Winston & Strawn Training Contract Prep

INTERVIEW PREPARATION
PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED
TO PRESERVE THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF THE
APPLICANT
TCapp © 2015 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
1

 Small London Office = small teams
of partners and associates in a
highly integrated way. This will
ensure that I receive highly focused
personal training by gaining a
hands-on experience on important
matters.
 Global Capabilities = 15 offices +
cross-border deals + work with
colleagues from other offices
across the world + privy to new
ideas, approaches and culture +
see new perspective to cases.
Desire to work at international
office to view the legal industry
from another jurisdiction + learn
about local conditions.
2

 Collegiate culture: work personally & prof.
Rewarding/support during tc
 Emerging markets: challenging and
developing markets + navigate difficult
landscapes & deal with novel and complex
problems + utilise my knowledge of Russian
markets acquired during employment and
my language skills to + constantly push
borders & set new standards + stimulating
 Leading energy practice: having worked on
several high-profile energy matters, I
developed a strong interest in this sector
because it is of paramount importance in
today’s world and is influenced by many
factors including commercial, political,
environmental just to name a few, which will
effectively present me with constant
challenges and expose me to different areas
of law.
3

 Career as a solicitor- varied,
challenging and engaging. Uni-
enjoyed applying and manipulating
law to hypothetical scenarios during
my modules and mooting
competitions because it stimulated
my intellectual curiosity since every
situation was never the same and
required a different approach.
 Teamwork- globalisation of
commerce + novel and complex
problems + in integrated teams with
a commercial focus on the problem
in a quick-paced environment with
approaching deadlines. At
[intentionally omitted], I especially
enjoyed working with my colleagues
from the Moscow and New York
offices as this exposed me to new
ideas, allowed me to view case from
different jurisdiction and allowed me
to forge new contacts.
4

 Initiative, drive and commitment
 ‘[intentionally omitted] Club’ in
2010 and was the president of the
society.
 People and the Planet Society, I
helped to introduce and develop
social responsibility initiatives at
University. I had successfully
organised and developed a scheme
whereby all unused desktops in the
library were turned off during the
vacation breaks to help reduce the
University’s carbon footprint.
5

 Commercial acumen: I learnt how
businesses operate and their
requirements which has enabled
me to produce pragmatic solutions
that are in tune with clients’
requirements ([intentionally
omitted] - central point of contact,
constantly dealing with the client
and took part in BoD EGM which
enabled me to understand how a
businesses operate and their
requirements, deliver effective and
pragmatic solution)
6

 Organisational and time-
management skills, I am able to
work in a quick-paced environment
to meet tight deadlines and
prioritise my workload
([intentionally omitted], when
finalising a memorandum for an
IPO, I updated the memorandum in
real time to incorporate the
comments of different parties to
the discussion, which required me
to be well organised and prioritise
my tasks)
7

 I like to ask questions that go
outside the scope of a task I am
working on because I like to learn
new things.
 Can’t resist a caramel Sundae at
Macdonals.
8

 At [intentionally omitted], I worked in a
group of solicitors when preparing an
Initial Offering Memorandum for a
luxury goods company. I was required
to proofread and amend the
Memorandum once new comments
have been inserted. Having received
handwritten mark-ups from several
associates, I have noticed overlaps and
inconsistency in commentary between
the solicitors. In order to save the
memorandum from going back and
forth and save us time, I devised a
global list of standard terms and sent it
out to each solicitor. The list of terms
helped us to avoid duplication, saved us
time and allowed us to meet the
deadline.
9

 In my second year at university, I was
invited by a friend to polo lessons. I
have not done it before and found
lessons daunting and sometimes even
painful. For example, I found it very
difficult to keep my balance on the
horse and at the same time manoeuvre
the mallet to hit the ball. To improve, I
watched others play and asked my
coach to teach me how to ride first.
After each lesson, I identified my weak
areas and took additional lessons in
order to improve on them and
progress. During chukkas, made
progress and learnt new skills. After
about six weeks, I was selected to
represent my university at the National
Polo Championships.
10

 At [intentionally omitted], I assisted the
senior partner on a cross-border case
comprising of a shareholder dispute in a
joint venture vehicle. As the client could
only speak Russian, I was the first point of
contact. The client requested that I attend
the Board of Directors EGM of a natural
resources joint venture in Amsterdam. At
the EGM, I acted as an interpreter
between the Russian shareholders and
English and Dutch solicitors. I maintained
a thick skin and resourcefully tailored my
communication for diverse audiences. I
applied a sharp analytical mind to explain
complex issues in a simple language and
made sense of a complicated situation. I
was required to think on my feet and see
things from a business perspective and
always align myself with client’s
commercial objectives whilst managing to
remain robust and calm under pressure.
This is an important achievement for me
because I performed well under pressure
and successfully applied problem-solving
skills to produce real-time answers to
complex questions. I have become more
commercially astute and developed my
organisational and team-work skills.
11

 A good commercial lawyer should
possess strong teamwork and
communication skills because they will
be required to work in teams on
common projects. At [intentionally
omitted], I operated in a team when
conducting document review during
the disclosure stage. In order to meet a
tight deadline, I was required to closely
collaborate with others to gauge our
progress and prioritise tasks. I was
always forthcoming with ideas on how
to streamline our operations and re-
allocate work according to skill sets
within the team. I demonstrated a
capacity to lead and motivate the team
whilst taking into account the views of
team members.
12

 A good commercial lawyer should be
commercially aware and have strong
problem-solving skills in order to be
able to offer solutions to most complex
commercial problems facing their
clients. At [intentionally omitted] I
attended a Board of Directors EGM in
my capacity as an interpreter between
a Russian client and English and Dutch
solicitors. At the EGM, I was required to
think on my feet and see things from a
business perspective and always align
myself with client’s commercial
objectives. By the end of the meeting,
the solicitors had a clear understanding
of the needs of the client and were able
to proceed to the next stage.
13

 A good commercial lawyer should have
good attention to detail and
organisational skills because they will
be required to perform multiple tasks
accurately and to tight deadlines. At
[intentionally omitted], I demonstrated
meticulous attention to detail and
organisational skills when cross-
referencing expert valuation reports
against the court’s database. I was very
discerning and structured and
prioritised my work because I had to
sift through a vast amount of technical
information and ensure that all
references corresponded to the content
of the report.
14

 Outside work, I have a real passion for
business, [intentionally omitted], reading
and travelling. Recently, I founded a
business in the [intentionally omitted]
industry with a pioneering concept that is
helping to transform the events
management landscape. I am currently
overseeing staff at all levels and working
closely with a range of businesses in
integrating this concept into their
operations. Similarly, I am working with a
company specialising in innovative
payment systems in the UK to introduce
this model to countries in the emerging
markets, notably Eastern Europe and
Russia. With a passion for [intentionally
omitted], I am running training sessions at
[intentionally omitted] gym where I teach
[intentionally omitted] techniques and
help people achieve their personal goals
through sport At university, I helped to
develop an innovative initiative to reduce
the university’s carbon footprint by
switching off all unused desktops during
vacation breaks. In the past, I won a gold
medal for England and had over fifty
[intentionally omitted]. I was awarded the
[intentionally omitted] for academic
excellence at GCSE and A-Level.
15

 During my employment with [intentionally
omitted], I was asked to accompany the
client and solicitors to a board of directors
EGM in Amsterdam in my capacity as an
interpreter. Contrary to our expectations,
the shareholders were intent on passing a
resolution that would have severe
implications for the client. During our
short strategy meeting new information
came to light which added to the
complexity of the client’s matter and
baffled everyone. Having built up a good
working knowledge of the client’s
business and the market they operate in, I
quickly took initiative and went directly to
the heart of the client’s problem by clearly
explaining how the new information ties
in with the commercial context and its
likely effects on the client’s position. In
the process, I managed to demonstrate
strong leadership skills and a propensity
for lateral thinking which enabled us to
devise a successful strategy which in the
end protected the client’s position and
resulted in a favourable outcome.
16

 THINGS TO NOTE [Tcapp]:
 AT THE INTERVIEW, THE INTERVIEWERS
ARE LIKELY TO START THE INTERVIEW
BY HAVING A QUICK GLANCE OVER
YOUR CV AND SPOTTING SOMETHING
THEY KNOW, SUCH AS A FIRM FOR
EXAMPLE. I.E. “SO, HOW DID YOU FIND
YOUR TIME AT CLIFFORD CHANCE? I
WAS A PARTNER THERE PRIOR COMING
TO THIS FIRM”. THIS WILL CALL FOR A
NATURAL ANSWER BASED ON YOUR
EXPERIENCE.
 DO NOT OVER-EMPHASISE YOUR
LANGUAGE SKILLS AS PER MY
COMMENT ABOVE. PREFERABLY, TIE IT
IN WITH ANOTHER POINT FOR ADDED
EMPHASIS AND SAY WHY THIS WILL
BENEFIT WINSTON.
17

 IF YOU ARE GIVEN A VERY DIFFICULT
QUESTION OR SOMETHING YOU CANNOT
ANSWER, DO NOT BLAG YOUR WAY
THROUGH. TELL THE INTERVIEWER YOU DO
NOT HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION ON IT TO
PROVIDE AN ANSWER. WHEN A CLIENT ASKS
A LAWYER A QUESTION TO WHICH THE
LAWYER DOES NOT HAVE AN ANSWER, THE
LAWYER SHOULD NOT PROVIDE ANY
ANSWER TO A CLIENT AS THIS CAN HAVE
SERIOUS LEGAL IMPLICATIONS IF A CLIENT
RELIES ON IT TO THEIR DETRIMENT. FOR
EXAMP-LE, IF YOU ARE GIVEN A QUESTION
ON THE CURRENT AFFAIRS AND YOU KNOW
NOTHING ABOUT IT, JUST SAY THAT YOU
HAVE NOT HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT YET
AS YOU HAVE BEEN BUSY ON A CASE FOR
EXAMPLE AND THAT YOU ARE CURIOUS TO
GET THE INTERVIEWER’S PERSPECTIVE ON IT.
THIS SHOWS YOUR INTEREST AND WILL HELP
YOU TO FORGE A POSITIVE CONTACT WITH
THE INTERVIEWER.
18

 IF YOU ARE ASKED WHAT OTHER LAW
FIRMS YOU HAVE APPLIED TO, TRY TO
MENTION A COMPETITOR OF WINSTON
STRAWN AS THIS WILL SHOW THAT
YOU ARE COMMITTED TO A CERTAIN
CLASS OF COMPANIES. WINSTON MAY
FEEL IN COMPETITION WITH THE
OTHER FIRM FOR YOU!
 SPEAK CLEARLY AND LOGICALLY- THIS IS
WHAT BEING LAWYER IS ABOUT.
 I HAVE NOTICED THAT YOU HAVE A
TENDENCY TO USE COMPLEX WORDS
THAT SOMETIMES DO NOT FIT INTO
THE CONTEXT. IF YOU CAN FIND A
MORE SIMPLE WORD, USE IT INSTEAD.
19

Winston & Strawn Training Contract Prep

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Winston & Strawn Training Contract Prep

Similar to Winston & Strawn Training Contract Prep (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Winston & Strawn Training Contract Prep