Debevoise & Plimpton

[Chido]

I was just wondering, could you please be able to give an me idea what this question means;

'Please tell us about a recent commercial deal that has captured your interest. If you could represent a side, which would it be and why?'
Its from the application form for Debevoise & Plimpton.

Also, 'Please tell us something that not many people know about you?' is this a trick question?


Thank you,
Chido

 

[Yminh]

wow the commercial awareness question is really a headscratcher!

Personally, I would pick a prominent deal that has been receiving a lot of attention and news coverage. this is for research sake as the more that has been discussed, the easier it is to to find out a lot of relevant info. and form my own opinions. I will then put myself in the shoes of the party who is in decision-making position to answer this question. For instance, if I was to pick the recent Comcast/ Fox/Disney bid for Sky, I would put myself in the shoes of Sky's shareholder to present opinions on whose bid I would prefer or how to go about the process. I guess you can also put yourself in the shoes of one of the bidders such as Comcast or Disney and present a side on how you may want to go about winning the bid, although I think this is a trickier position to take (this deal has been closed lask week tho, I just want to use it to give example)

The question asks for commercial deal so i think you cannot talk about just any commercial event, i.e. US-China trade war, as a general topic and offer your own opinion on the subject. If I was you, I'd pick a single deal between companies to present a side, rather than a macro economic event in order to ensure I correctly answer the question.

I'm not sure how to approach the second question... you may want to wait for more responses from other members. Sorry!

hope this somehow helps.

 

[Jaysen]

wow the commercial awareness question is really a headscratcher!

Personally, I would pick a prominent deal that has been receiving a lot of attention and news coverage. this is for research sake as the more that has been discussed, the easier it is to to find out a lot of relevant info. and form my own opinions. I will then put myself in the shoes of the party who is in decision-making position to answer this question. For instance, if I was to pick the recent Comcast/ Fox/Disney bid for Sky, I would put myself in the shoes of Sky's shareholder to present opinions on whose bid I would prefer or how to go about the process. I guess you can also put yourself in the shoes of one of the bidders such as Comcast or Disney and present a side on how you may want to go about winning the bid, although I think this is a trickier position to take (this deal has been closed lask week tho, I just want to use it to give example)

The question asks for commercial deal so i think you cannot talk about just any commercial event, i.e. US-China trade war, as a general topic and offer your own opinion on the subject. If I was you, I'd pick a single deal between companies to present a side, rather than a macro economic event in order to ensure I correctly answer the question.

I'm not sure how to approach the second question... you may want to wait for more responses from other members. Sorry!

hope this somehow helps.

This is good advice.

The second question is not a trick question. If it's easier, imagine it's asking: "Tell us an interesting fact about you", which -- if you've ever attended an assessment centre -- is quite often the opening question. It's the firm's way of getting to know you.

 

[Kim LD]

Hello! Just a quick question regarding Debevoise. I noticed they changed their deadline from November 11 to December 16. Any reason why? I submitted my application before the Nov 11 deadline and did not hear back from them yet.

 

[J Wu]

Hello! Just a quick question regarding Debevoise. I noticed they changed their deadline from November 11 to December 16. Any reason why? I submitted my application before the Nov 11 deadline and did not hear back from them yet.

They're non-rolling applications so I don't think anyone will have heard back yet! I noticed the deadline change too, but notably, it has always said that applicants will be able to apply until mid-December on the website, even when the deadline was November 11. Honestly have no clue why the deadline was changed I'm afraid

 

[Kim LD]

They're non-rolling applications so I don't think anyone will have heard back yet! I noticed the deadline change too, but notably, it has always said that applicants will be able to apply until mid-December on the website, even when the deadline was November 11. Honestly have no clue why the deadline was changed I'm afraid

Thanks for the info John! Let's just hope it's nothing important