My Training Contract Journey

[j.s.cox]

Hi everyone, I'm Jiya.

This year I am trying to improve my commercial awareness and success at AC's as these are the areas I fell down on last year. I will achieve this by:

• Completing at least one lecture of the courses offered by TCLA each day to have a continuous top-up of general commercial knowledge.
• Finding at least one article that interests me each week and writing about why it is important to businesses and why it is important to law firms. I may post this on LinkedIn to ask my connections if they have further ideas about my thoughts, but I may do this once I feel a bit more confident about my abilities!
• Making myself a booklet for each law firm I've applied to with bullet points of answers to questions they could potentially ask, as well as a reminder of why I have chosen to apply to that firm. For example, each of the competencies they look for, why law, why the firm, and general commercial questions. I will aim to update these at least once a week and treat it almost like a revision book where the ideas I write down can be developed in an actual interview.
• Only making applications to law firms that I can genuinely see myself at, and ensuring that I have finished my applications for them at least 1 week before the deadlines to have time to properly check them.

Good luck with TC hunting everyone!

 

[Maria d'Orey]

Thanks for introducing yourself @j.s.cox ! This seems like an excellent approach and I fully agree with your last point - dedicating your time only to firms you genuinely want to work for is a game changer and makes writing an application so much easier! 👏

I'd be interested in hearing if you have a strategy to help you decide which firms to apply to?

 

[j.s.cox]

This is my basic criteria:

• Must have a large presence in the energy or life sciences sector.
  • Looking for this by examining Chambers Rankings and IJ Investor Awards.
  • Ideally the firms will have an industry group focus rather than a practice group focus, but this is not a major issue.
• Must have an international presence as I want to work on cross-border work, not domestic work.
• Must have an opportunity to do an international secondment.
• Must have more of a structured training programme.

I'm also trying to make sure that I have talked to at least one person from the firm before I apply to ensure that I will fit there. A question I have been asking is "Does the firm live up to your expectations". I've found that this is very telling becuase people are either eager to say yes, or are very reluctant to speak 😂

To find firms following my criteria, I start with the Chambers Rankings and firms I have liked through events I've been at.

 

[Maria d'Orey]

This sounds really great @j.s.cox - well done on putting this together, I'm sure it will be helpful!

Yes! Completely agree that speaking to people at the firm is important - your question is also really straightforward, great job 😂

Best of luck with your applications - I'm sure you'll do great!

 

[j.s.cox]

Update:

Some of these are not to do with the goals I set myself, but I'm really proud of myself so I am going to write stuff down here as motivation to keep going if things get harder in the year. I want to use this thread almost like a journal or a record that I update each week/at natural intervals. I've emboldened new goals/tasks.

Linklaters

Got my Watson Glaser score back from Linklaters. I scored 35/40 and was in the 90th percentile! I've never done a Watson Glaser before so I am super proud of myself. The breakdown of this was:

• Recognise Assumptions: 82nd percentile. In the high range.
• Evaluate Arguments: 97th percentile. In the high range.
• Draw Conclusions: 67th percentile. In the avereage range.

Clearly need to work on the drawing conclusions section. If I have time, I'll try to practice Watson Glaser tests to improve my score. I'll aim for one Watson Glaser per week and I will go over the Watson Glaser advice on TCLA for the parts I found harder.

Norton Rose Fulbright

Another Watson Glaser success as I passed that stage and had a telephone interview today!

I found the telephone interview surprisingly hard because it felt like a monologue. I was asked four questions with no follow ups for each one. The questions were simple enough (motivations, experiences, and competencies) and the graduate recruitment lady was lovely, but I think I got so nervous that my head was not thinking very coherently.

I had my written application and the booklet I made for myself with me and they were so helpful at keeping me a bit more together. I'll definitely be keeping up with this booklet as it was so helpful! I definitely need to practice interviews more often. I want to practice at least one set of interview questions per week. I will record my answers to questions off a list.

I'm going to keep my goals under constant review as I don't want to overwhelm myself each week.

Review of goals

• TCLA courses: I've managed to keep up with this goal and I have found it to be a really useful source of commercial awareness. I am also using this to help me prepare for the AS Commercial Awareness Competition where I have managed to get into the Quarter Finals (waiting to hear about the Semi Finals).
• News article: I haven't written this yet, but I have a few ideas about some of the articles I could choose. I plan to write this weekend.
• Application booklet: This has been useful so far and I am continuing to work on this.
• Targeted applications: So far I am very happy with the firms I have chosen, so no issue here.

 

[Maria d'Orey]

Hi @j.s.cox - what an amazing update!

For someone who had never done it before, your Watson Glaser score is impressive - very well done.

I also really like your reflection on why you thought the NRF interview was hard - I definitely agree that interviews that feel more like conversations than presentations are more enjoyable, but well done on getting through that!

I'm excited to hear more about your goals as the weeks go by - keep up the good work! 👏

 

[j.s.cox]

Update:

I managed to finish my first news article today! I chose to write about something other than our change in Prime Minister because I feel like its saturation in the media has hidden other stories that might also be interesting for law firms and I want to challenge myself. I have attached it here and would welcome comments that anyone has. I'd love to know if I've missed anything out, or if I could consider the article in a different way.

 

[AvniD]

Update:

I managed to finish my first news article today! I chose to write about something other than our change in Prime Minister because I feel like its saturation in the media has hidden other stories that might also be interesting for law firms and I want to challenge myself. I have attached it here and would welcome comments that anyone has. I'd love to know if I've missed anything out, or if I could consider the article in a different way.

Really interesting take! And your consistency with your updates is really commendable! 👏 👏 👏

 

[j.s.cox]

Update:

New goals are in bold.

Commercial Awareness
I have now finished two TCLA courses:

1. Mergers and Acquisitions for Commercial Law; and
2. Develop Your Commercial Awareness: Understand the City, the Financial Markets & More.

To get the most out of these courses, I made notes as I was going through them. I now feel like I have a really solid base from which to further develop my commercial awareness. I have found these courses absolutely invaluable even if some of the information is now a little out of date. If anyone comes across this post looking to develop their commercial awareness, I really recommend these courses. I plan to start the Private Equity for Commercial Law course this week.

Some notes on what I have learned:

• Whilst this has been a really useful resource, I sometimes forget certain concepts that I have learnt on the course (e.g. quantitative easing). This shows me that I need to come back to the courses regularly (provisionally once/week) to try and retain more of the information.
• As a follow on from the point above, I have begun creating a glossary for myself. This goes beyond the TCLA courses and I include any terms I am unfamiliar with as I come across them in news articles. My aim is to ensure that I don't just gloss over terms I don't know. I need to read to understand.
• I was struggling to fully understand the explanation for the financial crisis (2007-8), so I looked at other resources that might be useful. I ended up watching "The Big Short" and it was really useful for consolidating the information available on TCLA and online. I then came back to the TCLA course and found I understood the information much more clearly. Also, the film was really good.
• I have been trying to use the information about previous recessions and the reactions to them to try to understand our current economic situation. I want to keep an eye on the interest rates that the Bank of England proposes this Thursday and any fiscal policies that are announced to see if I can draw a parallel to previous crises, or predict what might happen for ordinary people, businesses, and law firms in the coming months.

Targeted Applications
I was lucky enough to be invited to an open day at Akin Gump as well as to apply for a paid work experience with Channel 4. I have also applied for two Winter Vacation Schemes. Ordinarily, I would be taking absolutely every opportunity that I am given, however I work as a nanny and I have to be ultra selective about the opportunities that I take on. Every time that I take a day off, the family I work for has to find childcare cover which is becoming increasingly difficult, and I risk losing my job if I become unreliable. I'm choosing to see this in a positive light as it means that I am forced to be focused with my time and efforts.

Referring back to my criteria for law firms, these were my reflections (/ = tick; X = cross):

• Akin Gump:
  • / Fulfills all, but one of my criteria.
  • / Only one day long.
• Channel 4:
  • X Does not fulfil any of my criteria and I do not want to be a media lawyer.
  • / Would be an amazing opportunity to develop skills as a lawyer.
  • X A long programme that I would have to find cover for.
  • X Will not directly lead to a training contract.
• Winter Vacation Schemes:
  • / I was very targeted when I applied, so I know these fulfil my criteria.
  • / Could lead to the elusive training contract at the end of them.
  • / Amazing opportunity to develop skills as a lawyer.
  • X Long programme (although late enough in the year that the family I work for may go on holiday, so no childcare cover to find).
  • X Haven't actually secured one yet, although I am some way through the process of securing one.

Following these reflections, I think the Akin Gump Open Day and Winter Vacation Schemes are where I should be focusing my attention. As amazing as the Channel 4 opportunity is, I do not have the capacity to attend this scheme unfortunately.

Applications
Unfortunately I got rejected from Linklaters despite my high Watson Glaser score and they do not provide any feedback at this stage. There is an application Q&A on Wednesday that I am going to attend to try and understand how they judge applications when there are no written questions at all. Even if it doesn't help me with my confusion, it may help me get some closure after I thought I had performed so well. I need to remember that every rejection is a redirection.

I haven't heard back from NRF following the telephone interview I had last week. I'm going to practice some case studies on the TCLA course in the meantime as I know this forms part of the assessment centre. I will also keep my booklet updated.


Thanks for following my journey!

 

[j.s.cox]

Update:

Just heard back from NRF and got invited to the AC! I had been preparing myself for a rejection after finding the telephone interview so hard, so I am really pleased I managed to get to the next stage, especially after the disappointment with Linklaters!

 

[j.s.cox]

Update:

Commercial Awareness Article
I read a piece on LinkedIn about how Bitcoin has stabilised and wrote an article on it. I tried to really think about the different parts of a law firm it could affect. I've attached it here and would welcome any comments!

Linklaters
I also attended the Linklaters Q&A today. It started off pretty badly because my name was badly mispronounced (to the point I didn't realise they were talking to me) and there was no apology or attempt to say it correctly which made me feel very unimportant. Regardless, I found out how they assess applications:

• They take grades, the Capp assessment and the Watson Glaser into equal consideration.
• Grades need to be consistent 2:1's
• The Capp Assessment is judged with internal criteria based on the Agile Framework, but they will not tell anyone specifically how it is assessed.
• The Watson Glaser is judged on a pass/fail basis, so it doesn't matter how highly you score.
• You can only do the Capp and Watson Glaser once per academic year, so it is taken into consideration for any further applications you make in that year.

From this information, I must have fallen down in the Capp Assessment. I'm glad I attended the Q&A because I feel like I probably dodged a bullet and I would not have been as happy there as I thought I would have been. It really upsets me when my name is treated like a problem.

Norton Rose Fulbright
Now my head is clear and ready to tackle the NRF assessment day! I have already started the TCLA case study course to help me with this, and it is proving to be very useful so far.

Thanks for following my journey!

 

[j.s.cox]

Update:

Norton Rose Fulbright
I had my assessment centre today. Grad Rec were wonderful and made sure to double check my accessibility requirements before the assessment. The day was broken down into a case study interview, a partner interview and a group negotiation.

I found the case study interview went really well! I had been practicing this by using the TCLA course on case studies and it was really helpful. I know that the NRF AC's are ongoing, so I don't want to give too much away as I believe they are using the same case studies, but I was only asked a few questions after my presentation. The rest of the time was spent talking to the associate assessing me. Overall, I really enjoyed this part of the day.

The partner interview was a bit more up and down. As I had read in previous experiences, it was a bit more of a grilling, but as I was prepared for this, I attempted to steer it into a more conversational direction. Part of this interview was not great. I was asked about some LIBOR work that I had done a while back and the details just suddenly escaped me and came out in a mess. In the future, I need to be meticulous about going through my application and picking up on anything I'm no longer sure about to prepare a bit better. The rest of the interview was actually really enjoyable. I was asked questions regarding the intersection of ethics, law firm values, and the law. I found this challenging, but in an enjoyable, problem-solving way. I was also asked about where NRF should open their next office and what considerations they should have when doing so. Again, I had read that people had been asked this before, so I had a response ready, and I really enjoyed the way one of the partners helped to steer me in the right direction.

The negotiation was a tale with two stories. The first half with my partner was amazing! We had a great strategy and worked on each point together very quickly. We also got on quite easily and had time to discuss before the negotiation started. The second half (the actual negotiation) was not so great. My partner was awesome at negotiating her points and really made an excellent deal for our client. On the other hand, I didn't feel like I was able to do the same. This was partly because we ran out of time and I didn't get to do the final point, and partly because I don't feel like I did the first point justice. Overall, I'm not sure how well this went and I worry that this will not count in my favour. Clearly, I need to practice negotiating.

Aside from a few technical issues during the day, this was the least stressful AC/interview I have ever been to and I really hope it goes in my favour. If not, I'll be prepared with applications to other firms.

Goals I set myself this week

• I did manage to complete the case study prep available on TCLA. This was absolutely invaluable.
• I have been able to keep my booklets updated. This was really helpful for the partner interview questions at the NRF AC.
• The glossary is up and running. I'm finding it to be a useful resource to just go back and look at when I get confused. I will definitely keep this resource updated.
• I've gone back to the TCLA Commercial Awareness course every time I find a relevant news story that discusses that aspect of commercial awareness. This has been useful at ensuring I remember all the terminology.
• I kept an eye on the BofE interest rates and saw it went up to the expected 0.75%. This is what was expected, but the Bank of England have also presented a table that gives a pretty bleak view of our future. It looks like we are heading into an L-shaped recession and I will be brushing up my knowledge and how this will be affecting businesses and law firm work, accordingly.
• I haven't started the TCLA PE course yet as I was preparing for my AC, but I will go over it this weekend.
• I am also aiming to do research for another application (a direct TC) this weekend.

Thanks for following my journey!

 

[Jaysen]

Hi @j.s.cox,

I wanted to give you a shoutout here Jiya - these updates are impressive, especially your ability to reflect on what you find useful and the areas you may be struggling with. I also used to watch documentaries or videos to help me understand commercial concepts, especially to put some of the pieces together in a more interactive way.

I enjoyed reading your Kanye West and bitcoin articles. In my view, the best way to make things stick is to write your answers down in your own words - as you did here. Framing the structure based on the importance to businesses and law firms also helps to avoid getting lost in the weeds of a story.

Congratulations on the NRF AC! What struck me the most is that you see the areas you struggled with as opportunities for improvement. This is key in my view: you can easily get better at all of these things and much of it comes down to practice.

 

[j.s.cox]

Hi @j.s.cox ,

I wanted to give you a shoutout here Jiya - these updates are impressive, especially your ability to reflect on what you find useful and the areas you may be struggling with. I also used to watch documentaries or videos to help me understand commercial concepts, especially to put some of the pieces together in a more interactive way.

I enjoyed reading your Kanye West and bitcoin articles. In my view, the best way to make things stick is to write your answers down in your own words - as you did here. Framing the structure based on the importance to businesses and law firms also helps to avoid getting lost in the weeds of a story.

Congratulations on the NRF AC! What struck me the most is that you see the areas you struggled with as opportunities for improvement. This is key in my view: you can easily get better at all of these things and much of it comes down to practice.

Thanks for the shoutout @Jaysen! It's really helpful to know that I am moving in the right direction. These updates are definitely helping me progress to where I want to be,

Update:

Commercial Awareness Article
This week I decided to write an article detailing the impacts of consumer habits and the current economic environment on tech companies as I have seen a slew of articles talking about specific tech companies that are struggling at the moment. It's a bit more of a broad topic than I have written about before, but I think it is a really important market trend that law firms need to be aware of.

I also thought I'd follow up on previous articles:

• Kanye West: This article largely highlighted the importance of ESG issues for law firms. Yesterday (8th November 2022), Gavin Williamson, former Defence Secretary, resigned from the UK government following a large number of bullying allegations and several formal investigations into his behaviour. Whilst his resignation is appropriate given the Ministerial Code, this non-binding set of rules of conduct has had a recent history of being ignored. Williamson's resignation comes after uproars from the Labour as well as his own party concerning his behaviour. This further demonstrates the importance of ESG issues, and the fact that issues such as bullying are less likely to be overlooked or ignored in modern workplaces.
• Bitcoin Volatility: This article suggested that the recent stability of Bitcoin could lead to it being used like a fiat currency in the near future. Since then, FTX (one of the major crypto exchanges) has collapsed and been bought by rival exchange Binance, in a major shock to the industry. This had a knock-on effect on Bitcoin which dropped to its lowest levels in two years. This suggests that the use of cryptocurrencies as fiat currencies is potentially a long way off, certainly further off than my original article suggested. The cyrpto industry is just too volatile at the moment.

Aspiring Solicitors Commercial Awareness Competition
Back in September, I was rejected from a law firm after a vacation scheme. One of the key points I was given to work on was my commercial awareness. It was simply not strong enough. Since then, I have really committed to improving my commercial awareness. I think the articles I am writing, my glossary, and the TCLA courses I am undertaking are all testament to that. This week I received the biggest confirmation that this is all making a difference: I was invited to the semi-finals of the Aspiring Solicitors Commercial Awareness Competition!!!!

I am really proud of myself for this achievement as I am one of only 125 people to make it this far into the competiton. It's abour to get a lot harder, but I can safely say that my efforts not been misplaced. I am going to the semi-final at Skadden on Friday, so I am brushing up on my M&A knowledge and what they look for in trainees. From this stage onwards, graduate recruitment will be looking to see if they want to directly offer any candidates a vacation scheme. I really want to impress them, so I am pouring over all my notes made on the TCLA courses I have already done. I am really excited about this!

TCLA Courses
I have now started the Private Equity course. It is absolutely amazing and Arun is incredible at succinctly explaining quite a complicated topic. It is amazing that someone who is not yet a qualified lawyer, and who has not yet worked extensively in this area, has such impressive knowledge of this area. He has a level of understanding about his passions that I aspire to have. Therefore, I am going to start recording myself explaining commercial topics. If I can get to a stage where I feel that comfortable talking about these topics, I know I will be in a really good position, not only as a training contract candidate, but also as a lawyer in the future. I also enjoyed contrasting the Private Equity courrse explained from a trainee point of view with the Partner-led Training explanation of Private Equity. It is really helping me to see all angles of Private Equity.

A summary of courses I have undertaken:

• Develop Your Commercial Awareness: Understand the City, the Financial Markets & More (Completed - really useful)
• Mergers and Acquisitions for Commercial Law (Completed - really useful)
• Guide to Law Firm Practice Areas (9% complete - really clearing up my understanding of some of the practice areas I didn't previously understand)
• FREE COURSE: Securing a Training Contract (Completed - not as useful as the others, but still good to hear the perspectives of future trainees)
• Beating the Watson Glaser Test (78% complete - considering my success with Watson Glasers since doing this course, it must be fantastic!)
• Law Firms as a Business (85% complete - amazing course, really makes you think about firms in a different way)
• How to Prepare for a Law Firm Assessment Centre (7% complete - LOVE the interview bank)
• Develop Your Commercial Awareness: How to think commercially (Completed - so helpful in understanding how to get better at commercial awareness)
• Practise Technical Law Firm Case Studies (Completed - I love the way Mahesh explains how to go about these, it makes it seem so much easier)
• Private Equity for Commercial Law (31% complete - taking my time with this one, but absolutely brilliant)
• Partner-led Training (Completed - shame there is only one lecture, but I loved hearing things from the partner perspective.)

Targeted Applications
I was going to start research on a firm I like the look of this weekend, but I then got the email that I had made it to the semi-finals of the AS Commercial Awareness Competition. The day I could do the semi-final was restricted and I ended up choosing the semi-final that is being held at Skadden. Whilst this firm doesn't really fulfil all my criteria, I thought it would be prudent to switch my research to Skadden to ensure I do as well as possible at the semi-final. To make up for lost time, I will research and write my application to the firm I was originally researching this weekend.

Thanks for following my journey!

 

[AvniD]

Thanks for the shoutout @Jaysen! It's really helpful to know that I am moving in the right direction. These updates are definitely helping me progress to where I want to be,

Update:

Commercial Awareness Article
This week I decided to write an article detailing the impacts of consumer habits and the current economic environment on tech companies as I have seen a slew of articles talking about specific tech companies that are struggling at the moment. It's a bit more of a broad topic than I have written about before, but I think it is a really important market trend that law firms need to be aware of.

I also thought I'd follow up on previous articles:

• Kanye West: This article largely highlighted the importance of ESG issues for law firms. Yesterday (8th November 2022), Gavin Williamson, former Defence Secretary, resigned from the UK government following a large number of bullying allegations and several formal investigations into his behaviour. Whilst his resignation is appropriate given the Ministerial Code, this non-binding set of rules of conduct has had a recent history of being ignored. Williamson's resignation comes after uproars from the Labour as well as his own party concerning his behaviour. This further demonstrates the importance of ESG issues, and the fact that issues such as bullying are less likely to be overlooked or ignored in modern workplaces.
• Bitcoin Volatility: This article suggested that the recent stability of Bitcoin could lead to it being used like a fiat currency in the near future. Since then, FTX (one of the major crypto exchanges) has collapsed and been bought by rival exchange Binance, in a major shock to the industry. This had a knock-on effect on Bitcoin which dropped to its lowest levels in two years. This suggests that the use of cryptocurrencies as fiat currencies is potentially a long way off, certainly further off than my original article suggested. The cyrpto industry is just too volatile at the moment.

Aspiring Solicitors Commercial Awareness Competition
Back in September, I was rejected from a law firm after a vacation scheme. One of the key points I was given to work on was my commercial awareness. It was simply not strong enough. Since then, I have really committed to improving my commercial awareness. I think the articles I am writing, my glossary, and the TCLA courses I am undertaking are all testament to that. This week I received the biggest confirmation that this is all making a difference: I was invited to the semi-finals of the Aspiring Solicitors Commercial Awareness Competition!!!!

I am really proud of myself for this achievement as I am one of only 125 people to make it this far into the competiton. It's abour to get a lot harder, but I can safely say that my efforts not been misplaced. I am going to the semi-final at Skadden on Friday, so I am brushing up on my M&A knowledge and what they look for in trainees. From this stage onwards, graduate recruitment will be looking to see if they want to directly offer any candidates a vacation scheme. I really want to impress them, so I am pouring over all my notes made on the TCLA courses I have already done. I am really excited about this!

TCLA Courses
I have now started the Private Equity course. It is absolutely amazing and Arun is incredible at succinctly explaining quite a complicated topic. It is amazing that someone who is not yet a qualified lawyer, and who has not yet worked extensively in this area, has such impressive knowledge of this area. He has a level of understanding about his passions that I aspire to have. Therefore, I am going to start recording myself explaining commercial topics. If I can get to a stage where I feel that comfortable talking about these topics, I know I will be in a really good position, not only as a training contract candidate, but also as a lawyer in the future. I also enjoyed contrasting the Private Equity courrse explained from a trainee point of view with the Partner-led Training explanation of Private Equity. It is really helping me to see all angles of Private Equity.

A summary of courses I have undertaken:

• Develop Your Commercial Awareness: Understand the City, the Financial Markets & More (Completed - really useful)
• Mergers and Acquisitions for Commercial Law (Completed - really useful)
• Guide to Law Firm Practice Areas (9% complete - really clearing up my understanding of some of the practice areas I didn't previously understand)
• FREE COURSE: Securing a Training Contract (Completed - not as useful as the others, but still good to hear the perspectives of future trainees)
• Beating the Watson Glaser Test (78% complete - considering my success with Watson Glasers since doing this course, it must be fantastic!)
• Law Firms as a Business (85% complete - amazing course, really makes you think about firms in a different way)
• How to Prepare for a Law Firm Assessment Centre (7% complete - LOVE the interview bank)
• Develop Your Commercial Awareness: How to think commercially (Completed - so helpful in understanding how to get better at commercial awareness)
• Practise Technical Law Firm Case Studies (Completed - I love the way Mahesh explains how to go about these, it makes it seem so much easier)
• Private Equity for Commercial Law (31% complete - taking my time with this one, but absolutely brilliant)
• Partner-led Training (Completed - shame there is only one lecture, but I loved hearing things from the partner perspective.)

Targeted Applications
I was going to start research on a firm I like the look of this weekend, but I then got the email that I had made it to the semi-finals of the AS Commercial Awareness Competition. The day I could do the semi-final was restricted and I ended up choosing the semi-final that is being held at Skadden. Whilst this firm doesn't really fulfil all my criteria, I thought it would be prudent to switch my research to Skadden to ensure I do as well as possible at the semi-final. To make up for lost time, I will research and write my application to the firm I was originally researching this weekend.

Thanks for following my journey!

@j.s.cox your commercial awareness articles are incredibly impressive- I especially like the section you've included on 'Importance to Law Firms' as we often forget to think about how law firms would be involved in or impacted by a business story when honing our commercial awareness.

I completely relate to your idea of recording yourself explaining commercial topics- I did something very similar when I used to blog on Instagram where I would post stories with a commercial question and explore possible solutions to them and they worked like a charm in sharpening my ability to apply a business news story to a law firm's work. I have a good feeling about you undertaking this initiative!

A massive congratulations on your success with the AS competition- this is no small feat and I hope you celebrate appropriately. I think it could be a good idea to pivot to researching and writing your app for Skadden but do you know this will impact your success at the competition? Apportioning a part of the weekend to work on the app you were meant to be working on is smart as you don't want to compromise on your effort for your top priority firms.

Wishing you the best!

 

[j.s.cox]

@j.s.cox your commercial awareness articles are incredibly impressive- I especially like the section you've included on 'Importance to Law Firms' as we often forget to think about how law firms would be involved in or impacted by a business story when honing our commercial awareness.

I completely relate to your idea of recording yourself explaining commercial topics- I did something very similar when I used to blog on Instagram where I would post stories with a commercial question and explore possible solutions to them and they worked like a charm in sharpening my ability to apply a business news story to a law firm's work. I have a good feeling about you undertaking this initiative!

A massive congratulations on your success with the AS competition- this is no small feat and I hope you celebrate appropriately. I think it could be a good idea to pivot to researching and writing your app for Skadden but do you know this will impact your success at the competition? Apportioning a part of the weekend to work on the app you were meant to be working on is smart as you don't want to compromise on your effort for your top priority firms.

Wishing you the best!

Thanks for the support @AvniD! The email we got inviting us to the semi-final said that the firm would be arranging the semi-finals to be similar to an assessment centre at the firm we were attending, so I've been trying to prepare as I would for a Skadden AC.

Also, another note to say that Binance has now pulled out of its deal to acquire FTX further causing cryptocurrency values to tank for fears of contagion. Also, an employee of Gymshark who made Islamaphobic comments was immediately sacked. It feels like once you find a story, you become addicted to finding out what happens next!

 

[RANDOTRON]

Thanks for the support @AvniD! The email we got inviting us to the semi-final said that the firm would be arranging the semi-finals to be similar to an assessment centre at the firm we were attending, so I've been trying to prepare as I would for a Skadden AC.

Also, another note to say that Binance has now pulled out of its deal to acquire FTX further causing cryptocurrency values to tank for fears of contagion. Also, an employee of Gymshark who made Islamaphobic comments was immediately sacked. It feels like once you find a story, you become addicted to finding out what happens next!

I am not a TCLA staff member but it is great to read about your journey! I can see your dedication and it is really commendable! Food for thought on the Binance story (and for the wider crypto market as it stands today): do you think this a dot-com bubble moment for the crypto market?

 

[j.s.cox]

I am not a TCLA staff member but it is great to read about your journey! I can see your dedication and it is really commendable! Food for thought on the Binance story (and for the wider crypto market as it stands today): do you think this a dot-com bubble moment for the crypto market?

Thank you @RANDOTRON !

That's a really interesting question. I think one of the key defining features of a bubble is that when it has burst, it does not reinflate. As such, I don't think this is a dot-com bubble moment for the crypto market for a few reasons (I am taking crypto market to mean its link specifically with cryptocurrency):

1. This story should be considered on its specific facts. FTX made several deals earlier in the year to save other, smaller, failing crypto exchanges, which led to a series of losses and a liquidity crisis for the exchange. Binance, on the other hand, has not done this, and because they are no longer buying FTX, this specific issue should not be an immediate problem. As long as Binance acts sensibly and can weather this current storm, I believe that contagion fears are largely unwarranted. This does depend on Binance's next steps, however.
2. The technology behind cryptocurrency can be utilised for other things like the creation of NFTs. These have multiple uses, such as for smart contracts. There is an argument that focus could shift from cryptocurrencies to these other products, but I believe that as long as the underlying technology remains relevant and usable, cryptocurrency will remain relevant and an asset of interest. These technologies are still so new that it remains to be seen how far they can be pushed.
3. Cryptocurrency was already heading in a declining trend after its highs a few years ago. It is generally accepted that cryptocurrency is a highly volatile asset (despite its seeming stability a few weeks ago), and as mentioned above, the technology is still fairly new and still developing. Therefore, I think some investors will be using this opportunity to be buying crypto assets at a favourable price. Whilst it may not reach the highs of 2021, I believe it will still recover somewhat as this particular situation calms down.
4. Significant infrastructure has been put in place in banks and other businesses to accomodate cryptocurrency. This hasn't been placed without thought and careful planning. Unlike the dot-com bubble, I think people are well aware of the risks of cryptocurrency because of its history of volatility, so people have their wits about them much more than during the dot-com bubble. Cryptocurrency is already separated by the more respectable currencies (e.g. Bitcoin and Ethereum) and the less respectable currencies (e.g. Dogecoin). Stablecoins linked to fiat currency (e.g. USD Coin) have also been designed to remain stable in situations such as these, although arguably these stablecoins are more akin to derivatives than currency.

Despite this, there are arguments for a crypto-bubble:

1. FTX was seen as a reputable crypto exchange. If they can fall, so can other exchanges. Despite this, as I outlined above, their specific actions caused their downfall and this has not been repeated by Binance.
2. FTX and Binance had been engaged in a childish and bitter rivalry driven by ego around market share. Binance said that it was no longer acquiring FTX after "due diligence" revealed issues they could not mend. There is a serious question about whether this was a statement made to hurt a rival, or whether Binance had fully thought this action through. If it was the former, this may be the start of a crypto-bubble.
3. Faith in cryptocurrency has been wavering for some years now. This could very well be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Businesses have only just begun investing in crypto capabilities, so they may be willing to stop now and cut their losses.

Overall, I think this is a turning point for the crypto market, but I don't think there is necessarily a bubble that is bursting. Perhaps we will see more regulations come into place (although this could be difficult considering crypto market decentralisation)? Perhaps those in control of crypto exchanges will be more cautious about potential acquisitions? Perhaps clients will demand greater transparency about counterparty risk? Due to their dominance, I think the crypto market's future is in Binance's hands. If they can make it through, I think investor nervousness will cool down.

 

[Mohamed Ashour]

It’s amazing to read your blog here!
And congratulations on your success so far!
I really can see you there already. But that level of commercial awareness, is not the only thing that I admire but look up to, so if you may how long did it take you to develop such an understanding and how ?

I’ll keep following you!

 

[j.s.cox]

It’s amazing to read your blog here!
And congratulations on your success so far!
I really can see you there already. But that level of commercial awareness, is not the only thing that I admire but look up to, so if you may how long did it take you to develop such an understanding and how ?

I’ll keep following you!

Thank you for your confidence in me @Mohamed Ashour! I'm sure that seeking out ways to improve your commercial awareness undoubtedly makes you a stronger candidate too.

I've detailed my commercial awareness journey throughout this thread, but here is a summary for your ease:

Time taken to develop commercial awareness
My real efforts for developing my commercial awareness started in around late September (so about 1.5 months ago). I wouldn't say I am completely commercially aware at the moment, but there was a turning point about 1 month into my journey where I begun to really enjoy actively improving my commercial awareness beyond a simple goal. For me, this is an ongoing process that I'm not sure will ever end.

How I am developing my commercial awareness
In terms of legal jargon and understanding broader concepts (e.g. derivatives, quatitative easing, equity), I started with the TCLA Course "Develop Your Commercial Awareness: Understand the City, the Financial Markets & More". I see you have a Gold Membership, so you should be able to access this. It is an incredible resource and is a great base from which to further develop commercial awareness. I think it is important that you take this slowly (I didn't move onto the next lecture until I fully understood the previous one). I also think this should only be a starting point. If there is an explanation you don't fully understand, research it further using other resources (e.g. I didn't fully understand The Financial Crisis 2007-8, so I watched 'The Big Short' to consolidate my understanding). I have also started a glossary for any terminology that I don't understand.

In terms of news stories, I go about this in two different ways. Firstly, I have selected a sector that really interests me and I actively seek out information about this sector. I have signed up to sector-specific newsletters so I am always up to date. Secondly, I keep abreast of the current news. I do this by reading through email newsletters, listening to daily podcasts and scrolling through the FT instead of social media. I'll compile a list of sources I use below. I don't check all of them every day. Instead I pick 2-4 sources to use because I found using only one source, or the same sources, really made me bored. I try to understand the stories and their implication on the business world and law firms. To encourage me to do this, I write one article in my own words each week detailing this (please see articles attached throughout this thread). I keep an eye on any updates to the articles I read to keep my knowledge up to date.

My favourite news story commercial awareness sources

• Newsletters:
  • TCLA Newsletter
  • MarketLoop
  • Finimize
  • FT Energy Source
  • LittleLaw
  • Touristy
  • LinkedIn Newsletters like The Economist
• Podcasts:
  • FT News Briefing
  • Watson's Daily
  • Wake Up to Money
  • Law firm specific podcasts (just search their names up on your favourite podcast provider)
• News Outlets
  • The Economist (good for simple breakdown)
  • The Financial Times (my favourite as I get to practice legal jargon as well)
  • BBC Business News
  • Reuters (usually use this to follow up on a specific story).