Ah me too! Although both days are right in the middle of my exam period so not holding out much hope 🥲
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2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion
- Thread starter Jaysen
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Ah that sucks! I have an assignment due on the 18th which I won't be able to start until mid next week, so it's not ideal for me either really!
Which day did you go for?
Ah no! I went for the 18th as it was the best out of the options I had haha what about you?
I’m struggling so much to prepare an answer for why not banking for this upcoming AC. If anyone has any advice on how to answer this sort of question that’d be so helpful! I have banking experience so I’m expecting it to be brought up but in all honesty I just like the law aspect 😅 Thanks in advance!
That’s justification in itself! What is it about the law that interests you in a business context? That is a unique element that you won’t get with banking.
1) Law gives you a range of learning areas across practice areas, while in banking you have a very limited range of exploring the different facets of banking.
As a lawyer, you're typically given 4 seats (6 for Dechert, 8 for FF) to explore cases, clients and the law across a range of areas. You then can apply to choose which area you're the most interested in.
Conversely, for banking, you generally enter for instance as a 'Capital Markets Analyst' or a 'Private Wealth Analyst'. It's very specialised. While you can rotate within teams in your sector, you can't rotate within sectors.
Conclusion: as a lawyer, you're able to experience a far deeper breadth of cross-practice learning than if you were on a banking graduate scheme.
Leading on as a corollary to ...
2) Law has different types of work according to your practice area, while banking is mostly the same work everyday as a Analyst-1.
In law, you could be doing disclosures for a white collar fraud case in Dubai one day, working on due diligence for a Hong Kong mid-market deal the next month. You could be doing investigations, research on GDPR, collaborating with the Singaporean Court of Arbitration in a matter of months.
For bankers, and from personal experience working in banks, your work as a Analyst-1 is cut out for you - making pitch decks, doing investment research, powerpointing slides for your senior analysts, financial due diligence.
Conclusion: partners will tell you this - no day at a law firm is (mostly) the same. Unless you're at Dechert working on an airbus bribery case for 4 years! (but even as a trainee, that's just a matter of months)
Which helps you to:
3) As an associate, you usually aren't at a level where you specialize in particular deals early on. You might find a niche in oligarchs or oil/gas/energy later on, but your breadth of work depends on what gets put on your lap. Conversely, I have friends who have had to specialise in pharma deals for banking - and they're put in that field from year 2 in banking onwards.
Conclusion: you get to have a 'multi-specialism' framework for your work.
4) Especially at smaller firms, client contact abounds for law vs IB.
I can't speak for the MC/SC firms, but at the US and High Street firms you're most likely going to work v closely with partners because of ultra small team sizes, and you're going to get a lot of client and deal exposure very early on due to the nature of your small intake and high responsibility.
Meanwhile, especially for bulge bracket banks, say you're an Analyst-1 at HSBC or RBS - you're going in with a batch numbering in the hundreds. You're not going to have the ability to meet clients and interact with the industry as much as a first seat trainee slurping Monster Energy at 2am while fighting a hostile takeover in the litigation & PE departments at Skadden lol.
There's probably a bunch more, but this is all I could think of before I have to go make dinner
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I can't speak to the specific banking element, but this is a really really good answer. In fact, I use a variation of it already when answering the question of why I am interested in law or commercial law. Thanks for sharing - if I ever get another interview I'll now have a new way to articulate it.
Has anyone done Vinson & Elkins' VS interview? Mine is tomorrow and I'm rly stuck, especially regarding the presentation
Thank you so much for this! Just as an interesting (or maybe boring) point I have an offer for a banking position and it actually does have 4 rotations in different areas of the business but if that’s not how all banks do it then that’s interesting. That may be why to me it seems more similar, particularly since one of the rotations can be ‘legal and regulations’ 😂
AS telling me I wont get a TC if i don't take notes on absolutely everything while I am still trying to catch up on what they said 10 mins ago
Fox Williams rejection.
70% increase in applications and they used academics to filter candidates. What a ruthless cycle!
70% increase in applications and they used academics to filter candidates. What a ruthless cycle!
I’m in the same situation. What type of role are you in in banking at the moment? I’m in relationship management so my answer might not be as applicable to you
Hey did you have the competency based video interview? I have one with them next week and would really appreciate any feedback/tips you may have. ThanksHas anyone interviewed with Winckworth Sherwood before? I have an interview next week and would really appreciate any advice! Thanks
Hi! I received an email today for an interview with WS and it is also my first time. It'd be great if you could share your experience with me.
Hi, would you mind sharing with me as well? I've got an interview with WS next weekI interviewed with them last year and happy to share insights if you want to shoot me a DM
Well I’m currently in my last year of uni but all I know is that it is corporate banking and they’ve given me no further info!
The extended wait for IM is really getting to me and I'm running out of emotional support chocolate The fact they've had so many applications really doesn't fill me with confidence either!
The fact they've had so many applications really doesn't fill me with confidence either!- Status
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