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What do you find attractive about Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner’s sectors/ departments and which area(s) are you interested in having exposure to in your Training Contract and why? (300) What I find attractive about BCLP’s sectors/departments is that although you remain a legalpowerhouse of the construction, planning and real-estate sectors, your 2018 merger has enabled you to also successfully diversify and lead across other areas including energy, contentious-works and capital-markets. This shows your focused drive towards continualgrowth and development on the global-stage. Nevertheless, my main interests lie within your Real-Estate department and your M&A disputes group. Regarding the former, I am particularly excited at the prospect of gaining exposure to your Real-Estate Finance team. As a natural “go-getter” I see it as an incredible opportunity that trainees in this sub-team are involved in higher-value real estate deals. Furthermore, I admire how you enable trainees to see both borrower and lender sides of deals, which I am sure gives them a well-rounded, commercial perspective. Moreover, I find it extremely impressive to see that your Real-Estate Finance team is ranked Tier-1 by both Legal 500 and Chambers as it demonstrates your continual dominance in a field I am greatly interested in. Regarding the latter, M&A disputes, my interest stems from two points. Firstly, the exciting nature of the work. As I understand it, litigation is not simply a by-product of deals like M&A transactions, but also a strategic and commercial lever. As a naturally strategic thinker – a skill developed further as an officially ranked chess-expert – I am confident that I would thrive being part of a team that exists to devise strategies to handle complex, cross-border and high value M&A litigation. Secondly, it is clear that BCLP has invested in strong leadership across this area, illustrated by the impressive track-records of co-leaders Joby Davies and Meryl Macklin. This makes me confident that I would be learning from the sharpest legal minds in this field, which I find extremely appealing.

Please detail any academic awards, positions of responsibilities and/ or any interests or hobbies outside of academics and work experience (please list in bullet points).      

Languages – an avid language learner, I have become fluent in French, and have been teaching myself Italian, Mandarin and Kinyarwandan over the last 5 years. Sports, fitness and outdoors – I have been playing Rugby since I was 8 years old, and semi-professionally since I was 19. I also enjoy skiing, hiking and in 2018 I ran the hottest London marathon on record. Chess – Since 2019 I have been officially classified as a Chess expert due to my international ranking. Debating – During my time at University I was part of the debating team and Model United Nations, participating in the Paris International Model United Nations (PIMUN) conference while studying abroad at Science Po, Paris. Leadership – At Sixth Form I was Captain of the Rugby team and President of the Sixth Form, while at Undergrad I was Club Secretary for the University Rugby Team. At Postgrad I was Vice-President of the International Public Policy Review. Academic awards – I was a member of the National Academy for Talented and Gifted youth for five subjects during secondary school, as well as scoring in the 98th percentile for Mensa.

In your first 3 months as a trainee at BCLP, who would you seek to build relationships with, and what strategies would you implement to ensure that these relationships are long lasting? Firstly, I would prioritise building meaningful-relationship with my trainee-cohort, as they will be my main support-system if I need help (and vice-versa), meaning it would be important to invest time in these relationships. To do this, I would make sure to check in with fellow trainees for coffee and schedule lunches, taking the time to actively listen to how they are getting on. I would also aim to foster a sense of respect, trust and approachability, so that they view me as a reliable colleague who can they ask for support when needed. Secondly, I would seek to build a strong-relationship with my supervisor. As they are the person who will oversee my work and the training in that particular area of law, it is a bespoke and vital relationship to invest in. To ensure this relationship’s longevity, I would take the time to understand their preferences and work-habits early on, making sure that we also establish clear-boundaries and expectations of each other. Additionally, I would cultivate open and honest communication, ensuring they feel comfortable to give me constructive feedback; both positive and negative. I would also take an avid interest in their clients and practice areas, to help build rapport and learn more in the process. Thirdly, I would seek to prioritise building relationships with BCLP’s partners. As seasoned members of the firm, I am sure there is much they could help me to understand about the history, culture and vision of the firm. To ensure I develop strong links, I would aim to demonstrate to them my practicality and reliability – i.e., by never missing deadlines, showing innovation and initiative and making judgement calls where needed. Finally, where appropriate (i.e. over work drinks) I would connect with them and see how I can help make their department a success.

Imagine you are a trainee at BCLP and you have been working on a task for an associate in the Finance department. The associate is away and a partner in the department urgently wants a summary note of the research to send to a client, and has asked you to send it to them by tomorrow morning. How would you react? 1. I would make sure that I clarify any uncertainties I have with the partner, so that I understand exactly what is involved in producing this summary, such as resources and people needed. 2. As the associate is ‘away’ I would then immediately inform my supervisor of the situation so that he or she is aware. I would listen to any advice they give me, including ways to complete the summary or recommendations of people in the Finance department that I should contact. 3. Based on the informative given to me in steps 1 & 2, I would then try to estimate how much time it would take to prepare (adding additional time to cater for any gaps in my knowledge or other potential tasks that may arise). 4. I would then add the summary note to my to-do list, using the Eisenhower-matrix to help identify where this new task sits among my existing priorities. I would ensure that any less urgent tasks were rescheduled or delegated (where possible) to free up the time needed to complete this time-sensitive task. 5. Following this, I would work through my tasks based on the order of priority I have identified, ensuring that I complete them to the highest standard possible. 6. If, following steps 3 & 4 , I felt I could not complete the task in the time given, due to my workload, I would immediately try to find another trainee in my department who may be able to. I would then contact the partner again ASAP – if the deadline is movable, I would try to fit it in later that week. If not, I would apologise for my inability to commit to this task but show I am solution-focused by providing an alternative trainee who could complete it.

Why have you decided to apply to our open day?

I have decided to apply to your open day because I am extremely interested in joining BCLP and feel that this open day would give me invaluable insight into your firm. In particular, I am keen to gain exposure to some of the sharpest minds in the legal-field and excited at the opportunity to learn more about how it is to work in some of the diverse sectors your firm operates in. As a naturally diligent person, I have done as much research as I can do into your firm and have learned many impressive facts about BCLP, including your speciality practice areas, achievements, organisational-growth and strategic direction. However, I think that culture is a harder concept to grasp solely through research, which is why I believe I will greatly benefit from hearing directly from BCLP’s associates, partners and graduate recruitment team about their experiences at your firm. Furthermore, I am sure that your open day will be fantastic from a development point of view. I would relish the opportunity to demonstrate and improve my commercial awareness and negotiation skills, through the skills sessions and workshops that you would put on. In doing so, I’m sure that your open days would put me in a much stronger position for the vacation scheme, if I were chosen to attend that also. Finally, I believe that your open day will be a great chance for me to ask any questions and gain even deeper insight into your firm. Considering your recent merger in 2018, as well as the challenging times presented to the legal sector by Covid-19, I would value the opportunity to learn more about how BCLP has adjusted to changes and has overcome recent challenges....