Course curriculum

    1. A word of warning...

    2. Classification of firms

    1. CV

    2. Cover letter (vacation scheme)

    3. Cover letter (paralegal)

    4. Work experience section

    5. Extra-curricular activities, and any prizes, scholarships, positions of responsibility, or noteworthy achievements

    6. Tell us about you

    7. What skills, qualities and attributes would you bring to the role?

    8. Please outline your most significant achievement to date and how this was achieved

    9. Tell us about a challenge you have overcome that showcases your ambition and drive

    10. Give an example of a situation where you have worked as part of a team to achieve a specific objective

    11. Tell us about a time you failed

    12. Why commercial law?

    13. What does a commercial lawyer do?

    14. Which personal qualities make a successful lawyer?

    15. Why do you want to train at this firm?

    16. What do you think attracts clients to the firm?

    17. Why are you applying for a paralegal role?

    18. Introduce us to a topic you know about and explain why it interests you

    19. Describe a current commercial issue that has interested you and explain why it interested you

    20. Discuss the impact of key global events on a specific sector

    21. What do you feel will be the biggest challenges for the legal sector over the next 12 months?

    22. Discuss a current legal case that recently caught your attention. Why does this interest you and what are the implications?

    23. If you could bring into force any law, what would that law be and why?

    1. Cover letters and personal statements (36 examples)

    2. Why law? (45+ examples)

    3. Why the firm? (60+ examples)

    4. Why you? (42 examples)

    5. Interests, activities, positions of responsibility (48 examples)

    6. Prizes, awards, scholarships, any other information (25 examples)

    7. Discuss a news story or commercial topic (39 examples)

    8. Discuss a legal case or development (8 examples)

    9. Questions about clients and law firm management (13 examples)

    10. What lawyers and practice areas do (3 examples)

    11. Mistakes, failures, feedback, weaknesses and resilience (6 examples)

    12. Biggest challenges (13 examples)

    13. Achievements and goals (19 examples)

    14. Teamwork, collaboration and conflict (11 examples)

    15. Problem-solving, initiative, innovative thinking, entrepreneurial spirit (6 examples)

    16. Situational questions (8 examples)

    17. Delivered high quality work / client services (8 examples)

    18. Organisation and balancing responsibilities (1 example)

    19. What motivates you / what are your goals? (6 examples)

    20. Oddball questions (7 examples)

    21. Values, diversity and inclusion (3 examples)

    1. A&O Shearman (x3)

    2. Clifford Chance (x7)

    3. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (x7)

    4. Linklaters (x2)

    5. Slaughter and May (x6)

    1. Ashurst (x9)

    2. Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) (x6)

    3. Herbert Smith Freehills (x8)

    4. Hogan Lovells (x10)

    5. Macfarlanes (x4)

    6. Norton Rose Fulbright (x4)

    7. Simmons & Simmons (x5)

    8. Travers Smith (x5)

    1. Akin Gump (x5)

    2. Baker McKenzie (x7)

    3. Brown Rudnick

    4. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (x4)

    5. Cooley (x3)

    6. Covington & Burling (x4)

    7. Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle

    8. Davis Polk (x4)

    9. Debevoise & Plimpton (x3)

    10. Dechert (x3)

    11. Dorsey & Whitney (Canadian firm)

    12. Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath

    13. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (x4)

    14. Goodwin (x3)

    15. Greenberg Traurig

    16. Jones Day (x11)

    17. K&L Gates (x2)

    18. King & Spalding (x2)

    19. Kirkland & Ellis (x6)

    20. Latham & Watkins (x5)

    21. Mayer Brown (x4)

    22. McDermott Will & Emery (x2)

    23. Milbank (x2)

    24. Morgan Lewis (x2)

    25. Morrison Foerster (x2)

    26. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe

    27. Paul Weiss

    28. Sidley Austin (x6)

    29. Skadden (x3)

    30. Squire Patton Boggs (x6)

    31. Vinson & Elkins (x4)

    32. Weil, Gotshal & Manges (x5)

    33. White & Case (x5)

    34. Willkie, Farr and Gallagher (x6)

    1. Addleshaw Goddard (x9)

    2. Bates Wells (x2)

    3. Bevan Brittan

    4. Bird & Bird (x7)

    5. Bristows (x4)

    6. Browne Jacobson (x2)

    7. Burges Salmon (x7)

    8. Capsticks

    9. Charles Russell Speechlys (x4)

    10. Clyde & Co (x2)

    11. CMS (x6)

    12. DAC Beachcroft

    13. Dentons (x6)

    14. Devonshires

    15. Dickson Minto

    16. DLA Piper (x10)

    17. DWF (x4)

    18. Eversheds Sutherland (x6)

    19. Farrer & Co (x5)

    20. Fieldfisher (x3)

    21. Fladgate

    22. Forsters (x4)

    23. Foot Anstey

    24. Gateley (x3)

    25. Gowling WLG

    26. Harbottle & Lewis

    27. Hill Dickinson (x2)

    28. HFW (Holman Fenwick Willan) (x3)

    29. Irwin Mitchell (x3)

    30. Kennedys (x2)

    31. Kingsley Napley

    32. Lewis Silkin (x2)

    33. Marriott Harrison

    34. Memery Crystal

    35. Michelmores

    36. Mills & Reeve (x2)

    37. Mishcon de Reya (x4)

    38. Osborne Clarke (x7)

    39. Pinsent Masons (x4)

    40. Penningtons Manches Cooper (x4)

    41. Reed Smith (x4)

    42. RPC (x3)

    43. Shoosmiths (x6)

    44. Squire Patton Boggs (x2)

    45. Stephenson Harwood (x9)

    46. Taylor Vinters

    47. Taylor Wessing (x5)

    48. TLT (x4)

    49. Trowers & Hamlins (x3)

    50. Walker Morris (x2)

    51. Watson Farley & Williams (x5)

    52. Wedlake Bell (x2)

    53. Weightmans

    54. Winston & Strawn

    55. Withers Worldwide (x6)

    56. Womble Bond Dickinson (x6)

    1. Aberdein Considine

    2. Anderson Strathern

    3. BTO Solicitors

    4. Burness Paull (x2)

    5. Gillespie Macandrew

    6. Shepherd and Wedderburn (x3)

    1. Accutrainee

    2. American Express

    3. BBC (x2)

    4. Deloitte

    5. EDF

    6. EY Legal

    7. Goldman Sachs

    8. Government Legal Department (x2)

    9. Immunocore

    10. National Highways

    11. NBC Universal (x2)

    12. NVIDIA

    13. PwC Legal

    14. Seimens

Example successful applications and cover letters

  • 169 lessons

Why are our example successful applications the best available?

In short, because we've invested hundreds (if not thousands) of hours in creating them.

  • Our database includes CVs, cover letters, work experience sections, career and firm motivation answers, competency and scenario-based examples, and discussions of current affairs and commercial challenges.

  • Jake Schogger has provided detailed written feedback for 23 different types of answers, covering why each is strong and what could still be improved.

  • Each insight is meticulously and consistently formatted, to ensure a consistent structure and approach.

  • Each contributor is required to objectively verify that their application was successful.

  • We highlight which recruitment cycle each application is from, and the designated word limit for each question.

  • Where possible, we also include information about online tests that form part of the initial assessment.

  • We are constantly adding new firms to the database, as well as more recent applications for existing firms, all of which will be available to subscribers.

Instructor

Commercial Law Academy Founder & Ex-Freshfields Lawyer Jake Schogger

Jake Schogger is a best-selling commercial awareness author, ex-Magic Circle lawyer, and the founder and CEO of Commercial Law Academy. He also co-founded SQE revision platform Law Student Academy. He trained at Freshfields, then spent years at a boutique law firm advising start-ups and scale-ups on a range of corporate, commercial and employment matters. He has also worked extensively as a career coach, and continues to deliver employability and skills presentations at leading universities and law firms across the UK. Connect with Jake on LinkedIn via www.linkedin.com/in/jakeschogger

Course reviews

Hear what subscribers have said about this course

5 star rating

Incredibly useful feedback

Jennifer Monteiro

I appreciate how precise and specific the feedback is. With a lot of generalised advice over how to write applications and cover letters, I found this partic...

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I appreciate how precise and specific the feedback is. With a lot of generalised advice over how to write applications and cover letters, I found this particular course necessary to really grasp how to answer application questions with how in-depth the feedback is in the example applications.

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5 star rating

Great content!

Ondine Ren

Really helpful content to assess where your own application stands in comparison to a successful one.

Really helpful content to assess where your own application stands in comparison to a successful one.

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5 star rating

Fantastic examples and personalised feedback

Charlotte Smith

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