general interview qs Flashcards
1
Q
why dla
A
- Sector approach - facilitates aim of being top business law firm
○ Open day
○ Client strategy = appealing
§ 8 practice areas and 10 main sectors
§ Split up well but independently strong
○ M&A awards - market leaders
§ And yet sectors are independently strong
§ Breadth of high standard of work- Culture and the people
○ Dinner - Lucia Bizikova and Sam Millar
§ Felt like I fit in - left an impression on me
○ Progressive and open minded
○ Flat hierarchy
○ Friendly
○ Reflected in external work in pro bono
- Culture and the people
2
Q
how i understand role of lawyer
A
- Importance of soft skills - need to be able to talk to people. Especially important atm
○ Need to establish these relationships so that you are their go to firm - they often revert back to those they know in times of crisis- DLA is a business law firm but also a business
○ Need to be firm of choice
○ More innovation = best delivery, will need to increase percentage of market share
○ Lawyers are both legal experts and trusted advisors
- DLA is a business law firm but also a business
3
Q
dla values
A
- Be collaborative
- Be bold
- Be supportive
- Be exceptional
4
Q
dla structure
A
- Sector approach
Anti-traditional law firm idea
5
Q
why commercial law
A
- International
○ Language, inter-jurisdictional
○ Link to degree and difficult of systematising practice- Fast-paced and high stakes
○ Im ambitious
○ Suits my skill set - creative solutions, ambitious, academic rigour, disciplined etc.
§ Analytical person - varsity, debate etc.
○ spotting issues in market before client has even considered them - Interested in commerce
○ Business a level
○ Understanding what drives a business, what it is trying to achieve
○ Factors that influence how business practice happens (YE)
○ Competition that goes with commerce and drive to achieve competitive advantage
○ Constantly changing
○ Again degree - various factors that influence law inc. religion
○ Commercial law: servicing a client’s current needs, but also anticipating future risks.
Client work
- Fast-paced and high stakes
6
Q
why theology
A
- Diversity of experience and Skills
○ Understanding danger of homogenising culture and law
○ But also skills from theology of analysis, research = useful for law- Content
○ Religion affects law - A&O has an Islamic Finance department
○ Religion as a concept = key to society. Politics etc. learn how aspects of society interact
Law is a topic that comes up in my degree quite a lot - evolution HR. but also parts of law firm outside law itself e.g. pro bono is something I discuss
- Content
7
Q
why not barrister
A
- Barrister = self-employed
- Attended Middle Temple and experienced barrister chamber
- Didn’t like the training pupillage process as much
- Think solicitor suits my style of work better – research, initial contact with client etc.
- Job security of solicitor
8
Q
why not financ
A
- Both demand strong work ethic and provide interesting, fast-paced work
- Finance = generally more quantitative
- Went to BNP dinner - one of A&Os clients
- Greater diversity of focus in law – can focus on finance but also technology etc.
- Also like the further study required in law, feel like it will be a good way to ease myself into new path
- Critical thinking, analysis of texts/documents appeals to me more
9
Q
good qualities of a lawyer
A
- Professional Communication - CULS
- Resilience - my own commitment to law
- Creativity and innovation - sub-editor and producer
10
Q
what are our main sectors
A
energy tech infrastructure industrials insurance life sciences media, sport real estate
11
Q
advantages of sector focus
A
- Building stronger relationships with clients, client retention
- Opportunity to start more conversations
- Increased sector knowledge
- Point of competition with other firms
- Sector expertise and contribution
E.g. sharing sector reports, sector networking events, writing testimonials for client websites
12
Q
how could we attract new clients
A
- Marketing
- Build partnerships
- Host events
Networking
13
Q
def of comm awareness
A
- Not just knowledge of industry but also a mind-set
- Making connections between approaches and commercial context
- Not just achieved through reading the news, seen in experiencing different cultures/speaking to people from different business backgrounds
14
Q
what caused financial crisis
A
- Too much lending – easy access to cash to buy houses or start businesses
- Deregulation so people/banks could gamble more than they could afford to lose
- Led to banks no longer lending to each other or people, some of whom had perfectly good businesses but did not have access to money
- Bankers = to blame
○ Lent money to get commission without doing their homework
○ When things went badly the people who they lent to did not have any valuable assets to pay them back with
○ People completely stopped lending due to the panic this caused, limited growth
15
Q
man challenges for commercial law firms
A
- Particularly with city law firms, there is the challenge of regional firms – clients favouring firms in own region if they are able to provide same level of expertise
- Brexit
- corona
- Technology and keeping up to date with innovation
Diversification of services In big four
