Addleshaw Goddard Vacation Scheme – February 2025

What was the full recruitment process?         

1. Application

2. Critical thinking test

3. Telephone interview

3. Assessment centre

4. Vacation scheme

Which aspect does this report cover?

Vacation scheme assessment centre

Where did the assessment centre take place?

The firm's London office

What did the assessment centre involve?      

1. Proofreading task: silent review of advice email to be sent by a partner to a client. (~15 minutes proofreading)

2. Group task: Supervised discussion with 4 other AC candidates followed by oral presentation to 2 partners and 1 grad rec (~10 minutes silent reading, ~20 minutes discussion, ~10 minutes presentation)

3. Partner briefing: oral presentation on advice I would give a client based on a fictional transactional scenario (~30 minutes reading and preparation time, ~30 minutes with 2 partners)

4. Partner interview: competency, motivation and commercial awareness questions (~45 minutes with 2 partners

Proofreading task

The task was a very simple proofread of an email a partner had drafted for a client. We were given some basic information on the client’s business to read through beforehand. There were very obvious spelling and grammatical errors and informational errors that would jump out of the page at you. For example:

• Bristol instead of Birmingham
• Advice instead of advise
• 17,000 instead of 170,000
• Misspelled client name 

I did not notice any particularly tricky mistakes and was told I did well on this task so it’s unlikely that there were any major issues I missed.

Group task

We were tasked with working in a group to suggest an initiative to a local counsel for them to improve the lives and welfare of a town with an emphasis on senior citizens. 

We were each given identical background information and statistics, plus unique information on different initiatives. The background info included: 

• Population data
• Polls on citizens’ hobbies
• Polls on what senior citizens most desired

The initiative packs included details on: 

• One of 5 different initiatives
• Good and bad reviews of the initiative 
• Pros and cons of implementing it. 

After the 10-minute silent reading time, we had 20 minutes to discuss and advocate for our initiative to each other and agree on one to present on. The documents in the pack which we were all given essentially set out certain criteria which should influence our choice of initiative. My initiative ended up ticking the most boxes and was chosen so I took a leadership role, assigning sections to present on. 

The presentation was quite short – 10 mins for 5 people to speak and no questions were asked after. For the entire group task, we were supervised by 2 partners and 1 grad recruiter.  

Partner briefing

I was given a brief on a client which was an AI construction consultancy company with multiple stakeholders. 

• The majority shareholder: a PE firm looking to exit within 1-2 years (so was seeking fast short-term growth)
• CFO: our main contact. Also seeking fast short-term growth projects as getting old and no energy for long horizon projects.
• CTO: their key goal was technological innovation.
• Chief Compliance Officer: their key goal was resolving ethical and ESG concerns.
• Original owners: the family was represented by their daughter. These were the mascots/spokespeople of the company.

I was also given background information such as the company’s revenue split/employee split. I was then given 4 potential growth strategies for the company to choose between, considering the goals of the stakeholders. We had 30 minutes to discuss the below strategic options:

1. Develop a dumbed-down AI version to sell to SMEs
2. Improve AI ethical concerns 
3. Enter into a JV with the construction company 
4. Develop an AI tool for ESG ratings/compliance 

During the briefing, I was first asked to give a 5 minute (timed) summary of the client info and any further info we may need from them. I was then asked to go through the pros and cons of each strategy and give an overall suggestion. Throughout my presentation, I gave the partners multiple opportunities to ask questions but they didn’t ask any. 

The partners subsequently gave me new information regarding the fourth strategy which suggested that it may be more lucrative than originally proposed. I then had to work through this info and explain whether it affected my suggestion.

Partner interview         

Competency questions 

• Tell me about a time you worked in a team under pressure. 
• Are you someone who can work well with a lot of detail?

Motivation questions 

• Why commercial law?
• Why Addleshaw Goddard?
• Have you ever considered any other type of law? Family law or Criminal law?

Legal and commercial awareness questions 

• Addleshaw Goddard wishes to reach 1 billion in revenue by 2035, how can we achieve this?
• What are the potential consequences of pursuing an expansion policy focused on mergers and lateral hires?
• If you were to advise a client starting up an online organic fruit retailer, what would you consider?

The partner interview was conversational but there were fixed questions that were asked to each candidate. They did build on some of my responses, but not substantially.

What was the outcome?                                                  

The firm called the next day to tell me I had been unsuccessful.

Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?

I would recommend coming in fully refreshed as there was little to no break in between the tasks and the total AC was 4 hours long.

Addleshaw Goddard Vacation Scheme – February 2024

What was the full recruitment process?         

Which aspect does this report cover?

Where did the assessment centre take place?            

The firm’s Manchester office (in person).

What did the assessment centre involve?      

The information provided about the assessment centre on the firm’s website was largely accurate and offered a good understanding of what the day would entail.

Group exercise

Each of the 5 people in the group were given a separate proposal for an initiative that a fictional client could pursue, as well as some general information that everyone had access to. The general information covered who the client was, what its objectives were, and its values. We had to present the pros and cons of our proposal whilst deciding collectively which was the best proposal for the client.  No external knowledge was needed as it was a commercial exercise.  

There was no prodding from our supervisors as to when our initial 10 minutes of reading were up, so our timekeeper had to remind us. We were reminded, however, when it was time to present.  I don’t believe there were any follow-up questions following our group presentation on the proposals.

Briefing exercise

I was first given 30 minutes to read through the background case study materials, which included information about the client’s aims the options available to it, along with more detailed facts and figures later. I found there was quite a lot to get through, so it was not worth dwelling too much initially on the finer details. Instead, I made sure I had a solid overview of the pros and cons of each option.

It was a commercial exercise, not legal, but I did find having a solid foundational knowledge of business structures from business law modules helped to guide my evaluation (e.g. the impact of majority shareholders, and the role of different stakeholders).

The presentation exercise was split into two parts: part 1 was a presentation focused on the client’s aims and options (10 minutes); and part 2 was more of a discussion focusing on the pros and cons of each option, alongside questions from the interviewers (a partner and a legal director) and analysis of new information introduced (20 minutes).    

I found the exercise to be a little overwhelming initially, considering the volume of background information. However, once in the presentation, the partners made me feel as comfortable as possible and genuinely seemed like they wanted me to succeed.  My voice was shaky, but I was able to articulate myself which I think worked in my favour as showed I was nervous but knew what I was talking about.  I think as I was able to back up my answers. I discussed my thought process throughout, as there wasn’t a definitive ‘right’ answer.

Partner interview 

I found that a lot of this interview was based on understanding my skills and experiences and how these would make me a good trainee. 

I was asked questions including:

• Why law and why Addleshaw Goddard?
• What are your career aspirations?
• Tell me about a time you worked in a team.
• When have you had to accept feedback?
• When have you had to work with someone with a different opinion to yours?

I was asked fewer technical questions than I had expected.  I would say they revolved around having a solid understanding of what a trainee does (their role in the team and day-to-day work), how the firm operates as a business, and the challenges facing law firms today (so standard commercial questions, nothing necessarily designed to trip you up). 

What was the outcome?

The firm called me the first working day after the assessment centre to let me know I had been successful.

Addleshaw Goddard Vacation Scheme - February 2022 

What was the full recruitment process?         

1. Application 

2. Video interview 

3. Assessment centre 

4. Vacation scheme 

5. Final training contract interview 

Which aspect does this report cover?

Vacation scheme assessment centre 

Where did the assessment centre take place?            

The firm's London office (in person)

What did the assessment centre involve?      

1. Written exercise: identify spelling and grammatical errors, inconsistencies and omissions (~15 minutes)

2. Group exercise: group discussion with 3 other candidates (10 minutes reading time, 20 minute group discussion, 10 minute presentation, assessed by 2 members of the graduate recruitment team)

3. Case study interview: commercial case study presentation and follow-up questions (~30 minutes with two partners)

4. General interview: competency, motivation and commercial awareness questions (~45 minute interview with 1 partner and 1 senior associate)

Group exercise  

Each of the four people in my group were given a different piece of information. Based on this information, we had to choose from various options to determine which was the best for a fictional client to pursue. It was a commercial exercise (not legal), and no external knowledge was needed for the task; it is more about how you communicate and work in a team.

We took turns to speak and summarise for the group the information we were individually provided. We then collectively prepared our presentation, allocating different parts to different group members (e.g. intro, key points, conclusion). 

Case study

I was first given ~15 minutes to read through a pack of background case study documents and take notes. These documents provided general business-related information, including background information about a hypothetical client, and potential benefits and drawbacks of proposed strategies/decisions that the client was considering pursuing (i.e. commercial information, not legal). The documents were not particularly complex or technical, but be sure to read them quickly to pick up on all potentially relevant information.

During my preparation time, I took notes and used a highlighter to make it easier to refer back to key points. I also wrote out a structure for my presentation in advance. I had to then deliver a 10 minute presentation to two partners, who then asked follow up questions based on the points I raised (for example “if X circumstances arise, what could the client do?”).

The case study was commercial, not legal, so try to learn about key business issues and strategies in advance, and think about what businesses must take into account when making decisions. The “A law firm’s role on transactions” and “Mergers and acquisitions” courses on the Commercial Law Academy helped me to identify some of the more subtle issues in the case study (which I then raised in my presentation), and helped me to consider these issues from a lawyer’s and a business’ perspective.

In general, I felt there were no “right” answers, although justifying your points/proposals is imperative. Be confident and personable throughout. It’s easy to feel nervous, but stay focused on the task at hand. Take time to think before answering questions, and keep your answers structured and concise. Don’t be afraid to stick to your views, even when they are challenged by your interviewers (unless they point out that you’re objectively wrong!).

General interview                

Competency questions 

I was asked a range of questions about my previous experiences and the skills I had developed as a result, including when have I worked in a team.

• Tell me about a time you worked in a team.
• How do you deal with conflict?
• How do you deal with feedback?

Motivation questions 

I was also asked questions designed to test my motivation for pursuing a career in commercial law, and for wanting to work at Addleshaw Goddard in particular, including:

• Why commercial law?
• Why this firm?

Commercial awareness questions

• What is your understanding of the role of a trainee?
• What challenges do trainees face? 
• What challenges do law firms face?
• I was given a real life topic and asked to give my views on this topic. If you have been reading wider business news, you should be able to come up with something. There’s no right or wrong answer; just try to demonstrate your understanding of the relevant story or issue.

What was the outcome?                                                  

The firm called me the day after the assessment centre to offer me a place on the vacation scheme.