Berwin Leighton Paisner Interview

[Jaysen]

When was your Berwin Leighton Paisner interview?

November 2016

What for?

Vac Scheme

Please describe the interview process at Berwin Leighton Paisner.

After arriving and held and in the client waiting area, we were taken to a meeting room for the written exercise. This was a case study of a company looking to expand and to give advice about which company to expand with. You were given an hour (if I recall correctly) for this and it is time pressured. Once this is finished, we were given a tour of the office and then had an interview with a partner - but this was only to discuss orally our written exercise. They would ask some questions about it, but you were just presenting your advice. Following this there was a negotiating task. You will be paired up with another interviewee and pitted against another two, and will have to negotiate a deal, with an associate or partner scoring. After this, the day is over.

What advice would you give to future applicants about the Berwin Leighton Paisner interview?

For the written exercise, ensure you time manage correctly. It was very time pressured for me - look up relevant commercial knowledge in relation to financing, acquisition and mergers, and the potential issues that a company looking to grow inorganically must worry about - but also the advantages. You are required to write a letter to the company, so ensure you are not overly technical in you answer and don't use any legal jargon, as clients do not appreciate that. For the oral presentation with the partner, just go over in your head during the break that you have to present a coherent and articulate answer about why you chose the company that you chose. Finally, for the negotiations exercise, don't be too inflexible, but stand your ground and always find out why the other side is asking for what they are asking - if you can understand why they are asking for 'X', then you may be able to counter-offer something that is advantageous to you both.

 

[Jaysen]

When was your Berwin Leighton Paisner interview?

November 2016

What for?

Vacation Scheme and Training Contract

Please describe the interview process at Berwin Leighton Paisner.

A group negotiation, a one-to-one role play and a written exercise. Following the vacation scheme, I was interviewed by two partners. At the assessment centre, I was asked to read through various sources of information to advise a client on an investment decision. This was to be hand-written, though treated as an email. This was followed by a role play exercise in which I met with the client, presented my ideas, and responded to any questions or challenges they had. The final task was a negotiation exercise.

What advice would you give to future applicants about the Berwin Leighton Paisner interview?

For my training contract interview, the questions were rather straightforward, centred around the firm's clients and added value, as well as how they fit with their competitors. I was also asked about the potential benefits of a merger with Bryan Cave. I was somewhat disappointed following my interview as my feedback stated that I answered questions effectively and performed very well on the vacation scheme, however the partners were not satisfied that I was motivated to pursue a career in law, or perhaps a career specifically with BLP.