Assessment Day - Negotiation exercise and presentation

[PrincessTotoro]

Hi everyone,

I have just received my first assessment day invite and I am feeling very lost and frankly quite terrified. They have told me that I will have lunch with partners/associates, a written exercise (45 minutes), negotiation exercise and a presentation (5 minutes on a commercial topic I found interesting and how it relates to the firm). I don't know where to start. How can I prepare well for the written and negotiation exercise? With regards to the presentation, what could be an 'interesting' topic for a corporate/government matters focused firm? I know that the London office has a particular focus on oil and gas/international arbitration/fraud-related disputes. Also, sorry for the ignorance but what is a negotiation exercise? I would really appreciate anyone's input.

 

[D95]

Bump. I think we are in the assessment for the same law firm then

If someone more experienced could share their knowledge here about these exercises, I too would be grateful as I was never at the AC for which I had to prepare in advance (the presentation bit).

@Jaysen do you have any tips perhaps?

 

[PrincessTotoro]

Ah I see that we are! I am not sure whether we will be on the same day but best of luck to you! I have not seen many people who applied to this firm so it's really hard to get that 'insider' knowledge.

 

[D95]

Ah I see that we are! I am not sure whether we will be on the same day but best of luck to you! I have not seen many people who applied to this firm so it's really hard to get that 'insider' knowledge.

As far as I know, there is only one assessment day but split into two slots - I am in the morning one, how about you?

 

[PrincessTotoro]

I’m in the afternoon session as I am absolutely not a morning person haha but thinking back now I’m wondering how I will keep my lunch down before having to do all those assessments that day!

 

[tractor12]

The lunch sounds informal - so just be really enthusiastic, be engaged, ask questions

The presentations sounds okay because you get to choose the topic. Just pick any story you have found remotely interesting that you can link to the firm. Make sure it's structured and clear and prepare potential questions they might ask.

From my experience, a negotiating exercise is where you are given a case and you represent a client alongside someone else. You have to get the best deal for your client (it could be different for you though). With negotiation, make sure you work well with your partner and speak equally. Don't give up on essential points for your client but also be willing to compromise. Timing can be tricky so if you are running out of time, take control and suggest to move onto another point.

Not sure about the written exercise

Even though it's a lot of different things, this might actually be easier than firms that make you do a presentation on any random topic or intense interviews that can ask you anything. I'm sure you'll be fine!

Which firm is this?

 

[D95]

The lunch sounds informal - so just be really enthusiastic, be engaged, ask questions

The presentations sounds okay because you get to choose the topic. Just pick any story you have found remotely interesting that you can link to the firm. Make sure it's structured and clear and prepare potential questions they might ask.

From my experience, a negotiating exercise is where you are given a case and you represent a client alongside someone else. You have to get the best deal for your client (it could be different for you though). With negotiation, make sure you work well with your partner and speak equally. Don't give up on essential points for your client but also be willing to compromise. Timing can be tricky so if you are running out of time, take control and suggest to move onto another point.

Not sure about the written exercise

Even though it's a lot of different things, this might actually be easier than firms that make you do a presentation on any random topic or intense interviews that can ask you anything. I'm sure you'll be fine!

Which firm is this?

Thank you very much, that is massively helpful!

It is for King & Spalding

 

[PrincessTotoro]

The lunch sounds informal - so just be really enthusiastic, be engaged, ask questions

The presentations sounds okay because you get to choose the topic. Just pick any story you have found remotely interesting that you can link to the firm. Make sure it's structured and clear and prepare potential questions they might ask.

From my experience, a negotiating exercise is where you are given a case and you represent a client alongside someone else. You have to get the best deal for your client (it could be different for you though). With negotiation, make sure you work well with your partner and speak equally. Don't give up on essential points for your client but also be willing to compromise. Timing can be tricky so if you are running out of time, take control and suggest to move onto another point.

Not sure about the written exercise

Even though it's a lot of different things, this might actually be easier than firms that make you do a presentation on any random topic or intense interviews that can ask you anything. I'm sure you'll be fine!

Which firm is this?

Thank you so so much, this is amazing advice! I think most importantly for me I just need to get over my nerves about being scrutinised by partners and other people who obviously know so much about everything they are asking. I just hope I can show my best self on the day!

 

[jan28]

With written, obviously they will look at the overall piece but if it is time pressured they won’t expect it to be perfect. Key things they’ll prob look for are simplistic written styles, use of subheadings when you can and the correct format!

 

[PrincessTotoro]

With written, obviously they will look at the overall piece but if it is time pressured they won’t expect it to be perfect. Key things they’ll prob look for are simplistic written styles, use of subheadings when you can and the correct format!

Yes this is so true! I need to remember not to ramble and keep it concise. Do you find that there are particular resources you used that were helpful?

 

[jan28]

Yes this is so true! I need to remember not to ramble and keep it concise. Do you find that there are particular resources you used that were helpful?

Deffo! I remember I was worried during mine because I felt I was writing too bluntly and my overall letter to the client was prob half A4 side including the sub-headings so it wasn't long at all!

Umm, I mainly looked online for templates and drafts of how any professional would write to a client online tbh.

 

[Jaysen]

Bump. I think we are in the assessment for the same law firm then

If someone more experienced could share their knowledge here about these exercises, I too would be grateful as I was never at the AC for which I had to prepare in advance (the presentation bit).

@Jaysen do you have any tips perhaps?

Sorry for the delay!

King & Spalding is one of the firms we don't have much information on, so I can only speak generally:

Lunch: Do thorough research and prepare informed questions to ask the partners/associates. Remember the setting though, if it's an informal lunch - you can adapt the questions to the situation.

Written exercise: Make sure you have the right form (letter/memo/email etc.), make sure your answer is 100% focused on what the task is asking and write clearly. For these exercises, it's often not a case of writing everything you know about a subject, but taking the time to write a clearly structured and well thought out response to the question.

Negotiation exercise: This is harder for me to provide advice on as they vary so much. You want to show that you can speak up, have confidence in your opinions and argue your case, but you also do want to stay composed and show a willingness to be open minded (in my experience, we were often encouraged to come to an agreement in these exercises; whereas in a real negotiation you might be far more difficult/walk away).

Presentation: Personally I wouldn't start by thinking what is interesting to the firm - I'd think about what is interesting to you (provided you can still find a clear link to the firm). This is going to make you far better able to handle follow up questions and talk about the topic with genuine interest.​

 

[PrincessTotoro]

Sorry for the delay!

King & Spalding is one of the firms we don't have much information on, so I can only speak generally:

Lunch: Do thorough research and prepare informed questions to ask the partners/associates. Remember the setting though, if it's an informal lunch - you can adapt the questions to the situation.

Written exercise: Make sure you have the right form (letter/memo/email etc.), make sure your answer is 100% focused on what the task is asking and write clearly. For these exercises, it's often not a case of writing everything you know about a subject, but taking the time to write a clearly structured and well thought out response to the question.

Negotiation exercise: This is harder for me to provide advice on as they vary so much. You want to show that you can speak up, have confidence in your opinions and argue your case, but you also do want to stay composed and show a willingness to be open minded (in my experience, we were often encouraged to come to an agreement in these exercises; whereas in a real negotiation you might be far more difficult/walk away).

Presentation: Personally I wouldn't start by thinking what is interesting to the firm - I'd think about what is interesting to you (provided you can still find a clear link to the firm). This is going to make you far better able to handle follow up questions and talk about the topic with genuine interest.​

Thank you so much for the advice Jaysen, Yes I think I really should just go for my actual interest and link it back to the firm's work as much as possible. I've been doing the opposite, i.e looking at the firm's work and trying to find a relevant issue but I have been feeling like it's really forced and I'm finding it quite exhausting to be honest. Better to stick with something that I have quite a bit of knowledge of from my interest

 

[Velikilawyer123]

Hi everyone,

I have just received my first assessment day invite and I am feeling very lost and frankly quite terrified. They have told me that I will have lunch with partners/associates, a written exercise (45 minutes), negotiation exercise and a presentation (5 minutes on a commercial topic I found interesting and how it relates to the firm). I don't know where to start. How can I prepare well for the written and negotiation exercise? With regards to the presentation, what could be an 'interesting' topic for a corporate/government matters focused firm? I know that the London office has a particular focus on oil and gas/international arbitration/fraud-related disputes. Also, sorry for the ignorance but what is a negotiation exercise? I would really appreciate anyone's input.

Hi, sent you a PM re King & Spalding!

 

[NickMcK]

Sorry for the delay!

King & Spalding is one of the firms we don't have much information on, so I can only speak generally:

Lunch: Do thorough research and prepare informed questions to ask the partners/associates. Remember the setting though, if it's an informal lunch - you can adapt the questions to the situation.

Written exercise: Make sure you have the right form (letter/memo/email etc.), make sure your answer is 100% focused on what the task is asking and write clearly. For these exercises, it's often not a case of writing everything you know about a subject, but taking the time to write a clearly structured and well thought out response to the question.

Negotiation exercise: This is harder for me to provide advice on as they vary so much. You want to show that you can speak up, have confidence in your opinions and argue your case, but you also do want to stay composed and show a willingness to be open minded (in my experience, we were often encouraged to come to an agreement in these exercises; whereas in a real negotiation you might be far more difficult/walk away).

Presentation: Personally I wouldn't start by thinking what is interesting to the firm - I'd think about what is interesting to you (provided you can still find a clear link to the firm). This is going to make you far better able to handle follow up questions and talk about the topic with genuine interest.​

Just to add to this really useful advice. On the written exercise - make sure you answer any questions they specifically ask for and put your answer clearly at the beginning of your memo/report/email. E.g. if they ask you to write a report and recommend whether Business A should merge with either Business B or Business C, then you have to make a decision and this is part of the assessment.

Sometimes people get a bit lost in all the information included with a written task or don't feel confident they will pick the 'right' answer. This leads to them writing a general summary of the information they've been given rather than a clear answer/recommendation. However, these assessments tend to focus on making a decision and then providing sensible justification for that decision. Good luck!