TCLA General Discussion Thread #2 (2021)

[Dheepa]

Hi everyone! I have an interview with an investment bank coming up but it's with their compliance department. Any tips for compliance interviews and does anyone know whether they differ greatly from law ones? Thank you so much!

Hi! So I worked in a financial compliance for three months, and to add to the points Jess has made, you'd need to have really strong communication skills and organisation skills, so I'd prepare examples for that. Essentially you're going to be pushing people in other departments A LOT. A lot of your job will depend on people in different divisions giving you the right paperwork so you can analyse the risks etc. and then following that sitting in meetings and asking questions so you can understand what processes they have in place to deal with those risks and finally pushing them to implement any changes you and your team deem necessary. This is the "internal control" side of things. Since your role is with an investment bank you could also get some questions surrounding external financial regulations (although definitely not going to be in depth) I'd suggest familiarising yourself with the role of the FCA and the PRA generally. Also for my compliance role, there was an assessment involving some math and excel but if yours is just an interview, I wouldn't worry about this.

 

[Lmagic77]

Does anyone know when orrick will get back to people post-written assessment?

 

[letsee]

anyone heard from faegre drinker or arnold/porter?

Arnold & Porter said in the application confirmation email that they'd only get back to us after the closing date, so I'd stop fretting about it until August!

 

[Matt_96]

Arnold & Porter said in the application confirmation email that they'd only get back to us after the closing date, so I'd stop fretting about it until August!

After their vacation scheme? That seems a little unlikely. Do you mean their TC?

 

[JayC]

Are other people still waiting to hear from Orrick post-WG? Did mine on April 5th

(trying to get a sense of whether it’s a likely PFO although I know no-one really knows lol)

 

[YFA]

Feeling so deflated as I've been looking for a paralegal role after my previous contract ended due to covid last summer - with no luck. Also applying to TCs at the same time after not converting a VS. Is anyone else finding it impossible to get paralegal jobs atm? Or if anyone has been successful recently I'd love to speak with you just for advice - please DM me!

 

[Jacob Miller]

Feeling so deflated as I've been looking for a paralegal role after my previous contract ended due to covid last summer - with no luck. Also applying to TCs at the same time after not converting a VS. Is anyone else finding it impossible to get paralegal jobs atm? Or if anyone has been successful recently I'd love to speak with you just for advice - please DM me!

You're definitely not alone in this feeling! I think there are several factors at the minute which are making it harder to secure roles. The job market is exceedingly competitive and firms are driving up the prerequisites for entry level positions like paralegals.

I'm afraid I can't offer much in the way of substantive advice - I secured my role internally with my firm, so didn't 'apply' or interview per se, but my fingers are absolutely crossed for you and there are a number of wonderful forum users who have paralegal experience and, I'm sure, will be delighted to share some tips and tricks to help you get your foot in the door

 

[YFA]

You're definitely not alone in this feeling! I think there are several factors at the minute which are making it harder to secure roles. The job market is exceedingly competitive and firms are driving up the prerequisites for entry level positions like paralegals.

I'm afraid I can't offer much in the way of substantive advice - I secured my role internally with my firm, so didn't 'apply' or interview per se, but my fingers are absolutely crossed for you and there are a number of wonderful forum users who have paralegal experience and, I'm sure, will be delighted to share some tips and tricks to help you get your foot in the door

Thank you so much - fingers crossed as things start to open back up there will be more opportunities!

 

[Law2022]

I can’t believe I’ve been completely ghosted by Reed Smith.. applied in February and still not received the SST link. I’ve chased them and I meet their academic criteria so I have no clue 😞😞

 

[CJM.UC]

Hi! So I worked in a financial compliance for three months, and to add to the points Jess has made, you'd need to have really strong communication skills and organisation skills, so I'd prepare examples for that. Essentially you're going to be pushing people in other departments A LOT. A lot of your job will depend on people in different divisions giving you the right paperwork so you can analyse the risks etc. and then following that sitting in meetings and asking questions so you can understand what processes they have in place to deal with those risks and finally pushing them to implement any changes you and your team deem necessary. This is the "internal control" side of things. Since your role is with an investment bank you could also get some questions surrounding external financial regulations (although definitely not going to be in depth) I'd suggest familiarising yourself with the role of the FCA and the PRA generally. Also for my compliance role, there was an assessment involving some math and excel but if yours is just an interview, I wouldn't worry about this.

omg thank you so much Dheepa! Yes, I had to do an initial maths assessment so I think I'm clear on that!! Did you have to do a presentation as part of your interview too?

 

[Asil Ahmad]

Anyone have any experience with WFW. Thank you in advance.

 

[aspiringlawyer23]

Hi everyone! I have an interview with an investment bank coming up but it's with their compliance department. Any tips for compliance interviews and does anyone know whether they differ greatly from law ones? Thank you so much!

Firstly, I would spend some time researching compliance's role in an investment bank, I would also look at how compliance has changed following the financial crisis. Also, know the factors driving changes in Compliance - esp the potential role of tech. Be ready to answer hard ethics questions. Feel free to PM me I was a Summer Analyst in Compliance in a investment bank/retail bank

 

[Dheepa]

omg thank you so much Dheepa! Yes, I had to do an initial maths assessment so I think I'm clear on that!! Did you have to do a presentation as part of your interview too?

Yes! So the math was one part of the group assessment and then we had to present our findings. Something I forgot to mention in the original post was I think it would help if you familiarised yourself with just the very basics of some transaction processes (i.e. the actual process of funds getting transferred etc.) Considering the wide range of transactions an IB is responsible for definitely impossible to know it all at this stage maybe a basic understanding will help with whatever they want you to give a presentation on?

Side note: I'm glad you're all clear on the math! Seeing all those numbers for the first time since A-level math low key had me dying a little on the inside. 😅

 

[CJM.UC]

Yes! So the math was one part of the group assessment and then we had to present our findings. Something I forgot to mention in the original post was I think it would help if you familiarised yourself with just the very basics of some transaction processes (i.e. the actual process of funds getting transferred etc.) Considering the wide range of transactions an IB is responsible for definitely impossible to know it all at this stage maybe a basic understanding will help with whatever they want you to give a presentation on?

Side note: I'm glad you're all clear on the math! Seeing all those numbers for the first time since A-level math low key had me dying a little on the inside. 😅

Thank you so much!! I have to do a presentation on data privacy which is totally different from what I studied in my llb and llm. However, I'm going to do my best to prep for it!!


And yessssss, the maths has been hard but I've been doing more maths test (e.g. withers) this year than ever before 😅😅

 

[letsee]

After their vacation scheme? That seems a little unlikely. Do you mean their TC?

Woops, yeah I forgot they also ran a vac scheme!

 

[EdwardC]

Anyone ever had an interview with Reed Smith for VS? Any insight would be much appreciated!

 

[JayC]

Woops, yeah I forgot they also ran a vac scheme!

I’d be really surprised if they hire anyone direct TC given that they only recruit 2 people and have a vac scheme

 

[Asil Ahmad]

Anyone know how many trainees Orrick takes as Legal Cheek said 6 but I saw 14 somewhere. Can someone confirm this for me please. Thank you in advance.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Anyone know how many trainees Orrick takes as Legal Cheek said 6 but I saw 14 somewhere. Can someone confirm this for me please. Thank you in advance.

14 is probably the amount of trainees they have at anyone time (eg two yearly intakes). Numbers seem to be 6-8 a year.

 

[Jacob Miller]

Mischon de Reya revives IPO plans despite investigation by regulator

Law firm favoured by wealthy eyes £750m London listing with all 1,000 staff poised to become shareholders

www.google.com

Anyone seen that the Mischon partnership have voted to float? Would be super interested to hear opinions from anyone who's involved with the firm (and just everyone in general lol)!