About Linklaters
Established in 1868, Linklaters is one of the most prestigious and recognisable law firms in the world. Although its headquarters are in London, Linklaters has a truly global presence; working in over 20 different countries and employing over 3,000 lawyers.
Their future-focused approach has ensured they stay consistently relevant for over 150 years, and their legal insight and innovation has helped them to win a diverse and trusting client base.
Linklaters are always looking for the newest and best legal talent to help them to continue to grow and expand. Right now, they're focused on hiring candidates with a global outlook — the individuals who don't see geographical boundaries, are naturally culturally sensitive and who work with the flexibility and dynamism expected of all the lawyers that make up this respected firm.
As you might expect from such a distinguished law firm, the hiring process is both thorough and rigorous in order to ensure only the very best legal talent ends up working for Linklaters.
Application Process
The Linklaters application process consists of four key stages:
1. Application
2. Online assessments
3. Telephone interview
4. Assessment day
At each stage of the process, candidates should remember the six Linklaters key competencies, which they'll be looking for you to demonstrate in everything from your online application right through to your assessment day interviews. The six key competencies are:
1. Commercial judgement
2. Determination
3. Excellence
4. Imagination
5. Integrity
6. Teamwork
Online Application Form
The online application form is the first stage of the process and usually takes around 10-20 minutes to complete. It is designed to obtain relevant information about your education, background and experience.
As well as submitting your CV and answering questions on your past experience, you'll also be assessed for evidence of Linklater's six key competencies through a series of questions. This is your chance to show you are the type of candidate Linklaters is looking for, so be sure to consider your answers carefully and make sure all the information you include is pertinent and relevant to the questions being asked.
Capp Online Assessment
No preparation is required for the Capp online assessment, which is based on Linklater's agile mindset framework. Instead, Linklater's hiring managers are keen to see how you think, how you work under pressure, and what sort of employee you're likely to be based on how you do in the assessment.
During the assessment, you'll be required to answer questions on a whole range of scenarios, from global transactions to challenges that require you to exercise critical thinking.
The assessment takes the average applicant around 60-90 minutes to complete, but it's not timed.
Once you've finished, your test will be scored and you'll be presented with an individual feedback report. The report will give you an in-depth understanding of how you did, where your strengths and weaknesses lie, and which areas Linklaters would recommend you work on improving before the next stage of the process.
Critical Thinking Test
The next stage of the process is the Linklaters critical thinking test, which is set by the provider Watson Glaser. Analytical in style and designed to assess the way each individual thinks, the test has five distinct sections:
1. Argument evaluation
2. Deductive reasoning
3. Drawing inferences
4. Logical interpretations
5. Recognising assumptions
Each section will consist of a passage of text followed by a statement. You'll need to evaluate the statement in relation to the passage in order to answer the question being asked of you. The questions on this section of the test are multiple choice, and you'll be timed.
As you can see from reading the titles of the five sections of the test, the skills being tested are essential for every lawyer working for Linklaters.
Practising past Watson Glaser critical thinking tests will help you to improve your speed, accuracy, confidence and understanding on the day. You can practice some free tests here.
If you successfully pass the test and move onto the next stage of the process, you will be asked to take the test again further down the line.
Assessment Day
The final stage of the process is an assessment day (sometimes known as an assessment centre) with other successful candidates at a key Linklaters office. The assessment day is only open to the very few candidates who have made it through each stage of the process.
Before the assessments properly start, you'll be introduced to the Linklaters staff running the day and be given a tour of the company. This is your chance to ask any questions about the general day-to-day running of life at Linklaters, and is where the hiring managers may start to form first impressions about your interest and suitability for Linklaters.
Once that's complete, you'll move into the first challenge of the day: an in-tray exercise. Designed to assess how well you cope with the day-to-day tasks at Linklaters, you'll need to sort through emails (as the exercise progresses, emails will come in more quickly), before replying to one of the more 'important' messages you've received. It may sound simple, but as well as being tested on your ability to prioritise, you also need to show you can work quickly but accurately, and respond comprehensively to the emails you're receiving.
Interviews
As part of the assessment day, you'll also be required to take part in two interviews.
One will be with a hiring manager, and will involve competency based questions. You'll be expected to talk about your past experience, personal achievements and any perceived weaknesses while linking your responses to the six key competencies Linklaters are looking for in every one of their employees.
The second interview will be with a senior lawyer from the firm. The questions in this interview will be more focused on the job itself. Here, you'll be expected to show commercial awareness, knowledge of the industry and the ability to think critically. You may also have to answer questions on how you did in the in-tray exercise, so be prepared to justify or learn from any of the prioritisation decisions you made.
You may also have to prepare for a grilling on a Linklaters case study. The case study will be given to you in advance of your interview. You'll need to read through it carefully, extract key pieces of information and respond to relevant questions on the case from your interviewer.
Once the assessment day is complete, candidates can expect to hear if they've been successful in their application within a week.
