Pinsent Masons Assessment Centre - February 2025

What was the full recruitment process?         

1. Application

2. SJT with a video interview and case study element

3. Assessment centre

4. Direct training contract

Which aspect does this report cover?

Direct training contract (Middle East)

Where did the assessment centre take place?            

The firm's London office

What did the assessment centre involve?      

1. Business simulation exercise: you will have to work through an inbox containing various emails and tasks. You will then discuss your approach with a lawyer in a debrief. (~60 minute task and ~30 minute debrief with a lawyer)

2. Strength-based and motivation interview: competency, motivation and commercial awareness questions (~50 minutes with a partner)

3. Case study presentation: you will have to get through a bundle of materials and present your findings, followed by a Q&A session (~40 minutes preparation, ~15 minutes presentation and ~20 minutes Q&A)

Business simulation exercise

You will receive a bunch of emails as part of an in-tray inbox. You have 60 minutes to address the queries and tasks from different individuals at the firm. 

The type of tasks included in emails included:

• Explaining whether you were interested in volunteering for fundraising
• Answering a client email on the application of land law legislation (they had three questions, and the legislation was provided in a short passage)
• Editing an associate’s email (proof-reading exercise)
• Summarising a dispute between our client and their customer and highlighting any action points as part of remedies (you are given one page of information and asked to condense it to 6-10 bullet points)

The main skills being tested for here is whether you can prioritise all the work and how you perform under pressure. Some tasks will not require more than 2 minutes of attention, whereas one associate email might take 30 minutes. 

Start with the tasks that could take you the longest time and require more thinking (knowing that other emails might be quick/administrative to address and others might not need a response. When responding to the emails, ensure you use the level of formality that they write the email (mirror it).

You will then move into another room with a lawyer and have a 30-minute debrief about how you found each task and your thinking process as you completed them, why you decided to prioritise in the order you did, what you found challenging, what you would redo if you were given another chance, what were your key takeaways, and what skills would you carry over from completing these to aid your performance in the TC.

Strength-based and motivation interview         

• Tell me a bit about yourself.
• Why commercial law as someone from a non-law background?
• What led you to choose Pinsent Masons?
• What motivates you to train in the Middle East?
• Why did you want to pursue commercial law?
• Could you talk about a commercial trend and what it means for PM?
• If you were asked by a colleague for assistance with a task but you are currently working on something urgent, what would you do?
• Give an example of a time you worked with someone challenging to work with.
• Give an example of when you had to adapt to a new situation.
• Give an example of how you have challenged yourself recently.
• How do you respond to negative feedback?
• When did you have to change someone’s mind?
• Tell us about a hobby and what skills that helped you develop.

The interviewer had a set structure of questions to ask but made the interview very conversational and kept wanting to know me as a person.

Case study presentation

I received a bundle of materials, approximately 10-15 pages long, containing emails, letters, articles, and key facts about the different parties involved in the case study. My task was to review these documents and answer questions related to the scenario (I got an acquisition of a startup by a big public company). There were four questions I had to tackle relating to legal risks, opportunities, and considerations. 

I had 40 minutes to prepare before presenting for 15 minutes and entering a 20-minute discussion with one lawyer who took notes of my performance. The lawyer asked questions based on the points raised in my presentation, as well as some pre-set questions. It is essential to time yourself so you do not overrun your presentation and also communicate your points. The lawyer may challenge your decisions, so maintaining a clear, confident, and consistent position is crucial. I would advise against bringing up points you do not fully understand, as they might prompt a follow-up question.

Following the discussion, I was asked to reflect on the experience, including what I learnt from this exercise, what I found enjoyable and what I found more challenging.

The 40-minute prep time places you under real-time pressure as every document in the bundle is important, so make sure you at least skim-read everything first before picking up on all the key information to answer your questions. Make sure you have a good overall view to start off your presentation with and key points for each question, allowing you to systematically address every point of concern that the lawyer raises during the discussion. 

What was the outcome?                                                  

I am awaiting the outcome - they let me know it could take up to 2 weeks.

Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?

Interview 

Prepare a competency bank highlighting all your relevant experiences and make sure to match these up with the core competencies of the firm. I was fortunate to have prepared distinct examples for all the questions based on their core firm competencies. Don’t hesitate to draw from unconventional experiences either.  

Make sure you use a structured approach to answers, as they will interrupt you if you speak for too long. There is no need to go into excessive detail about anything, as they can always ask follow-up questions. Use different experiences for the different competencies they ask about, so you do not repeat the same thing too much. 

Case study presentation  

There’s a significant number of documents to go through within a limited time frame. I would say that most of the content is relevant, and I recommend skim-reading first to identify the key points for the questions asked. All the documents will be on your laptop, so you will have to familiarise yourself with how you want to highlight or mark up digitally. I would focus on learning the M&A basics, which can help to give a general idea of what an acquisition/merger is, risks, opportunities, etc and will strengthen your responses. They are looking for someone who understands what legal teams do / what client needs are during such deals. 

Business simulation exercise 

This was the hardest for me as the interface was hard to operate and you were also required to download documents and re-upload amended ones. Try to finish the tasks that rank higher in urgency and keep an eye for optional tasks (you would not be required to complete these if you genuinely do not have the time).  

Everything is pretty straightforward in terms of the tasks as you will be given all the material you need and would not need to bring in external knowledge. The order you sort the tasks out in is very flexible and during the debrief you will just need to acknowledge why you completed them in the order you chose. Also be prepared for other questions related to the impact that your actiont may have on the client and the firm.

Pinsent Masons Training Contract – February 2025

What was the full recruitment process?         

1. Application: blended assessment including situational judgement, case study and video interview

2. Assessment centre: interview, business simulation exercise, case study

Which aspect does this report cover?

Training contract assessment centre

Where did the assessment centre take place?            

The firm's Birmingham office

What did the assessment centre involve?      

1. Interview: motivation and situational judgement questions (~45 minutes with 1 partner)

2. Case study interview: oral presentation on advice I would give a client based on a fictional acquisition scenario (~45 minutes reading and preparation time, ~25 minutes with 1 partner)

3. Business simulation exercise: competency, motivation and commercial awareness questions (~60 minutes preparation time, 15 minutes with 1 senior associate)

Interview

Motivation questions 

• Why commercial law?
• Why law at Pinsent Masons?
• Tell me about a time you implemented something and it went well?

Scenario questions 

• What would you do in a scenario where you have competing deadlines?
• What would you do in a scenario if a client was frustrated with the work?

Legal and commercial awareness questions 

• What trends affect the firm and do you have an interest in the trend you speak about?

Case study interview         

I was given a 12 page bundle of documents relating to a business that wanted to acquire another business. The documents included background information about the firm’s client and the business they wished to acquire, including financial reports. I had 45 minutes to read through various documents on a laptop (provided by the firm) regarding the client matter and to prepare to present my findings to an assessor. The questions were surrounding:

• Why would our client want to acquire the business?
• What risks would there be for our client?
• What questions may our client have?
• What questions may the other business want to ask our client?

The partner also asked follow-up questions based on my presentation, including: 

• Which departments of the firm may be required to help with the acquisition?
• How could the risks of the acquisition be mitigated?

The 45 minutes prep time places you under real time pressure, so make sure you at least skim read everything, and try to pick up on all the key issues. Plan your oral presentation using very brief and clear notes (to save time) whilst making sure the notes/presentation plan allow you to systematically address every issue the client has raised/the case study questions.

Business simulation exercise    

Using my laptop, I had 60 minutes to work through an inbox containing various emails and tasks. I was told that I would then have to discuss my approach with a lawyer in a 15 minute debrief. The emails covered:

• A dispute that I had to summarise
• A rental agreement that I had to answer questions on
• A proofreading task
• An email asking whether I was interested in a CSR initiative at the firm.

I then had to discuss my approach with an associate and I was asked questions including:

• What was my favourite task?
• What did I find challenging? 
• What have I learnt from this experience?
• Which of these tasks would be billable?

The tasks are straightforward. Spend more time preparing for further questions that may be asked.

What was the outcome?                                                  

I am yet to hear back.

Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?

The interview is straightforward, but ensure that your why commercial law and why the firm answers are strong. Also, prepare beforehand for scenario questions that may arise.

The case study is straightforward to understand but there is a lot of information so ensure you manage your time well. Beforehand,  ensure that you know what each department of the firm does and how they could help with an acquisition.

The business simulation exercise is the most straightforward and there should be no timing issues but ensure you know what types of tasks a firm can charge clients for and what tasks may be non-billable.