Hi Alice! Yes, so I mean being able to balance the three things you have mentioned. We constantly hear ' your university years will be your best years', I know how important it is to have an interest or do something non law related too and I know from previous experience that firms do enjoy discussing your non law related activities, I feel like the balance is important but how do you balance it?
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Hi Alice! Yes, so I mean being able to balance the three things you have mentioned. We constantly hear ' your university years will be your best years', I know how important it is to have an interest or do something non law related too and I know from previous experience that firms do enjoy discussing your non law related activities, I feel like the balance is important but how do you balance it?
Hi Salma,
I am just going to tell you a bit about my uni experience and then my overall take on this
So to tell you the truth, I went to university with a strong determination to do the best I could academically. I definitely made this my priority during my three years. I also had to work to support myself at university and this actually gave me a nice outlet and a separate group of friends. The skills I developed in time management and organisation from this working experience has been something I have really leveraged at interviews too. I am not someone who really loves going out but much, I preferred just doing movie nights or brunches with friends etc which I guess did benefit me as my sleep was never impacted and I was always able to get up early the next day to get to work/study. I was not someone who did a lot of extra-curricular activity at uni and I really want to be honest about this as think this is a concern for so many people. I really got into my fitness in second year and third year so went to the gym 4/5 times a week and I wrote for a friend's publication but other than that, I suppose this is where I was able to essentially lighten the burden on myself.
I know there is a push for extra-curriculars etc and had I not worked I definitely would have done more but it is all about finding a balance for you. I remember feeling like I was always pushing myself at uni to meet my contracted hours with work and to do all the reading that I was set for my modules. I think it is important to set priorities. Mine was my academics and my part-time work, and luckily I have a wonderful set of friends who all appreciate each other's characters and workloads. I guess what I am trying to say in a long-winded manner is that everyone is unique, everyone has their own commitments, and it is down to you to do as much as you feel you can. Take it from me, extra-curriculars can be great and they are also fun but I do not feel like I have been hindered by not having a bunch of them. It is all about doing what makes you happy and what you feel you can cope and manage with. I think it is good, however, to have something asides academia whether that be part-time work or hobbies etc
I hope this helps? Please do feel free to ask me anything further on this or about my experiences, I really am more than happy to share
Hi @Jaysen,
What are your thoughts about applying for direct TCs for firms with small intakes? A few firms keep going on and off my list because with an intake of 11/12 and vac schemes, not sure if there is even a small possibility of my application getting looked at as a direct TC app?
But then wonder if it's just worth putting it in anyway as can't lose anything.
What are your thoughts about applying for direct TCs for firms with small intakes? A few firms keep going on and off my list because with an intake of 11/12 and vac schemes, not sure if there is even a small possibility of my application getting looked at as a direct TC app?
But then wonder if it's just worth putting it in anyway as can't lose anything.
Hello @Jaysen , what would your advice be for someone who wants to choose law firms and has no specific practise area infatuation? How does one narrow down from here? I'm just utterly confused, would Freshfields be the best choice because of the 8 seat TC which will hopefully help us make a better decision?
Jessica Booker
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vast majority of trainees at Freshfields would not do 8 seats. Doing 8 x 3 month seats isn’t realistic. It is likely that at most you would do 5 or 6, as some six month seats will be required/suitable.
@Jaysen
Good Afterno Jaysen,
Please can you help understand this question and what are the 3 topics to cover?
In a competitive legal market, how do you think we as a law firm remains successful and attractive to clients without compromising on profitability?
There are many complex issues which may feed into this answer, but we would like you to focus on your top three priorities.
Thank you for your help
Good Afterno Jaysen,
Please can you help understand this question and what are the 3 topics to cover?
In a competitive legal market, how do you think we as a law firm remains successful and attractive to clients without compromising on profitability?
There are many complex issues which may feed into this answer, but we would like you to focus on your top three priorities.
Thank you for your help
Jessica Booker
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TCLA Moderator
Gold Member
Graduate Recruitment
Premium Member
Forum Team
- Aug 1, 2019
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I am sure Jaysen will come back - know he is busy at the moment.
There won’t be a set answer to this though and there will be much more than three things you could identify (and you would still be “right” or would give a good enough answer).
@Jaysen
1) how would you answer
As a legal advisor you will spend time reviewing documents. Describe a time when you’ve had to analyse information, data or details to provide recommendations or solutions. How did you go about the task, and what was the outcome?
2) can you give an example of when legal advisers do this?
1) how would you answer
As a legal advisor you will spend time reviewing documents. Describe a time when you’ve had to analyse information, data or details to provide recommendations or solutions. How did you go about the task, and what was the outcome?
2) can you give an example of when legal advisers do this?
- Feb 17, 2018
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Hi Jaysen!
First of all, thank you for creating this thread, it's very insightful.
I have an upcoming assessment centre (for a solicitor apprentice position but the application process isn't much different from TC applications), if you could give any tips on partner interviews, group and written exercises I'd be very grateful.
In addition to this, how can I stand out amongst other shortlisted candidates during the assessment centre, I really want the position!
I also feel I somewhat struggle with connecting commercial awareness with the legal industry, so if you have any advice with that to help me excel, I'd very much appreciate it.
Thank you in advance!
1.
So group/written/partner interviews all differ depending on the firm, but if I had to give some general advice:
For partner interviews, sure you go into the interview really knowing what you've put on your application form. Where it's a CV, I usually suggest candidates take a red pen and mark up their CV line by line, thinking about what questions an interviewer might ask them. These interviews may be less 'rigid' than other types of interview and the questions are often driven by what you say in the interview (e.g. A line of questioning might be something like: Why are you applying to this firm? What other firms have you applied to? What do you think makes our firm different to X?). I'd make sure you've thought about your broader motivations, your journey so far, your strengths (including what makes you a strong candidate/your greatest achievements) and prepare at least one story you've been following in the news (again, whether they ask this completely depends on the firm).
Group exercises are (as you will imagine) how you operate in a group environment. You want to be confident enough to share your opinions in a group situation, but not overly dominant to the detriment of other candidates. Most candidates I see struggle with the former (as I did). Personally, I find it helpful to speak earlier on than later; I usually find that the longer you leave it, the harder it is to get into the conversation at a later point. Once you break that earlier barrier, I find it's also easier to stay in the conversation.
For written exercises, make sure you take the time to think about what the purpose of your response is. Make sure you adapt it to the task (e.g. whether you're writing to a client or a lawyer). Whatever the case, you need to make sure you're writing clearly and concisely. It's never about writing everything you know on a particular topic, but your ability to select the most important information to communicate in the time given. You also want to think about having the right form (e.g. if it's a letter, make sure you know how to format one), as well as how you can use your structure to aid the clarity of your response (e.g. headings/subheadings).
I've hopefully covered points 2 and 3 in my previous answer, but let me know if there's anything you're still unsure about:
https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....tclas-founder-anything.2364/page-2#post-28598.
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Wish I could help here but I'm afraid I don't really know much about in-house legal teams!
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What are your thoughts so far?
As a general tip when asking questions, try to show how you've thought about the question already and what it is that you're finding difficult. That way, I can give more tailored advice.
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If this is for the Shoosmiths application, the rest of the question is quite important: how Shoosmiths can remain successful and attractive in 2020 and beyond without compromising on profitability.
This is an opportunity for you to show you understand Shoosmiths and the business of law firms. As a starting point, when doing your research on Shoosmiths, try to think about how they position themselves in the legal market: Why do clients go to them already? What do they highlight on their website as core strengths/selling points?
When picking your three points, keep in mind the 'without compromising on profitability' part of the question. This is included in the question for a reason; you need to justify why your suggestion won't negatively impact the firm's profitability. (For example, if you suggested Shoosmiths reduces its legal fees, this would compromise its profitability, unless you argued that this will bring in more long-term revenue to make up for it.)
- Feb 17, 2018
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Hey Samar,
My answer is pretty much the same as my post here: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....aysen-tclas-founder-anything.2364/#post-28511. If the firm says is happy for you to make a direct training contract application and you don't want to wait until a future vacation scheme round, I do feel it's still worth applying if you're particularly confident enough in your CV/experiences. If a firm likes you enough, I feel they'll make room for you (even if it means just inviting you to a future vacation scheme).
- Feb 17, 2018
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If you've done your research into law firms and it really doesn't make a difference to you whether you'll be doing corporate v private client v litigation v IP work etc., then that's completely fine - you can narrow down firms based on other factors.
Some of the factors you may want to consider:
- Is international work particularly important to you? Do you want to work on deals in emerging markets? Do you want a guaranteed international secondment?
- What does work-life balance mean to you? What kind of remuneration is important to you? What kind of non-monetary benefits are important to you?
- Does the size of a firm matter to you? Do you want to work at a large firm with global offices or a smaller firm which is based only in a few locations? Do you want to be part of a large trainee intake, a small one, or somewhere in between?
- What matters to you about a firm's culture? What about diversity?
Thank you Sir. Just a follow up question, if we're applying to a firm and we don't really care whether they are leaders in IP or Litigation, can we tailor our application based on the factors like secondment, work life balance etc. Won't the firm look at us in a different way because we aren't interested in the kind of work and we are just concerned about other things ( which might seem trivial to them )
@Jaysen
What I find difficult to understand is how a paralegal would be faced with problems/ challenges when reviewing information and then make a innovative solution.
I dont understand what type of information or data a paralegal/ legal adviser reviews on a daily basis and how they overcome this challange or approach to overcoming this.
Jessica Booker
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you will need to balance out why you want to do the day job alongside benefits such as work life balance/work environment and secondments.
