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Legal case study interviews

Many commercial law firms require candidates to complete a legal case study during the final stage of the recruitment process. This page provides guidance on legal case study interviews and practical tips to help you perform at your best.

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There is no one single format of legal case study exercise, so it is worth asking the relevant recruitment team what you can expect. Below are some general points and tips that have been put together from what we have learned from law firms and feedback from students who have gone through the process.

Legal Case Study and Commercial Awareness Exercises

Bear in mind that recruiters are always trying to improve their processes so it is likely that they will find new ways to assess candidates each year. It is therefore unlikely that you will find comprehensive resources to practise legal case studies in the same type of ways that you might for management consultancy case studies (in the consulting industry, case studies are extremely well established and follow a broadly similar format during the interview).

Generally speaking legal case studies are not intended to test out technical legal skills – this is partly because they need to be fair to both law and non-law students.  Instead they are more likely to test the skills required to be an effective lawyer within the world of (private practice) work. So focus your efforts on your specific law firm research, ways to demonstrate your motivation, and the practice of skills they are seeking rather than on preparing for specific types of exercises.

What Is Being Tested?

The following skills and attributes are likely to be tested throughout the interview process:

  • commercial awareness – for example, are you thinking about the client and the issues they may be facing? Are you thinking of the law firm as a business?
  • logical thinking – are you able to think in a structured way and use your common sense to arrive at a practical solution?
  • analytical skills – can you identify the key issues from a lot of information, perhaps under time pressure?
  • judgement – can you summarise the main points of the arguments and come to a conclusion given a certain set of facts?
  • time management – can you manage your time effectively? Can you prioritise information and activity? Will you get flustered if presented with a large volume of unfamiliar  information to read?
  • dealing with pressure  – can you work under time pressure and stay focused and effective? Can you deal with unfamiliar facts or people and stay calm?
  • resilience  – how do you respond to being challenged? How do you respond when something does not go your way or in the face of a difficult problem? Can you defend your point of view?
  • interpersonal skills – are you confident in what you are saying, are you collaborative, can you develop a good rapport and productive working relationships, do you listen well, are you open to feedback, do you have a positive attitude?
  • communication – can you communicate equally effectively on paper (e.g. in writing a letter/email to a client) and face to face ( e.g. in making a presentation to a group)? Are you clear? Do you think about the tone and the reader/audience? Do you have a high standard of general literacy? Is your answer well structured, communicated in plain English and to the point?
  • negotiation skills – are you clear about what you are trying to achieve and what, if anything you are prepared to negotiate on?  If you are acting on behalf of someone, are they clear about what you are doing?
  • motivation – are you enjoying this even if you feel slightly nervous?

Further information

Reasonable adjustments

If you need reasonable adjustments in the legal case study exercise for health or disability reasons we advise talking to the graduate recruitment team in advance about your needs rather than bringing up for the first time on the day. They will be used to being asked and in our experience are usually able to accommodate most reasonable requests. If you are unsure whether to talk to an employer, what to say, or how to request support, you can book a dedicated disability, health and neurodivergence 1:1 careers appointment to discuss your individual circumstances. See our 'Careers Advice Appointments' page for more details. We can help you think through your options and prepare for the conversation.

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