Law Training Contract Application Specialists
Hogan Lovells opens its applications to all students in mid to late September, with the deadline being the end of January. Applications for law students open on the 1st June and finish at the end of July.
The firm has more than 45 offices globally, is more than 100 years old, has more than 2800 lawyers, and they speak more than 70 languages, working across more than 24 countries. Hogan Lovells is a transatlantic firm, the combination of the UK’s Lovells law firm and the US’s Hogan & Hartson – the two merging more than a decade ago. It is now one of the largest law firms in the world. It came ninth in the list of highest-grossing law firms, with a revenue of $2.3B in 2019-2020.
The firm’s offices are in every continent of the world, bar Antarctica, and the firm has 56 rankings for its international work, as well as 59 rankings in Chambers UK from the two UK offices.
Techniques, Insight & Past Interview Scenarios With Example Answers
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Tips, Techniques & Insight from Training Contract Specialists & Past Successful Applicants
The firm is proud of the fact that more than half of its London partners began their careers as partners at the firm. That means that they understand what you’re facing and what you’re going through, and can help you to succeed. Dedicated supervisors are there to help you, and have been trained in how to coach and motivate you. Over the course of your two-year training contract you will take on four six-month seats across different practice groups. The training contract has been developed to ensure that you are immersed as quickly as possible in the work that you will be doing – which means live projects for real clients from the outset.
The assessment day at Hogan Lovells is intended to be a ‘two-way process’ that allows candidates to find out about the firm, as well as the other way round. The assessment day consists of an interview with two partners or a partner and a senior associate – here, they will assess your motivations, understanding of commercial law, and your understanding of and interest in the world of commerce; a situational interview, in which you respond to a common situation, assessed by a senior associate and a member of the graduate recruitment team; a group exercise that tests how you work in a team, as well as your commercial awareness and how you can express ideas to others; and lastly, a virtual networking session with trainee solicitors.
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The Situational Interview
Previous applicants outline that the situational interview was ‘designed to assess how one would react to everyday situations that trainees may find themselves in.’ There are no right or wrong answers. Questions have included:
– ‘You are staying late in the office tonight because you are leaving work early tomorrow to go away for the weekend. A partner invites you to a client dinner. How would you respond?’
– A first seat trainee is being quite rude to support staff and this is beginning to rub off on you and other trainees. You hear support staff complaining about the “trainee attitude”. How would you respond?’
The Partner Interview
Questions here are reputedly fairly typical. Examples have included:
– Why are you interested in Law at Hogan Lovells?
– Why are you interested in commercial law in particular?
– What is a particular commercial issue that you’ve been following recently?
– What do you believe the role of a trainee here is?
– How can you demonstrate resilience to us?
– How is Hogan Lovells different from other law firms that you’ve applied to?
– Why not the civil service, if you’re interested in commerce and processes?
– What do you think senior lawyers do here on a daily basis?
– Which parts of the practice would be involved in an M&A deal?
– What other firms have you applied to?
– What do you know about project financing?
– Why did you take a vacation scheme at [firm]?
– Why did you not take a vacation scheme during your second year of studies?
– Why Law at university?
– What do you think the benefits of secondments to other offices are?
– If you could open a new office, where would you open it and why?
