Every law student knows the top 10 firms in the rankings. Many treat them like trophies to chase. But here’s the reality: rankings only measure perception, not the daily experience of life inside the firm. They tell you almost nothing about what really shapes your career. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥: – Quality of training: Are you getting mentorship that sharpens judgment, or just slide-deck assignments? – Partner investment: Do senior lawyers actively develop juniors, or just delegate tasks? – Team dynamics: Will you collaborate, or be left to survive in isolation? – Responsibility level: Will you handle real, high-stakes work, or just peripheral matters? – Client quality: Are your clients learning opportunities, or endless firefighting exercises? Prestige looks great on LinkedIn, but it doesn’t guarantee you’ll grow — or even enjoy the work. Your career isn’t built on logos. It’s built on experience, exposure, and the quality of work you do every day. 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 Don’t chase a firm for its name. Chase the environment that challenges you, develops you, and positions you for influence — not just endurance. When evaluating firms, ask yourself: what matters more — the logo outside, or the work you’ll do inside?

This webinar breaks down why strong applicants still get rejected — and what to fix at each gate: - Gate 1: CV + application sift (signal + specificity) - Gate 2: online/VI screens (structure under time) - Gate 3: interviews (STAR-3® evidence + delivery) - Gate 4: AC/case (commercial reasoning) Do this after watching: comment “Law + deadline + stage” and we’ll route you to the right template thread. Historical outcomes; results vary; no guarantees. Third-party names/marks for context only—no affiliation/endorsement.

Does anyone have any experience/advice with this from previous years? Appreciate this process is still rather new, so for reference this is what I have been told I will be assessed on: Work simulation tasks – tasks based on real scenarios you may encounter at Freshfields. Video response questions – short recorded answers to real-life situations. Any/all advice would be super helpful, find video interviews much harder than in person ones.

Most aspiring lawyers spend years mastering black-letter law, case precedent, and drafting skills — yet the lawyers who rise fastest at top commercial firms do something entirely different: They think like strategists. In elite corporate practice — mergers, private equity, capital markets, restructuring — legal expertise is expected. It’s the minimum entry point. What truly distinguishes the best? They understand the business behind the transaction. ✔️ They translate legal risk into commercial opportunity. Not “Here’s the problem,” but “Here’s how to structure around it.” ✔️ They anticipate market shifts before clients ask. Dealmakers trust the lawyer who sees regulatory or economic change coming early. ✔️ They know the numbers. Valuations, EBITDA, funding stages, exit strategies — not because they’re bankers, but because they need to speak that language. ✔️ They read people as much as documents. Boards, founders, investors, banks — different agendas, different pressures. Top lawyers navigate all of them. ✔️ They add value beyond the deal. Once you become a source of strategic clarity, clients return — not for a document, but for direction. Corporate law at the highest level isn’t a “legal job.” It’s applied strategy, commercial reasoning, and business intelligence, played out through legal frameworks. 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 If your thinking stops at statutes and drafting, you’ll be seen as a technician. If your thinking extends into markets, economics, and business outcomes, you become indispensable. Are you training your mind to think beyond the law — into strategy, financial logic, and value creation?

Free ECS content has already helped some people go from rejection to offers at top firms. If that’s what free can do, imagine what happens when we: – set your exact targets, – tear down and rebuild your answers, – and drill you on mocks until you sound like someone they actually hire. Free = frameworks. Paid = getting pushed to offer level.