[Feedback: This answer successfully identifies a core competency required by commercial solicitors, and presents a unique, personal example to substantiate their argument.

Whilst the example is specific and certainly impressive, the candidate could have done more to flesh out what exactly they did on the internship and how that evidenced the competency of analytical thinking. When writing your answer, make sure to stick to the PEE/AL structure. This will help you fully flesh out your analysis when discussing your example. Remember, when you write your ‘evidence’ section, cite concrete facts, statistics, times and places to lend credence to your answer.

A strong lawyer should be orally articulate and have strong communication skills, as they enter into negotiations with various clients from an array of backgrounds. Conducting mock interviews for prospective Oxford and Cambridge law students indicates that I have strong communication skills. In particular, conducting interviews for pupils that do not use English as their first language identifies that I am able to overcome obstacles and adapt to the situation.

[Feedback: Though once again, a correct competency is identified, and a personal example given, this answer does not quite reach the depth required. ‘Communication skills’ does not just refer to talking and writing to individuals. It generally refers to instances where communication is more challenging, or where situations depend on clear communication, and someone can surmount these challenges via their communicative abilities.

The candidate does begin to touch on the right point with their last sentence; nevertheless, they may have benefited from leading with that as their example. Once again, the candidate should employ the PEE/AL structure; for example:

• Point: A lawyer needs strong oral and written communication skills.
• Evidence: Giving mock Oxbridge interviews to non-native English speakers.
• Explanation: [Explain how a difficult time/difficult scenario required the candidate to bring their communication skills to the fore to solve the issue].
• Link: As a trainee solicitor, I will employ my communication skills to [mention different kinds of work that a trainee solicitor does that requires strong communication skills].]

To achieve success as a lawyer, it is important to be perseverant to achieve the best results for clients. My resilient nature can be evidenced by my undertaking of numerous work experience opportunities, as well as other positions of responsibility such as senior prefect at St. Edward’s School, Oxford. Striving to achieve the best possible outcome in everything I undertake is a valuable characteristic for a career as a lawyer.

[Feedback: First, when you mention that a competency is important for a lawyer to have to deliver high quality work, you must explain why. Specifically, you must unpack what kind of work you mean and how exactly that competency will assist. You may state the former in your ‘point’-sentence, and you should use your answer, notably the ‘link’-sentence to explain the latter.

Second, you should avoid being generic or being intentionally non-specific: for example, ‘numerous work experience opportunities’, ‘other positions of responsibility’ and ‘in everything I undertake’. These phrases do not actually say anything about the candidate or their ability and, instead, the candidate could have used the word count to explore one specific example in depth.

Third, because the candidate has refrained from deeply analysing their presented examples, it is hard to see how this candidate’s chosen evidence substantiates the claim that they have ‘perseverance’. When writing your answers, remember to pick examples that directly support the point you are trying to make. Even the most basic, non-legal examples (like stacking shelves in a supermarket) can be better examples to use, rather than trying to make a “fancy” but irrelevant example fit into an answer.

Consequently, the candidate’s answer may have benefited from replacing the final sentence, which may be considered unduly self-promoting, with a clear link point. This link-sentence should demonstrate how their perseverance would help them to overcome specific issues that a trainee solicitor may be reasonably expected to face.]

Please indicate if there is a preferred practice area that interests you.

An area of particular interest to me is private equity, specifically fund formation and acquisition financing. I had the opportunity to develop these areas of interest in Ireland's top equity practice with A&L Goodbody. The fast paced nature of the transactional work I got to grips with is key to my interest in private equity.

Feedback: The candidate makes their preferred practice area, i.e., private equity, immediately clear to the reader, and indicates the aspects of said practice area that interest them the most.

Importantly, the candidate does well to cite their work experience at A&L Goodbody because it contextualises their inclination towards private equity and increases the credibility of their overall answer. To achieve a similar effect, you could either cite any relevant work experience, extra-curricular activity or position of responsibility, or explain how you developed an interest in the given practice area (e.g., you took an introductory course online, you attended a lecture, you read a book, etc.). 

The candidate also does well to justify their interest in private equity. However, they do so in a rather succinct and vague manner. Private equity can be appealing for a myriad of reasons, including the complexity of deals, the variety of deals, the opportunities for learning about different companies, industries and sectors, the chance to help troubled companies stay afloat or improve, etc.

I am passionate to build on this experience in an international transactional domain with exposure to global markets. Debevoise & Plimpton has attracted me due to its transatlantic dominance in private equity markets, and more generally, leading transactional services.

Feedback: This paragraph adds little to no value to the overall answer because it lacks specificity, though the candidate is on the right track insofar as they point out Debevoise & Plimpton’s market-leading expertise in private equity matters. To improve this answer, the candidate could have explained their interest in private equity in more detail (as per the comment made in relation to the previous paragraph) first and drawn a link between said interest and the firm’s capabilities afterwards.

However, my various exposure to specific practice areas has not been for prolonged periods. Consequently, I am also interested in gaining experience within a range of leading broader practice areas such as M&A, finance and regulatory. For this reason, I aspire to train within various domains in order to gain a deeper understanding of where my key interest lies and which practice area suits my strengths best.

Feedback: The candidate does well to express their willingness to be exposed to multiple practice areas because Debevoise & Plimpton places a great deal of emphasis on well-roundedness. To ensure that their answer remains as relevant as possible relative to the prompt, the candidate could have made their point more succinctly and dedicated the remainder of the word count to discussing their preferred practice area (as the prompt directs them to do).

Commercial Thinking: Lewis Silkin prides itself on delivering legal advice in a commercial way. What do you think it means to deliver legal advice in a commercial way?

Legal advice is the provision of a professional opinion regarding the law in relation to a specific situation, requested by and delivered to an individual or company, the client. This requires the situation to be analysed in order to provide a course of action based on the applicable laws.

Feedback: Although it neatly defines the concept of legal advice, this paragraph adds little to no value to the overall answer. The purpose of the prompt is to test candidates’ understanding of commercial thinking and its relevance to the delivery of legal advice, rather than their understanding of the concept of legal advice per se. To ensure that your answer is as relevant as possible relative to the prompt, we advise against following the candidate’s example in this particular instance.

To deliver legal advice in a commercial way means to provide pragmatic legal advice that takes into consideration the market and industry the client works in, thus being tailored to the client. For example, the advice being provided for an Energy Consultancy firm wishing to takeover another firm would differ to a retailer wishing to do the same, both would require advice on acquisitions but this would differ significantly between the two as they operate within different industries.

Commercial legal advice therefore requires a variety of factors, other than the law, to be considered, such as the protection of the clients business interests; foresight of the situation to protection from future implications which may arise and justification as to why certain processes need to be undertaken, all of which requires cross sector and service collaboration. The law is merely the foundation which informs the client of what is permissible.

Feedback: The candidate provides the recruiter with an accurate interpretation of the concept of “delivering legal advice in a commercial way”, showcasing their understanding of the business of law firms and the dynamics of their relationship with their clients. They do particularly well to illustrate their interpretation with the example of delivering legal advice to a client within the energy industry versus a client within the retail industry. To take their answer to the next level, the candidate could have enhanced their example by using the names of Lewis Silkin’s past and/or present clients within those industries.

What makes a good commercial lawyer? (250 Words)

 - What skills do you need?
 - What do you need these skills?
 - How have you developed these skills?
 - How do you believe you can demonstrate the skills required?

There are three skills that make a good commercial lawyer. They are:

1. Analytical ability. A lawyer must be able to identify key issues and apply sound commercial judgment to every problem. As an 'idea person', I have been known for coming up with creative and solution-driven ideas which will benefit Stephenson Harwood. For example, at '[redacted law firm]', I worked on a deal concerning a large pharmaceutical company. The company was about to go insolvent because of its severe cash-flow problems which rendered it unable to pay existing debt. The company, therefore, needed to restructure its debts. My mentor took my suggestion of using a mezzanine finance scheme and proposed it to the client.

2. Flexibility. A good commercial lawyer is one that can adapt to new challenges and are flexible in problem-solving. When I was 19, I started my own company. Having had no initial capital, I had to come up with creative ways to raise the fund. I collaborated with a [redacted nationality] artist to create poetic pieces which sold for profit. Through this, I raised S$2000, which I injected into my company's expense account. The problem-solving skills that I've learned through this will benefit the firm positively.

3. Commercial awareness. Lawyers must be able to give specific legal advice; to do this, they must have strong commercial knowledge. By being the sole author and owner of my commercial blog, I have developed a strong commercial acumen which allows me to follow commercial and market trends easily.

[Feedback: The candidate’s headings work very well here and provide an effective structure for her answer. 

In the first paragraph, the candidate cites analytical ability but then goes on to provide an example of her creativity.  It’s an impressive example for an undergraduate student but it doesn’t necessarily demonstrate analytical ability.

In the second paragraph, the candidate cites flexibility but then goes on to provide an example which focuses on problem solving.  The candidate should use “problem solving” as the heading here - it’s less vague than flexibility and more important for lawyers in any case. 

Skills that we consider important for future lawyers include:  time management / organisation, commitment to becoming a lawyer, commercial outlook, teamwork, dedication, ability to thrive outside your comfort zone, problem-solving skills / analytical ability, decision-making / good judgement.

You should aim to make it as easy as possible for the reader to understand your application.  Small improvements like converting foreign currencies into GBP can help with this.  Similarly, if you refer to your past work at a law firm, you should clarify whether it is paid work or work experience, rather than relying on the reviewer to cross-refer back to the work experience section of your application.]

Please outline why you have chosen a career in commercial law. Include what attributes you believe make a successful commercial lawyer and how you will, or have, gained these behaviours (include work experience, employment and any other activities / interests you feel are relevant).

I am committed to a career in commercial law as I want to work closely with clients to help them reach their business objectives. I am fascinated by the way in which businesses are driven and how different factors influence business strategy. It excites me that working in commercial law requires a proactive approach such as anticipating a client's potential problems before they arise. I find it thrilling that there is a constant drive to gain a competitive advantage in the volatile business environment. Therefore, in my experience as a [part-time worker at a supermarket], I have always taken an active interest in following the business’ objectives and strategy. A recent example is how our business has radically changed our strategy to anticipate the growing popularity of discount supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi, and how we plan to adapt to a changing market where customers are buying less but shopping more often.

[Feedback: This prompt has many parts and should be treated like multiple sub-questions. We recommend structuring your answer to answer the following questions:

1. Why do you want to pursue a career in commercial law?

2. What makes for a good commercial lawyer?

3. How have you developed these (as mentioned in the above point) competencies?

For each of these sub-questions, we would recommend that you adopt a point, evidence, explanation, link (‘PEEL’) structure for your paragraphs. This will ensure that you directly answer the question and include sufficient supporting evidence and explanation.

In this first paragraph, the candidate addresses their motivation for a career in commercial law. This paragraph’s strength lies in its relation back to the candidate via an inclusion of a personal example. You should observe how the candidate references their previous work experience to evidence their claims about enjoying anticipating problems and remaining competitive. Crucially, the candidate attempts to involve some specific detail in their evidence, for instance by mentioning ‘Lidl and Aldi’.

Furthermore, the candidate has done well in highlighting several traits that are demanded of a commercial lawyer, namely, working closely with clients and anticipating a client’s problems. You should remember that a ‘why law?’ style of question is assessing not just your motivation for the career, but also your understanding of what the career entails.

To improve this answer, the candidate needed to be more specific in their examples and involve stronger argumentation. You should be wary of using words like ‘fascinated’ and ‘thrilling’ in your answers. If you have to tell the recruiter that something is fascinating or thrilling, it is unlikely that you have presented a strong enough argument or evidence to make this claim. You must show the recruiter that you find something interesting, rather than merely telling them. For instance, instead of telling the recruiter that they are ‘fascinated by the way in which businesses are driven and how different factors influence business strategy’, the candidate could have shown this by explaining what books they read or courses or work they undertook to learn more about the strategies of businesses.

Furthermore, the candidate’s argument could be strengthened as they do not go into sufficient detail concerning their points about the career. The candidate writes that ‘[i]t excites [them] that working in commercial law requires a proactive approach such as anticipating a client's potential problems before they arise. [They] find it thrilling that there is a constant drive to gain a competitive advantage in the volatile business environment.’ However, the recruiter is left asking ‘so what?’. You must remember that your paragraphs need to link back to the question at hand. The candidate needed to have gone into additional detail about what the career entailed and explained how their enjoyment of some of the career’s facets makes them want to pursue a career in commercial law. This is why we recommend sticking to a PEEL structure. If you deviate from this structure, you risk your argument being underdeveloped or improperly linking your points, examples, and argument together.]

In addition to this, I am also currently an active member of the Junior Lawyers Division, the Law society at my university and the North of England Medico-Legal society. I have attended several lectures and networking events and plan on attending more networking events that these organisations hold in the future. I hope that involvement with these organisations will support my transition from my degree into a training contract, where I can continue to network.

[Feedback: This paragraph is more of an aside; the candidate discusses their membership of various societies and their attendance at various events. Although these activities and positions of responsibility are worth mentioning, the candidate should have avoided introducing them in this way. First, the candidate does not introduce a strong argument in relation to the mentioned evidence. The candidate simply claims that they ‘hope [their] involvement with these organisations will support my transition from my degree into a training contract’. This does not communicate anything substantive, and, as a result, does not put the candidate’s positions of responsibility to their best use.

Second, the candidate does not include enough detail concerning what being a member of such societies entails, nor specific examples of what they have in said societies. Whilst it may be appropriate to discuss activities in abstraction (if there are many different kinds), you should give at least one or two specific examples. If you do not, your answer will be too vague and the recruiter may not find your response persuasive.

Hence, our overall recommendation is to avoid shorter non-PEEL structured paragraphs, such as this one. You must focus on interweaving your positions of responsibility and activities with your arguments; adopting the PEEL structure will assist you with this.]

Teamwork is a fundamental skill for a commercial solicitor, as a solicitor will often be working with a team. In order to put the client's objectives first, a commercial solicitor must be able to collaborate effectively and efficiently to achieve the best possible outcome for the client. It is important that a commercial solicitor can cooperate and compromise to prioritise the needs of a client. I can demonstrate strong teamwork skills, for example during the Street Law project I worked closely with other students to work to a strict deadline. We collated our different strengths and ensured regular communication to maximise our efficiency as a team. Although we were all at different stages of our degree and had many competing priorities, we managed to find a system of work that fit in with each schedule. I would be excited to make a positive contribution to Bond Dickinson and eventually become a valued team member, working to the high standard that Bond Dickinson maintains.

[Feedback: In this section, the candidate turns their attention to the competency of teamwork. In your response to this prompt, you are asked to demonstrate your knowledge of the competencies expected of a commercial solicitor. Hence, the candidate has done well in including a discussion of ‘teamwork’ (also known as ‘collaboration’).

The candidate’s answer should be commended for its structure. You should observe how the candidate spends the part of the paragraph introducing and explaining the competency. The candidate then goes into an example that evidences how they have said competency. Finally, the candidate attempts to conclude their answer with a link back to the wider prompt concerning being a successful lawyer.

You must follow a similar, if not identical, structure in your answers to ensure you fully answer the question. However, you could employ the alternative structure of situation, task, action response/result (‘STAR’) or context, action, response/result (‘CAR’). This structure is typically used to discuss competencies; however, you will need to modify it to include some discussion of why you think the competency is important for you to be a successful lawyer (we would recommend leading with a few short sentences on this, before going into the STAR/CAR response).

To strengthen this answer, the candidate could have provided a better explanation of what teamwork looks like in practice and why it is important. Although the candidate touches on the right ideas, some of their answer is vague and repetitive. For instance, the candidate writes that ‘teamwork’ is needed because a solicitor often works in a ‘team’. This is almost tautological and could be cut or worded better. The candidate would have been far better off even if they had simply replaced ‘teamwork’ with context. To avoid these kinds of repetitions, you should read your answer out loud when you are proofreading your response.

Furthermore, the candidate needed to employ greater specificity. For example, the candidate writes that ‘a commercial solicitor must be able to collaborate effectively and efficiently to achieve the best possible outcome for the client’. Whilst this may be true, the candidate fails to explain how the skill of collaboration allows for this result. You must try to avoid broad sweeping statements. Instead, you need to guide the recruiter through your argument, providing supplementary evidence and explanation. If you do not do so, you risk writing sentences that, whilst they seem good, do not communicate anything substantive. For instance, the candidate writes that ‘[i]t is important that a commercial solicitor can cooperate and compromise to prioritise the needs of a client’. Again, this may be true; however, it is not linked to the candidate’s argument and seems out of place in the paragraph. You should be looking to craft an argument that flows throughout the answer, rather than punctuating your response with a variety of simple claims.

Additionally, with respect to needing greater specificity, the candidate needed to include some additional detail in the example they gave. The candidate writes that they were working with a team on a project that had a strict deadline. However, they do not go into any detail as to how they devised a system of work, or what the result of their actions was. You should always employ specific facts and statistics in your answers. For instance, you must state how many members were in the team, how long the timeframe was, and so on. If you omit this kind of detail, you risk your answers coming off as too vague and the recruiter being unpersuaded.]

Interpersonal skills are imperative for commercial solicitors. They need to demonstrate effective communication with clients to create positive relationships and build trust. Clients will need to be confident that the firm is working to the clients objectives, which solicitors must communicate at all times. This skill also combines with working effectively as a team; a commercial solicitor will need to use their interpersonal skills in communicating with colleagues to provide the best quality work. My interpersonal and communication skills have been developed in my work at [a supermarket] where I always aim to provide a special service that enhances the customer shopping experience. This includes building relationships with customers by providing a warm welcome and offering tailored product advice and recommendations. I will always try to resolve any issues or complaints from a customer with the utmost sympathy and respect to ensure that strong relationships with our customers are maintained.

[Feedback: In this paragraph, the candidate addresses the competency of interpersonal communication. Once again, the candidate, broadly speaking, adopts a good structure. Notably, in this paragraph, the candidate does well to link the competency of communication to their previous mention of teamwork. Most competencies are linked to each other in some fashion. For instance, motivation and perseverance typically involve each other. Hence, when you draft your answers, you should think about the relationship between the competencies you have selected and whether you can structure your paragraphs such that they flow from one to another.

The candidate has also done well not just to include a discussion of the competency, but also to involve a personal example to evidence that they have the competency. You must remember that for each competency you mention, you will need to demonstrate that you have it. The recruiter does not want to read about competencies in abstraction; the prompt is testing you on whether you know what competencies are important, why they are important, and whether you have them.

This answer could be improved by including some more detail concerning the candidate’s example. The candidate writes that they ‘always aim to provide a special service that enhances the customer shopping experience’. They go on to explain that this includes ‘includes building relationships with customers by providing a warm welcome and offering tailored product advice and recommendations’. Whilst this is good, the candidate needed to have been more specific and given one or two examples of what this looked like in practice.

For example, the candidate should have explained how they tailor product advice and recommendations and given an example of a time when they did so. Similarly, the candidate writes that they ‘always try to resolve any issues or complaints from a customer with the utmost sympathy and respect to ensure that strong relationships with our customers are maintained’. Again, the candidate needed to have explained how they have achieved this in the past (and given an elucidatory example). When you draft your answers, you should put yourself in the place of the recruiter and remember that the recruiter does not know you personally. Hence, examples and detail are imperative to ensure that the recruiter understands what you did, why you did it, and the magnitude of your actions. If the recruiter feels that there is some detail lacking in your response, you should not assume that they will give you the benefit of the doubt.

Finally, the candidate needed to proofread their answer before submission to avoid making a typographical error. In the third sentence, the candidate misses an apostrophe when writing ‘[c]lients will need to be confident that the firm is working to the clients objectives’. Whilst this may seem like a minor error, recruiters are now being less forgiving. With more candidates applying to law firms than ever, even the most minor of mistakes can lead to your application being rejected. Therefore, before you submit your work, you should use a spellchecker (such as Microsoft Word or Grammarly) to spot typographical errors. You can also give your application to a family member or trusted friend to read over and spot any errors that you may have missed.]

Commercial awareness is an essential skill for a commercial solicitor as they need a genuine understanding and interest in how businesses function. This will include understanding how national and international events may affect their clients business, and anticipating how other businesses’ actions and motives could also have an effect. Therefore, if a solicitor has commercial awareness they can be proactive in their work and advice by anticipating the possible influences on a clients business. I am constantly maintaining my commercial awareness skills by keeping up to date with the general, business and legal news, and by taking an interest in [my supermarket] as a business and how it plans to operate and adapt its strategy in the near future.

[Feedback: This section focuses on the skill of commercial awareness. The candidate is correct to include this in their answer. Although it is not a typical competency, commercial awareness or acumen is certainly a trait that is needed to be a successful commercial solicitor.

The candidate does well in understanding the importance of commercial awareness. A commercial solicitor is not just a legal advisor. Now, commercial solicitors are expected to be able to understand a business and provide advice on a variety of areas, not just the law. You should remember that a commercial solicitor must be solution-orientated. Therefore, you will be expected not just to highlight the problems with a transaction or dispute to a client, but also to come up with the solution (which will inevitably be subject to commercial realities).

The candidate also tries to describe how they are maintaining their commercial awareness and putting it into practice. It is this latter action that is notable. The best way for you to develop a skill is to use it. This is something that the recruiter will be looking for when you draft your answers. Hence, you should think about how you have used or could use your commercial awareness in an activity or project.

In relation to the above paragraph, the candidate needed to have gone into more detail concerning how they are developing their commercial awareness. Unfortunately, as the pool of applicants swells, more and more candidates will be ‘constantly maintaining [their] commercial awareness skills by keeping up to date with the general, business and legal news’. Hence, by stating this, the candidate does not stand out from the crowd. When you write your answers, be specific; instead of writing that you keep up to date with the ‘general, business and legal news’, you should state how you do so. For example, you could mention that you listen to the Financial Times podcast every morning, or watch ‘The Open’ on Bloomberg TV every afternoon. The more specific you are, the better the recruiter will understand the importance of your actions.

However, to take the answer even further, you must go into detail as to how you have developed your commercial awareness and fostered particular interests. For example, you may have learnt about Apple’s credit card; to learn more about payment systems and their evolution, you may have then read ‘The Pay Off’ by Leibbrant and De Terán. This may have then prompted you to start your own project where you create a table that compares payment systems’ advantages and disadvantages. Naturally, this can go on in perpetuity; however, you should note how these examples show how you are expected to write about your interests and sufficiently evidence your commercial awareness. You need to remember that commercial awareness is not just about maintaining such awareness by staying abreast of the news; it is about deepening your knowledge about particular commercial concepts too.

Finally, the candidate makes several typographical errors in their answer, specifically, omitting apostrophes when using the possessive case. As previously mentioned, these mistakes can be very costly and cause your application to be rejected. Therefore, it is essential you proofread your work before submission.]

Commercial solicitors will be required to help draft letters and legal documents. Therefore, attention to detail is a fundamental skill for solicitors. Clients will expect flawless documents as minor grammar or spelling mistakes could damage a clients impression of a firm. I have developed attention to detail during my degree, ensuring that my work is kept to a high standard.

[Feedback: This paragraph details some of the candidate’s knowledge of what being a commercial solicitor entails, specifically drafting correspondence and documents. The candidate also relates this to the competency of attention to detail. In principle, the candidate has done well to include this information as it demonstrates to the recruiter that the candidate is aware of some of the work that is expected of a trainee.

The candidate could have improved their paragraph by expanding their discussion of how they have developed their skill of attention to detail and giving some specific, supporting examples. You should avoid writing short paragraphs that attempt to cram in information in your answers. If there is a word limit, the recruiter will be aware of it and, consequently, not expect you to cover every single topic in your response. Depth is always more preferable than breadth, as, without sufficient detail or development, the recruiter will be unable to appreciate whether you actually have said skill or you are just tangentially aware that the skill is needed in the role.

Furthermore, the candidate, again, needed to have proofread their work to avoid making a typographical error. The candidate has missed an apostrophe when writing ‘damage a clients impression of a firm’. Unfortunately, this error is especially egregious as it is in a paragraph where the candidate is discussing their attention to detail and keeping their ‘work […] to a high standard’. Once again, we would recommend proofreading your work before submission, using a spellchecker, and giving your application to a family member or trusted friend to proofread before you submit it.]

Commercial solicitors must always act with honesty and integrity to uphold the high moral code to which all solicitors must abide by. Clients need to be confident that their legal adviser abides by the law and acts in their clients best interests whilst maintaining high ethical standards. I uphold the principles of honesty and integrity at all times. I maintain this in all aspects of my life, I aim to be as open and honest with everyone as possible.

[Feedback: In this section, the candidate highlights that a commercial solicitor must be honest and have integrity and that they have these traits. Whilst the candidate is correct in making this statement, the answer is too short and underdeveloped. The candidate needed to have gone into greater depth about how they have developed these traits and given an example where their honesty or integrity was especially important. We would recommend sticking to a clear structure (such as PEEL, STAR, or CAR) to ensure you write fully developed paragraphs. As it stands, the recruiter will acknowledge that the candidate knows that honesty and integrity are important in the role; however, they may feel unconvinced that the candidate has said skills, as there is no specific, supporting evidence to show them that this is the case.

Additionally, the candidate has made a typographical error in omitting an apostrophe when writing ‘acts in their clients best interests’. Each mistake will drastically increase the chance of your application being rejected, notwithstanding its potentially strong content. You must remember that no allowance is made for international students. All law firms will expect you to have strong written communication skills which will be noted by the recruiter when they read your application.]

Given my increasing development of the requisite skills, my strong work ethic and commitment to commercial law, I believe that I would be a good fit with Bond Dickinson as a trainee solicitor.

[Feedback: Although this is a nice concluding sentence, you should note that it is not required for this kind of answer. We would typically recommend avoiding these kinds of conclusions, simply because it eats into the available word count. The 33 words used for this sentence could be redistributed throughout the answer and used to include additional details and pieces of supporting evidence. We suggest that this use is more likely to improve your answer than the inclusion of a concluding sentence.]