The Official Vacation Scheme Thread 2020!

Thank you so much for such a detailed response! I'm not the OP but it really helps me.

I have great trouble linking commercial awareness questions back to the firm. Do you have an example of this?

Haha yes! - look at my example in the response above to ****den123. Hope this helps.

Gosh this is such a brilliant answer and the one I submitted is complete ****e in comparison to your structure.... thank you nonetheless.moving forward I know how to do it now

Hi, I know these questions can appear strange and confusing because you don't know whether to write an answer on something you are truly passionate about or whether to write about a commercial law / commercial awareness topic. You should go for the latter.

What you need to do is work backwards from the firm's clients. Research recent transactions that the firm has worked on, or even google things like 'HSF advises tech company on...' and something will come up. Once you find a relevant article, try and identify a theme or shift in that sector. Once you can identify the shift, you can explain exactly how it will affect tech companies in general and then link it back to HSF by mentioning specific clients and what they may want from the firm.

The commercial awareness side is easy; the hard part is explaining why it interests you as this has to seem genuine. Your interests have to be grounded in some sort of reality. So if I was you try and think of a sector that you can link to your own experiences. Look back at your work experiences and try and figure it out from there. For example, I did a work placement at an insurance company, so I would start of by saying:

'Recently, the FT published an article on ....... changes in the insurance industry. Having spent six weeks working in the revenue team at Willis during my penultimate year at university, this caught my attention immediately' .

From there you can go through the commercial awareness steps I suggested above.

I know you are already on the Aspiring Commercial Lawyers Network FB group and I will address this question in subsequent videos but if you need any more help in the meantime, just message me! Hope that helps!

Izzet

First PFO of the year - A&O.

Oh how I had forgot that feeling! Onward and upwards.

Jones Day VS offer

Hello, everyone! I have recently completed LLM at UCL and now I am looking to apply for vac schemes and TCs.

As a bit of a background, I have done my undergraduate degree in law in my home country, and immediately after started with the LLM, so I am not a qualified lawyer in my country (there I would need 2 years of legal work experience in order to qualify). That requires me to complete both, GDL and LPC, prior to starting TC here. Therefore, I look for the firms that would cover these costs (and sponsor my Tier 2 visa), as otherwise, I will not be able to fund it myself.

I am very interested in a career in international arbitration - I will be doing a work placement scheme later this year in one US firm in London for 4 weeks, and from January, I will be doing a 6-month internship in another US firm in Paris. That is why I look for international firms that have strong international arbitration practice in their London office.

Since my visa expires in January, I can only apply for winter vac schemes, which is what I am doing at the moment. However, do you think that the experience above will be enough for me to apply directly for TCs next spring/summer? Also, I hope some international students that have been in the same situation might give me a piece of advice on how to handle applications when it comes to the parts about the high school (i.e. A levels) and the undergraduate degree. Finally, is there opinion about the approach certain firms take when it comes to international students as TC applicants? It would help me when deciding where to apply.

I'd appreciate your advice, guys. Cheers!

Congratulations! That’s amazing!

May I ask, do you have any advice/tips for those who will apply to the Spring/Summer Vacation Scheme?

First PFO of the year - A&O.

Oh how I had forgot that feeling! Onward and upwards.

Jones Day VS offer

Hi this answer should be structured in a similar way to how I advised CatusStarbright above.

Finding the sectors that Bird & Bird specialise in shouldn't be too difficult. I don't know too much about the firm but if their strategy is sector-focused then you will be able to identify the sectors they specialise in through their website. Alternatively, if you look at the recent transactions / cases they worked on, then you should be able to make a link to the relevant sector.

Once you've identified the sector and hopefully some of the firm's clients, you want to find a relevant article. You can do this by working backwards from the client e.g. what have the firm's clients been doing recently e.g. expanding into new cities, focussing on a particular areas within a sector, making changes internally? After this link it back to the opportunities you see for the firm.

Let me give you an example. When I applied to Kirkland & Ellis, which focuses on private equity, I started off by identifying a key client of the firm such as Carlyle Group and KKR.

I then found an article on the FT about private equity in the UK. The article was about how private equity funds are facing pressure to restrict UK investments due to the uncertainty surrounding Brexit. I stated that this change in the level of UK investment may create new opportunities and challenges for law firms.

I briefly explained why the UK is an undesirable destination for investment in traditional sectors. However, I explained that if other sectors continue to perform strongly, Kirkland and Ellis may be able to pitch its services to new clients. I explained that the UK has been outranking other European countries as a technology investment hub, which could lead to more work in this sector for PE focussed law firms.

I also considered which other cities private equity funds may turn their attention to and suggested what Kirkland & Ellis could do to enhance their presnece in that city.

The point is to understand which sectors the firm operates in and who the firm's clients are. Once you've done that, identify a relevant article which discusses changes in that sector. From there, you can look at what the firm's clients are doing as a response to that change and explain what opportunities this could lead to.

Hope this helps!

Izzet

Hey there, how I approached this was just like how I approached the average commercial awareness question. I THINK what they are asking for is:

1) Can you recognise a key sector of our firm?
2) Is there a recent news article that has interested you?
3) Why did it interest you?
4) What do you think is the opportunity for this? (opportunity meaning something that will have a positive benefit on the firm)
5) Explain why this is the biggest opportunity and how it will affect our firm

can anyone please help me with Sidley Austin interview!

AC invite from A&O