Morrison Foerster Vacation Scheme - February 2025

What was the full recruitment process?         

1. Application

2. First-stage interview

3. Assessment centre

4. Vacation scheme

Which aspect does this report cover?

First stage interview and assessment centre

First stage interview

Mine took place online via Zoom (but there was an option to do it in-person if preferred)

This was a 1-hour interview with a combination of motivation, competency and commercial questions asked by two members of graduate recruitment and two associates at the firm.

Motivation questions

• Tell me about by yourself. 
• Why did you choose your non-law degree and why did you want to change to commercial law? 
• Why are you attracted to Morrison Foerster?
• Why are you attracted to the specific sectors that Morrison Foerster focuses on? 
• How have you researched the legal industry? 

Competency questions

• Tell me about x experience. 
• What skills did you develop from this experience?
• Tell me about a time when you worked well in a team.  

Commercial/legal questions

• What are the main differences between contract and tort?
• How is a contract formed? 
• Tell us about a recent deal that Morrison Foerster has advised on. 

Knowing your experiences and your application in depth and inside out is really important because they might ask about anything you mention in a lot more depth. For example, I mentioned one aspect of law that I worked on in my legal experiences and they asked me more about that and whether I could discuss it. Otherwise, I think being confident and friendly will go a long way, in addition to knowing what kind of work the firm does on a more detailed level.  

I received a call from graduate recruitment around a month later to invite me to a second-stage interview. 

Where did the assessment centre take place?            

In-person at Morrison Foerster’s offices.

What did the assessment centre involve?      

1. Pre-prepared presentation + Q&A: I had prepared a 5-10 minute presentation on a topical issue before the assessment centre, which I then presented, before answering questions about the presentation (5-10 minute presentation, 10-15 minute Q&A, with a partner, an of counsel, and a trainee).

2. Competency and motivation interview:  this covered my application, interests, motivation to join the firm, and understanding of being a trainee solicitor (45-minutes with 1 partner, 1 of counsel and 1 trainee).

3. Case study interview: oral discussion about a commercial/legal case study brief (45-minutes reading and preparation time, 45-minute interview with 2 associates). 

Pre-prepared presentation + Q&A

3 days before my interview I was instructed to prepare a 5–10-minute presentation from a choice of 4 presentation topics: 

• The potential impacts of the abandonment of independent fact checkers across all social media platforms
• How the Automated Vehicles Act 2024 helps ensure trust and safety in autonomous technology
• The challenges and applications of using AI in medicine
• How the new laws and regulations in food and agriculture could drive a more sustainable and resilient industry

This presentation was delivered to a partner, an of counsel, and a trainee at the firm, who then quizzed me for 15 minutes after my presentation about the content. 

Competency and motivation interview        

This interview was directly after the presentation and lasted ~45 minutes. I was interviewed by a partner, an of counsel, and a trainee (the same interviewers who I delivered the presentation to). It felt much like a panel of interviewers who asked questions whenever they came to mind. 

Competency questions 

• Tell me about yourself.
• What challenges did you face in x experience?
• Tell us about x experience.
• Tell me about a time you managed competing deadlines, and what specific strategies you used?
• Across all your experiences what are the main things you have learnt and how have you changed as a result of them? 

Motivation questions 

• Why did you do your non-law degree, how did this lead you to commercial law, and then how did you decide to apply to Morrison Foerster?
• Why are you attracted to the specific work we carry out? 
• Why the solicitor route and not the barrister route?

Case study interview

During the preparation time, I was given a case study brief about a fictional company with a product similar to ChatGPT which was looking to buy a company that manages data centres and produces computer chips. 

I was provided with various pieces of information (1 page worth) about the buyer and the target in addition to a few questions to consider that would guide the subsequent discussion. I was provided with pens and a highlighter, and I was not allowed to use any technology in the preparation time.

 The questions I was then asked included: 

• Which of Morrison Foerster’s departments could be brought in to advise on this potential acquisition? 
• How could the buyer acquire the target and what are the pros and cons of the different means of acquisition?
• What are the various financing options available to the buyer to finance the acquisition and what are the pros/cons of each? 
• How could the ongoing employment dispute that the target is engaged in potentially affect the acquisition? 
• If there are other shareholders in the target, how might this affect the acquisition and how might these issues be addressed?
• Are there any checks that Morrison Foerster should conduct before starting to work on this matter?

What was the outcome?                                                  

Graduate Recruitment called me a week later to tell me I had been successful. 

Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?

For the presentation I would say you just need to prepare well and try to pick a topic you have been following in the news recently, because having wider knowledge will be super helpful for putting the issues in context and answering the questions critically. 

The motivation/competency interview is fairly straightforward, but just make sure that you know your experiences really well and that you can explain how you have developed certain skills. I would try to practise answering in front of people because with 3 interviewers it can feel quite daunting, yet it is important to speak confidently and naturally.  

The case study interview is really technical but the Commercial Law Academy courses on Mergers and Acquisitions and case study examples cover lots of the important information so I would definitely check those out because they helped me a lot. It requires both technical legal and wider commercial knowledge and it’s really important to demonstrate how well you can apply it to a real commercial scenario so I would also try to practise that.