King & Spalding Training Contract - April 2023

What was the full recruitment process?         

1. Application

3. Assessment centre

4. Panel interview

4. Training contract

Which aspect does this report cover?

Training contract assessment centre

Where did the assessment centre take place?            

The firm's London office

What did the assessment centre involve?      

1. Partner interview: there was a 30 minute interview with two partners, which included general motivation and competency questions. There was also a handful of commercial awareness questions. 

2. Negotiation exercise: this was a group exercise involving 10 other candidates (~10 minutes of individual preparation, followed by a 35 minute negotiation, assessed by two partners and one member of the graduate recruitment team).

3. Written exercise: writing a business memo and proofreading a document (~45 minutes)..

Partner interview       

Motivational questions

• Why did you choose to study law?
• Why are you pursuing a career in commercial law?
• Why King & Spalding.
• Tell me about x experience from your application form.

Competency questions

• Tell me about a time you worked under a lot of pressure.
• Tell me about a time you worked in a team and there was a problem.

Commercial awareness questions

• Who are the firms’ competitors?
• What is a recent news story that has interested you?
• If you could open an office anywhere, where would it be?

Negotiation exercise

I was taken to a meeting room with 10 other candidates. I was provided with an image and the exercise brief. I was given 10 minutes to read through the materials and create a 2-minute presentation. After this, myself and the rest of the candidates had a ~35 minute group discussion and negotiated for the remainder of the time, all in the presence of two partners and one member of the graduate recruitment team.

The whole task centred around an individual who was stuck and isolated on a desert island. Each of the candidates, including myself, was given an image of one of a variety of survival tools and objects that the individual could use to help him survive. Each candidate had to deliver a 2-minute presentation on why the individual should have access to their specific object or image. After the presentations, myself and the other candidates negotiated as a group which three items would be best for the individual.

Written exercise

I was provided with a document that detailed a client's current business situation and some of the issues they were experiencing. I was tasked with providing a summary ( no more than half a page of A4) of the key issues I identified in the document, complete with an explanation of why they were issues (I didn’t need to propose solutions). The document was relatively straight-forward and had details of issues such as bribery and cash flow issues.

I was then given another copy of the same document and asked to proofread it and mark up any spelling and grammar mistakes.

What was the outcome?                                                  

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

Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?

I would make sure you have solid answers to why law, commercial law, and the firm. Graduate recruitment stressed to me in my feedback call how important candidates’ answers were to why the firm and how they disliked candidates talking about the same reasons they mentioned on their application forms.

The group exercise is very straightforward. Make sure you present a confident and structured presentation. Apart from that, engage in the negotiation, but also do not be too overbearing and don’t talk over others.

For the written exercise, I would practice picking a news article, then trying to summarise it under timed conditions. You could also practice proofreading documents online.

King & Spalding Direct Training Contract – April 2023

What was the full recruitment process?         

1. Application

3. Assessment centre

4. Final Panel Interview 

Which aspect does this report cover?

Assessment centre

Where did the assessment centre take place?            

The firm's London office

What did the assessment centre involve?      

1. Negotiation exercise: discussion around which items to bring to a desert island (~45 minutes, with 2 partners and 1 member of graduate recruitment)

2. General interview: competency, motivation and commercial awareness questions (~30 minutes with 2 partners) 

3. Written exercise: two handwritten exercises (45 minutes)

Negotiation exercise

Six candidates were shown to a room with two partners and one member of graduate recruitment observing. We were each asked to present and justify one fictional item that could assist a client during their 3-month desert island survivalist holiday package. Each person was first asked to make a short 2-minute presentation to the group on why their item should be chosen over the others. The group then had to agree on three items collectively.

I found this portion reasonably straightforward as it is not hugely commercial awareness focused. Try to arrange a negotiation exercise beforehand to practice working with others to find solutions and presenting a convincing case within two minutes. Remember not to be too confrontational (some AC attendees made this mistake). Staying within the time limit is essential for the individual presentation portion!

General interview

Competency questions 

• Tell me about yourself
• If your supervisor approached you with a task but the instructions given were not clear, how would you handle it?
• What is an extracurricular or piece of work experience that you are most proud of?

Motivation questions 

• Why law?
• Why King & Spalding?
• Why England over your home jurisdiction? 
• Talk about x experience from your CV. Is this an area that you are interested in pursuing in the future?

Legal and commercial awareness questions 

• What challenges would you expect to encounter as a solicitor at the firm?
• How can King & Spalding continue to be competitive in the current economic climate? 

This was a very motivation and commercial awareness-heavy interview. The top tip would be to prepare to sell yourself and your understanding of King & Spalding. The website does not tell you much (other than departmental updates and insights), so I would strongly recommend networking with current and/or future trainees at the firm beforehand regarding why they chose K&S over other firms. Perhaps reach out to them via LinkedIn - most are happy to speak to you as they themselves received advice from the previous cohort in order to get to the AC stage and/or convert the AC to a TC offer.

Written exercise

The written exercised was based on a fictional case study scenario, which centred on an email briefing regarding a government investigation/white collar crime matter. First, I had to mark up a document by hand to flag typos. Next, I had to draft a summary of five key action points.

This portion of the interview was conducted in the same room as other AC attendees, so the challenge is to stay focused on the task. You are only required to write half a page for the summary (although I wrote more). They mainly want to test how you structure and deliver a piece of “client-facing” written work. 

What was the outcome?                                                  

The firm emailed me two weeks after the AC to tell me I had been unsuccessful.