Hi guys, how would you suggest answering the question 'why commercial law' when you have no previous experience related to anything within the legal field? Should I literally talk about why I want to be a commercial lawyer, or is it necessary to link the answer to experiences as a form of evidence as to why I want to go into commercial law?
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TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24
- Thread starter Jessica Booker
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On the one hand, a pfo. On the other hand, my wife bought me some chocolate. Be kind to yourself throughout this process. I’m happy to help with W&C.
@Asil Ahmad please keep us updated on your interview preparation and how it goes. I have been rooting for you for 1 year now.
Thank you very much appreciate and will do got final stage interview for Ashurst tomorrow morning the rest are pending.
“when have you worked internationally on a project” was one, others are a bit of a blurCould you provide some insight into what these questions were lol
I don't have an AC with W&C but wanna be prepared for other firms! Thank you
Slaughtered & Dismayed: Does your cover letter not matter? Or is it nepotism?
Yesterday, I read a cover letter of someone who has made it to the assessment centre stage at Slaughter & May. Prior to reading it, I was keen to see what a successful cover letter looked like and what I can learn from it; but after reading it I was beyond baffled.
The cover letter was the most generic cover letter you can imagine, it was to the point you could replace the name ‘Slaughter and May’ with any other law firm, and send it out. There was nothing that was specific to the law firm (e.g. I want to join S&M because of their emphasis on the value of teamwork and I value teamwork because I played basket ball in sixth form, type of sentences).
I was confused how this cover letter has made it through, but it became clear after I found out their parents arranged for them to meet with a senior member of the law firm.
To be honest, I would understand if they wrote about how their meeting inspired them to be a commercial lawyer or work in S&M but there was not a single sentence about that on their cover letter.
Thus, I have come to two conclusions. Either nepotism prevails. Or your cover letter doesn’t matter at all and its only down to grades (they have decent grades for the most part).
Yesterday, I read a cover letter of someone who has made it to the assessment centre stage at Slaughter & May. Prior to reading it, I was keen to see what a successful cover letter looked like and what I can learn from it; but after reading it I was beyond baffled.
The cover letter was the most generic cover letter you can imagine, it was to the point you could replace the name ‘Slaughter and May’ with any other law firm, and send it out. There was nothing that was specific to the law firm (e.g. I want to join S&M because of their emphasis on the value of teamwork and I value teamwork because I played basket ball in sixth form, type of sentences).
I was confused how this cover letter has made it through, but it became clear after I found out their parents arranged for them to meet with a senior member of the law firm.
To be honest, I would understand if they wrote about how their meeting inspired them to be a commercial lawyer or work in S&M but there was not a single sentence about that on their cover letter.
Thus, I have come to two conclusions. Either nepotism prevails. Or your cover letter doesn’t matter at all and its only down to grades (they have decent grades for the most part).
valid conclusions tbf 😭 giving my own two cents to the matter, in my own personal experience w the firm, I have found that there is an emphasis on grades where they r looking for high 2:1s and 1sts in your modules throughout for you to make the cut
93rd Percentile for Linklater WG! At the start of this cycle I was not meeting benchmarks so very happy with the progress.
For anyone who's struggling, I recommend watching Idin Sabahipour's YouTube video and using practice sites such as JobTestPrep. Also, I found writing myself an explanation that I understood to really help.
For anyone who's struggling, I recommend watching Idin Sabahipour's YouTube video and using practice sites such as JobTestPrep. Also, I found writing myself an explanation that I understood to really help.
- Sep 14, 2023
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I had no previous experience in law either when I was applying last year so my strategy was to be completely honest and explain from where I developed my interest in commercial law.
What I used to was start with a brief sentence highlighting that my goal would be to help businesses with my legal knowledge and sort of quench the gap between law and business. Subsequently, I used to talk about (very briefly, usually one to two sentences) about how I used to help my mom when I was young translating business contracts from French to Italian for her and seeing the impact that I had pushed me to pursue a career in law. I underlined how the commercial and legal world was the only sector I could develop my advisory and communication skills to become a successful business lawyer.
Additionally, I linked it back to one/two experiences I had with start-up companies where I was exposed to the implications of the law on small businesses. I also included an experience in a law firm when I was in high school too, even if it was very brief.
As a non-law student and an international student with an undergraduate degree outside of the UK I was really scared of using this structure, but it ended up being extremely successful and interesting to graduate recruitment. Every single AC I have attended, graduate recruitment and partners has remarked how interested they were in reading how my interest in the law developed.
I hope this can help you and good luck with your application! @lawyerinzootopia
- Sep 14, 2023
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Mine was 670 words more or less and I got through the video interview stage! I do not think it should be longer than 700 words in my opinion since the application for the firm is full of questions anyway, where you can put all your experiences and academic qualifications.
I hope this helps!
Bro thinks going to Oxbridge is a disadvantage Una
I mean, the people who go to lower level universities still work hard to get the grades though, whether it's easier or not. And getting offers isn't just based on the grades (for a lot of firms) so 🤷♀️ clearly they work hard doing other things to make themselves and their applications as strong as possible. Also, if you go to a prestigious uni, you're already a fair way in as opposed to a non-RG surely?
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