Boodle Hatfield Vacation Scheme and Training Contract Application...

Boodle Hatfield Vacation Scheme and Training Contract Application Answers

1. As a result of your interests/leisure activities, what transferable skills have you developed? 500 words max.

In my spare time, I enjoy playing football. I played for the Russian national team at the European Moscow Games 2011 in Samara and at the Moscow Games 2013 in Israel. Football taught me how to work successfully in a team for a common purpose. I would like to apply my team work skills to my legal work in order to achieve positive results for clients. Equally, playing football taught me how to successfully build relationships with different people, which improved my communication and client-facing skills.

At the University of Cambridge, I wrote for the ‘CBD Life Magazine’ on some interesting topics such as on the emergence of fashion as its own field of law and ways of protecting a mobile app. This experience has improved my written communication skills, which in turn allow me to communicate with different audiences with relative ease.

I am an active member of the Russian Youth Organisation in Estonia and like to interact with people to learn more about my background and culture. As a member of this organisation, I helped people to develop new perspectives and different ways of thinking about many topical issues facing today’s society. As a member of this organisation, I developed my organisational and leadership skills as I was responsible for organising events and managing a large group of people.

I enjoy doing boxing and I feel that it has improved my time-management skills and honed my discipline and resilience to pressure. These skills allow me to deal with difficult and stressful situations with relative ease as well as allow me to manage my social and work life.

2. Please give details of what you regard as particular achievements in your life 500 words max.

I am especially proud of passing my practical driving test because during my driving lessons I was very nervous and had some unpleasant experiences which, at the time, I felt would prevent me from performing at my best during the driving test. However, my instructor told me that I was a very good driver and that there was no reason why I should not pass my practical driving test. During my practical exam, I demonstrated very good resilience when presented with stressful situations such as impatient and sometimes rude drivers. I kept my focus on demonstrating what I have learnt and kept my focus on passing the exam. In the end, I passed my driving test and felt that this experience made me more resilient to stressful situations.

I feel that I made a very big contribution to the overall team effort whilst playing for the Russian national football team. During practice and competitive games, I successfully led the team and helped to boost its morale, which I felt made us play better together.

When performing ballet, I was chosen to act as a cover for an older and more experienced ballet dancer for a show on television in case she had to cancel last minute. I was chosen to ballet dance each year at the Russian National Theatre in front of an audience of approximately one thousand people.

My hard work and determination to achieve academic success are proven in my results and I have been awarded one of the University of Cambridge’s prestigious achievement awards funded by the scholarship department. This award is only given to ten students in each year based on their attainment of overall academic excellence.

Whilst at university, in my EU law module, I reached the top 12 out of 589 students, and I attained a mark of 79 in my coursework on the preliminary reference procedure. The coursework required a critical analysis of the relationship between national courts and the European Court of Justice. My aptitude for comprehending the problems faced by the supranational state in its mission to harmonise areas of law will allow me to have a more nuanced approached to the study of intellectual property law and commercial law.

3. How and why did you decide on a career within the legal profession? 500 words max.

During my work at real estate agencies in Estonia, namely Fried Frank, I found that I enjoyed dealing with commercial issues facing clients in the real estate sector. However, I wanted to gain exposure to many different business sectors. A career in the legal profession will expose me to clients of different organisational structures operating in various business sectors. This will see me work with clients to understand their business model as well as different opportunities and challenges facing their businesses. This will therefore expose me to unique problems and present me with a great variety of work which will make for a personally and professionally rewarding career in law.

I am a team player who enjoys working in teams. For example, I enjoy playing football at a professional level and feel that a career in the legal profession will present me with an opportunity to work in diverse legal teams whilst working on different cases. This will allow me to contribute my creativity and entrepreneurial mind set to devise innovative approaches and ideas to produce cutting edge solutions to unique and highly complex problems. Moreover, from the personal development point of view, working in diverse teams will expose me to new ideas and approaches, which will allow me to develop into a well-rounded and successful lawyer.

During my work experience at Paul Hastings, I attended a client meeting in Mayfair at which the client sought advice on winding up a company in the UK and incorporating a new company in the US to publicly trade on the US stock exchange. This experience contributed to my decision to become a lawyer because I thoroughly enjoyed working with clients to develop and apply legal solutions to their unique problems. As a lawyer, I will receive ample opportunity to work closely with clients to understand their businesses and apply unique commercially focussed solutions, which will make for an intellectually stimulating environment where every day is different and uniquely challenging.

4. Why have you applied to Boodle Hatfield LLP? 250 words max.

I have applied to Boodle Hatfield LLP because I would like to shape my legal career in Boodle Hatfield LLP’s leading and reputable art law practice. In September 2017, I will be commencing a master’s degree in Art, Law and Business at Christie’s. I am attracted by its rich experience going back hundreds of years, which I feel will provide me with an excellent learning environment. I find Boodle Hatfield LLP’s values to be closely attuned to my personal values, which I feel will make me a perfect fit at Boodle Hatfield LLP. Following my legal work experience, I have arrived at a decision that I would like to work for a private client law firm such as Boodle Hatfield LLP because it will provide me with plenty of opportunity to work closely with clients than it would be the case at larger law firms. Greater client interaction will expose me to different business sectors as well as allow me to understand different opportunities and threats facing clients which will allow me to develop into a well-rounded lawyer with decision-making abilities. The relatively small size of Boodle Hatfield LLP will allow me to make a contribution to my workload as well as see how my work contributes to the bigger picture, which will in turn help me to develop into a well-rounded lawyer.

5. Please include a covering letter in the space provided below. 250 words max.

Dear Sir / Madam

I graduated from the [University of Cambridge] with a [x] class degree in [insert subject] in [insert year] and I am currently pursing an LLM at LSE. I am applying for a training contract with Farrer & Co.

I would like to become a solicitor because I enjoy working at an intersection where law meets business. During my legal work experience, I found that every business presents its own challenges and nuances. For me, this means that no case will ever be the same as I will be required to think laterally and creatively to produce cutting-edge solutions. Given the global nature of commerce, a career as a solicitor will present me with an opportunity to work in truly international teams where I will be able to make my contributions, meet new people and produce innovative solutions to clients.

I have chosen to apply to Boodle Hatfield LLP because I am attracted by its relative small size and its rich history and traditions. I feel that this will make for a friendlier and inclusive environment where I will be able to remain myself at all times and focus on developing my strengths rather than adapting to what others want me to be. Equally, the fact that Boodle Hatfield LLP does a lot of private client work, I will receive an opportunity to work closely with clients, which I feel will make my work more rewarding in the sense that I will be able to better understand client requirements and deliver successful legal solutions. Moreover, by working in smaller teams, I will be able to receive a good level of responsibility and have an ability to see a case through from the beginning to end. This will help me to apply my entire skill set to add value to the cases I work on.

I thank you for your consideration and look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully