What you should be doing now

[Lawgirlxo]

Hi,

I’ve done some good research on the firms I’m interested in and drafted the answers to some of the application questions I know.

I still have a good weeks before applications open and then interview season; what could I be doing now in preparation for the time ahead.

I know I should keep up with the news, but I just don’t know where to start, which news I should pay a lot of attention too etc. I just wanna be on the right track - how do you reckon we do this please?

Many thanks!

 

[Fez]

Hi

I would advise to structure your preparation in the following way:

• General business news: As you’ve suggested, keep up with the news. When I say this, keep up to date with the main business headlines. An easy way to do this is to have a quick read of BBC Business on a daily basis. Also, it is helpful to know what is going on in the UK and the world. Know the basics about interest rates, the general health of the UK/US economy and how Europe is doing. Also have an idea about places like the Middle East, Russia and China. If you know the general trends in these regions, it helps you connect the dots.
  
  
  
  
• Specific commercial awareness topics: This is the juicy bit. Research, know and prepare answers for the big commercial awareness topics. I’d suggest to do this for 3 big topics… AI/Trade Wars/Data Protection are examples. Pick topics that you have a genuine interest in and develop your opinions on them. This takes time. Find someone to discuss these topics with. Pick any news outlet that you enjoy reading and stick with it!
  
  
  
  
• General interview preparation: Prepare answers for components motivational questions (Why law? Why this firm?) and competency questions. Again, practise with a friend. Aim to speak for 2 – 3 minutes.
  
  
  
  
• Practise online tests: This is your general prep for things such as the Watson Glaser test.
  
  
  
  
• Keep writing applications: In the meantime, don’t forget to keep writing applications. They constantly make you think about your achievements and the best ways to market them. Believe in your achievements and know how to sell yourself without being arrogant. Applications also help with things like commercial awareness.
  
  

Hope this helps. Keep working hard, I am sure you will do well!

Best wishes

Fez

 

[Lawgirlxo]

Thanks Fez!

 

[Kazam]

Awesome thread! Maybe a few people can also post what they are doing right now to prepare?

People always suggest reading the FT but honestly, I just can't bring myself to read more than a couple of stories. It either makes no sense to me or the stories feel irrelevant. Would you suggest alternatives?

 

[Lawgirlxo]

Awesome thread! Maybe a few people can also post what they are doing right now to prepare?

People always suggest reading the FT but honestly, I just can't bring myself to read more than a couple of stories. It either makes no sense to me or the stories feel irrelevant. Would you suggest alternatives?

I personally find email subscriptions very useful, I think it suits my lifestyle. Wake up early, spend 20-30 minutes in the morning to go over the emails that came in whilst I was asleep, and then get ready for the day. If I can't view it in the morning, I'll come back to it during the day.

I'm subscribed to Finimize, The Guardian, Business Insider and the Marget Mogul. Honestly, I've been using them for a long time now and I never miss the tropical news, even though I don't read the FT. I still know about the trade war, stock markets, the struggling economy of some emerging markets (Turkey, Argentina etc) If I want more information on a topic, I'll just google it to read opinions and stuff.

That said, I am definitely adding the FT to my reading list just to cover my bases. I admit it gives you a 360 degrees view on what's going on in the (financial) world.

Its easy to get overwhelmed if you try to read so many websites, newspapers, news outlets etc. Most of them still report on the same news so pick a few and stick to them!

Hope this helps

 

[Kazam]

I personally find email subscriptions very useful, I think it suits my lifestyle. Wake up early, spend 20-30 minutes in the morning to go over the emails that came in whilst I was asleep, and then get ready for the day. If I can't view it in the morning, I'll come back to it during the day.

I'm subscribed to Finimize, The Guardian, Business Insider and the Marget Mogul. Honestly, I've been using them for a long time now and I never miss the tropical news, even though I don't read the FT. I still know about the trade war, stock markets, the struggling economy of some emerging markets (Turkey, Argentina etc) If I want more information on a topic, I'll just google it to read opinions and stuff.

That said, I am definitely adding the FT to my reading list just to cover my bases. I admit it gives you a 360 degrees view on what's going on in the (financial) world.

Its easy to get overwhelmed if you try to read so many websites, newspapers, news outlets etc. Most of them still report on the same news so pick a few and stick to them!

Hope this helps

Ooh love it! I've never really got into email subscriptions but I will check it out. This is a bit of an invasive question but can I ask: What time do you wake up? I am trying to get into a routine.

It sounds like you are really up to date though, don't you think?

 

[Lawgirlxo]

I personally find email subscriptions very useful, I think it suits my lifestyle. Wake up early, spend 20-30 minutes in the morning to go over the emails that came in whilst I was asleep, and then get ready for the day. If I can't view it in the morning, I'll come back to it during the day.

I'm subscribed to Finimize, The Guardian, Business Insider and the Marget Mogul. Honestly, I've been using them for a long time now and I never miss the tropical news, even though I don't read the FT. I still know about the trade war, stock markets, the struggling economy of some emerging markets (Turkey, Argentina etc) If I want more information on a topic, I'll just google it to read opinions and stuff.

That said, I am definitely adding the FT to my reading list just to cover my bases. I admit it gives you a 360 degrees view on what's going on in the (financial) world.

Its easy to get overwhelmed if you try to read so many websites, newspapers, news outlets etc. Most of them still report on the same news so pick a few and stick to them!

Hope this helps

I forgot this: https://comaware.net/category/top-stories-of-the-week/ (a little gem, don't know how I found this). I'm also subscribed to the one from Bright Network, but by the time it gets to my email, I've already seen the others so its almost repetitive

 

[Lawgirlxo]

Ooh love it! I've never really got into email subscriptions but I will check it out. This is a bit of an invasive question but can I ask: What time do you wake up? I am trying to get into a routine.

It sounds like you are really up to date though, don't you think?

I think I am up to date, but not just in-depth (at least as much as I want to). I guess I got frustrated cause I tried to know the details of every single thing. But as Fez has suggested, it seems it'll be best to pick a few topics that interest me and then go in-depth with them!

At uni, my alarm goes off at 6:00 on weekdays! (I am 100% a morning person so I try to add more morning/afternoon hours to my day!

 

[Lawgirlxo]

Also if it helps, try to think of how a particular news will affect the clients of your chosen firms. So for me, the clients of the firms I'm interested in tend to be big banks, investment funds and private equity groups. Whatever affects these clients will surely affect the firms

 

[Jai C.]

Waking up early - if you find it tough to wake up - YouTube this guy called Eric Thomas and find any speech of his ..and it will help you to wake up early

Wake up early ..spend time reading the news with tea/coffee until it finishes ..that’s how I usually time myself. Normally it takes me 7 - 10 minutes that's because I have a gigantic mug

 

[AzanAshai]

Hi @Lawgirlxo

I recommend setting up google alerts for firms that you are applying to (I don't know if this has been mentioned already). It's a great SEO-based shortcut to keep you up to date on what's going on with law firms without having to comb through the internet for updates (I know that can be especially tough when university starts up).

Also, another useful tip is to maybe reach out to connections at the firms you are applying to. Using social media platforms like LinkedIn can be especially useful in doing this. Interacting with other trainees or lawyers will not only better inform your firm choices but will enhance your professional network.

 

[FreddyS]

Waking up early - if you find it tough to wake up - YouTube this guy called Eric Thomas and find any speech of his ..and it will help you to wake up early

Wake up early ..spend time reading the news with tea/coffee until it finishes ..that’s how I usually time myself. Normally it takes me 7 - 10 minutes that's because I have a gigantic mug

I pretty much know this speech by heart:

 

[Jai C.]

I pretty much know this speech by heart:

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey !! OMG YOU KNOW THIS SPEECH !!!

AH MAN THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY !!

FREEDDYY YOU SIR, ARE AWESOME !!

 

[FreddyS]

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey !! OMG YOU KNOW THIS SPEECH !!!

AH MAN THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY !!

FREEDDYY YOU SIR, ARE AWESOME !!

Hahahaha I take it you do too!

 

[Lawgirlxo]

Hi @Lawgirlxo

I recommend setting up google alerts for firms that you are applying to (I don't know if this has been mentioned already). It's a great SEO-based shortcut to keep you up to date on what's going on with law firms without having to comb through the internet for updates (I know that can be especially tough when university starts up).

Also, another useful tip is to maybe reach out to connections at the firms you are applying to. Using social media platforms like LinkedIn can be especially useful in doing this. Interacting with other trainees or lawyers will not only better inform your firm choices but will enhance your professional network.

Thanks for this Azan - I'll get on with this!

 

[Jai C.]

I personally find email subscriptions very useful, I think it suits my lifestyle. Wake up early, spend 20-30 minutes in the morning to go over the emails that came in whilst I was asleep, and then get ready for the day. If I can't view it in the morning, I'll come back to it during the day.

I'm subscribed to Finimize, The Guardian, Business Insider and the Marget Mogul. Honestly, I've been using them for a long time now and I never miss the tropical news, even though I don't read the FT. I still know about the trade war, stock markets, the struggling economy of some emerging markets (Turkey, Argentina etc) If I want more information on a topic, I'll just google it to read opinions and stuff.

That said, I am definitely adding the FT to my reading list just to cover my bases. I admit it gives you a 360 degrees view on what's going on in the (financial) world.

Its easy to get overwhelmed if you try to read so many websites, newspapers, news outlets etc. Most of them still report on the same news so pick a few and stick to them!

Hope this helps

This is brilliant.

Your last sentence is so crucial because in the beginning, I was jumping from BBC to Guardian to Independent to etc. You get so overwhelmed and become really sad.

So its really crucial to stick to 3/4 sources and just them and tell yourself its okay im not missing out on anything

 

[D]

Hi,

I’ve done some good research on the firms I’m interested in and drafted the answers to some of the application questions I know.

I still have a good weeks before applications open and then interview season; what could I be doing now in preparation for the time ahead.

I know I should keep up with the news, but I just don’t know where to start, which news I should pay a lot of attention too etc. I just wanna be on the right track - how do you reckon we do this please?

Many thanks!

Hey,

Whilst I'm not at the stage you are at, I try in my own life to keep abreast of current affairs and news within the business world. Much like those who read the paper of a morning, I have a series of bookmarked websites that I browse every morning. Initially, there will be so many stories that you cannot keep up, however, if you read them every day, you soon get on top and only need to review the page for the day's new stories. Choose whatever websites you like, but you cant go wrong with BBC, FT, Economist, FT, The Lawyer, Law Gazette, Legalcheek, RoF, etc. To be fair, that is probably overkill, but you get the point

 

[Lawgirlxo]

Hey,

Whilst I'm not at the stage you are at, I try in my own life to keep abreast of current affairs and news within the business world. Much like those who read the paper of a morning, I have a series of bookmarked websites that I browse every morning. Initially, there will be so many stories that you cannot keep up, however, if you read them every day, you soon get on top and only need to review the page for the day's new stories. Choose whatever websites you like, but you cant go wrong with BBC, FT, Economist, FT, The Lawyer, Law Gazette, Legalcheek, RoF, etc. To be fair, that is probably overkill, but you get the point

Thank you!

 

[Jaysen]

If I was doing everything all over again, this is what I would be doing (much of this has been written already):

Commercial Awareness

(a) Many law firms ask you to talk about a recent news article in their application forms or at interview. To prepare:

• Pick two business news stories that sound interesting to you. Forget about the impact on law firms, just pick stories you are genuinely interested in.
• Read about the story from different news sites and make notes.
• Try to find opinions on the article - especially articles which take the opposing viewpoint.
• If it's a developing story, follow the updates. Watch how the story and the opinions change over time.
• Practice summarising the story out loud.
• Form an opinion on the story and, if possible, ask someone to ask you questions on the topic.
• Play devil's advocate - form an opinion on the story from another point of view. See if this affects your opinion.

(b) Law firms might ask you questions about a particular topic at interview. To prepare:

• Keep a list of the big topics in the news at the moment. Update the list where necessary.
• At the moment, I would consider the big topics to be: Brexit, tariffs/trade war, GDPR and data privacy, Saudi Aramco's IPO, the collapse of high street chains, AI and technology, rising interest rates, Britain v Russia.
• You don't need a in-depth understanding of any of these topics, but if I said to you: "Can you tell me what has been happening between Trump and China?", you should be able to share an opinion on the subject.
• Pick a topic each week and have a read around the subject. Make sure you know what is going on.

NB: I know (b) is the difficult one. Soon, I will be posting about the commercial awareness sessions we will be running for students who are interested. I will share further details tomorrow.

Early interview/assessment centre prep

• It's crucial that you nail down your reasons for the "Why commercial law?" question. If you have one already, make sure it is the best answer you could possibly give. If applicable, think about any experiences that you can use to back up your reasons.
• Practice competencies. Compile a list with mock interview questions together with a list of your extra curricular activities. Try to answer them out loud every so often.
• Learn about what trainee solicitors and what lawyers do.
• If you are applying to firms which are focused in a particular sector/practice area, try to understand what is involved (e.g. private equity/energy/private client etc.)
• Try to understand the very basics of finance and how lawyers are involved e.g. how do companies raise money? what is security?
• Try to understand the very basics of M&A and how lawyers are involved e.g. what is the difference between a share purchase and an asset purchase? What is legal due diligence? (NB: This is relevant if you are applying to corporate firms.)

Written exercise

• Practice writing: Do you write clearly? Are you using the appropriate formalities Can you finish on time?
• Try our mock case studies.

That's all I can think of for now, but I will update if there are more!