Demonstrating motivation for commercial law at interview

[Deleted member 9747]

Feedback from my last interview was that I fell down on my answer to 'why law'. On reflection, I did not make a conscious effort to convey an understanding of the profession so without much more thought my answer will improve. Nevertheless, having given a lot of thought to my motivations and the realities of being a lawyer I'm still not 100% confident in my answer.

As this is a super important question for recruiters I'd love to nail it. I understand it's a personal question but I'd love to compare my reasons with others so I can see if my answers are specific and rigorous enough. I.e. would a good answer look at what a particular practitioner does as part of their job?

THanks!

 

[Alice G]

Feedback from my last interview was that I fell down on my answer to 'why law'. On reflection, I did not make a conscious effort to convey an understanding of the profession so without much more thought my answer will improve. Nevertheless, having given a lot of thought to my motivations and the realities of being a lawyer I'm still not 100% confident in my answer.

As this is a super important question for recruiters I'd love to nail it. I understand it's a personal question but I'd love to compare my reasons with others so I can see if my answers are specific and rigorous enough. I.e. would a good answer look at what a particular practitioner does as part of their job?

THanks!

Hi there,

I am happy to offer some help with this, but given how personal these responses can be, sometimes direct comparison is not always the most helpful in my view. What sort of things have you thought about and what evidence from your experiences have you thought to rely upon to convey those motivations?

 

[Deleted member 9747]

Hey! Thanks a lot.

One is the nature of the job; problem solving, intellectually challenging and therefore that you are valued for intellect and experience, is attractive because I enjoyed getting good marks while studying law and building arguments for mooting comps etc. Would this be good enough (if articulated fully)?

What my answer lacks is references to what solicitors do day to day which I probably cannot confidently say

 

[Alice G]

Hey! Thanks a lot.

One is the nature of the job; problem solving, intellectually challenging and therefore that you are valued for intellect and experience, is attractive because I enjoyed getting good marks while studying law and building arguments for mooting comps etc. Would this be good enough (if articulated fully)?

What my answer lacks is references to what solicitors do day to day which I probably cannot confidently say

Don't worry about lack of day to day work detail - most responses I see which focus on that really just describe what lawyers do and fail to link this back to why they want to be one. Sure, it is fine to talk about the work but only provided you make that link and use personal evidence.

I think this sounds good. Being quite critical (but to help!) try to avoid words like intellectually stimulating etc as this is quite cliche and just be mindful that many people applying might be able to say the same thing about wanting to get good grades etc. The real strength in what you say above is that mooting point and constructing arguments, thinking on your feet and having to process complex info - that is all very true for the role of a commercial solicitor and it is great evidence to use to support your motivational points.

 

[Deleted member 9747]

Don't worry about lack of day to day work detail - most responses I see which focus on that really just describe what lawyers do and fail to link this back to why they want to be one. Sure, it is fine to talk about the work but only provided you make that link and use personal evidence.

I think this sounds good. Being quite critical (but to help!) try to avoid words like intellectually stimulating etc as this is quite cliche and just be mindful that many people applying might be able to say the same thing about wanting to get good grades etc. The real strength in what you say above is that mooting point and constructing arguments, thinking on your feet and having to process complex info - that is all very true for the role of a commercial solicitor and it is great evidence to use to support your motivational points.

Great! Thanks so much for that- it will help me think along the right lines.
I agree intellectually stimulating is a real classic but I like to start with it and develop it

 

[Alice G]

Great! Thanks so much for that- it will help me think along the right lines.
I agree intellectually stimulating is a real classic but I like to start with it and develop it

Absolutely - I always used to draft with the phrase too and then reworked it in my edits

 

[Naomi U]

Feedback from my last interview was that I fell down on my answer to 'why law'. On reflection, I did not make a conscious effort to convey an understanding of the profession so without much more thought my answer will improve. Nevertheless, having given a lot of thought to my motivations and the realities of being a lawyer I'm still not 100% confident in my answer.

As this is a super important question for recruiters I'd love to nail it. I understand it's a personal question but I'd love to compare my reasons with others so I can see if my answers are specific and rigorous enough. I.e. would a good answer look at what a particular practitioner does as part of their job?

THanks!

Hi @Legalregal

Just to add on - I think something that has always helped me when answering this type of question is to really show your journey.

So rather than just say you want something "intellectually stimulating" you should explain why e.g. you enjoyed specific tasks whilst at uni, you enjoy debating etc. I think the best answers are the ones that are most personal. Also don't be afraid to mention any considerations of other roles and how you decided law was for you.

At the end of the day, everyone's going to have a similar sort of answer as of course, naturally as aspiring solicitors we all have similar interests. So I think the key here is to sell your story- think of it as explaining the events that have led to you sitting there at the interview.

Hope this helps!

 

[Deleted member 9747]

Hi @Legalregal

Just to add on - I think something that has always helped me when answering this type of question is to really show your journey.

So rather than just say you want something "intellectually stimulating" you should explain why e.g. you enjoyed specific tasks whilst at uni, you enjoy debating etc. I think the best answers are the ones that are most personal. Also don't be afraid to mention any considerations of other roles and how you decided law was for you.

At the end of the day, everyone's going to have a similar sort of answer as of course, naturally as aspiring solicitors we all have similar interests. So I think the key here is to sell your story- think of it as explaining the events that have led to you sitting there at the interview.

Hope this helps!

Thanks, @Naomi U !

I have been working on my answer since I posted this and will hopefully have an adequate answer soon!

 

[Jon]

I think if you're asked a question like this, you have to probably hear it as 'why [do you want to practice (and not study) commercial] law'? That is, you can be more specific on why you want to work as a commercial solicitor and not, for example, a criminal solicitor (or even a barrister).

"nature of the job; problem solving, intellectually challenging and therefore that you are valued for intellect and experience, is attractive because I enjoyed getting good marks while studying law and building arguments for mooting comps etc" - that's all fine (especially if it's true, which I'm sure it is!) but the exact same words could be said for a barrister. Why commercial law, then?

You could perhaps add to your answer something to do with helping clients achieve their business objectives, being their trusted adviser. 'Problem solving'... to help further client interests, 'building arguments...' to defend client actions, 'applying my intellect and experience'... to navigate regulation and advise my clients on the best course of action, and so on. So while I think your motivations are fine, to me they're missing the most important part of legal practice - the client.

Law firms are businesses, after all, and the way they make their money is through their clients. And as people often say, law is a very people-focused industry!

 

[Numerius Negidius]

What are some possible responses to "why do you want to become a commercial lawyer rather than a barrister?"

Previously I've given answers about commercial law being more client-oriented and involves working in a team setting, but i'm not sure if this is enough..

 

[Jon]

What are some possible responses to "why do you want to become a commercial lawyer rather than a barrister?"

Previously I've given answers about commercial law being more client-oriented and involves working in a team setting, but i'm not sure if this is enough..

True, commercial barristers do also need to take their clients' business interests/perspectives into consideration, so you'd have to draw a clearer distinction.

You could distinguish between the two by focusing on the work they actually do. Do you prefer managing the case, gathering evidence, more investigative/fact-finding work, putting the case together? Or do you prefer oral advocacy*, appearing in court and presenting the legal arguments, and giving expert advice on complicated bits of law? Solicitors will be involved with the case right from the start and will have a longer-term relationship with the client. It will be the solicitor and not the client who instructs the barrister. Your point about teamwork is also valid.

But also remember that this really only applies to disputes/contentious work. If you prefer transactional work, then it should be quite easy to answer...!

(*solicitors can obtain rights of audience in higher courts and are increasingly providing advocacy, but the distinctions are still valid.)

 

[Dheepa]

What are some possible responses to "why do you want to become a commercial lawyer rather than a barrister?"

Previously I've given answers about commercial law being more client-oriented and involves working in a team setting, but i'm not sure if this is enough..

Echoing what Jon has said, I think solicitors get a better full picture of the entire case from start to finish. Even commercial barristers really only get called in to do the advocacy or provide advise on particularly niche areas of law. As a solicitor, you are still the person drafting the documentation and determining the broader strategy for the case.

I would suggest trying to tie any of the pointers we've given you to your own experiences. Your answer to would sound most convincing if you had personal experiences to back it up and if you were able to really explain how your choice to be a solicitor aligned better with your own personal career goals and preferences in terms of work.

 

[Numerius Negidius]

Thank you both, very helpful tips!