Recent business story question

[Tavistocksfinest]

Hi guys,

I am preparing for the question 'Tell me about a recent business story' which I will be asked in a Skadden telephone interview tomorrow, and I just wanted to get some opinions on what to do.

My instinct is to talk about the retail sector- it's something I know a lot about and I can relate it to key practice areas (M&A, PE as well as corporate restructuring). However, it isn't an industry they regularly work in, and barring their role advising LMVH last year I haven't seen a lot of work they've done in the sector.

Alternatively, I know bits about the industries they list on their website. I could certainly talk about one of those, but I definitely won't know as much about it as I do about the retail sector.

Difficult question to ask- but does anyone have any opinions on which will look better? Or if it makes very little difference?

 

[M&ALawyer]

I did a vacation scheme at Skadden last summer, and definitely encountered that questions somewhere in the process. I remember it being at the AC, although things may have changed.

A business story can honestly be so broad, you can talk about anything from sustainability, increasing shareholder activism, to emergence of technology companies. From your answer it isn't clear to me what theme/topic the business story you have chosen is, but rather what industry/sector you want to focus your story on?

I would first think about an important business story (it can be almost anything), then try to consider briefly how it applies to Skadden's practice areas/clients/business strategy rather than sectors. I would reiterate the business story itself should be most important, and why it interests you. Linking it to Skadden will definitely get you those bonus points but should not be the main focus, as thats not what they asked.

You mentioned Skadden doesn't have much activity in Retail. They are not a sector-focussed firm but off the top of my head I can think of a few deals they worked on in retail M&A other than the LVMH one so that would be a perfectly valid answer. But there must be a topic in retail that you're addressing (like decline in CBD's, digitalisation of retail, increase in out of town retail complexes/pick-ups).

If its any anecdote I think my topic was under sustainability and its impact on financial services, and they seemed to like it despite it having arguably little importance on their main operations.

Hope that helps!

 

[reedyboy]

Hi guys,

I am preparing for the question 'Tell me about a recent business story' which I will be asked in a Skadden telephone interview tomorrow, and I just wanted to get some opinions on what to do.

My instinct is to talk about the retail sector- it's something I know a lot about and I can relate it to key practice areas (M&A, PE as well as corporate restructuring). However, it isn't an industry they regularly work in, and barring their role advising LMVH last year I haven't seen a lot of work they've done in the sector.

Alternatively, I know bits about the industries they list on their website. I could certainly talk about one of those, but I definitely won't know as much about it as I do about the retail sector.

Difficult question to ask- but does anyone have any opinions on which will look better? Or if it makes very little difference?

I think with questions like this the recruiter is really interested in what you find interesting and why that it is interesting. If you know a lot about the retail sector definitely talk about that! They will be able to tell your passion for the subject and in my experience generates a really positive impression.

 

[Naomi U]

I think with questions like this the recruiter is really interested in what you find interesting and why that it is interesting. If you know a lot about the retail sector definitely talk about that! They will be able to tell your passion for the subject and in my experience generates a really positive impression.

I agree! I think the focus on this question is your ability to understand the wider trends and factors that are affecting the markets and to think about how these will impact on the type of work clients seek from law firms. The retail industry is a very interesting market right now as arguably Covid has sped up the move from traditional brick and mortar retail models as everyone has been forced online, (except a few like Primark)

If you choose to talk about the retail sector my tips would be to pick a specific company with a particular business model and try to trace back over the last few months or even a few years to see how; its consumers have changed, how its competitors have changed, its products and locations etc. For all these elements try to see the issues that could arise from the perspectives of different practice areas e,g. what would the corporate team think vs the competition team vs the tax team vs IP etc.

I think approaching news stories from this lense is always very helpful!

Best of luck

 

[Tavistocksfinest]

Thank you very much for this advice, it has been really helpful! The way I was thinking about the question was too broad previously I think, so I’m actually going to discuss Caesar’s acquisition of William Hill, because I can keep it more focused and discuss the trends in the market more easily I think! Thank you for the help

 

[Naomi U]

Thank you very much for this advice, it has been really helpful! The way I was thinking about the question was too broad previously I think, so I’m actually going to discuss Caesar’s acquisition of William Hill, because I can keep it more focused and discuss the trends in the market more easily I think! Thank you for the help

Sounds great - best of luck!

 

[Andrew M]

I did a vacation scheme at Skadden last summer, and definitely encountered that questions somewhere in the process. I remember it being at the AC, although things may have changed.

A business story can honestly be so broad, you can talk about anything from sustainability, increasing shareholder activism, to emergence of technology companies. From your answer it isn't clear to me what theme/topic the business story you have chosen is, but rather what industry/sector you want to focus your story on?

I would first think about an important business story (it can be almost anything), then try to consider briefly how it applies to Skadden's practice areas/clients/business strategy rather than sectors. I would reiterate the business story itself should be most important, and why it interests you. Linking it to Skadden will definitely get you those bonus points but should not be the main focus, as thats not what they asked.

You mentioned Skadden doesn't have much activity in Retail. They are not a sector-focussed firm but off the top of my head I can think of a few deals they worked on in retail M&A other than the LVMH one so that would be a perfectly valid answer. But there must be a topic in retail that you're addressing (like decline in CBD's, digitalisation of retail, increase in out of town retail complexes/pick-ups).

If its any anecdote I think my topic was under sustainability and its impact on financial services, and they seemed to like it despite it having arguably little importance on their main operations.

Hope that helps!

To contrast, I focused all of my 'interesting business story' interview answers on topics which were directly relevant to the firm (albeit not necessarily something the firm is primarily known for) and it was something that I received good feedback for. I do agree that the important thing is being able to explain why you find the story interesting, rather than the relevance to the firm. But if your interests align with the firm, obviously that's going to work in your favour!