Case study interview advice

[GA0O13]

Hi guys,
I have an interview soon, in which I have to complete a short written exercise and then there's an interview with partners and the HR director to discuss my response to the exercise. The sessions in total are supposed to last for 2 hours. I would be grateful for any advice on how I should prepare for this type of interview.

Thanks!

 

[Kazam]

Do you know anything more about the content of the exercise? Like whether its an e-tray exercise or a news article or case study etc.

 

[GA0O13]

No, they've just said it's a short written test.

 

[Jaysen]

Hi guys,
I have an interview soon, in which I have to complete a short written exercise and then there's an interview with partners and the HR director to discuss my response to the exercise. The sessions in total are supposed to last for 2 hours. I would be grateful for any advice on how I should prepare for this type of interview.

Thanks!

My advice for the written exercise is to practice. I know there isn't much out there -- and if I remember correctly you've already done at least one our case studies -- so simply set yourself questions. You want to develop your technique: Is your writing clear? Are your points easy to follow? Are you answering the question? If you can, ask someone to give you feedback on your writing.

Don't worry too much about preparing for the content of your exercise, but stay aware of the topical commercial news stories e.g. Brexit, Trump, interest rates, tariffs.

For the interview, use the answers you wrote for your mock written exercise and see if you can explain your answers clearly to someone (or out loud in your room).

For example, let's say your topic was: "A no-deal Brexit would destroy the British economy". First, summarise your position and highlight the key points of your argument. Then, ask your friend to ask you questions. Get them to push you, because that's what you'll be doing in the interview. Finally, try to play devil's advocate, run through all of your reasons and try to argue against them.

 

[GA0O13]

Thanks a lot Jaysen, those tips are really useful. I feel a bit better about preparing for the exercise now.

 

[izzet hassan]

Hi Everyone,

I was hoping to get your thoughts on Saudi Aramco's potential listing on the London Stock Exchange for an upcoming TC interview.

The issues I'm looking to consider are the following:
> What issues would investors looking to buy shares in Saudi Aramco be concerned about?
>What would Saudi Aramco be concerned about when listing shares?
>What would the Stock Exchange be concerned about?

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Izzet

 

[Coralin96]

Hi Everyone,

I was hoping to get your thoughts on Saudi Aramco's potential listing on the London Stock Exchange for an upcoming TC interview.

The issues I'm looking to consider are the following:
> What issues would investors looking to buy shares in Saudi Aramco be concerned about?
>What would Saudi Aramco be concerned about when listing shares?
>What would the Stock Exchange be concerned about?

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Izzet

It might not be super relevant but I just wrote about this topic a couple of hours ago: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....l-awareness-update-august-2018.337/#post-1592

 

[izzet hassan]

It might not be super relevant but I just wrote about this topic a couple of hours ago: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....l-awareness-update-august-2018.337/#post-1592

Thank you, it is useful. I'm looking at more at the LSE angle and the new "Premium Listing" category that the FCA has introduced to allow Saudi Aramco to list.

 

[Jaysen]

Hi Everyone,

I was hoping to get your thoughts on Saudi Aramco's potential listing on the London Stock Exchange for an upcoming TC interview.

The issues I'm looking to consider are the following:
> What issues would investors looking to buy shares in Saudi Aramco be concerned about?
>What would Saudi Aramco be concerned about when listing shares?
>What would the Stock Exchange be concerned about?

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Izzet

Sure, I can share some thoughts.

What issues would investors looking to buy shares in Saudi Aramco be concerned about?

• Will they make money investing in Saudi Aramco's shares? Oil is a volatile commodity -- what happens if we see another oil crisis and the price of oil drops? Is the company really worth 2trn? What is the future of oil?
• What about the geopolitical risks? Saudi Arabia's intervention in Yemen and Saudi Arabia's role as the head of OPEC has consequences for the future of Saudi Aramco and the price of oil.
• What are investors buying? The whole company or a subsidiary?
• What is the ongoing relationship between Saudi Aramco and the government?
• Where is Saudi Aramco going to list?
• What does the due diligence reveal? What are Saudi Aramco's finances like? Will they comply with the relevant regulations of the stock market? What does the independent assessment of their oil reserves reveal? In other words: Is Saudi Aramco worth buying?
• Are the right rules in place to make sure Saudi Aramco can issue shares? What does the company's constitution say?
• Who makes the decisions in the company? Will the company remain secretive? Are there enough independent board members?
• Can Saudi Arabia carry out its economic reform? Last year, Saudi Aramco contributed almost 40% to Saudi Arabias revenues. The future of Saudi Aramco is very much dependent on the future of the country.

What would Saudi Aramco be concerned about when listing shares?

• Which listing market should they choose to raise the most money?
• What are the laws and regulations of that listing market? Are there alternatives?
• There are litigation risks to listing in New York: terrorism laws, class action risks etc. Will they prevent a successful IPO? Or cause further problems down the line that would damage the company?
• Can Saudi Arabia maintain decision making powers? What can they put in place to ensure this? They may want this both for political and national security reasons.
• Can they meet the onerous New York or London listing laws? The company will need to meet onerous disclosure and financial reporting rules. If not, they will suffer serious penalties.
• What about the reputational risks? As a public company, it will also need to be comfortable being open to public scrutiny. This especially matters for Saudi Arabia's reputation in the international markets. Shareholders will now have decision making powers.
• Who is going to acquire their shares? The US? China? What are the consequences of that?

What would the Stock Exchange be concerned about?

• They want Saudi Aramco to list on their stock exchange. It sends a signal that they can attract large, complex IPOs. They also generate fees.
• But does the company comply with the listing, transparency and disclosure rules?
• If it doesn't comply with some, is the stock exchange willing to relax those rules? What are the consequences of those decisions? e.g. the FCA introduced new listing rules which would allow Saudi Aramco to have a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange.
• Could Saudi Aramco be too big? The Saudi exchange has already introduced a mechanism to manage Saudi Aramco's size.

 

[izzet hassan]

Sure, I can share some thoughts.


What issues would investors looking to buy shares in Saudi Aramco be concerned about?

• Will they make money investing in Saudi Aramco's shares? Oil is a volatile commodity -- what happens if we see another oil crisis and the price of oil drops? Is the company really worth 2trn? What is the future of oil?
• What about the geopolitical risks? Saudi Arabia's intervention in Yemen and Saudi Arabia's role as the head of OPEC has consequences for the future of Saudi Aramco and the price of oil.
• What are investors buying? The whole company or a subsidiary?
• What is the ongoing relationship between Saudi Aramco and the government?
• Where is Saudi Aramco going to list?
• What does the due diligence reveal? What are Saudi Aramco's finances like? Will they comply with the relevant regulations of the stock market? What does the independent assessment of their oil reserves reveal? In other words: Is Saudi Aramco worth buying?
• Are the right rules in place to make sure Saudi Aramco can issue shares? What does the company's constitution say?
• Who makes the decisions in the company? Will the company remain secretive? Are there enough independent board members?
• Can Saudi Arabia carry out its economic reform? Last year, Saudi Aramco contributed almost 40% to Saudi Arabias revenues. The future of Saudi Aramco is very much dependent on the future of the country.

What would Saudi Aramco be concerned about when listing shares?

• Which listing market should they choose to raise the most money?
• What are the laws and regulations of that listing market? Are there alternatives?
• There are litigation risks to listing in New York: terrorism laws, class action risks etc. Will they prevent a successful IPO? Or cause further problems down the line that would damage the company?
• Can Saudi Arabia maintain decision making powers? What can they put in place to ensure this? They may want this both for political and national security reasons.
• Can they meet the onerous New York or London listing laws? The company will need to meet onerous disclosure and financial reporting rules. If not, they will suffer serious penalties.
• What about the reputational risks? As a public company, it will also need to be comfortable being open to public scrutiny. This especially matters for Saudi Arabia's reputation in the international markets. Shareholders will now have decision making powers.
• Who is going to acquire their shares? The US? China? What are the consequences of that?

What would the Stock Exchange be concerned about?

• They want Saudi Aramco to list on their stock exchange. It sends a signal that they can attract large, complex IPOs. They also generate fees.
• But does the company comply with the listing, transparency and disclosure rules?
• If it doesn't comply with some, is the stock exchange willing to relax those rules? What are the consequences of those decisions? e.g. the FCA introduced new listing rules which would allow Saudi Aramco to have a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange.
• Could Saudi Aramco be too big? The Saudi exchange has already introduced a mechanism to manage Saudi Aramco's size.

Thanks Jaysen- much appreciated!

 

[GA0O13]

Hi all.

I had another question related to this interview and would appreciate some advice. I have been told which partners are interviewing me and as it will be a panel interview, it will also include the firm's HR director. After interviews, I ask about the partner's journey into their practice area / a significant case they dealt with as it is interesting to learn about the factors that affected their decision and what they like most about their work. As I already know what area they have specialised in, I was wondering if it would appear generic to ask these questions again. I have looked into news mentioning the partners and have read articles they've recently written, but can't form any questions on these. I'm also not sure what to ask the HR director.

I would be very grateful for any pointers on forming questions to the partners/HR director.

Thanks guys!

 

[Jaysen]

Hi all.

I had another question related to this interview and would appreciate some advice. I have been told which partners are interviewing me and as it will be a panel interview, it will also include the firm's HR director. After interviews, I ask about the partner's journey into their practice area / a significant case they dealt with as it is interesting to learn about the factors that affected their decision and what they like most about their work. As I already know what area they have specialised in, I was wondering if it would appear generic to ask these questions again. I have looked into news mentioning the partners and have read articles they've recently written, but can't form any questions on these. I'm also not sure what to ask the HR director.

I would be very grateful for any pointers on forming questions to the partners/HR director.

Thanks guys!

No, I don't think it's generic to ask about a partner's journey into a practice area, even if you already know the department they specialise in. Far better to ask genuine questions like this rather than questions designed to impress. (IMHO few questions at interview are ever actually "impressive". But on the contrary, many questions are unimpressive.)

RE: Asking the HR director a question, here are some topic suggestions:

• Training system
• Interaction with the firm during the LPC/on secondments
• Seat allocations
• Mentorship programmes
• Trainee appraisals
• Induction

 

[lilyflower]

Hi,

I have a case study interview coming up; it will be based on advising a company who wants to open up in a different country - what things should I consider? What sectors of a law firm would be involved and why?

 

[JoNo]

Hi,

I have a case study interview coming up; it will be based on advising a company who wants to open up in a different country - what things should I consider? What sectors of a law firm would be involved and why?

Is this for Sidley, by any chance?

 

[LuLa]

Hi,

I have a case study interview coming up; it will be based on advising a company who wants to open up in a different country - what things should I consider? What sectors of a law firm would be involved and why?

Hey, so I think you should consider various things.
On a more general, non-law specific level, think about the "PESTEL" factors (https://pestleanalysis.com/pestel-framework/) and just figure out whether its a sound "business" decision to open up in x country.

Then i would consider already established firms in the market. ie if you wanted to open an office in australia, i'd think twice about it. there already are australian firms, plus firms like HSF/A&O and Ashurst who have extremely strong presences in the continent and it might be harder to gain clients/market share there.

In terms of what practices are involved in opening up a new office, im not too sure that would be a question they would ask. i think if they were to ask about practice areas involved in deals it would probably be re an acquisition? have they told you otherwise?

hope this helps