Interview for City law firm

boredzeee

I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice/experience interviewing with a City firm in London....

I have an interview coming up for a vacation scheme with an American firm there. Just a standard 45 minuter with two partners.

Had a fair few interviews in different sectors in Ireland now but am wondering if there are any cultural differences I should be aware of while over there...It would be great to hear from someone who has interviewed with firms here and over there and noticed any differences between the two or whether there were different emphases....

I'd be very grateful if anyone had any advice. If I got the gig (and a training contract) it would essentially be like winning X Factor for me!

Thanks

hada

They put a massive emphasis on commercial awareness. You don't need to be a veritable economist but know it damn well.

Know the firm inside out. Deals, partners, competition, you name it.

Which firm by the way? You could well be my competition!

skyhighflyer

Know the firm, and know the City.

The firm:

Know the firm's area of expertise - corporate, finance, private client, property, dispute resolution, tax, regulation - or a combination of some or all of the above?

If you know the names of the partners who will be interviewing you, look them up on the firm's website and/or google them beforehand to find out their practice areas and research these. Not necessarily in too much depth as they will know more than you in any event, but try to gain a broad undertanding of their practice area. If your interviewing partner runs a fianncing group and specialises in derivatives, you'll want to know what derivatives are and what they're used for.

Learn a little about the firm's history and try to find out what differentiates them from other firms - you need to have a better reason for working there than the £90k a year and fancy offices . Check them out on legal week, lawyer2b and rollonfriday.

You need to think about what that firm wants and compare that objectively with what you can bring to the table. As a general rule, City firms want smart people who aren't complete social retards. So big up your outside activities as well as your academics.

Beyond this, all the standard interview rules apply. Be personable, enthusiastic and clued in, but don't bull****. Sometimes you will be thrown a question you can't know the answer to to see if you attampt to wing it or not.

The City

The City of London is a massive market for money (Forex), bonds and equities. City law firms essentially facilitate these markets in one way or another.

For example: a car manufacturer needs to raise $1 billion so that it can build a new factory for its new sportscar. An investment bank runs the books and underwrites the deal, and the law firm documents the transaction, ensures compliance with financial regulation, and provides tax advice.

Another example: an airline wants to hedge its fuel supplies for the next year. It will enter into a commodity derivatives contract with a bank, which the law firm will document and advise upon during negotiation.

Interviews with City firms can be informal and limites to questions like: why law, why the City, what do you do in your spare time, etc, but they often look for a level of knowledge of the market that Irish firms wouldn't. This catches a lot of Irish students out, as the vacation scheme and internship culture isn't as developed over here as it is in the UK and US.

So if you don't know the difference between a bond and an equity, gilts or commercial paper, an MBO or an IPO, then you need to start learning. This book has pretty much all you need:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Need-Know-About-City/dp/0954637224

And the very best of luck. Don't be intimidated - Irish students are generally very well regarded in the City, and plenty of Irish students get traning contracts in Magic Circle and US firms every year. There's no reason why it shouldn't be you.

boredzeee

Bloody eck skyhighflyer, you don't know how grateful I am for such an answer....bang on of you to go to that trouble!

I think that with my prep so far I'm halfway there and have started looking into many of the things you've mentioned..Unfortunately, the firm have told me they're unable to name the partners who are gonna inerview me as things could be subject to change last minute...Ho-hum.

So, instead of learning about the partners who are interviewing me I'm doing a bit of research into the partners who are involved in the practice areas I've shown an initial interest in on my application..

I tend to do OK at interviews normally but am just hoping I'm not dazzled by the Saville Row suits and buzz of the City. It's good to know they put an emphasis on personality too...I'm not one of these uber-outgoing knobs but still think I'm pretty good at building a rapport with people....

Commercial awareness...Ah, that aul chestnut...I feel I do have this - I read the broadsheets and the Economist regularly, as well as not turning over when the market news comes on! - but sometimes I find it difficult to express my own views on these things...especially as my knowledge may be broad in these areas, but lacks the necessary depth. How are those type of questions asked? Is it simply " tell us your thoughts on x", or "describe a current event in the news"? etc...

I'm not going to lack confidence, if there's one thing I've learned over the last 18 months it's that if you're called to interview you've made the grade on paper, you just have to show you can walk the walk!

Once again, thanks - and if anyone else has advice it'd be great to hear from ye, too....

Arsenal1986

Well the big Irish firms phrase their commercial awareness questions like - 1. what would you do if you were finance minister

2. what do next 12 mnonths holdfor ireland economically do you think?

3. Which Irish finance minister is most responsible for the current economic woes

I imagine knowing a good bit about the Eu directive on hedge funds would be important

boredzeee

Hmmm...they're tough enough, aren't they.

Thanks for the heads up on the EU hedge funds directive. That is definitely relevant for me.