Ask 4 future trainees ANYTHING! *New TCLA Team Members*

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Hi @futuretcholder

First off, well done for getting your application in! I know how nerve-wracking it can be to submit, and it's great that you’ve already taken that step.

Regarding the typos, I’ve actually made similar mistakes in the past, and still managed to get through to the next stage. From my experience, a few small errors shouldn’t be a deal-breaker. Recruiters generally assess applications holistically, focusing on the substance of what you’ve written, your motivations, and experiences. It’s unlikely that two small typos would lead to an automatic rejection if the overall content of your application is strong.

That being said, now that it's submitted, there’s not much to be done. Try not to stress too much about it—it’s better to focus on preparing for any potential interviews or the next stages. Fingers crossed for a positive outcome! Good luck

Hey there! I’m so glad you’ve found this thread insightful. These are great questions, and I’ll try my best to answer each one clearly:

1. Work Experience Section
It’s great that you’re already reflecting on the skills you’ve gained from your roles. While the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) can be helpful for highlighting key achievements, it’s not necessary—and it can sometimes limit your ability to make the best use of the word count. Instead, focus on describing what you did in each role in a concise and clear way. Where possible, tie your experiences to commercial law by showing how the tasks you undertook in each role helped you develop essential competencies, such as attention to detail, problem-solving, written communication, client service, and teamwork. You don’t need to mention all of these for each entry; just use examples that showcase how you’ve developed a few legally-relevant skills that were really fostered in that role.

2. Research for Applications
I completely understand the balance you’re trying to strike here. When I first started applying to firms, I also found it tricky to know whether I'd collected enough research. That said, I think 2-3 hours per firm is a solid amount of time. Beyond that, the returns can diminish, especially with the limited word count most applications have. When carrying out research, I’d recommend focusing on the essentials—understanding the firm’s core practice areas, their culture, and any recent high-profile deals or cases. This targeted research will help you craft a more tailored application while giving you time to focus on other commitments.

3. Dealing with Rejection
First off, you’re definitely not alone in feeling this way. As a career changer in my 30s, I remember feeling frustrated at how opaque the process could seem. The rejections could sometimes completely undermine my confidence to pursue a career in commercial law. But the fact that you’re now fully committed to commercial law and putting in the work is the important first step. When dealing with rejection, I’d recommend asking for feedback whenever possible (though I appreciate it’s often hard to get this at the application stage). If you’re finding the application writing process challenging, it can be really helpful to have someone else review your answers or even take a short break before submitting. A fresh pair of eyes—whether your own after a break or someone else’s—can give you a clearer perspective and help you spot things you might have missed.

4. Your Grades and Chances
A mid 2:1 is a strong achievement, and you should definitely be proud of the progress you made in your final two years It's also worth noting that a handful of 2:2 grades won’t necessarily hold you back, especially since you’ve shown clear improvement. If you had any mitigating circumstances, it’s worth mentioning those in your applications. Most firms take a holistic approach and they’ll consider your work experience, motivations, and fit with the firm, not just your grades. I'd encourage you to focus on showcasing your strengths and the progress you’ve made.

I hope this helps and was clear. You're doing great - keep going!

 

[👩🎓]

Hey

Although I haven’t had to answer this exact question for an application, I did have to answer something similar during an interview. I also remember thinking that it felt quite tricky to answer a question like this since I hadn’t worked at the firm yet. But when they ask how you’ll "contribute," they’re not expecting you to outline massive changes—they’re more interested in how your skills, experiences, and personal qualities align with what the firm is looking for in a trainee. The key here is to be realistic and show how you can add value by drawing on what you already bring to the table.

That being said, I think it's worth keeping two things in mind when answering a question like this:

1. Firm-Specific Knowledge and Cultural Fit
Show that you’ve done your research by highlighting key aspects of the firm—whether it’s their practice area strengths, presence in certain regions, culture and values, or even the size of the firm and its trainee cohort. Tailoring your answer to these elements shows genuine interest and will allow you to highlight your research into them. Since the question is also linked to the broader question of why you've chosen to pursue a training contract with them, reflecting on a firm's unique qualities will allow your answer here to standout.

2. Reflect on Your Skills and Experience
Think about what unique skills, experiences, or perspectives you bring that match key aspects that differentiate the firm. If the firm has a strong presence in a particular sector or practice area, you can discuss how your background or interests would allow you to stand out or contribute. For example, a friend of mine with significant paralegal experience in disputes linked this effectively to a disputes-focused firm she applied to. Similarly, when I applied to certain US-headquartered firms, I highlighted my experience working in lean teams, emphasising how this developed the proactive, independent skills particularly valued by such firms, given their quite small trainee intakes.

By linking your research about the firm with your own skills, experiences, and backgrounds, you should be able to convincingly answer this question and concretely discuss what you can contribute as a trainee. Good luck!

Hey, thank you so much for the advice, this is very helpful for my application going forward. Really appreciate your time in replying too.

 

[hmevey]

Hey there! I’m so glad you’ve found this thread insightful. These are great questions, and I’ll try my best to answer each one clearly:

1. Work Experience Section
It’s great that you’re already reflecting on the skills you’ve gained from your roles. While the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) can be helpful for highlighting key achievements, it’s not necessary—and it can sometimes limit your ability to make the best use of the word count. Instead, focus on describing what you did in each role in a concise and clear way. Where possible, tie your experiences to commercial law by showing how the tasks you undertook in each role helped you develop essential competencies, such as attention to detail, problem-solving, written communication, client service, and teamwork. You don’t need to mention all of these for each entry; just use examples that showcase how you’ve developed a few legally-relevant skills that were really fostered in that role.

2. Research for Applications
I completely understand the balance you’re trying to strike here. When I first started applying to firms, I also found it tricky to know whether I'd collected enough research. That said, I think 2-3 hours per firm is a solid amount of time. Beyond that, the returns can diminish, especially with the limited word count most applications have. When carrying out research, I’d recommend focusing on the essentials—understanding the firm’s core practice areas, their culture, and any recent high-profile deals or cases. This targeted research will help you craft a more tailored application while giving you time to focus on other commitments.

3. Dealing with Rejection
First off, you’re definitely not alone in feeling this way. As a career changer in my 30s, I remember feeling frustrated at how opaque the process could seem. The rejections could sometimes completely undermine my confidence to pursue a career in commercial law. But the fact that you’re now fully committed to commercial law and putting in the work is the important first step. When dealing with rejection, I’d recommend asking for feedback whenever possible (though I appreciate it’s often hard to get this at the application stage). If you’re finding the application writing process challenging, it can be really helpful to have someone else review your answers or even take a short break before submitting. A fresh pair of eyes—whether your own after a break or someone else’s—can give you a clearer perspective and help you spot things you might have missed.

4. Your Grades and Chances
A mid 2:1 is a strong achievement, and you should definitely be proud of the progress you made in your final two years It's also worth noting that a handful of 2:2 grades won’t necessarily hold you back, especially since you’ve shown clear improvement. If you had any mitigating circumstances, it’s worth mentioning those in your applications. Most firms take a holistic approach and they’ll consider your work experience, motivations, and fit with the firm, not just your grades. I'd encourage you to focus on showcasing your strengths and the progress you’ve made.

I hope this helps and was clear. You're doing great - keep going!

Thank you so much for your reply, its been so helpful! I really appreciate it

 

[ashwright]

Hi, future trainees! Thank you for answering our questions - we're very lucky to be able to hear from you. Reading each person's journey was beyond inspirational - well done to you all; you have lots to be proud of.

I'd love to ask a few questions to you guys

1. Whilst I'm a law student, I feel unprepared for ACs. More specifically, I'm at a bit of loss with case studies. I understand that you guys are a mix of law and non-law students/grads. How did you come to understand the content of case studies, let alone answer them? I fear jumping into mock case studies would be of little use to me, given my lack of knowledge!

2. On the elusive commercial awareness - how do you remember the things you've heard/read? I am a self-confesssed podcast enthusiast - yet I worry that I won't necessarily be able to remember everything I have heard. Do you make an active effort to remember what you've learned or do you find that remembering everything is not necessary for success?

3. For the law grads/students amongst you - I'm curious to learn about how your approach to learning material for your career compares to your approach to learning material for your academic studies. What methods do you find most helpful for success in the latter? Since strong academic performance is effectively a prerequisite for a successful application cycle, I'd love to hear how you made sure you were/are on your academic A game.

Thank you again & all the best!

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hi, future trainees. Hope you all are doing well. I am based outside of the UK which is why I don't apply to vac schemes. However, I read on the forums that Kirkland & Ellis have not conducted vac schemes in the past few years and directly awarded TCs to people after their vac scheme ACs. In this scenario, could you please advise me on whether I should apply to them via the vac scheme route? I did email the grad rec at K&E but they gave me a very generic response. Thanks in advance.

 

[SoonToBeTrainee]

Hi, future trainees. Hope you all are doing well. I am based outside of the UK which is why I don't apply to vac schemes. However, I read on the forums that Kirkland & Ellis have not conducted vac schemes in the past few years and directly awarded TCs to people after their vac scheme ACs. In this scenario, could you please advise me on whether I should apply to them via the vac scheme route? I did email the grad rec at K&E but they gave me a very generic response. Thanks in advance.

You can apply to either. It depends on what you’d prefer to do. They probably won’t run a vacation scheme. But, if they did, would you want to do one? If so, apply for the VS.

They most likely will do what they’ve done for the last few years, which is a shared AC with VS and direct TC applicants. There’s no advantage or disadvantage either way.

But on the off chance they run a VS, apply if that interests you.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

You can apply to either. It depends on what you’d prefer to do. They probably won’t run a vacation scheme. But, if they did, would you want to do one? If so, apply for the VS.

They most likely will do what they’ve done for the last few years, which is a shared AC with VS and direct TC applicants.

But on the off chance they run a VS, apply if that interests you.

Thanks for your response. I think due to visa restrictions I won't be eligible to do a vac scheme. But my concern is, what if they end up awarding all TCs to people via vac schemes and not look at the direct TC applicants at all.

 

[SoonToBeTrainee]

Thanks for your response. I think due to visa restrictions I won't be eligible to do a vac scheme. But my concern is, what if they end up awarding all TCs to people via vac schemes and not look at the direct TC applicants at all.

To be honest, I would be incredibly surprised if Kirkland run a VS again.

Even if they did, I’m sure the deadlines for the TC and VS are the same date. The recruitment team will 100% review both applications together and select the best (from both options) for an AC. I wouldn’t worry about which one you apply to.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

To be honest, I would be incredibly surprised if Kirkland run a VS again.

Even if they did, I’m sure the deadlines for the TC and VS are the same date. The recruitment team will 100% review both applications together and select the best (from both options) for an AC. I wouldn’t worry about which one you apply to.

Also slightly more off topic, but Kirkland don’t review applications on a rolling basis, even though they claim to. The recruitment team are quite vocal about how they don’t see the point of rolling basis. Why they still advertise it then, I don’t know lol.
It’s a bit like, why do they advertise the VS if they aren’t going to run it. Odd decisions…

I think you can tell a lot about the firm on the fact they give out job offers based on a 1 question Q&A, a 10 min debate, a very simple written task, and a potential 30 min interview with a partner.

The firm know exactly what they’re looking for.

Thank you very much for going into this much detail.

 

[Amma Usman]

Hi, future trainees! Thank you for answering our questions - we're very lucky to be able to hear from you. Reading each person's journey was beyond inspirational - well done to you all; you have lots to be proud of.

I'd love to ask a few questions to you guys

1. Whilst I'm a law student, I feel unprepared for ACs. More specifically, I'm at a bit of loss with case studies. I understand that you guys are a mix of law and non-law students/grads. How did you come to understand the content of case studies, let alone answer them? I fear jumping into mock case studies would be of little use to me, given my lack of knowledge!

2. On the elusive commercial awareness - how do you remember the things you've heard/read? I am a self-confesssed podcast enthusiast - yet I worry that I won't necessarily be able to remember everything I have heard. Do you make an active effort to remember what you've learned or do you find that remembering everything is not necessary for success?

3. For the law grads/students amongst you - I'm curious to learn about how your approach to learning material for your career compares to your approach to learning material for your academic studies. What methods do you find most helpful for success in the latter? Since strong academic performance is effectively a prerequisite for a successful application cycle, I'd love to hear how you made sure you were/are on your academic A game.

Thank you again & all the best!

Hi @ashwright, thanks for your great questions, I hope you’re having a lovely week thus far!



1. Being a law student myself, I totally felt the same way preparing for case studies as well! Basic principles from your degree do help, such as contract law principles. However, from my experience, I needed to do more outside my degree. To understand the content of case studies more, one needs to delve deeper into how businesses truly operate and how a law firm fits neatly into all that. Often times, these case studies are typically on M&A (mergers and acquisitions), PE (private equity), ESG (environmental, social, and governance), or even economic conditions such as inflation. I found that without foundational knowledge in business studies and economics, I would have struggled with case studies. The reason was simple - its all about the money! Businesses, law firms, and other profit-generating businesses are influenced by market changes, so understanding the rationales and effects of these changes, will position you well for case study discussions.

In line with all that, what helped me further was practice, practice, practice! Attend as many mock assessments and case study workshops as you possibly can! You pick up a lot per session, and this is knowledge you transfer during the actual ACs.

Pro-Tip:

- If it’s a business in the case study, what would be the most important objectives to that business? Usually, this is profit maximization and consumer satisfaction.

- If it’s a charity or social enterprise in the case study, what would be the most important objectives to that enterprise? Usually, this is transmitting a certain message or effecting a change within a certain field. An additional point worth mentioning here is that even charities will need money to function, so this should be another point discussed in such case studies (despite social change being their overarching objective).



2. You’re on the right track with listening to podcasts and keeping updated on the news. Focus less on the breadth of information you retain, and more on your ability to talk about these updates in real-time. This is because having good knowledge on the key business updates is usually sufficient. To me, the remaining branch of commercial awareness comes from being able to relay those updates on a broader scope, such as how it applies to other businesses and the inner workings of a law firm. For example, say you read on the news this morning that inflation is on the rise. This short update is enough for you to draw connections with so many concepts.

- The higher the interest rate, the higher the cost of borrowing. This will mean that economic agents such as individuals and businesses will borrow less because they have to give back way more money when paying back debts. Individuals may take out less mortgages to buy houses, and this decreases the spending activity in that given country. As a result, outward migration may occur as people will still want to buy houses but are finding this cheaper to do in other countries.

- Let’s take businesses next. A private equity firm may engage in less private equity activity if the price of debt is higher. This is because a lot of the companies they purchase are bought using high amounts of leverage (debt).

- A law firm itself may hold off on any internal projects as it will want to spend wisely during such times and wait till economic conditions are better. Connecting this with the PE point above, law firms that have a high percentage of PE clients will also see decreased work coming in, seeing as the businesses themselves are engaging in less activity.

Therefore, you see how such a short business update has given rise to so many spillover effects. You’re on a great path with your commercial awareness journey!

Another thing I would recommend is journaling. You could write a short memo/note every night before bed on all the things you’ve learnt that day and see if you can connect it to any other developments/ concepts. This significantly helped me in making my commercial awareness more of a natural personal trait. It’s something I’m also consistently working to improve on, as it’s like a muscle that needs constant flexing!



3. Learning for my career was quite different to learning academically. I found that despite the career being legal, I needed to spend more time on understanding the business aspects. This is because university already taught me about the law, and I had to brush up on my economics. Furthermore, I actually still needed some legal knowledge. This is because I was only in first/second year and hadn’t studied company law yet. I didn’t know about the meaning of things such as NDAs, warranties, indemnities, M&A, etc. This was time spent outside university learning new concepts. Take it one step at a time and avoid overwhelming yourself with too much information!

Hope this helps

 

[Amma Usman]

Hi, future trainees. Hope you all are doing well. I am based outside of the UK which is why I don't apply to vac schemes. However, I read on the forums that Kirkland & Ellis have not conducted vac schemes in the past few years and directly awarded TCs to people after their vac scheme ACs. In this scenario, could you please advise me on whether I should apply to them via the vac scheme route? I did email the grad rec at K&E but they gave me a very generic response. Thanks in advance.

Hi @futuretraineesolicitor, thanks for your question!

I believe you could go back to graduate recruitment and ask for more clarity on the situation, perhaps phrasing the inquiry to cover all your concerns. The reason is because you would not want to bet on applying for a vacation scheme, where visa conditions may restrict your ability to physically partake in one. If they once offered TCs to candidates after vac scheme ACs, there exists the possibility that they ’may’ or ‘may not’ do this during the present cycle.

Feel free to let me know if you have any more questions!

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hi @futuretraineesolicitor, thanks for your question!

I believe you could go back to graduate recruitment and ask for more clarity on the situation, perhaps phrasing the inquiry to cover all your concerns. The reason is because you would not want to bet on applying for a vacation scheme, where visa conditions may restrict your ability to physically partake in one. If they once offered TCs to candidates after vac scheme ACs, there exists the possibility that they ’may’ or ‘may not’ do this during the present cycle.

Feel free to let me know if you have any more questions!

Thank you for your response, Amma.

 

[Amma Usman]

Thank you for your response, Amma.

@futuretraineesolicitor Happy to help

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi everyone, I just submitted my Ashurst application for WVS and I realised I had made two small typos. Do any of you know if a typo is an automatic rejection even if the content of the application is good

Hi there, and first of all, well done for submitting an application so early in the cycle - keep this up ! To your question, I don't think one or two typos will lead to an automatic rejection at any firm. I remember some recruiters mentioning a 'three strikes and you're out' rule for grammar and typos, but even they said that that is only a general policy. Thus, it was implied that if the application is particularly impressive in other regards, a candidate could still progress to the next stage.

For the purpose of avoiding this situation in the future, two things I recommend are (1) saving time for reviewing your application 2-3 times solely for grammar/typos rather than reviewing it for grammar/typos and substantive content at the same time; and (2) if possible, having someone else take a look before you submit.

 

[ashwright]

Hi @ashwright, thanks for your great questions, I hope you’re having a lovely week thus far!



1. Being a law student myself, I totally felt the same way preparing for case studies as well! Basic principles from your degree do help, such as contract law principles. However, from my experience, I needed to do more outside my degree. To understand the content of case studies more, one needs to delve deeper into how businesses truly operate and how a law firm fits neatly into all that. Often times, these case studies are typically on M&A (mergers and acquisitions), PE (private equity), ESG (environmental, social, and governance), or even economic conditions such as inflation. I found that without foundational knowledge in business studies and economics, I would have struggled with case studies. The reason was simple - its all about the money! Businesses, law firms, and other profit-generating businesses are influenced by market changes, so understanding the rationales and effects of these changes, will position you well for case study discussions.

In line with all that, what helped me further was practice, practice, practice! Attend as many mock assessments and case study workshops as you possibly can! You pick up a lot per session, and this is knowledge you transfer during the actual ACs.

Pro-Tip:

- If it’s a business in the case study, what would be the most important objectives to that business? Usually, this is profit maximization and consumer satisfaction.

- If it’s a charity or social enterprise in the case study, what would be the most important objectives to that enterprise? Usually, this is transmitting a certain message or effecting a change within a certain field. An additional point worth mentioning here is that even charities will need money to function, so this should be another point discussed in such case studies (despite social change being their overarching objective).



2. You’re on the right track with listening to podcasts and keeping updated on the news. Focus less on the breadth of information you retain, and more on your ability to talk about these updates in real-time. This is because having good knowledge on the key business updates is usually sufficient. To me, the remaining branch of commercial awareness comes from being able to relay those updates on a broader scope, such as how it applies to other businesses and the inner workings of a law firm. For example, say you read on the news this morning that inflation is on the rise. This short update is enough for you to draw connections with so many concepts.

- The higher the interest rate, the higher the cost of borrowing. This will mean that economic agents such as individuals and businesses will borrow less because they have to give back way more money when paying back debts. Individuals may take out less mortgages to buy houses, and this decreases the spending activity in that given country. As a result, outward migration may occur as people will still want to buy houses but are finding this cheaper to do in other countries.

- Let’s take businesses next. A private equity firm may engage in less private equity activity if the price of debt is higher. This is because a lot of the companies they purchase are bought using high amounts of leverage (debt).

- A law firm itself may hold off on any internal projects as it will want to spend wisely during such times and wait till economic conditions are better. Connecting this with the PE point above, law firms that have a high percentage of PE clients will also see decreased work coming in, seeing as the businesses themselves are engaging in less activity.

Therefore, you see how such a short business update has given rise to so many spillover effects. You’re on a great path with your commercial awareness journey!

Another thing I would recommend is journaling. You could write a short memo/note every night before bed on all the things you’ve learnt that day and see if you can connect it to any other developments/ concepts. This significantly helped me in making my commercial awareness more of a natural personal trait. It’s something I’m also consistently working to improve on, as it’s like a muscle that needs constant flexing!



3. Learning for my career was quite different to learning academically. I found that despite the career being legal, I needed to spend more time on understanding the business aspects. This is because university already taught me about the law, and I had to brush up on my economics. Furthermore, I actually still needed some legal knowledge. This is because I was only in first/second year and hadn’t studied company law yet. I didn’t know about the meaning of things such as NDAs, warranties, indemnities, M&A, etc. This was time spent outside university learning new concepts. Take it one step at a time and avoid overwhelming yourself with too much information!

Hope this helps

Hi @Amma Usman !
Firstly - a huge thank you for this super comprehensive, helpful, and reassuring response! From the making connections & journaling pro-tip to the advice on case studies, your response has cleared up a lot for me! Thank you.

If I may, I'd like to ask two follow-up questions on some things you mentioned..

1. You mentioned that mock assessments and case study workshops can help. May I ask whether you can signpost any which were of the most use to you?
2. You also mentioned that you spent time outside university learning new concepts (related to economics & company law) & terms like NDAs, warranties, indemnities, M&A etc.
May I ask (a.) whether you can signpost any resources which were helpful in building this knowledge and (b.) whether you have any advice on making sure you cover all key concepts. I have a fear that I might miss learning something which will end up being asked in an AC!

Again, thank you so much for your super thorough response. I really appreciate your kindness.

 

[Amma Usman]

Hi @Amma Usman !
Firstly - a huge thank you for this super comprehensive, helpful, and reassuring response! From the making connections & journaling pro-tip to the advice on case studies, your response has cleared up a lot for me! Thank you.

If I may, I'd like to ask two follow-up questions on some things you mentioned..

1. You mentioned that mock assessments and case study workshops can help. May I ask whether you can signpost any which were of the most use to you?
2. You also mentioned that you spent time outside university learning new concepts (related to economics & company law) & terms like NDAs, warranties, indemnities, M&A etc.
May I ask (a.) whether you can signpost any resources which were helpful in building this knowledge and (b.) whether you have any advice on making sure you cover all key concepts. I have a fear that I might miss learning something which will end up being asked in an AC!

Again, thank you so much for your super thorough response. I really appreciate your kindness.

Hey @ashwright, no problem, happy to folow-up!

1. Mock Assessments:

- You had mentioned you are a law student, so I recommend utilizing your university’s careers service. They usually offer mock ACs/interview preparation.
- I had actually also booked quite a couple via TCLA, which really helped.
- I got random assessments via the internet and practiced myself, recording my answers and offering myself feedback. I had also gotten a couple of friends and professional colleagues to give me their feedback on things such as vocal intonation, body posture, etc. These are soft skills that are often unspoken about.

2. I had read quite a couple books when I had the time. The Money Machine, by Philip Coggan, was one. It offers a great insight into the City. Finimize also has little guides on the basics of financial concepts, which helped. In relation to the second part of your question, please don’t fear that you will not have all the answers. No one ever does! There may be moments during an AC where you may not know the answer to a question, and the best approach is just to own up to that, asking for more clarity on the situation. Through this, your interviewer can then provide more information through which you can then answer, supplementing your own knowledge with their explanation.

Hope this helped

 

[ashwright]

Hey @ashwright, no problem, happy to folow-up!

1. Mock Assessments:

- You had mentioned you are a law student, so I recommend utilizing your university’s careers service. They usually offer mock ACs/interview preparation.
- I had actually also booked quite a couple via TCLA, which really helped.
- I got random assessments via the internet and practiced myself, recording my answers and offering myself feedback. I had also gotten a couple of friends and professional colleagues to give me their feedback on things such as vocal intonation, body posture, etc. These are soft skills that are often unspoken about.

2. I had read quite a couple books when I had the time. The Money Machine, by Philip Coggan, was one. It offers a great insight into the City. Finimize also has little guides on the basics of financial concepts, which helped. In relation to the second part of your question, please don’t fear that you will not have all the answers. No one ever does! There may be moments during an AC where you may not know the answer to a question, and the best approach is just to own up to that, asking for more clarity on the situation. Through this, your interviewer can then provide more information through which you can then answer, supplementing your own knowledge with their explanation.

Hope this helped

Thank you so much! I will have a look at mock assessment resources you mentioned & I will make The Money Machine my next read!
I really appreciate your insights - it was super helpful to learn from you

 

[Kay Aston]

Hi, future trainees! Thank you for answering our questions - we're very lucky to be able to hear from you. Reading each person's journey was beyond inspirational - well done to you all; you have lots to be proud of.

I'd love to ask a few questions to you guys

1. Whilst I'm a law student, I feel unprepared for ACs. More specifically, I'm at a bit of loss with case studies. I understand that you guys are a mix of law and non-law students/grads. How did you come to understand the content of case studies, let alone answer them? I fear jumping into mock case studies would be of little use to me, given my lack of knowledge!

2. On the elusive commercial awareness - how do you remember the things you've heard/read? I am a self-confesssed podcast enthusiast - yet I worry that I won't necessarily be able to remember everything I have heard. Do you make an active effort to remember what you've learned or do you find that remembering everything is not necessary for success?

3. For the law grads/students amongst you - I'm curious to learn about how your approach to learning material for your career compares to your approach to learning material for your academic studies. What methods do you find most helpful for success in the latter? Since strong academic performance is effectively a prerequisite for a successful application cycle, I'd love to hear how you made sure you were/are on your academic A game.

Thank you again & all the best!

Hi there @ashwright ! Thanks for the questions, and i'm so glad you took inspiration from our journeys ✨

@Amma Usman has given some absolutely fantastic insights, so I don't have too much in addition to add! But my personal thoughts are below:

1. I agree that studying a law degree doesn't really give you an advantage in case studies. Aside from understanding some basic bits of contract law such as warranties and indemnities, I cannot think of any LLB content I actually needed to use in any of my case study assessments. Even warranties and indemnities are not things that I learned in depth in my LLB, so for all intents and purposes I was largely in the same boat as a non-law student. It is important to remember that a lot of firms now recruit roughly 50/50 law and non-law students, so they make the assessments universally accessible to all applicants (for efficiency and fairness).

Most of what is necessary to know in case studies is the commercial/business acumen element of commercial awareness. i.e. how does an M&A deal work from start to finish, which documents are drafted, how do respective teams of a law firm get involved, etc. Its less commercial awareness in terms of reading the FT and being aware of current affairs, and moreso about understanding how transactions work, how law firms and clients make money, and the drivers behind business decisions. @Amma Usman has outlined some excellent resources so far. I hugely second the recommendation of The Money Machine by Philip Coggan. Even as a trained accountant, this book managed to explain some financial concepts in such a clear and simple way that I had never even thought about in such a way before. In terms of understanding how each department of a law firm would feed into deals, the Training Contract Handbook by Jake Schogger was a lifesaver for me, as well as podcasts created by individual law firms, which often interview trainees about the types of work they contributed to various deals.

2. I completely second @Amma Usman 's point about journalling. I kept a 'commercial awareness journal' (which in actuality was a Notion page), where I would read 1 article a day (usually FT), and spend 10-15 minutes writing down my thoughts about what effects it could have, macro, micro, effects on different shareholders, and lastly how it could affect the work of the law firms I was applying to, focussing on all different departments.

You already mentioned podcasts, which I am also a massive fan of. The FT briefing and Watsons Daily spring to mind. Additionally, newsletters can be a great source for keeping up to date, specifically those targeted to commercial awareness such as LittleLaw, which is excellent because it not only gives you the news headlines, but it explains how they apply to law firms, which is something you will likely need to do in interviews/AC's.

3. I think I touched on this in answer 1 but my experience in studying for my LLB was extremely different for training for law firm applications. The best method for the latter is simply practice, and discussing it with people out loud so you can be sure that you can actually discuss and explain difficult concepts in interview.

I hope this was somewhat helpful, happy to answer any further queries! ✨

 

[futuretcholder]

Hi All,
I was curious what are thhe kinds of feeback you've received post AC where the outcome was a rejection.
Thanks

 

[ashwright]

Hi there @ashwright ! Thanks for the questions, and i'm so glad you took inspiration from our journeys ✨

Hi @Kay Aston ! Firstly - thank you so, so much for this super helpful and detailed response!! You guys are genuinely the best - I have been so lucky to be able to hear from you and @Amma Usman 🫶 i really appreciate your kindness - again, thank you so much!!

Thank you so much for your recommendation of Jake Schogger's book - I will add that to the top of my list along with the Coggan.
A Notion page for commercial awareness sounds really practical and tidy way of keeping things organised! I have been using the TCLA application tracker on Notion so I will create a Commercial Awareness page too! 😊

I'd greatly appreciate if I could ask a quick follow-up question 😊
You mentioned that some practical things to learn about would include things like:

how does an M&A deal work from start to finish, which documents are drafted, how do respective teams of a law firm get involved

I'm currently reading a Christopher Stoakes book entitled 'All You Need to Know about the City'. Whilst it's touched on some of the above, it's missing some detail on how M&A deals work, document drafting and especially the last point on the legal teams. Would the two books you and @Amma Usman recommended cover that material?

I'm a bit worried because I've been going quite slowly through the Stoakes book since there's a lot of nitty-bitty stuff that I wasn't really familiar with, yet I worry it's maybe surface level/not enough to pass an AC..

Hopefully a combo of the three books + podcasts/current affairs stuff + mock ACs will be enough