to do the day job with them too.

Thank you , i'm planning on spending less than 50 words on it if I mention it

 

[Jacob Miller]

Currently working on my macfarlanes app last minute lol. When talking about why the firm cani mention their pro bono and diversity inclusion or do they not want references to what their "culture" is?

You could but I would focus on fee-earning activities unless you've had an experience with the firm before which validates your understanding of the firm's culture

 

[Celestie]

I think what Jessica is getting at is that it can't be age discrimination because one can start a degree programme at any age and the stage of one's educational progression isn't a protected characteristic within the meaning of the 2010 Equality Act

Technically speaking, yes. But statistically speaking, their intake must be significantly younger compared to other firms.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Do you happen to remember what the cases were? I'm curious to see the reasoning.

No - can't remember the cases in particular.

 

[whisperingrock]

I think what Jessica is getting at is that it can't be age discrimination because one can start a degree programme at any age and the stage of one's educational progression isn't a protected characteristic within the meaning of the 2010 Equality Act

I don't buy it. No one is saying it is directly discriminatory, but it could very well fit the definition of indirect age discrimination.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Technically speaking, yes. But statistically speaking, their intake must be significantly younger compared to other firms.

Possibly - but that wouldn't prove age discrimination.

 

[C]

"What is the most interesting (non-legal) thing you have learnt recently? Why was it of particular interest to you?" can anyone give any tips on how to answer this or what can sound impressive here? thanks!

 

[Jessica Booker]

"What is the most interesting (non-legal) thing you have learnt recently? Why was it of particular interest to you?" can anyone give any tips on how to answer this or what can sound impressive here? thanks!

Its one of those question no one can guide you on as it is specific to you and what you have learnt recently.

Don't try to sound impressive though, just answer it honestly.

 

[Celestie]

Possibly - but that wouldn't prove age discrimination.

Doesn't prove discrimination which can be tried/sued, but does not mean the firm doesn't have 'ageist' and overly-selective tendencies which need to re-evaluated.

 

[Legal_rawn]

Hey guys! I’m trying to prepare an answer to ‘when have you shown resilience’ and I’m struggling to come up with anything. Any advice would be really useful!

 

[Phoenix for all]

Trying to do my Simmons and Simmons VI today but the server has been down since early afternoon...I was given seven days to complete it and deadline is tomorrow, is it too late to email the firm regarding the situation and ask for extension? I don't know if it's gonna look bad on me as I didn't do it sooner and leave it to today (though it's because I am juggling this with a demanding full time job...) @Jessica Booker any insights on this kind of situations from recruiter perspective?

 

[Rob93]

Hey guys! I’m trying to prepare an answer to ‘when have you shown resilience’ and I’m struggling to come up with anything. Any advice would be really useful!

The very fact of having gone through the application process should be ample evidence of resilience, in my opinion.

This is ultimately a character question, so I think really any instance where you've had some kind of difficulty and carried on will suffice, it doesn't need to be anything spectacular. If you've ever played an instrument or sport and hit a point where you were dissatisfied with your rate of progression, but pushed through that and continued to improve, that could probably do it.

 

[Lily721]

I would say some of the biggest challenges are, lockdown meaning a lot of people are working from home - think how does this affect trainees? how does this affect general office culture? Will clients be trickier to get hold of?

There's also challenges from a legal tech perspective

A bit more generic might be brexit - especially with the lack of clarity around financial services?

That's not a stupid question at all! To be honest, it took me a little while to get my head around understanding law firms as businesses and I'm still learning! One of the big ones as mentioned is tech! Law firms like any other business have to fight off competition and offering the best legal tech in the market is a great way of staying ahead of the competition. DM me if you'd like to chat through some other points, I have a few notes from presentations I attended, happy to help

There are two things which come to my mind D&I and are law firms doing enough with this.

Second is the SQE and discuss the challenges faced by the SQE but I might be wrong about the SQE.

I'd say: diversity, attracting top talent, the pandemic/work from home, cyber security/data protection, ESG (in terms of conducting responsible business and making sure their clients do the same), demand from clients who want more bang for their buck especially because a lot of businesses are cash strapped rn due to the pandemic, competition from the big 4 (atleast from a traditional firms pov).

Please dm if you want to ask me more qs Not a stupid q at all. I have extensive experience and it's something I had to thoroughly research.

Not a stupid question at all.

In my view it's actually an extremely difficult question because it is horrendously broad and treats 'the legal industry' as some monolith, which it isn't - as firms like to remind us when saying that answers should be meticulously tailored to their particular business.

In very broad terms I think that looking beyond Brexit at other dynamics in global trade is something worth considering. US-China tensions create obvious probems, but also less obvious ones if you look at who gets caught in the middle (Canada & some Latam countries have found themselves weirdly squeezed by that conflict).

Cryptoassets are still gradually making their way into virtually every aspect of commerce, and that's less widely discussed than it was 3 years ago - just be careful with this one as it's 1. fast-moving an 2. very complex. You don't want to get caught with your pants down.

Traditional firms are still coming under increasing competitive pressure from the Big 4 and alternative service providers, so having to find new ways to deliver value (and drive revenue) to stay in the game.

If this is a question on an actual app, if possible I'd try to scope the question down to things that I know impact that firm. Shortlist some that seem like they have broader ramifications and see which one is best suited to being built out. Just make sure you answer the question being asked and don't stay too specific.

Hi @Lily721

Firstly, I just want to say that this is absolutely not a stupid question!

There are a number of really interesting topics to consider which have been spurred on by COVID-19. When approaching this question I think a good way to approach your response is to consider the challenges impacting clients as this impacts the type of work carried out by firms, and then to also consider challenges impacting the nature and organisation of firms as businesses.

So for example, a big challenge brought on by COVID-19 has been towards the hospitality sector and traditional brick n mortar type commercial models. What does this mean for firms in terms of their clients and work? Well you could talk about the fact that a lot of clients are in severe financial difficulties meaning there is a greater demand for things like insolvency and restructuring support and distressed m&a work. Arguably, this may mean that many other practice areas face a significant fall in demand.

Another example could be the challenges brought by COVID-19 through the increased reliance on technology and remote working. Therefore an interesting thing to consider and research would be the impacts this could have on the way in which firms tackle issues like data protection and confidentiality.

These are just some examples to give you an idea of the type of things to think about when researching.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask anything else ( remember there is no such thing as a silly question here ☺️ )

There have already been some good thoughts placed in here but I would say increased competition in London is a big one as well - lots of US Firms are having double digit growth per year at the moment. Also competition from the Big 4 legal services, and the rise of the 'Ince Group' amongst others, a new business model for Law Firms.

When I had my TC interview with Slaughters, they said they perceived that the biggest challenge facing them wasn't losing clients to US firms but losing out on top graduate talent which I thought was really interesting.

Anyway, just my two cents. Best of luck

Not a stupid question at all! I discuss some potential challenges in my latest article, it may help you approach this issue:

Definitive Guide to Law Firm Interviews! *Monday Article Series*

In this week's (slightly delayed - sorry!) Article, we take a look at law firm interviews. Introduction Almost every law firm’s application process involves some form of interview. This style of interview is designed to find out about your motivations, experiences, skills and characteristics...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

Thank you all for your replies! Definitely given me much more food for thought, and things that I hadn't considered.
Definitely feel more uplifted now after that other comment. <3

 

[Cantab_95]

Get the feeling Sidley Austin will be down for a while...

 

[Jacob Miller]

Hey guys! I’m trying to prepare an answer to ‘when have you shown resilience’ and I’m struggling to come up with anything. Any advice would be really useful!

This can be a really hard question to answer - I often found it quite uncomfortable because you're essentially bigging yourself up!

It's an inherently personal question, so it's really hard to suggest a particular example for you based on your life experiences. Resilience, at its core, is the ability to overcome adversity or challenge in some manner. This could be from a personal or professional experience - think outside the box here! When was a time in your life when you really had to fight to get through a time or experience?

For what it's worth, if you feel comfortable using a personal example as opposed to a professional one, I would tend to use that: I think it shows more dimension to you as a candidate overall rather than everything being grounded in professional experiences. See, for example, my own response to this question in my last article:

Definitive Guide to Law Firm Interviews! *Monday Article Series*

In this week's (slightly delayed - sorry!) Article, we take a look at law firm interviews. Introduction Almost every law firm’s application process involves some form of interview. This style of interview is designed to find out about your motivations, experiences, skills and characteristics...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

(n.b.: it's phrased as "tell me about a time you overcame a challenge", but these are basically the same)

 

[JayB]

Don't worry about it It is a hard one this year!

Thank you! it certainly is!!

 

[Kola]

"To what extent would Clifford Chance be liable under the Equality Act 2010 for age discrimination?" Discuss. (20 marks)