How to prepare for the High Potential Legal test and video interview

Situational judgement test tips

• Recognise your role as a trainee: Remember that you are answering the situational questions as if you were a trainee at the firm. Keep this in mind when choosing the approach you would take, and consider the skills you’d need to exhibit as a trainee.
• Answer honestly: As you encounter each situation, pause and think about how you would genuinely approach each situation, and answer accordingly. This should be based on how you would perform if you were performing at your best!
• Core strengths and values: Before completing the situational judgement test, have a look at the skills and traits that the firm values on our website. Keep these in mind when answering the questions and try to convey them to show that you would be a good fit for the firm.
• Understand how a law firm operates: It’s important to know the aspects that would be prioritised in a law firm, so that you are able to pick the best answers. Answers should focus on clients, integrity, and delivering high quality work.
• Verbal and numerical reasoning: For the verbal and numerical intellect section, it’s important to take your time and assess all of the data in front of you. It might be useful to have a pen and paper to hand so that you are able to jot down your working out.
• Read the situation carefully: Make sure that you look very carefully at the details of the situation that you are presented with. For instance, your choice of action may differ if it says that the client is expecting the document on a specific day, compared to if the client’s expectations are more open-ended.

Video interview tips

• Fully answer the question: As you approach each video interview question, make sure that your answer addresses what the question is asking. Be mindful when including examples and ensure that it relates to the competencies or motivations being discussed. There can be a tendency to try to use your strongest example for every question – however, it’s best to use the most appropriate example or one that matches it most closely (even if it is less ‘substantive’ experience).
• Practice: It can feel weird to talk to a computer screen, so it can help to familiarise yourself with the process by having a go at recording yourself answering the most common interview questions. This allows you to check for things such as tone, speed, and any other random quirks that you hadn’t realised you were doing.
• Answer truthfully and be yourself: Whilst you should ensure your recording is quiet and professional, don’t feel like you should be overly composed and scripted for a video interview. Take a moment to relax before recording and try to come across as approachable and friendly – make eye contact, speak clearly using the STAR method, and show them what your strengths are.
• Utilise the preparation time: This is useful so that you can go into the recording with a clear idea of what you are going to say. Avoid writing a script, as this can come across as robotic and could reflect badly on your overall performance, but create a structure that you would like to follow and use this to practice your full answer in the preparation time.
• Review your experiences: A lot of video interview questions will be competency or strengths based so take the time to reflect on your past experiences and highlight the main skills or traits you gained. Think about how these skills would be applicable in a legal context, and how they would make you a good trainee at the firm.
• Brush up your knowledge on the firm: Take the time to research the firm again, making note of any key updates or new deals that have taken place since you wrote your initial application. Make sure you have clear motivations for why you are interested in the firm and why you are a good fit, with reference to your previous experiences.
• Commercial awareness: Before the video interview, look at some of the most recent commercial news stories and what is impacting the commercial market, particularly if they will affect the sectors that the firm’s clients work in. Be prepared to discuss the issue in detail and have an understanding of how a law firm would manage these risks or opportunities for a client.
• Try not to overcommit: It can be a good idea to try and signpost your answer when recording a video interview – for example, “I will give you three main reasons why...”. However, make sure that you have enough time to cover all these areas, as otherwise you may have to either sacrifice the depth of your discussion or drop one of the points entirely. By practicing your answers and ensuring that they fit within the designated time, you can avoid this and communicate your points in a clear and concise manner.

• Email the early careers team

• Find us on Instagram

• Call on +44 (0)20 3116 3000