CityLawLIVE: a fantastic event for aspiring solicitors

The CityLawLIVE event, held in December last year, was an incredibly useful way to spend a Saturday! I also attended in February 2012 as a first-year law student and both experiences were fantastic. However, attending as a second-year law student made my Christmas vacation less stressful: armed with the top tips I received, preparing the application forms for vacation schemes was a smoother process. I wondered how the organisers could improve on the previous event, but they managed to offer two great workshops, guarantee delegates a place at the 15-minute application surgery and allow more networking time with the firms throughout the day.

The application surgery and networking were the two most valuable opportunities on offer and, if you were well prepared, it was possible to get some tailored advice with regards to application process. At the application surgery, you were advised to bring a CV, a cover letter and a recently completed form. With the CV, the most useful advice I received was how to structure it: I was told that while the content of student CVs are often fantastic, they do not necessarily know how to "sell" it. It is not about listing all your achievements, but instead making them relevant to the area or the firm you are applying to. Therefore, highlighting key skills that you have developed through legal or non-legal work experience is an absolute must. This one to one, high-quality advice was incredibly helpful: I have now cut out unnecessary parts of my CV and added those key skills. I now have a CV that gets to the point; it does not tell the recruiter every single thing about me, but definitely catches their eye. It is important to have a good base document like this even though most law firms offer online application forms, because you have a one-two page summary of key experiences and skills which is useful to refer to when preparing forms or even before an interview.

In terms of the application form and cover letter, what I really wanted to ask was how to make each form relevant to the firm you were applying to; some questions are really similar and it is tempting to cut and paste. As most of the application doctors are  graduate recruiters or experienced lawyers, they have a wealth of experience in this area. One of the top tips I received was linking the experience I had to the firm I was applying to, showing the key skills required by a firm through specific examples. The next query I had was how to answer the question, "Why commercial law". I felt that at times my answers did not feel genuine. I was advised to go back to basics and ask myself why I wanted to do law in the first place, whether as a university subject or as a career, why it was interesting, why I enjoyed it and what I could learn from it. This was useful as it allowed me to formulate some good answers, rather than staring at a blank screen!

There were some great firms in attendance: SJ Berwin, Edwards Wildman, Baker & McKenzie, Weil Gotshal, Eversheds, Ashurst, Skadden and Clyde & Co. It was possible to network during refreshment breaks and an extended lunch. I would really advise doing some research on the firms beforehand and having some questions ready. There were trainees, graduate recruiters and partners on hand to answer any questions. Sometimes networking can be awkward, but I found everyone was incredibly welcoming. It was possible to join in group conversations easily and I even got some personal contacts! The highlight was talking to trainees about their experiences: it is important to have a personal connection with the firm as that goes to the heart of the question, "Why do you want to apply to this firm?" It is much more likely that you will identify with something a trainee says, rather than something written on the graduate recruitment website. Therefore, after speaking to each firm, take some notes and refer to them when you are applying; this will really make your answers firm-focused and genuine.

The three major highlights during the day would have to be the keynote speaker, panel discussions and the workshops. Simon Beddow, managing partner of Ashurst's European Corporate practice, gave a very inspiring talk about his path into commercial law. He spoke about the Olympics and all the different legal dimensions of the preparation process, including the negotiations for who would buy the stadium and protecting the Olympic brand. This really emphasised the type of dynamic work that a City lawyer can be involved in. He also focused on how firms are now run as businesses and are extremely client orientated - the detail he provided was absolutely fascinating and a good example of the major changes occurring in this area. He then moved onto the key skills required to be a commercial solicitor. This was perhaps the most interesting part, as it was peppered with anecdotes from his own career. 

The panel discussions were brilliant as they had a variety of speakers. The first one focused on "the law firm as a business" and the panel consisted of partners of some of the firms in attendance. Their comments allowed for a broad overview of how each firm operated. It was interesting to note that each firm was moving towards a sector-focused approach; highlighting their strengths in key areas in order to market their expertise to clients. This is also relevant to the strategies that firms will adopt in the future. As most clients use more than one firm, it is important that each firm distinguishes itself from its competitors and offers something different. Furthermore, as the client has become more sophisticated in buying legal services, if a firm does not hit certain cost criteria, they are excluded. This emphasises the importance of being cost effective. These types of issue really link into the wider context of a firm's strategy and thinking about them certainly develops a more refined commercial awareness.

The second panel discussion focused on application advice. It was great having the Twitter feed for this one as delegates could tweet questions that were then answered straight away; questions were also fielded from the audience. This interactive aspect made all the discussions more enjoyable.

I attended workshops run by SJ Berwin and Clyde & Co. Both were excellent because we had a trainee on hand to assist us, while we were encouraged to think through some complex issues. I was impressed by SJ Berwin's negotiation exercise: we went through the various steps of negotiation and applied this to an amusing scenario, culminating in a final negotiation between two teams. The Clyde & Co workshop involved working through a famous tort case that the firm had been involved in. It was really well structured - we were given a few minutes to discuss different points, gave feedback to the room and were also informed about aspects of the litigation throughout, such as the role of counsel, witnesses and experts. 

I could not recommend this event highly enough - it was an absolutely fantastic experience. Keep an eye on the website for when the next one will be: go well prepared, take notes throughout the day and enjoy it!

Ei Nge Htut is a second-year law student at the University of Cambridge