In no more than 250 words, what are your motivations for applying to Clifford Chance?

I am motivated to pursue a career at Clifford Chance as I find its Band 1 banking and finance practice appealing. I was intrigued by the firm’s advice to Nielson Holdings on its US $16 billion takeover by Elliot Investment Management, one of the largest deals by value this year. My interest in this practice stems from my work placement at Fieldfisher LLP. Working on a suite of corporate authorisations for financing an M&A deal gave me exposure to the finance sector. In addition, negotiating a sustainable linked loan and learning about green bonds in Clifford Chance’s virtual internship further motivated me to apply to the firm.

Clifford Chance’s corporate strength also interests me. Participating in an M&A case study conducted by partner Adrian Levy at Queen Mary University helped me learn more about each stage of an M&A transaction. It further piqued my interest in this sector. The firm has 33 Tier 1 rankings in Legal 500 UK 2023, more than any other London firm. I find this appealing as it will allow me to have a well-rounded training programme in leading practice areas of my choice. 

Lastly, there are 56.3% female lawyers in Clifford Chance’s London Office. This is a testament to the firm’s inclusive environment. It gives me confidence that I would be valued at the firm. As a woman of colour belonging to an ethnic minority, the firm’s commitment towards diversity and inclusion is important to me.

Our thoughts

Positives

• Good opening sentence and structure.
• Shows solid specific research, mentioning the band 1 ranking, a large deal, the applicant's participation in the virtual internship and case study, the Legal 500 rankings, and diversity statistics. 
• Discussing the Fieldfisher work placement helps the reader to understand why the candidate cares about the prowess of the banking and finance practice.
• The final paragraph shows specific research (the statistic), which the candidate then ties directly to their motivation for applying / explains why this statistic matters to her.

Potential points for improvement

• In paragraph 1, the applicant writes "In addition, negotiating a sustainable linked loan and learning about green bonds in Clifford Chance’s virtual internship further motivated me to apply to the firm", but doesn't go on to explain why.
• Paragraph 2 is a little confusing. The applicant mentions their understanding of M&A, but doesn't link this specifically to the firm. The 33 Tier 1 rankings comment seems like a separate point (most of these rankings won't be for M&A). The applicant then attempts to explain why they care about the points raised, but mentions a "well-rounded training programme", which again doesn't seem to directly relate to what they had just written. Had they discussed the firm's approach to training, then perhaps this final part of the paragraph would have been relevant.
• Most of the answer focuses on the firm's transactional practice. Perhaps the candidate could have cut out some of these words (in part, to not seem so focused on transactional work, given the likelihood they will have to sit in at least one non-transactional team during the training contract). Instead, they could have discussed one or two more selling points - perhaps the firm's training, approach to innovation, or culture (or given more detail about the firm's approach to fostering diversity). See our Clifford Chance profile for more ideas.