Interview 1 Flashcards
(32 cards)
Tell me about yourself
- born in Singapore
- half Chinese, half English
- appreciate blend of cultures is important
- globalisation
Tell me about your experience
- research, drafting, shadowing, filing, writing briefs and reports
Why do you want to be a paralegal?
- ultimate goal = solicitor
- want experience working in the field
- more all-rounded
- law is exciting
- forefront of innovation, help drive competition
- work is so varied
- fast-paced
Why is this role of interest?
- Focus on corporate sector → my corporate interest
- Exciting sector and very fast-paced
•Recent influx of CLO activity
o Did well through pandemic -> low default rate
o US: anticipated interest rate rise from the Fed in March -> increase appetite for CLOs as leveraged loans bought by CLOs having floating interest rates that will match the Fed’s rate -> investors will receive more money
o Europe: CLO issuance increased by 75%
o CLO-ESG article – how this specific sector are incorporating ESG factors
o Very busy in this area, lots of work! Exciting!
Anticipate will require proactiveness and ability to learn and pick things up quickly → I believe I fit that and I am determined to work hard and be useful
Why do you want to work at W&C?
International work
o Emphasis on cross-border matters - 44 international offices
o Global interconnectedness
Corporate finance-focused
o My corporate electives
o Capital Markets team – recognised internationally
o Top rankings in Chambers UK
o Exposure to these top practitioners – see how they work
Notable clients and high profile work
o Mozambique – complex sovereign debt restructuring of $1.9 billion
o Largest ever IPO of software company on the LSE – Avast
o Largest ever value rights issue in Italy – Represented 31 underwriters for Unicredit
o CLOs
Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley
London office growth -> big part of global turnover from London office – exciting to be in this environment and work with these people
Why should we hire you?
- Confident
- Committed - will work overtime
- Don’t have substantial experience but motivated to apply my knowledge to my work
- very interested in corporate work
- I pick up and learn new concepts quickly
- Personable - work very well in teams and get along with everyone
- Cultural background sets me apart from others - open-minded
What are Paul Weiss’ key strengths over its competitors?
• Goodwin Procter
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
- I will be 27
- Established myself at a good firm - built strong connections
- Trained and qualified in an area I find exciting and am confident in
- Hope to have worked in different countries and with many different inspiring people
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
- I will be 32
* Senior Associate
What motivates you?
- Working in London - fast-paced, energetic
* Colleagues - work with motivated people who are genuinely passionate about what they do
What is your greatest achievement?
- Distinction in all modules on the LPC
* Easy to doubt yourself in the legal world - everyone is smart and driven
How would your friends describe you?
- Hardworking - results-oriented and always have end goal in mind
- Affable - smiley, like to talk to and get along with everyone
- Confident
Describe a time you demonstrated teamwork
- Streetlaw - worked in team
- Music quartet/orchestra
- to be able to contribute to a team setting, need to be able to work efficiently as an individual to contribute to a team in a meaningful way, and for entire project to be successful
How do you check your work for accuracy?
- always double check
- create organisational systems that enable me to work efficiently
- set clear deadlines for each project, and allot time to double-check and cross-reference my work. And, if time allows, I receive third-party feedback as well.
How do you deal with conflict?
CLIENT/CUSTOMER
o Sausage grill - handled a difficult customer
o upset about us not using gloves and accused me personally of being unhygienic
o remained calm and uninvolved - explained not my decision but will express her concerns to my manager
o manager commended me for my professional conduct
COLLEAGUE
o HRLC – 1 not pulling her weight in project
o Called her out on it
How do you deal with stressful situations?
- Paralegal can be stressful job
- Accustomed to stress of deadlines and large workloads over time - I handle it well
- Focus on main goal - helps align smaller tasks in a digestible manner
- Being organised helps with stress
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Strength
• resilience
• strive to do well in whatever I am doing
• positive - spring back quickly from difficulties and learn from them, always looking ahead
• feeds into confidence and self-assurance
Weakness
• have been working on a lot - public speaking
• I am confident and I can do it, but want to get to a place where I don’t feel so nervous
• streetlaw - public speaking
Give a scenario of a time when you had to multitask
NCA, Core electives revision
• Pomodoro, organisational apps, set clear deadlines, set v specific working blocks
• Distinctions in everything
• Excellent organisation skills -> vital for this role – signatures, approvals, maintaining database
Describe a time you showed good communication skills
Streetlaw – adapt tone to audience
• Proceeding without teammate – facilitator role, delivered message, set time to practice, asked what parts they want to take on
• Calm under pressure
• Links to teamwork
• Students were engaged – hands up, qs at end, good feedback
Describe a time you showed resilience
Music scholar at school, solo music concert
How do you prioritise work?
- Split task into smaller tasks - prioritise by urgency, importance, level of understanding
- Review and be realistic
- Gateley - memorandum about BITs - worked overtime to teach myself the concepts, asked for checking of my understanding, asked for assistance when needed
Describe a time you showed integrity
- HRLC
- praised for the report when it was a team effort, i just presented it
- made sure my teammates were given credit
Describe a time you used effective time management and achieved success
- Gateley - worked overtime
* NCA during exam revision - distinctions
Describe a situation that required the use of your creativity
sausage grill - pizza help
