While good candidates can pick out and describe issues, great candidates go a step further by suggesting practical solutions. In real life, commercial clients pay solicitors not to present more headaches, but to deliver actionable solutions. Here’s how you can adopt a solution-focused approach and some common problems and solutions you might encounter in M&A case studies.

If you're a non-law student preparing for assessment centres at international commercial law firms, you might feel apprehensive about competing against law students. However, it's important to remember that law firms design case studies to assess commercial acumen rather than legal knowledge. This article shows you how you can approach these case studies with confidence and demonstrate your potential as a future solicitor.

Having been on the receiving end of case studies (eventually emerging victorious!) and worked with aspiring commercial solicitors to help them do the same ever since, this article exposes the most common pitfalls we have seen in case studies at assessment centres - and how to avoid them.

As competition for vacation schemes and training contracts become ever-fiercer, top international commercial law firms are increasingly turning to time-pressed case studies as the go-to tool to whittle down prospective trainee solicitors to the cream of the crop.

Rather than viewing this as something to fear, through implementing the insider tips we share in this article, you’ll be able to reframe this as a golden opportunity to show off your deep preparation, and to stand out from other candidates through demonstrating your ability to think methodically but quickly, prioritise effectively, and deliver under pressure.