BLM Vacation Scheme and Training Contract Application

-Please explain why you have chosen to pursue a career in law and specifically why at BLM? (600 word limit)

I have chosen to pursue a career in law because I am attracted by the prospect of applying law to clients operating in different industries since this will present me with unique problems that will require me to think creatively to devise commercially viable, cutting-edge solutions. This will make for a highly varied and dynamic working environment. During my legal work experience at PwC and Bond Dickinson, I found that my daily workload required me to deal with different areas of law and jurisdictions which presented me with an opportunity to apply my extensive problem-solving and research skills to produce pragmatic legal solutions to unique problems, in maritime, corporate and litigation practice areas. I believe that work at a commercial law firm will see me work in closely integrated, international teams to solve complex commercial problems. This will not only make me a privy to new ideas and approaches from my colleagues but will also enable me to support clients with effective legal advice and a commercial mind set. I am attracted by the prospect of building professional relationships and forging contacts with clients and other professionals.

I am applying to BLM specifically because I am attracted by the firm’s focus on the insurance and risk management fields. I feel that these sectors will present me with unprecedented problems that will require me to develop innovative solutions especially given that the nature of risk is becoming more sophisticated and requires novel, carefully thought-out solutions. I am attracted by the prospect of working with BLM’s integrated and expert teams nationally and internationally. I feel that working in teams will expose me to new ways of thinking and enable me to add value to the cases through my creative and logical thinking. I feel that BLM’s ‘one team’ philosophy will create an environment where I will be able to have access to all of BLM’s professionals, which I feel will create an optimum learning environment during my early legal career and allow me to develop into a successful solicitor. More generally, gaining such a depth of experience in these fields will bestow me with an opportunity to develop a level of expertise as a relatively junior lawyer that would be beyond my scope at a more generalist law firm.

I find BLM’s relatively small trainee intake to be especially appealing because it will present me with an opportunity for maximum involvement in all cases and present me with more quality work, which I feel is very important for my career development. I like the fact that BLM encourages early responsibility and allows its trainees to get involved in cases of all types. I feel that this will present me with a well-rounded experience and make me an expert within insurance and risk management practice areas. I feel that the prospect of spending time on secondment to one of BLM’s clients or the Association of British Insurers to be especially appealing because it will allow me to better understand client needs by gaining an overview of their day-to-day operations all of which will develop my ability to deliver highly effective and innovative solutions to clients.

I am also very drawn to BLM’s expertise in multiple business sectors because this will present me with a good mix of work and allow me to deal with the most complex and challenging problems facing businesses and individuals across different sectors. I feel that this exposure will aid my professional growth and expertise and make my workload very exciting as no two problems will ever be the same.

-In an increasingly overcrowded legal market how do you think BLM remains competitive and attractive to clients without compromising our profitability? (600 word limit)

BLM remains competitive and attractive to clients in an increasingly competitive marketplace by adapting its operations and expertise to local markets and areas of growth, with a focus on practice areas and jurisdictions that clients see as fertile areas for growth. Most recently, these have included brokers, care, construction and property, general insurance and Lloyd’s and London market areas/markets favoured by clients for their robust performance. Further, it is evident that BLM has undergone many re-structuring initiatives through mergers and openings of new offices, such as the merger with HBM Sayers, which is a testament to the firm’s dynamic business model that is shaping the legal practice in the light of the market conditions and risks facing clients. I feel that this ability to dynamically adapt to changing market conditions allows BLM to offer clients a market-led, commercially aware legal service that can support them globally, in any practice area or situation.

I find that BLM’s core focus on the insurance and risk management practice areas helps it to maintain a competitive advantage over law firms with a focus on multiple practice areas. I feel that risk management is an area that requires not only a depth of experience but also exceptional understanding of all new risks presented by local market conditions. With a focus solely on the risk management and insurance sectors, BLM is in a better position to provide effective advice that pre-empts problems, as compared with a law firm that claims to offer expertise across multiple practice areas. The fact that BLM is consistently awarded for its achievements and expertise in the risk management and insurance fields demonstrates its reputation for deep-rooted expertise and unrivalled experience in these core practice areas, which makes for a very strong selling point when preserving existing or acquiring new clients. So too does the firm’s work for high-profile blue-chip clients such as NWN Media, H Bauer Publishing, LastMinute.com, Jet2, Regis Mutual, Olympic Holidays and Stena Line.

I find that BLM’s international network of leading insurance legal firms from around the world provides its clients with access to global experts with deep rooted local expertise in locations such as Dubai and Australia. This puts BLM in the best position to understand the risks facing their clients in very diverse jurisdictions, and produce highly effective, tailored solutions.

BLM’s ambition to become one of the leading global insurance and risk law specialists by 2020 will allow BLM to ensure that all of its operations are in tune with this overriding objective.