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Penningtons Manches Cooper Vacation Scheme - January 2025

What was the full recruitment process?         

1. Application

2. Assessment centre

3. Vacation scheme

Which aspect does this report cover?

Vacation scheme assessment centre

Where did the assessment centre take place?            

Online, via TopScore (with the London office)

What did the assessment centre involve?      

1. Written task: drafted a legal document, proofread a document and drafted an email to a client based on information given to me (1 hour 35 mins)

2. Client interview: fact finding exercise with a client based on a fictional scenario given to me 15 minutes before the interview (15 minutes prep and 20 minute interview)

3. Interview: competency, motivation and commercial awareness questions (45 minutes with a senior associate)

Written task

The written task was completed in between our other scheduled tasks on the assessment centre, so we had to keep and manage our time ourselves. There were 3 separate tasks we had to do. Overall, no prior legal knowledge was required.

Task 1

Proofread a will (approx. 6 pages) drafted for a fictitious client. It included spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and structural errors. There was also an email from the client dictating the information they wanted putting in the will, plus some misinformation arose in the will. We only had to highlight the errors, not correct them.

Task 2

This was a land law document that we had to fill in relating to the sale of a property. We had information about the buyer, seller and property and had to fill in the gaps on the form according to this.

Task 3

We were given a sheet with definitions of some complex legal terms relating to trusts. We then had an email from a fictitious client asking us to explain how these terms and their definitions applied to their case in a clear manner in a draft email. No prior legal knowledge was needed as we worked solely from the definitions given to us.

Overall, the tasks were quite time-consuming, so it is very important to keep track of time effectively and leave time to check your answers before submitting. 

Client interview

I was sent a document 15 minutes before the interview was due to start about a fictitious client, relating to employment. I had been told before the assessment date that this exercise would be related to employment and that I may want to do some research into the area beforehand. 

The client had been called for a meeting with his supervisor based on misconduct in the workplace and was concerned that he would face an unfair dismissal claim. My role was to prepare and ask clients for further information about the circumstances of the incident. I was told not to provide any legal advice. After the 15 minutes had ended, I entered a chatroom with a HR manager and a trainee, who was posing as the client. The HR manager introduced me to the trainee and then asked me to begin when I was ready. The HR manager turned his camera and microphone off throughout. 

The ‘client’ did test me to see whether I would provide any legal advice, so it is important to resist this. I did some research into employment before the interview to get a feel for the sort of questions that may be asked in a fact-finding exercise, but since I didn’t need to give advice I didn’t need to know how the law actually applied, just what sort of issues are raised. 

I recommend planning your questions beforehand and researching how client interviews tend to be conducted (I watched some on Youtube), and then adapting the questions to the specific facts once you have your information. It is important to ask follow-up questions and get as much detail as possible since sometimes the client gave vague answers. 

Interview         

Competency questions 

Motivation questions 

Legal and commercial awareness questions 

What was the outcome?                                                  

The firm emailed me 5 weeks later to tell me that I had been…

Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?

The written exercise is designed to stretch you and test your time-management skills, attention to detail and ability to communicate to clients in a clear and concise manner. Keep track of time and check your answers.

The client interview was enjoyable. Just be careful not to advise the client and make sure you research the area of law that they tell you the interview will be related to beforehand, and the sort of questions you should be asking. Keep any eye on the time and get as much detail as possible.

The interview is straightforward, and the interviewer was very friendly. They just want to know you as a person and your interests in the firm and its practices, and test your knowledge on current legal trends.


Penningtons Manches Cooper Vacation Scheme - January 2024

What was the full recruitment process?         

1. Application

2. Assessment centre 

3. Vacation scheme

Which aspect does this report cover?

 Vacation scheme assessment centre

Where did the assessment centre take place?            

Via an online platform called TopScore

What did the assessment centre involve?      

1. General interview: competency, motivation and commercial awareness questions (~45 minutes, with 1 fee earner)

2. Client interview: case study (~10 minutes preparation, ~15 minute interview with a trainee solicitor and a member of HR)

3. Written Task: proofreading, form filling and letter of advice (~90 minutes)

General interview   

I was asked 12 Questions, and faced no follow-up questions.

Competency questions

Motivation questions

Commercial awareness questions

Client interview                

Format/task

Approach 

I focused on obtaining the information that I thought the partner would need to know in order to advise the client in the future, and I wasn’t afraid to probe for more specifics if needed.

I would recommend researching how to structure a client interview in advance. Perhaps prepare a script beforehand with a list of questions that relate to the problem and the area of law. I did need to be adaptable though in my questions when more information was revealed. Do not provide any advice and stick to the time!

Written task

The task had three elements to it, and I had to manage my time regarding these three tasks over the allocated 90 minute period. The elements were:

  1. Proofreading: this involved proofreading a fictional SPA, then highlighting errors and missing information.
  2. Filling out a form.
  3. Drafting a letter of advice to a client on a legal concept that related to their factual problem.

For the letter, I had researched and practised how to structure one. For the proofreading, read the document several times as I picked up on mistakes each time I read it.

What was the outcome?                                                  

The firm called me 2 weeks after the assessment centre to tell me I had been successful.

Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?

It was important at the start of the day to listen to the instructions of how the day would run, as this helped me to plan my time.



Penningtons Manches Cooper Vacation Scheme - January 2022 

What was the full recruitment process?         

1. Application

2. Assessment centre 

3. Vacation scheme

Which aspect does this report cover?

 Vacation scheme assessment centre

Where did the assessment centre take place?            

Via an online platform called TopScore

What did the assessment centre involve?      

1. General interview: competency, motivation and commercial awareness questions (~45 minutes, with 1 fee earner)

2. Client Interview: case study (~10 minutes preparation, ~15 minute interview with a trainee solicitor and a member of HR)

3. Written Task: proofreading, form filling and letter of advice (~90 minutes)

General interview   

I was asked 10 questions, and faced no follow-up questions.

Competency questions

Motivation questions

Commercial awareness questions

Client interview                

Format/task

Approach 

I introduced myself, talked the client through the structure of the interview, then started asking questions. Fifteen minutes is not a long period of time, so try to keep your questions concise and focus on the most important missing information.

Try to avoid overwhelming the “client” with questions or interrupting them, and do not provide advice. However, do ask follow-up questions if they seem to be hiding information. At the end, perhaps provide a summary to assist the client and show that you have been listening, and suggest some next steps.

Written task

The task had three elements to it, and I had to manage my time regarding these three tasks over the allocated 90 minute period. The elements were:

  1. Proofreading: this involved proofreading a fictional SPA, then highlighting errors and missing information.
  2. Filling out a form.
  3. Drafting a letter of advice to a client on a legal concept that related to their factual problem.

For the letter, I explained the legal position, advised on the most practical solution (taking into account time and cost), then explained my assumptions and outlined which additional information would be required.

What was the outcome?                                                  

The firm emailed me 2 weeks after the assessment centre to tell me I had been unsuccessful.

Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?                                                       

The written task was quite time pressured. Make sure you have a clear plan in place at the outside, and adopt a clear structure when writing. Re-read the facts a few times to ensure you do not miss anything. 

I personally fell down on the client interview element, in part because I missed one key thing that the client mentioned and did not probe enough regarding the value of some of their personal possessions.

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