General Discussion Thread 2020-21

[Jen E C]

This may be a silly question but..
In the context of US firms, when talking about the work they do, would you focus on the work that the London firm is known for?
For example, if a firm is known for its corporate takeovers in the US but is only band 3/band 4 in London, is it not worth mentioning as I will be joining the London office?
Is it also redundant to talk about deals that the London office did not work on?

It would depend on the context of what you are saying. If the London office collaborated and supported the US side on a deal and you're interested in that sort of work, then it could make sense to bring up. If the London office had nothing to do with it, then it would be redundant.

More generally, and especially if there is a lower word count, you probably want to focus on what the London office is good at and known for. Although, growing areas of practice currently band 3/4 can also be interesting to mention from a strategy perspective.

 

[Jessica Booker]

This may be a silly question but..
In the context of US firms, when talking about the work they do, would you focus on the work that the London firm is known for?
For example, if a firm is known for its corporate takeovers in the US but is only band 3/band 4 in London, is it not worth mentioning as I will be joining the London office?
Is it also redundant to talk about deals that the London office did not work on?

Focus on the work you are more likely to be doing. It’s not that it’s completely redundant, it just might be slightly misplaced

 

[Celestie]

Me with my new badge:

 

[Alice G]

This may be a silly question but..
In the context of US firms, when talking about the work they do, would you focus on the work that the London firm is known for?
For example, if a firm is known for its corporate takeovers in the US but is only band 3/band 4 in London, is it not worth mentioning as I will be joining the London office?
Is it also redundant to talk about deals that the London office did not work on?

I agree with everything that has been said but just wanted to say here and remind everyone, there is no such thing as a silly question on TCLA. Always best to ask us and clarify something - don't be afraid to

 

[NikkiT]

Does anyone know if it would still be worth applying to Dechert? I am still writing my application and the deadline is the 31st of December.

Additionally, if anyone has any advice for the question: 'Dechert is frequently retained to work on the most challenging matters, and prides itself on its ability to deliver premium legal services and sound business judgment to its clients. In your opinion, other than the above, what are the three key reasons why our clients instruct us?'

Finally if anyone has any ideas on would be beneficial to add in the box 'If applicable please state any additional information which you think is relevant to your application or which you think has not been covered adequately in this form' I would really appreciate any advice!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Does anyone know if it would still be worth applying to Dechert? I am still writing my application and the deadline is the 31st of December.

Additionally, if anyone has any advice for the question: 'Dechert is frequently retained to work on the most challenging matters, and prides itself on its ability to deliver premium legal services and sound business judgment to its clients. In your opinion, other than the above, what are the three key reasons why our clients instruct us?'

Finally if anyone has any ideas on would be beneficial to add in the box 'If applicable please state any additional information which you think is relevant to your application or which you think has not been covered adequately in this form' I would really appreciate any advice!

yes still worthwhile applying - i reckon over 30% of their applications are yet to be received.

The additional information section is there for you to include any relevant details or information that hasn’t naturally fitted into other sections/questions asked. It will be very unique to you, so hard to say what you could include, but typically any of the following can be covered in this type of question:

• Grade explanations (especially if you received adjustments of exemptions in 2020)
• Gaps in CV (eg time not working or studying but not evidenced with other details on your application)
• Extenuating circumstances
• International grade explanations
• Work experience that doesn’t fall into the work experience section if you are limited to the number of entries you can provide
• Availability for interview (especially important if you are highly restricted with when you can interview)
• Reasonable adjustments required
• Any additional information you think is appropriate to include

 

[futuretraineecity]

For the ‘why you’ section of the Freshfields personal statement, is it better to arrange paragraphs by quality/skill or by experiences? I feel like if I do it by experiences I can demonstrate more than one skill per experience but not too sure which approach to take.

 

[Jessica Booker]

For the ‘why you’ section of the Freshfields personal statement, is it better to arrange paragraphs by quality/skill or by experiences? I feel like if I do it by experiences I can demonstrate more than one skill per experience but not too sure which approach to take.

no set approach - do what works best for you. My advice with the FBD personal statement is remember that it is just that, personable - it should reflect you not try to conform.

 

[futuretraineecity]

no set approach - do what works best for you. My advice with the FBD personal statement is remember that it is just that, personable - it should reflect you not try to conform.

Makes sense, thank you!

 

[Velikilawyer123]

This may be a silly question but..
In the context of US firms, when talking about the work they do, would you focus on the work that the London firm is known for?
For example, if a firm is known for its corporate takeovers in the US but is only band 3/band 4 in London, is it not worth mentioning as I will be joining the London office?
Is it also redundant to talk about deals that the London office did not work on?

Also, do keep in mind that being band 3/4 is in no way indicative that the firm is relatively weaker in those areas in London. Getting a band 1 ranking is VERY difficult, only MC firms have tons and tons of band 1 rankings in the UK, and top US firms over in the US.

The way I generally view it is, if a firm has a ranking - any ranking - in a practice area, then there's a good chance you'll be able to do some work there. Caveat is for very small areas, such as art law - I made the mistake of mentioning a firm's band 1 ranking, no less, in art law in an interview, and they later told me that showed poor research on the firm since it's a 3-person team doing this very niche area and I'd be unlikely to do anything related to it in the TC or probably beyond.

 

[Rebbecca Johnston]

Hi, I am applying for a vacation scheme at Addleshaw Goddard. The answers are limited to 2000 characters and in some of the questions the firm uses "AG" instead of the full name. When answering questions would it be okay for me to also say 'AG', to save on characters or does this look unprofessional?

 

[Lisa Lowe]

Hi, I'm currently working on the Bird & Bird application, should the first question "Based on your research, what do you understand to be the biggest opportunity for one of the sectors in which we specialise?" be understood to mean growth opportunities for clients/businesses within the sector or should we also discuss the opportunities for the B&B sector team to expand/lean-in?

 

[Rene]

I’ve always wondered this but why do US firms pay the same $190,000 in London and New York but UK firms pay much less than that in London but still pay the $190,000 market rate in New York? All MC firms pay $200,000+ (including bonuses) in New York for first years, so why not increase the pay in the city they’re headquartered in?

 

[Jessica Booker]

I’ve always wondered this but why do US firms pay the same $190,000 in London and New York but UK firms pay much less than that in London but still pay the $190,000 market rate in New York? All MC firms pay $200,000+ (including bonuses) in New York for first years, so why not increase the pay in the city they’re headquartered in?

Because the size of the operation is much larger and the job market doesn’t mean they have to. Why pay significantly more than you have to?

The cost of aligning salaries for a US firm will be a much smaller proportion of their running costs where they have fewer lawyers in the UK. If you have 2,000 lawyers in the UK and only 100 in the US, where is the sense in aligning it to the US market? It’s very different if you have 2,000 lawyers in the US and only 100 in the UK.

The US firms also tend to have a very different remuneration systems (lockstep vs “eat what you kill”) which makes these structures a lot easier.

 

[Lauren]

I have been invited to an AC with Clifford Chance. I work for the firm so was classed as a priority candidate.

This is my second time interviewing there so I am very keen not to make the same mistakes as last time and to get as much insight as I can into the best way to prepare for the 75 minute commercial interview.

Should I brush up on big recent news stories? Key terminology? Mergers and acquisitions?

Also what is the best way to tackle a case study? This is something I have struggled with at previous assessment centres at other firms.

 

[bethbristol]

Wanted to share that after completing a vacation scheme at Hogan Lovells last week, I have been offered a TC! Some of you may remember that I was initially offered a place on the summer scheme but was moved onto the Winter Scheme. After failing to convert the TC at another firm this summer, I really felt that it wouldn’t happen for me this year, particularly at my dream firm and really felt that my confidence was knocked going into the scheme.

TCLA has been so integral to my success and I couldn’t have got this far without the help of many wonderful people on here. If anyone needs anything please do get in contact with me and I will help in any way I can!

I hope that everyone has a lovely break over the Holiday period, and that you can take some well earned time off from applications.

 

[JayB]

Wanted to share that after completing a vacation scheme at Hogan Lovells last week, I have been offered a TC! Some of you may remember that I was initially offered a place on the summer scheme but was moved onto the Winter Scheme. After failing to convert the TC at another firm this summer, I really felt that it wouldn’t happen for me this year, particularly at my dream firm and really felt that my confidence was knocked going into the scheme.

TCLA has been so integral to my success and I couldn’t have got this far without the help of many wonderful people on here. If anyone needs anything please do get in contact with me and I will help in any way I can!

I hope that everyone has a lovely break over the Holiday period, and that you can take some well earned time off from applications.

That is amazing news Beth, absolutely well done! Definitely an early Christmas present!!

 

[bethbristol]

That is amazing news Beth, absolutely well done! Definitely an early Christmas present!!

Thank you so much! Yes definitely

 

[Jaysen]

Wanted to share that after completing a vacation scheme at Hogan Lovells last week, I have been offered a TC! Some of you may remember that I was initially offered a place on the summer scheme but was moved onto the Winter Scheme. After failing to convert the TC at another firm this summer, I really felt that it wouldn’t happen for me this year, particularly at my dream firm and really felt that my confidence was knocked going into the scheme.

TCLA has been so integral to my success and I couldn’t have got this far without the help of many wonderful people on here. If anyone needs anything please do get in contact with me and I will help in any way I can!

I hope that everyone has a lovely break over the Holiday period, and that you can take some well earned time off from applications.

So well deserved, I'm so happy for you Beth!

 

[bethbristol]

So well deserved, I'm so happy for you Beth!

Thank you so much for all your support over the past year Jaysen!