PWC LEGAL Training Contract Interview Preparation

Why Commercial Law?

• I will have an active role that will enable me to deal with a range of diverse and international clients ranging from financial and corporate institutions to private individuals.

• Exposure to a diverse range of international clients will increase the steepness of my learning path through practical experience of dealing with those clients as well as multi-jurisdictional issues. This will resultantly enhance my ability to deliver effective and timely solutions to individual client needs.

• I will have an active involvement in project management, making sure deadlines are met, colleagues are kept up to date and information is communicated to the client.

• Given that commercial law is both transactional and ongoing suggests that I will have to build a rapport with the client and apply strong communication skills coupled with high technical ability when forming a clear picture of the client’s needs and objectives and then explaining what may well be a complex area of law when advising on the best solution. This may require me to liaise with a number of legal departments thus making each day unique, enjoyable and fulfilling work experience.

• Having worked for a number of private clients at leading legal and commercial firms, [law firm] and [company name], I can attest to the importance of building and maintaining professional relationships.

• Being fluent in English, [language] and [language] I would be much interested in working on international deals whereby I would be exposed to a range of international clients and multiple jurisdictions. This would increase the steepness of my learning trajectory and increase my ability to progress within my career as a solicitor.

How does my career as a solicitor compare with other careers?

• At first I had thought of becoming an academic in law.

• I truly enjoy participating in legal discourse in the developments in the legal profession as I find both personally and professionally rewarding.

• having undertaken legal and financial work experience, I realised that I was attracted by the large and diverse client base to be found in the City.

• Firms in the City tend to have multi-jurisdictional practices and multiple locations across the globe allowing lawyers and paralegals to serve international clients.

Why PWC Legal?

• I am attracted by the small number of trainee intake• I feel will offer me bespoke training that is individually tailored to my interests, experience and aptitude.

• I will receive the excitement and challenge of working on high value, complex transactions and disputes, in the size of office where everyone knows who you are. For me this will mean getting involved in real work from the start whereby I will be able to add value to the cases I work on.

• What distinguishes PWC Legal is its multi disciplinary approach of working alongside experts within PwC, solutions are not pigeon-holed under the disciplines of accountancy, tax and law, and PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal LLP (through its relationship with PwC) provides its clients with a single seamless offering of legal, tax and consultancy expertise. A diverse workforce enhances creativity and PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal LLP strives to achieve and maintain diversity throughout the firm.

• the lawyers at PWC Legal LLP spend a significant part of their time working alongside clients and other professionals as part of a unique approach to the provision of integrated business services. Having worked for a number of commercial and financial institutions, I have learnt that knowledge of business allows one a better understanding of a client’s industry or sector of operation. This thus ensures that the legal solution closely matches the client’s business model. This ensures a quicker response to market conditions and confers a competitive advantage on the client as well as the law firm.

• This environment will unquestionably foster my professional and personal growth in my capacity as a lawyer therefore allowing me to provide PWC Legal’s clients with legal work of the highest quality.

What distinguishes me?

• I have a strong commercial background which is crucial in understanding a client’s needs and delivering an appropriate solution to their problem. Having worked for [company name] I developed a strong commercial background in the fields of conveyancing, investment decisions, portfolio management, and strategic decision making just to name a few.

• I am a very entrepreneurial individual with excellent leadership skills. I am the founding member and president of ‘[University] [Sport] Society’ and am currently managing seven executive members and overseeing the overall operation of the society. These skills would not only translate into my ability to effectively manage my caseload but also my ability to present innovative and effective solutions to clients. In my capacity as a student-staff liaison committee member I have developed my communication skills at both a student and a more senior level. This skill would allow me to successfully communicate with clients and solicitors on two different but nonetheless professional levels.

• My ability to switch between [language], [language] and English languages highlights my flexibility which could prove to be invaluable when dealing with a diverse range of both national and international calibre clients as well as being an excellent team player within the firm.

What skills does a lawyer need and how you possess them?

• Firstly, a lawyer must be able to devise innovative solutions at their own initiative to cater for clients’ needs, even if this means going outside their way.

• Secondly, a lawyer must be able to communicate both to clients (understand and deliver a solution) and teams (to ensure collaboration and contribution to project as well as harbouring a positive working atmosphere).

• In my capacity as a student-staff liaison committee member I have developed my communication skills at both a student and a more senior level. This skill would allow me to successfully communicate with clients and solicitors on two different but nonetheless professional levels.

• A lawyer must be flexible and accommodate new ideas to adapt to the changing needs of the client ( to provide pragmatic and integrated advice and solutions) and the legal profession.

• Last summer I worked for [law firm] where I had to communicate to a range of [language] speaking clients. My ability to switch between [language], [language] and English languages highlights my flexibility which could prove to be invaluable when dealing with a diverse range of both national and international calibre clients as well as being an excellent team player within the firm.

A mix of these attributes is thus crucial in forming a close working relationship with the client as well as harbouring a positive relationship within the team. This effectively helps with the delivery of a time-efficient and effective solution which thus adds value to the clients business as well as the law firm.

Biggest achievement?

• This year I have successfully set up a ‘[University] [Sport] Club’, which was unsuccessfully attempted for over fifty years.

• After much consideration the sports committee allowed [university] University to form an affiliation with the ‘[university name] [Sport] Club’. From then on I had to attend multiple meetings with the ‘[university name] [Sport] Club’ to decide how to best merge the two clubs together, which admittedly was very time consuming and stressful because ‘[University] [Sport] Club’ was not officially recognised. Lack of recognition prevented us from receiving sponsorship. I established a ‘[Sport] Appreciation Society’ to promote [Sport] at [university] University and act as a proxy for the affiliate club. This official society gained the ‘[University] [Sport] Club’ recognition which means that we can start marketing the club and receiving support from various organisations.

Rewards I expect in my career

• The biggest reward in my career as a solicitor would be to learn the UK, US and [language] jurisdictions (even if that means slightly going out of my way) and consequently become a successful international lawyer.

• Throughout my life I have lived in the US, [country], [country] and UK. I am therefore able to freely interchange between [language], English and [language] languages. This flexibility has vested me with an interest in exploring and comparing different jurisdictions and more importantly I find that my diplomacy skills would be very successful and effective when transacting with international clients.

• Eventually, I would like to become a partner at an international law firm and contribute to its overall strategy and direction. This would vest me with great management and leadership responsibilities with a great degree of challenge whilst operating alongside other international law firms. My dual role in managing the firm and providing legal services would help to make my career more entrepreneurial and rewarding.

Currently, I am working towards my ambition by undertaking to do Master of Laws (LLM) in International Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation to get a better overview of law in a global perspective as well as to enhance my understanding of finance, so as to produce a more integrated solution to the client’s needs. I have greatly enjoyed transacting with a diverse range of financial and institutional clients whilst undertaking work experience with [LAW FIRM], [LAW FIRM] and [BANK]. I would now like to practice law in a successful international firm that provides integrated solutions and seamless advice, and I believe that PWC LEGAL is a firm of such calibre.

Build and Sustain Relationships

• I have built and maintained a positive professional relationship with a partner at [law firm].

• Throughout my vacation scheme I was assigned to a partner at the firm with whom I worked on a daily basis. I feel that by accompanying the partner to meetings and using my initiative to assume a greater load of responsibility at work has given the partner an impression that I was very enthusiastic and committed to a career as a solicitor. Having completed the work scheme I have gained a good insight into the work of a solicitor in a medium sized firm.

• The partner at [law firm] was very keen to help me achieve success in the future and see me through my university career. This resulted in the partner communicating with me regarding my progress at university and any difficulties that I may have. Whenever I am in London and the partner is free I always make an effort to see them and have a chat about their work and developments in the legal profession.

The help I received from the partner was invaluable in helping to boost my knowledge of the legal world and my confidence levels, which has contributed to my overall success in academic and personal life.

Manage Projects and Economics

Delivering work to high quality standards is essential to PwC. We will be asking you to tell us about how you have managed your workload and utilised appropriate resources to meet deadlines.

Changing priorities/workloads

During my second year of studies I have worked at the local [Retail Store] on a part-time basis to gain an insight into the commercial world. Initially, I had less academic work and so could therefore work longer hours. However, as the term progressed, I had to start preparing for my exams but at the same time [Retail Store] wanted me to work more regularly so as to cope with increasing customer demand. Having consulted my schedule I realised that I would not be able to work longer hours and so therefore approached the manager and explained him the situation. We both agreed on a more flexible arrangement that would suit me and [Retail Store]. As a result, I both managed to cope with my studies and still work on a part-time basis, which shows my excellent time-management and organisational skills.

Courage

• This year I have successfully set up a ‘[University] [Sport] Club’, which was unsuccessfully attempted for over fifty years.

• When starting up a new sports club, the University has to follow a set procedure that must comply with certain rules. When starting up a [Sport] club I therefore went through all the rules to ensure full compliance.

• Having been called to a meeting regarding the new club, the sports committee decided that a [Sport] club was not viable simply because there were not enough facilities and a threat of a potential expansion.

• I pointed out the full benefits of amateur [Sport] to students at both a competing level and a more casual level, and went as far as to show the viability of the club by drawing a list of potential participants we could have (most of the people had very distinguished sporting backgrounds, with some having even [done the sport] at an Olympic level). Moreover, I even suggested that individual sports contribute four-fold as many points in competitions as team sports, and yet the University is continually sponsoring less successful team sports when the [Sport] club has evidence of unprecedented success.

• The University finally agreed to open an amateur [Sport] club after much consideration.

Lead and Contribute to Team Success

Recently, I had undertaken a ‘law in practice’ module where as a group we had to work in a simulated solicitor’s environment. We remained a strong and fully functioning team right up until the end of the case. Throughout the course, we had to each allocate each other tasks (for example some of us were responsible for preparing examination in chief whereas other had to prepare the cross-examination). During our meetings we exchanged information we are working on and the overall progress of the case. I contributed to the team success not only by accomplishing the set task, but by also assuming a leadership role in preparing an overall ‘case evaluation’ schedule whereby I aimed to ensure overall consistency of the case. I found that this addition to the team helped to give team members a better sense of direction and to see how their contribution fits-in within the framework of the entire case. Sometimes I had to go out of my prescribed tasks to ensure we were all working toward the client’s needs but ultimately this paid off in the trial where we secured a victory for our client.

Communicate with Impact and Empathy, influencing

I am currently an executive of the [university] [language] Speaking Society where we host events for anyone interested in [language] language and [language] culture. At an executive meeting we were discussing our most popular night event known as [NAME OF STUDENTS' NIGHTCLUB EVENT] where people gather in the students union and dance and interact. Currently, [NAME OF STUDENTS' NIGHTCLUB EVENT] only plays pre-recorded mainstream music. Knowing that our university has many DJ’s (even within the [language] Speaking Society) I proposed that we have a DJ that could play their music in between the popular pre-recorded tracks so as to add some variety to the night (for instance the DJ could do shout-outs to people). I therefore endorsed my idea to the executive committee by emphasising the benefits of such an approach and ease of setting such a system in place so as to avoid any potential doubt. I also went on to make a suggestion how [NAME OF STUDENTS' NIGHTCLUB EVENT] could even expand. For example, I proposed that the [UNIVERSITY] RADIO (RAW) play [NAME OF STUDENTS' NIGHTCLUB EVENT] music live so as to make the [NAME OF STUDENTS' NIGHTCLUB EVENT] event popular not just at [university] but also amongst other universities. Finally, the executive committee was very enthusiastic about my idea and voted in favour.

Develop Self and Others through Coaching

My Strengths

One of my biggest strengths is my communication skills. I work very well with all kinds of people, and understand that everyone has different perspectives about projects and work tasks, so when I work with others I realise that everyone comes to the table with different priorities and objectives. I keep this in mind when I communicate tasks that need to be accomplished with positive reinforcement and awareness of what others are working on. I am also a very quick learner always willing to embrace new challenges and seek solutions under my own initiative. For example, last summer I worked in the area of research on health and safety course for enforcement officers. I was given a ‘take-home’ task whereby I had to utilise my problem-solving skills and come up with suitable solutions without much direct assistance from the project supervisor.

My Weakness

My greatest weakness is that I like to complete tasks to the highest standard possible by going out of my way. For example, whilst working for [law firm] last summer, I had to prepare a handout on tax information exchange agreements (TIEA’s) for a [language] client. Besides collecting all information, I actually placed more emphasis on information that was applicable to the client. I did further research into the client’s business and place of operation, which allowed me to make my research more expansive and relevant to the client’s needs. I also did a translation of the handout into [language] and used client’s industry-specific examples regarding the operation of some agreements and applicable taxes. By exceeding my expectations I was aiming to ensure that my work was of the highest quality and helped the client to feel more comfortable when reading legal material. I did this in the hope of increasing client retention rate and establishing an amiable and professional relationship between the client and the firm. The senior solicitor was very impressed and eventually provided me with more demanding tasks entailing a greater degree of responsibility

Others

I am currently the founding member and the President of the [university] [Sport] Club. I am also the club’s main trainer. After each training session I do individual evaluations of [sportsman]s. However, each time I give everyone feedback I try to do so in a very encouraging and positive manner. For example, I never say that anyone is not good enough, I just mention what each person needs to work on so as to improve. In the following session I try to point out to individuals how they have improved and the results so as to encourage their ambition and motivation to develop even further every single day.

Be Curious: Learn, Share and Innovate

Whilst working for [COMPANY NAME], I was involved in a conveyancing project whereby I had to assist my manager with developing several properties. A part of the project required the firm to decorate houses with various furnishing before they are put on the market so as to add value to the final purchase price. At the time, furnishings were stored in 5 different locations and the manager had to vaguely remember where she could find what she was looking for. Instead, I managed to develop a simple database using MicrosoftAccess. Whenever items were delivered or taken out from respective storage area: the database was updated. By learning from the inefficiency attributed to the old storage and retrieval process, I decided to contribute to the success of the firm by introducing an efficient monitoring tool. The manager complimented my system numerously and found it very efficient and time-saving, which meant that now she could dedicate more time to alternative and more important activities than having to waste time going to several stores before she found whatever she was looking for.

Commercial awareness, stakeholders and implications

• I was particularly attracted by the landmark ruling in the Supreme Court on bank charges. The Supreme Court had refused to give the Office of Fair Trading the right to investigate the fairness of unauthorised overdraft charges.

• This case is significant especially in the light of the current economic climate as an estimated one million customers who have lodged demands for the return of their money are likely to be turned down unless they can prove that they are suffering financial hardship.

• The key stakeholders in this ruling are bank customers and banks. The implication of this decision for the banks is that they can charge whatever they like, irrespective of whether it is fair or reasonable. Some stakeholders, notably bank customers, stress that the banks ought to remember that taxpayers have handed them a big cheque to bail them out.

• On the other hand, despite widespread opposition to overdraft charges, the millions of bank customers who do not incur any charges and therefore receive their current account services at no cost, or even receive interest, will welcome the Supreme Court’s decision. If the banks had lost, it could have cost the industry up to £3 billion a year in lost revenue and led to refund payments of up to £10 billion. The implication for bank customers would have been the introduction of monthly account charges and increases in other fees, such as cash machine withdrawals, as the banks look to recoup the lost revenue.

area of law or public/ reformed

Having closely observed and followed the Cadbury takeover and drawing on my knowledge from the ‘Law of Business Organisations’ module, I am of opinion that there should also be a requirement for shareholders and not just the board of directors in bidding companies to have access to independent advice to make up their minds on any bid. Following the Cadbury takeover by Kraft, reform of City takeover code is high on the agenda. The main premise for the reform is that the takeover rules should be changed to benefit companies' workforces rather than short-term City speculators following the Cadbury sale. In my view, it is the banks who really profit from this takeover, and Cadbury’s is no exception. One driver of the financial bubble has been that banks ended up serving their own bonus culture at the expense of both customers and shareholders. Short-term market pressures encourage mergers and acquisitions irrespective of whether they make long term economic sense for their shareholders, their employees or the wider economy. This takeover raises some fundamental questions about the over-active market for corporate control and the destruction of shareholder (and other stakeholder) value that goes with it. Most takeovers fail, and policy needs to be reformed both to make hostile takeovers more difficult and to take back the power for government to intervene if need be.

current business issues. PWC LEGAL and Client Service

Mergers & Acquisitions

What motivates me to put forward my greatest effort?

• I am a person who likes to see things done right to the end and I am very results-driven person.

• I particularly like to see how my contribution to a task or a project adds value to the final outcome.

• This summer I worked for [law firm] alongside a partner in the employment department. I assisted the solicitor with legal research, compilation of a bundle and accompanied her to various meetings. I was normally assigned a certain task each day. However, having completed assigned tasks earlier than expected; I was very keen to take on more responsibility to see the broader picture of the case. I therefore used my initiative at the workplace by observing the solicitor and going outside my prescribed tasks for the day.

• I noticed that taking small steps such as researching a case or legal commentary helped to push the case forward at a faster pace. I later discovered that assuming more responsibility added another dimension to the case which the solicitor found very helpful especially in terms of producing innovative solutions.

Having been given the responsibility to work on a high-profile case I felt motivated to challenge myself intellectually and follow my contribution through to the end of the case.

Challenging situation

• This year I have successfully set up a ‘[University] [Sport] Club’, which has been unsuccessfully attempted for over fifty years.

• The main reason for there not being a [Sport] club at the university is because the sports committee had health and safety concerns regarding the nature of the sport. However, having [done the sport] at both national and international level, I was instinctively led to adopt a different view. Therefore, when approaching the sports committee in meetings I had to resort to another perspective and mitigate its concerns. I got many people interested in the sport and invited them to come along to the meeting with the sports panel so as to present a broader perspective on the sport, bearing in mind that the majority of these people have not done [Sport] before.

• I dealt with the problem by establishing a ‘[Sport] Appreciation Society’ to promote [Sport] at [university] University and act as a proxy for the affiliate club. This official society gained the ‘[University] [Sport] Club’ recognition which means that we can start marketing the club and receiving support from various organisations.

I feel that my perseverance and ambition allowed me to put my greatest effort to start this club. Despite all the challenges, I had set myself a results-driven target and by utilising my outstanding inter-personal skills I have achieved this target which is both personally and professionally rewarding.

Achievements, positions of responsibility, interests

I have received a ‘[award name]’ award for receiving the highest grades at A-Level and GCSE in my institutions of study. I have [done the sport] in the Four Nations tournament and have won over fifty trophies at national level.

Firstly, I am a third year law representative for the student-staff liaison committee where I am responsible for communicating student concerns about the operation of the [university] Law School to staff in regular meetings. Secondly, I am a very pro-active member of the [university] [language] Speaking Society ([SOCIETY INITIALS]) whereby I am actively involved in organising and managing [SOCIETY INITIALS] socials. Thirdly, I am a very zealous member of the ‘[society]’ society. In the past I have been in projects aimed to save electricity and helping the local wildlife, such as switching off unused computers in the library during vacation breaks. Fourthly, I am regularly involved in mooting competitions where I get the opportunity to exercise my analytical and advocacy skills amongst like-minded individuals in a competitive environment. On a sportier note, I greatly enjoy amateur [Sport]. With over fifty amateur bouts I have [done the sport] at national level and represented England in the Four Nations Tournament. I have managed to open an on-campus [Sport] club which has not been done for over fifty years. In my spare time I also enjoy playing [sport] and am a very dedicated member of the university’s [sport] club. Recently I was selected to represent [University] in the [sport] Nationals.

Easy and difficult areas of degree?

Throughout the advanced competition module I have developed an interest in the ‘refusal to supply’ cases. I was particularly fascinated by the decision of the EC in Microsoft where it was held to be anti-competitive to refuse to supply interoperability data to its competitors. The Microsoft case however produced a split between US and EU competition law on the subject of consumer welfare. The EU approach focuses on innovation by competitors in order to increase competition in the market and to give consumers a better deal. On the other side of the Atlantic, the US approach generally focuses on overall innovation in the market and efficiency for consumers rather than which company fostered the innovation in question and whether existing competitors might be shut out as technology markets evolve. I specifically enjoyed having to consider the debate on the policy issues underlying the aims of competition law in both EC and US jurisdictions.

Having to write a twelve thousand word dissertation on ‘[dissertation title]’ was a rather daunting task at the beginning simply because there is no consensus on the subject. Instead, I not only explored competing perspectives, but I also related the subject of equity to its root origins of natural law and attempted to justify a new, more philosophical perspective through philosophers such Aristotle and Christopher St. German.

Qualities that make me likely succeed in a commercial law firm

I am a very entrepreneurial individual with excellent leadership skills. I am the founding member and president of ‘[University] [Sport] Society’ (which had not been done for over fifty years) and am currently managing seven executive members and overseeing the overall operation of the society. These skills would not only translate into my ability to effectively manage my caseload but also my ability to present innovative and effective solutions to clients.

In my capacity as a student-staff liaison committee member I have developed my communication skills at both a student and a more senior level. This skill would allow me to successfully communicate with clients and solicitors on two different but nonetheless professional levels.

My ability to switch between [language], [language] and English languages highlights my flexibility which could prove to be invaluable when dealing with a diverse range of both national and international calibre clients as well as being an excellent team player within the firm. Last summer, I worked for [law firm] where I had to deal with predominantly international clients, namely [language] speakers. I was therefore required to tailor my research to a [language] context and present possible solutions to the client in [language]. This meant that whilst doing research on the common law jurisdiction in English I managed to switch into [language] when presenting solutions to the client, which illustrates my capability to deal with international clients successfully.

Challenges to the legal profession

Conventional legal advisers will be much less prominent in society than today and, in some walks of life, will have no visibility at all. This, I believe, is where we will be taken by two forces: by a market pull towards commoditisation and by pervasive development and uptake of information technology. Commoditisation and IT will shape and characterise 21st century legal service. More specifically, the challenge I lay down here is for all lawyers to introspect, and to ask themselves, with their hands on their hearts, what elements of their current workload could be undertaken differently — more quickly, cheaply, efficiently, or to a higher quality — using alternative methods of working. In other words, the challenge for legal readers is to identify their distinctive skills and talents, the capabilities that they possess that cannot, crudely, be replaced by advanced systems or by less costly workers supported by technology or standard processes, or by lay people armed with online self-help tools.

The market is increasingly unlikely to tolerate expensive lawyers for tasks (guiding, advising, drafting, researching, problem-solving and more) that can equally or better be discharged, directly or indirectly, by smart systems and processes. It follows that the jobs of many traditional lawyers will be substantially eroded and often eliminated. At the same time, I foresee new law jobs emerging which may be highly rewarding, even if very different from those of today.

How does the company plan to develop over the next five years?

Will there be opportunities to use my language skills?

Does the firm have any plans to expand into [country]?