Ask Willkie Farr & Gallagher Anything!

[WillkieGemma]

Hi Gemma
I wonder if you can offer advice for a PGDL Law Conversion student. I had to resit my Land Law MCQ Exam and evidently on Vac Scheme & TC applications, one of the initial questions is ‘have you had to resit an exam’ etc. and requests an explanation if this result affects my abilities in any way. There were no mitigating circumstances, and I narrowly missed the pass mark, but nonetheless, it was a fail & resit. Can you offer advice on answering this question which won’t result in my application being automatically dismissed?

Hi @KWilliams

The only advice is not to lie - if they've asked you a direct question, then you need to answer truthfully. Everyone has blips on their academic CV here and there - I can't think of any firm where this would be an automatic rejection.

thanks!
Gemma

 

[taliagibson]

Hi, Stephenson Harwood has included an article question in their initial application questions. It is a yachting sustainability question and asks us to summarise it in 600 words for the client. It seems too simple to simply summarise it especially as the article is very straightforward but don't want to add any critique etc. if that's not what the question asks for.

 

[WillkieGemma]

Hi, Stephenson Harwood has included an article question in their initial application questions. It is a yachting sustainability question and asks us to summarise it in 600 words for the client. It seems too simple to simply summarise it especially as the article is very straightforward but don't want to add any critique etc. if that's not what the question asks for.

Hi @taliagibson I think you may have posted this on the wrong thread?

 

[MayaM0921]

Hi @MayaM0921

You need to give a fresh answer, or at least further elaborate on the points made in the application form. Application form answers are only 250 words generally, so my hope would be that you would have more than 250 words to say about the career or the firm you're applying to.

thanks
Gemma

Thanks a lot Gemma!

 

[EileenBZeng]

Hi Gemma,

I really enjoyed the TCLA workshop you gave yesterday! I have a few questions I wanted to ask you during but didn't get the chance for a reply. First, is it more advisable to talk about my interest in a specific practice area of the firm, or could I also discuss my interest in a more general area such as the firm's commitment to digital innovation? Second, how would I group all my Forage experiences or anything virtual like that on a work experience list, i.e should I put the dates of the first one to the most recent one like 2021-2023?

 

[gricole]

Hi Gemma,

I wanted to ask you about the best way to approach the work experience and education sections in my circumstances. I graduated with a law degree from Bristol in 2020 and had to return home back in Bulgaria (my home country) mainly due to covid. Since then, I've worked in a couple of legal positions in Bulgaria until I felt it's time to seek a return to the UK. As I'm now preparing my applications I wonder the following:

1) How far back should the work experience section go? In particular, if I already have some more substantial legal work experience (2-3 years), should I go back to the open days I did in 2017 when I was at uni in the UK?
2) When I returned to Bulgaria, I enrolled in a masters university course to get used to working in the Bulgarian language again and to explore a side academic interest in leadership studies. The masters is in a field completely unrelated to law. How should I approach that in my applications?

Thank you very much for your help!

 

[babylawyer1942]

Hi Gemma, I am currently completing the Willkie application form and noticed there is no space to put in GCSE results. Do you not ask for them or should I put it in the additional information box?

 

[WillkieGemma]

Hi Gemma,

I really enjoyed the TCLA workshop you gave yesterday! I have a few questions I wanted to ask you during but didn't get the chance for a reply. First, is it more advisable to talk about my interest in a specific practice area of the firm, or could I also discuss my interest in a more general area such as the firm's commitment to digital innovation? Second, how would I group all my Forage experiences or anything virtual like that on a work experience list, i.e should I put the dates of the first one to the most recent one like 2021-2023?

Hi @EileenBZeng sorry for the delay, I've been on annual leave. I think you can focus on whatever you like, but it needs to be on area(s) that are carried out by the office you are applying to. If a law firm is ultra ultra focussed on digital innovation, then yes, mention it (if this is a genuine interest). In relation to your second question, just put the dates of each one in the larger text box but on the header, it can say July 2021 to October 2023, for instance.

 

[WillkieGemma]

Hi Gemma,

I wanted to ask you about the best way to approach the work experience and education sections in my circumstances. I graduated with a law degree from Bristol in 2020 and had to return home back in Bulgaria (my home country) mainly due to covid. Since then, I've worked in a couple of legal positions in Bulgaria until I felt it's time to seek a return to the UK. As I'm now preparing my applications I wonder the following:

1) How far back should the work experience section go? In particular, if I already have some more substantial legal work experience (2-3 years), should I go back to the open days I did in 2017 when I was at uni in the UK?
2) When I returned to Bulgaria, I enrolled in a masters university course to get used to working in the Bulgarian language again and to explore a side academic interest in leadership studies. The masters is in a field completely unrelated to law. How should I approach that in my applications?

Thank you very much for your help!

Hi @gricole again, sorry for the delay in replying, I have been on annual leave.

1. You should include all your work experience, my CV includes my entire career history since graduation. If open days in 2017 have continued to inform your applications, and you can say something meaningful rather than "I gained an insight into the workings of a large commercial law firm" (vvvv generic), then yes include them!
2. You just include in your academic section. There is no need to explain or apologise for other academic interests!

 

[WillkieGemma]

Hi Gemma, I am currently completing the Willkie application form and noticed there is no space to put in GCSE results. Do you not ask for them or should I put it in the additional information box?

Hi @babylawyer1942 - we don't ask for them.

 

[allwillbewell]

Hi Gemma, hope you are well. In insight days and open day applications, what are firms looking for? What would you say is the best approach to this question?

 

[WillkieGemma]

Hi Gemma, hope you are well. In insight days and open day applications, what are firms looking for? What would you say is the best approach to this question?

Hi @allwillbewell - what question do you mean?

 

[allwillbewell]

Hi @allwillbewell - what question do you mean?

The “why do you want to attend an insight day at this firm” question. I assume the firm will know that you want to learn more about them, the people, the culture etc. So what will grad recruitment be looking for in applicants answers?

 

[WillkieGemma]

The “why do you want to attend an insight day at this firm” question. I assume the firm will know that you want to learn more about them, the people, the culture etc. So what will grad recruitment be looking for in applicants answers?

The firm will be looking for an answer which demonstrates that you are interested in pursuing a career at that firm as a solicitor. So, it would be a well written answer which demonstrates good research into the firm. I would take exactly the same approach to this answer as I would to a 'why do you want a vac scheme or tc with this firm' question.

 

[user9809]

Hi Gemma,

When talking about your extracurriculars, should you always substantiate your interest? For example if someone said they enjoyed reading should they include something they’ve done to further the interest?

 

[WillkieGemma]

Hi Gemma,

When talking about your extracurriculars, should you always substantiate your interest? For example if someone said they enjoyed reading should they include something they’ve done to further the interest?

Hi @user9809 - rather than looking for interests, employers are looking for extracurriculars to which you've added value or committed to, whether that is sports, drama, pro bono, voluntary, community work, music, entrepreneurial activities etc etc.

 

[sxw517]

Hi @user9809 - rather than looking for interests, employers are looking for extracurriculars to which you've added value or committed to, whether that is sports, drama, pro bono, voluntary, community work, music, entrepreneurial activities etc etc.

Hi Gemma, following on from this, could writing for a blog set up by an academic at university be considered in this section?

 

[WillkieGemma]

Hi Gemma, following on from this, could writing for a blog set up by an academic at university be considered in this section?

Definitely!!!! When you've completed the ffirst draft of your app, think to yourself, 'does this highlight all the brilliant things I have done, whether work, academics or anything else?'. Include everything!

 

[sxw517]

Definitely!!!! When you've completed the ffirst draft of your app, think to yourself, 'does this highlight all the brilliant things I have done, whether work, academics or anything else?'. Include everything!

Great - thanks!

 

[MayaM0921]

Hi Gemma, I have seen that an awful lot of the Willkie's current or future trainees have previously worked as paralegals. Would you say that this is a result of Willkie only recently starting to take on trainees, or the firm looks particularly favourably at the skills gained and commitment to law shown working as a paralegal? Thanks!