Case study interviews

Case study/presentations are a common exercise in commercial law firm assessment centres. The structure of the exercise is typically as follows:

• You have 20 – 45 minutes to read over some documents provided by the firm and to prepare a presentation.
• You give a 5 – 10 minute presentation to a partner.
• You have a 25 – 45 minute discussion about your presentation and the case study.

Whilst most candidates think that this exercise is designed to test your technical knowledge, there are a variety of skills that are being tested. These include your

• Ability to comprehend large amounts of information in a short period of time, which is something that law firms place great emphasis on testing in these exercises. This includes knowing when to disregard irrelevant information
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Presentation and oratorical abilities
• Technical knowledge.
• Commercial awareness 

Structuring Your Time

As a general rule, you may structure your case study/presentation exercise’s preparation time as follows: 

• If you are allotted 40 – 45+ minutes: you should ensure you give yourself at least 5 – 10 minutes to prepare and note down the skeleton of your presentation. Assign yourself a hard stop up front (i.e. commit to stopping reading after 35 minutes regardless of where you are up to in the materials to ensure you have time to jot out your thoughts).
• If you are allotted less than 40 minutes: you may not have the time to elegantly structure your presentation on paper. Bullet point your key ideas and document your thoughts on the provided materials themselves as you review the documents.  You can ad lib your presentation based on your bullet pointed key points.

It’s important to remember that you are not delivering a speech or a client presentation that you have refined for several weeks.  This is a time-pressured initial view on your supervisor’s questions.  You should demonstrate that you have thought about the most effective way to communicate your answers to the questions posed, but rhetorical flourishes and oratorical brilliance are neither expected nor necessary.

You should read the materials with purpose.  It’s useful to write the questions out on a separate sheet of paper in front of you.  It’s a mistake to passively review the materials; you should read critically with the questions in mind.

You should also think about the sequencing of which materials to read.  Your supervisor’s email helpfully lists out all of the documents included in the case study.  It’s worth considering whether it makes sense to read these in the order that they are presented or if a different order is helpful.  For example, we find it easiest to read the covering email and then the marketing material first.  Please do not assume that the materials are naturally in the most helpful order to review.

Effective Presentations

It is difficult to provide generic public speaking advice that would be of much use here. However, here are some comments and suggestions that may be of assistance.

1.     Start with a firm handshake and a friendly smile. The ‘halo effect’ means that if you like (or dislike) one thing about a person, you probably like (or dislike) everything else about them as well - so try your best to be confident and keen in the first few moments. 

2.     Get some water. If there is water available in the room, we suggest you ask if you may pour yourself a glass before beginning. Presenting can be nerve-wracking – having some water to prevent you getting dry mouth will help. 

3.     Avoid reading verbatim from your notes. Your focus should be on communicating with the interviewer.

4.     Do not exceed the allotted time limit. Use a watch to ensure that your presentation does not overrun. It is better to conclude your presentation within the time limit and cover any missed points in the discussion segment than to exceed the time limit and have the partner cut you off mid-sentence.

5.     Keep in character, but don’t be too stiff and formal. The case study/presentation may involve you presenting to a client or a fictional individual. Although it may be tempting to address your interviewing partner as who they actually are, you should remain in character. Throughout your presentation, ensure that you speak and convey information in a manner that is appropriate for the kind of individual the case study details (for example, a client, associate, opposing lawyer, and so on). After your presentation, your interviewing partner may or may not drop this charade – follow his/her lead.

6.     Don’t worry about making mistakes. Your interviewing partner may ask complex and challenging questions that demand things that are above what is necessary to pass the assessment but provide a great opportunity to stand out, Do your best to rise to the challenge. Your interviewer does not mind you making a mistake so long as you demonstrate your reasoning and are able to realise, after some guidance, where you went wrong and why. If the interviewer asks a tough question, pause, acknowledge that it’s a tricky question, and play for time by acknowledging that it’s a tricky question and taking 10-15 seconds before answering.

7.     Law is ultimately a people business. Even if your answers are not perfect you can still gain points and be viewed favourably if you present yourself in a cogent, confident manner and build a strong rapport with the interviewer.