Thinking about what type of law firm is right for you

[Hazal]

Hello everyone!

Have you ever been asked the question: which other firms are you applying to?

Of course, whoever is asking this question knows they're not the only firm you're interested in. Instead, it's a way of finding out whether you know what you're looking for or whether you're shooting off applications in a random fashion.

I made the mistake of interviewing with Osborne Clarke and mentioning I was interested in American firms. At Jones Day, similarly, I couldn't confidently answer why American firms interested me as much as they did.

So, I've been trying to consolidate reasons for applying to the law firms that I am applying to. I usually lead with a sector-focused approach and target firms that are strong in my preferred sectors.

However, there are times when the culture of a firm or the breadth of work that a firm undertakes, are what has drawn me in, leading me to the conundrum: why am I applying to such different law firms? Should I simply not mention the diverse range I am applying to?

I wanted to collate some reasons for applying to law firms. I'd be very grateful to hear how everyone else is articulating their motivation for particular firms through these questions:

• Why do you prefer a smaller/larger intake of trainees?
• Why are you interested in applying to a magic circle/city firm?
• Why are you interested in applying to an American firm?
• Why are you interested in applying to a National/regional firm?

 

[Kazam]

This is such a good thread idea!

I've had those questions before and quickly learned I had to be more tactical with the firms I mentioned (pretending I hadn't applied to some firms that I had)

I prefer small intake US firms because:

• You're not just one of many trainees, you are valued within the firm because there's only a few of you
• I am interested in corporate/M&A/private equity and I think US firms have an edge here
• US firms pay more (I can't mention this one )

Although I think maybe you have to distinguish US firms? Because a firm like Davis Polk is quite different to a Latham & Watkins etc.

 

[Hazal]

This is such a good thread idea!

I've had those questions before and quickly learned I had to be more tactical with the firms I mentioned (pretending I hadn't applied to some firms that I had)

I prefer small intake US firms because:

• You're not just one of many trainees, you are valued within the firm because there's only a few of you
• I am interested in corporate/M&A/private equity and I think US firms have an edge here
• US firms pay more (I can't mention this one )

Although I think maybe you have to distinguish US firms? Because a firm like Davis Polk is quite different to a Latham & Watkins etc.

Thanks for replying Kazam! I've also come to value US firms based on their intake size but am conflicted with my attraction to the more diverse, UK based firms such as Herbert Smith Freehills and Baker McKenzie.

In terms of US firms paying more, I think there's even a way to mention that one in an interview! It depends how you word it. If you lead with the fact that higher pay = longer hours (usually), then you can touch upon your work ethic and make it about remuneration for that hard-work you're willing to invest, instead of, I just want to make money.

 

[Kazam]

Thanks for replying Kazam! I've also come to value US firms based on their intake size but am conflicted with my attraction to the more diverse, UK based firms such as Herbert Smith Freehills and Baker McKenzie.

In terms of US firms paying more, I think there's even a way to mention that one in an interview! It depends how you word it. If you lead with the fact that higher pay = longer hours (usually), then you can touch upon your work ethic and make it about remuneration for that hard-work you're willing to invest, instead of, I just want to make money.

That's a good way to present it!

Do you mean diverse in terms of people or practice areas? I think that's a good way to differentiate the magic circle/UK and US law firms. You could say magic circle are more full service in the UK so you could experience more practice areas as a trainee.

 

[Hazal]

That's a good way to present it!

Do you mean diverse in terms of people or practice areas? I think that's a good way to differentiate the magic circle/UK and US law firms. You could say magic circle are more full service in the UK so you could experience more practice areas as a trainee.

I was thinking practice area, yeah! That's true. I think I'll be strategic with who I mention in law firm interviews too, like you said before.

 

[FreddyS]

Hello everyone!

Have you ever been asked the question: which other firms are you applying to?

Of course, whoever is asking this question knows they're not the only firm you're interested in. Instead, it's a way of finding out whether you know what you're looking for or whether you're shooting off applications in a random fashion.

I made the mistake of interviewing with Osborne Clarke and mentioning I was interested in American firms. At Jones Day, similarly, I couldn't confidently answer why American firms interested me as much as they did.

So, I've been trying to consolidate reasons for applying to the law firms that I am applying to. I usually lead with a sector-focused approach and target firms that are strong in my preferred sectors.

However, there are times when the culture of a firm or the breadth of work that a firm undertakes, are what has drawn me in, leading me to the conundrum: why am I applying to such different law firms? Should I simply not mention the diverse range I am applying to?

I wanted to collate some reasons for applying to law firms. I'd be very grateful to hear how everyone else is articulating their motivation for particular firms through these questions:

• Why do you prefer a smaller/larger intake of trainees?
• Why are you interested in applying to a magic circle/city firm?
• Why are you interested in applying to an American firm?
• Why are you interested in applying to a National/regional firm?

I've found that even mentioning other City/American firms is too broad a grouping. I usually pick three or four firms that I would think were similar to the firm I'm applying and try to find a common theme. For example at Jones Day I mentioned I was interested in M&A and then mentioned a mix of UK/US based M&A firms.

 

[Sandrou]

Personally, this is one question I practiced very carefully before interviews.

Don’t listen to people who say, “oh they just want to know who else you applied to”.

Be very careful with the firms you mention. The reason I say this is because you do not know who will interview you. I had one partner ask me, “you’ve mentioned 2 other magic circle firms, why didn’t you apply to all of them? Why did you choose to apply to those firms? And What makes our business model different? Or would you say they’re fairly similar?”

Given this lengthy question, I quickly realised mentioning 1 or 2 firms is sufficient. As mentioned above, selecting firms with strong expertise in a particular sector is a good explanation so long as you can articulate your thoughts.

I often mentioned that I applied to set firms because I met X firm at X event and wanted to learn more about these firms before making an informed decision.