Dechert Commercial question

[Chido]

Hi Jaysen,

Can I please ask a question, what commercial issue do you think I could relate to the firm Dechert and how it might affect the firm/sectors?

Thank you,
Chido

 

[Jaysen]

What is the full application question?

 

[Chido]

Hi Jaysen,

The full question is to add anything extra to the application form and would like to show some commercial knowledge e.g how a current issue/event could have an impact on Dechert?

 

[Jaysen]

Can you tell me how the question is phrased exactly? Before I comment, I just want to make sure it would be relevant to discuss a current issue here.

 

[Chido]

Hi Jaysen, it is phrased ‘add anything else you have not mentioned which you think is relevant to your application’

 

[Jaysen]

Hi Jaysen, it is phrased ‘add anything else you have not mentioned which you think is relevant to your application’

Thanks.

Applicants usually use this question to talk about themselves/their interest in the firm, especially information they haven't had an opportunity to bring up yet. You can still talk about a commercial issue, but I'd check whether there's anything you can add about yourself/why you'd be a good fit first. There's often a lot more value to that than showing how XYZ impacts the firm.

I'm yet to write an insight on Dechert, so I'm afraid I'm not so familiar with the firm. I suggest you use your knowledge of Dechert to work out what issues are most likely to affect the firm. For example, what kind of work does the firm do? Where does it sit in the market (e.g. high value v mid market M&A)? Does it have a large presence in Asia? What technology has the firm invested in?

You could use our previous threads on the biggest challenges facing law firms for help on general areas to look into:

https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/addleshaw-goddard-question.836/#post-4867
https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....ing-commercial-law-firms-today.777/#post-4319

Alternatively, you could research Dechert's latest deals/articles to identify what kind of issues are facing the firm.

Once you've found your issue, you can then work out how it specifically affects Dechert. This is very much dependent on the question, but you might ask whether it impacts:

• the nature of Dechert's work? How will the advice the firm gives change? e.g. will there be an increase in advisory work?
• Dechert's strategy? e.g. its international operations or its hiring practices?
• Dechert's revenue (fee income) or costs? e.g. are clients likely to hold off investments? Are clients putting pressure on fees?

You could also take this one step further by thinking about how Dechert should respond to these issues. For example, if an issue leads to an increase in advisory work, perhaps the firm could provide regular online updates to clients. Alternatively, if clients are putting pressure on fees, perhaps you might say the firm should think about alternative fee arrangements or offshoring lower-cost work to provide a more favourable price to clients.

 

[Chido]

Thank you Jaysen