What attracts you to a career as a solicitor at an international business law firm

Please state your non-academic activities and interests, indicating any positions of responsibility held, and any particular achievements you would like to mention. (400 words max)*

I have an interest in commerce and recently, I founded a pioneering business in the entertainment industry. I am currently helping staff at all levels and working closely with the management to grow the business. I am a representative of a company specialising in innovative payment systems in the UK (prepaid cards and e-wallets) and working with businesses in emerging markets to integrate this financial model into their operations. Outside the office hours, I run [sport] sessions at the [law firm] gym. At university, I pioneered the University of [university] Amateur [sport] Club for the first time in fifty years. In my second year of university, I helped to develop an innovative initiative to reduce the university’s carbon footprint by switching off all unused desktops during vacation breaks. I was a member of the Student-Staff Liaison Committee in my second year. At university, I was selected to represent [university] University in the national [sport] championships. In [year], I was awarded the [award]for academic excellence at GCSE and A-Level. At the sixth form, I secured a second place in the International French Debate. In [year], I won a gold medal for England in the [English sports tournament name] [sport] Tournament and had over 60 amateur [sport] bouts.

Please explain what attracts you to a career as a solicitor at an international business law firm, with reference to other careers that you might have considered. Please include in your answer an explanation of what attracts you to Dechert. (400 words max)*

I want to become a solicitor at an international business law firm because I enjoy dealing with commercial problems in a quick paced environment. As a solicitor, I will receive broad exposure to businesses of all shapes and sizes and sectors. In order to devise an optimal solution for clients, I will have to learn how their businesses function, the markets they operate in and the challenges they face.

This knowledge will enable me to manipulate and apply law creatively in order to meet unique requirements of different commercial organisations. At [law firm] , I especially enjoyed working in teams across different time zones to solve complex problems. This allowed me to view the problem I was working on in the London office within a more international framework and made me a privy to different ideas and perspectives. In effect, this made my work environment highly stimulating and rewarding.

I had considered a career as a compliance officer in a bank as I have an interest in finance. Following my extensive work experience at a number of law firms, I decided to become a solicitor because I will be presented with more scope to work across multiple legal disciplines and a diverse range of high-profile clients which will make my work environment very stimulating and rewarding. Whereas, a career in the compliance sector would restrict my opportunities since I would predominantly deal with banking-related matters and a limited range of clients.

I am attracted by the firm’s strong global capabilities because this will expose me to complex cross-jurisdictional problems and enable me to operate in diverse teams across the firm’s different offices. This will see me constantly push boundaries and set new standards, which will make my experience challenging, stimulating and rewarding. What sets Dechert apart from other firms is its culture of teamwork and collaboration which will enable me to receive exposure to high quality and exciting work across the firm and according to the needs of the clients. This will enable me to pursue my interests freely and provide me with a broad exposure which will ultimately help me to realise my full potential and develop into a leading solicitor.

If applicable, please state any additional information which you think is relevant to your application or which you think has not been covered adequately in this form. (400 words max)