Mills & Reeve Vacation Scheme - February 2025
What was the full recruitment process?
1. Application
2. Online blended assessment
3. Assessment centre
4. Vacation scheme
Which aspect does this report cover?
Vacation scheme assessment centre
Where did the assessment centre take place?
London office
What did the assessment centre involve?
1. Group exercise: placed in groups of 3-4 people and discussed strategies for a fictitious commercial client (40 minutes independent preparation time and 20 minute discussion)
2. Presentation: based on an IP dispute for a fictitious client (30 minutes preparation and 10 minutes presentation to a partner)
3. Written task: write up based on the presentation exercise (25 minutes)
4. Interview: strengths-based interview, motivation and commercial awareness questions (1 hour with a senior associate and a partner)
Group exercise
The group was split into groups of 3 or 4. We were then taken into a separate room where we were briefed on the task. We were each given different pieces of information relating to the client’s case and had to prepare independently without talking to the other members of the group. We had 40 minutes to do so, and then 2 partners came in and watched from the other end of the table as we discussed with one another what we had found and answered the question given as a steer.
The company was an energy company looking to increase its funding and sustainability. We each had separate information relating to the company’s finance, goals, government funding initiatives, emissions targets and history, and their current projects. There were 3 questions that we had to answer together as a group: the risks faced by the company, short term solutions and long-term solutions.
The partners were very friendly but didn’t speak during the group discussion or ask follow-up questions. We were required to keep the 20 minutes time ourselves.
Presentation
This was an individual presentation to a partner lasting about 10 minutes. If you went over 10 minutes, the partner would cut you off and ask you to stop. It was based on an intellectual property issue. The partner did not ask any follow up questions.
We were sent 7 pages relating to a motorcycle company who was a leading company in the market. A competing company was selling a new product under the same name as one of the client’s bikes. We were asked to explain the pros and cons of pursuing litigation, whether we thought the IP of the client’s company had been infringed, and to give an overall conclusion on whether the client should pursue the case. In the bundle we were given information relating to the client’s current attempts to get IP protection, their finances and sales, relevant IP law, presentation of the imitated product on the competitor’s website, and some statistics about the typical success and cost of pursuing IP litigation.
Written task
The written task followed on from the presentation and lasted only 25 minutes. We were asked to write a summary of our presentations and our conclusions in an email to a partner. This was designed to test our time-management skills as it was very difficult to complete in the time. There was no additional information or questions given to us for this activity.
Strengths-based and motivational interview
Situational questions
Competency questions
Motivation questions
Legal and commercial awareness questions
What was the outcome?
The firm emailed me 3 weeks later to tell me that I had been successful.
Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?
The group exercise was enjoyable. Communicate with the team and encourage others to participate. Explain your ideas clearly and make sure you keep track of time.
The presentation was quite laid back so try not to be nervous. Use the preparation time to not only gather information and formulate ideas but structure what you’re going to say. Explain your reasoning clearly and try and link it to as much information given to you about the company as you can.
The written exercise is straightforward as it essentially just requires you to regurgitate what you said in your presentation. However, it is difficult to do so within the time so using the preparation time before the presentation to create a good structure of your ideas is a good approach.
The interviewers were very friendly so be yourself. The situational questions are designed to get to know your strengths so be authentic and don’t try and say what you think they want to hear. Be aware of current legal trends so that you can talk about these and how they relate to the firm’s sectors.
Mills & Reeve Summer Vacation Scheme - February 2024
What was the full recruitment process?
1. Application: this was an online assessment and included a long-worded question
2. Assessment centre: four assessed tasks
Which aspect does this report cover?
Vacation scheme assessment centre and written application
Where did the assessment centre take place?
Birmingham office
What did the assessment centre involve?
1. Interview: motivation, competency, scenario-based and commercial awareness questions (~45 minutes with a partner and senior associate)
2. Group task: discussion on a business strategic growth (20 minutes preparation, 40-minute discussion, with two associates)
3. Individual presentation: had to present on whether or not a fictional company should sue a competitor for IP infringement (~40 minutes preparation, 10-minute presentation)
4. Written exercise: write a SMART goal of what I want to achieve at Mills & Reeve (40-60 minutes).
Interview
The interview was scheduled to last up to one hour, but concluded in around 45 minutes. The interviewers asked two warm-up questions that were not assessed (why the firm, and what were your motivations for a legal career), then 6 standardised questions which covered motivations, competencies, scenarios and commercial awareness. The only question I can remember being asked was the commercial awareness question, which asked about commercial issues facing the firm and its clients, and how the firm can help its clients to navigate these issues.
Group task
For the group task, I was in a group with 3 other people. We were given 40 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes of speaking time. We were given a case study that centred on an energy company seeking advice on its strategic growth, including the development of new products. We were given background information on the company, its product, and its market share. Additionally, we each had an individual document that we had to consider. The document I was given was about the ban on diesel cars potentially coming into force in the UK in 2035.
We then had questions regarding business growth strategies that we had to discuss as a group. There were 2 assessors in the room, and we were told which individuals each would be assessing (they were assessing how we worked in a team).
Individual presentation
I was given around 40 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to present. I was given lots of background material on a fictional client to read (this was presented in the form of an email). It was a bike company seeking legal advice on whether it should sue a competitor for intellectual property infringement. I then had to present to one assessor who was a senior associate. The presentation needed to cover whether the client should sue the competitor. I discussed (for example) the pros and con of litigation, whether I thought the competitor infringed the client’s logo, the legislation that I thought was relevant, what steps the client could take, and my overall conclusion of whether the client should pursue legal action.
It was very informal. I was sitting down, and did I not have to stand up or make a PowerPoint. I just typed some bullet points/notes into a Word document and used this as a prompt whilst presenting (I had the computer with me in the room). The interviewer then asked a few follow-up questions at the end, including “what would be the first step in a litigation scenario?”.
Written exercise
I was given 40 minutes – 1 hour to write a “SMART” goal of what I want to achieve during my team at the firm (a SMART goal is one that is smart, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-specific). I then had to note which strengths I had that would help me achieve this goal, what my weaknesses were that might work against me, and what opportunities at the firm could help me to achieve this goal. I then had to answer around 5 more questions regarding the goal. I sat in a room with my group of 4 and one person from HR.
What was the outcome?
I received an email ~2 weeks later to tell me that I had been unsuccessful.
Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?