General Discussion Thread 2020-21

[AH9891]

You have been given the client though?

No we have not been given any information. We won’t know anything until the day of it...

 

[Jessica Booker]

No we have not been given any information. We won’t know anything until the day of it...

to be honest I don’t think there is much prep you can do for it as it will depend on the client you are being asked about. You could get stuck doing a lot of research that won’t be used, especially if you are only preparing it with you group on the day itself.

At best you could research the following:

- find any client marketing / business development publications (however this could be too much as they tend to be divided into practice areas of sectors) and just read them to see the type of language they use to promote the firm to potential clients.

- read their annual report (if they publish one) and see what specifically say about providing service to clients

- have a quick scout of the legal press to see if you can find anything about the type of clients that have won recently (typically their are announcements on which firms get on panels for major clients).

- do a bit of reading on competitors (again this might be too big a task because again it tends to vary by practice area or sector).

The above might sound like a lot, but my concern would be you invest too much time into the above with little benefit for the exercise.

 

[AH9891]

to be honest I don’t think there is much prep you can do for it as it will depend on the client you are being asked about. You could get stuck doing a lot of research that won’t be used, especially if you are only preparing it with you group on the day itself.

At best you could research the following:

- find any client marketing / business development publications (however this could be too much as they tend to be divided into practice areas of sectors) and just read them to see the type of language they use to promote the firm to potential clients.

- read their annual report (if they publish one) and see what specifically say about providing service to clients

- have a quick scout of the legal press to see if you can find anything about the type of clients that have won recently (typically their are announcements on which firms get on panels for major clients).

- do a bit of reading on competitors (again this might be too big a task because again it tends to vary by practice area or sector).

The above might sound like a lot, but my concern would be you invest too much time into the above with little benefit for the exercise.

This is really helpful, thank you Jessica! I will definitively try to have a quick browse, but like you said, we don’t know the client, so might be a bit of a stab in the dark

 

[NickMcK]

This is really helpful, thank you Jessica! I will definitively try to have a quick browse, but like you said, we don’t know the client, so might be a bit of a stab in the dark

Just to add to Jessica's really good advice. The other prep you can do is to consider the structure of your presentation and research tips/guides for presenting virtually. These can make or break a presentation and apply regardless of whether it is a pitch or related to commercial law.

A few things to think about before you get the brief:

• Do you know roughly how long it will be? 10-20 minutes is not a long time!
• How will you guide your audience through the pitch? You can map an outline of this before knowing the topic. This is as important as getting the content right. If your structure is poor the content of your pitch won't land.
• What is your personal style? I've worked with great presenters who have ranged from talking through a prepared speech word for word to others who captivated an audience using only 5 photographs that they ad-libbed against. Consider a style that gives you confidence rather than gets in the way of what you want to get across.
  
• Will you use slides? If so, how many? You don't have to use slides just because other people do. Bad presentations tend to use more slides than they have time for, have too much text on each slide or use slides when they aren't necessary.
• Will you allow questions throughout or at the end? How will you prep for answering questions?
• Will you have an interactive element or a quick breakout discussion? Ask the right discussion question and it can be a great way to show you know a client's market/business. Do this badly and it can be awkward.
• How will you adapt to presenting virtually?
• Are you confident screen sharing over Zoom/Skype/whatever platform you have been asked to use, and have practiced this?
• Consider, what do you gain/lose from presenting over the internet compared to being in a room with people?

Good luck!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Just to add to Jessica's really good advice. The other prep you can do is to consider the structure of your presentation and research tips/guides for presenting virtually. These can make or break a presentation and apply regardless of whether it is a pitch or related to commercial law.

A few things to think about before you get the brief:

• Do you know roughly how long it will be? 10-20 minutes is not a long time!
• How will you guide your audience through the pitch? You can map an outline of this before knowing the topic. This is as important as getting the content right. If your structure is poor the content of your pitch won't land.
• What is your personal style? I've worked with great presenters who have ranged from talking through a prepared speech word for word to others who captivated an audience using only 5 photographs that they ad-libbed against. Consider a style that gives you confidence rather than gets in the way of what you want to get across.
  
• Will you use slides? If so, how many? You don't have to use slides just because other people do. Bad presentations tend to use more slides than they have time for, have too much text on each slide or use slides when they aren't necessary.
• Will you allow questions throughout or at the end? How will you prep for answering questions?
• Will you have an interactive element or a quick breakout discussion? Ask the right discussion question and it can be a great way to show you know a client's market/business. Do this badly and it can be awkward.
• How will you adapt to presenting virtually?
• Are you confident screen sharing over Zoom/Skype/whatever platform you have been asked to use, and have practiced this?
• Consider, what do you gain/lose from presenting over the internet compared to being in a room with people?

Good luck!

Agree with the above. Where it is a group exercise though, don’t fixate on how you want to do things, as you will need to work with the group to ensure it works well for everyone.

These are all good questions to ask your group once you have the details and you can start working together on it.

 

[Pallatablelawyer]

have u guys heard about this kickstarter program? could be interesting if law firms take it up? Essentially they will be paid to have interns for 6 months and that could be crucial for helping find TCs .. although i doubt this will be available for international students! if youre a home student, enjoy if law firms take it up!

 

[dosblancos7]

have u guys heard about this kickstarter program? could be interesting if law firms take it up? Essentially they will be paid to have interns for 6 months and that could be crucial for helping find TCs .. although i doubt this will be available for international students! if youre a home student, enjoy if law firms take it up!

Havent yet, could you provide links which discusses this?

 

[AH9891]

Thank you, this is also really helpful! Will definitely have a think about these elements tonight and see if there’s anything I can do to prep

 

[Camilla]

have u guys heard about this kickstarter program? could be interesting if law firms take it up? Essentially they will be paid to have interns for 6 months and that could be crucial for helping find TCs .. although i doubt this will be available for international students! if youre a home student, enjoy if law firms take it up!

It was announced by Rishi in his statement right? Sounds very interesting but its for people on universal credit which would mean you need to prove you cant get a job elsewhere I assume. I don't know if this will help many TC hunters.

 

[Pallatablelawyer]

Havent yet, could you provide links which discusses this?

i dont think there are any official links yet but i reckon news outlets have a few statements on it

 

[Jessica Booker]

have u guys heard about this kickstarter program? could be interesting if law firms take it up? Essentially they will be paid to have interns for 6 months and that could be crucial for helping find TCs .. although i doubt this will be available for international students! if youre a home student, enjoy if law firms take it up!

It’s not quite as simple as that unfortunately.

It is only available for people ages 16-24 on universal credit (eg benefits). Anyone who has just come of a degree or who isn’t eligible for such benefits wouldn’t be eligible for the firm to get funding.

 

[Deleted member 5185]

Hello all

Has anyone heard back from BCLP yet regarding their direct TC?

Perhaps this sounds a bit trivial, but I made a mistake in spelling organisation 'organization', in my application due to the american settings on grammarly. I am wondering how much this would have affected my chances of making it through to the online assessment stage, has anyone had experience of doing something similar?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello all

Has anyone heard back from BCLP yet regarding their direct TC?

Perhaps this sounds a bit trivial, but I made a mistake in spelling organisation 'organization', in my application due to the american settings on grammarly. I am wondering how much this would have affected my chances of making it through to the online assessment stage, has anyone had experience of doing something similar?

very minor “error” that could easily not be noticed or if it is might even not care about. Depends on how many other errors there are, how well written your application is, and the relative strength of all the evidence though

 

[deckoking123]

Hello all

Has anyone heard back from BCLP yet regarding their direct TC?

Perhaps this sounds a bit trivial, but I made a mistake in spelling organisation 'organization', in my application due to the american settings on grammarly. I am wondering how much this would have affected my chances of making it through to the online assessment stage, has anyone had experience of doing something similar?

heard back for the brand ambassador role but not the actual application if that helps

 

[dosblancos7]

heard back for the brand ambassador role but not the actual application if that helps

When did you apply? I think they're rolling, which may impact response rate?

 

[LegalNim]

@Nad246 I applied to a Magic Circle firm and was reviewing my application after submitting it. I noticed that I'd written "lead" instead of "led" - I still got through to the next round. Some firms won't mind, some recruiters won't notice - try not to worry about it. Also, the Americanised spelling isn't "wrong" per se so I really wouldn't get hung up on it.

 

[Deleted member 5185]

@Nad246 I applied to a Magic Circle firm and was reviewing my application after submitting it. I noticed that I'd written "lead" instead of "led" - I still got through to the next round. Some firms won't mind, some recruiters won't notice - try not to worry about it. Also, the Americanised spelling isn't "wrong" per se so I really wouldn't get hung up on it.

Thank you so much. I think that COVID-19 has definitely amplified a lot of anxieties surrounding this application cycle. But that is very reassuring, also congratulations !

 

[Deleted member 5185]

very minor “error” that could easily not be noticed or if it is might even not care about. Depends on how many other errors there are, how well written your application is, and the relative strength of all the evidence though

Thank you so much. It is quite possible that there were other errors, (due to mitigating circumstances) I did email graduate recruitment to let them know about an acronym error after I had submitted my application.

 

[Helena]

Have just read this in The Lawyer. Doesn't look good

https://www.thelawyer.com/further-c...6755&adg=D3C1F298-4CB7-46B6-8B71-2AFCF91B4BF3

 

[Lr1]

Have just read this in The Lawyer. Doesn't look good

https://www.thelawyer.com/further-c...6755&adg=D3C1F298-4CB7-46B6-8B71-2AFCF91B4BF3

DWF has been woefully poorly managed for many years. Their old CEO was recently axed. This is all part of the firm’s realignment with new management. And it’s a listed company so it has to think of shareholders- another reason why firms shouldn’t list.

The redundancy's aren’t a strictly Covid response. This has been a long time coming for them. It’s too big and too unprofitable right now. Offices have shut, more will. The old CEO grew DWF for his own vanity, he’s gone now.