On Wednesday last week one of my students came to see me about her forthcoming interview at Inner Temple in connection with a scholarship at the Inn. I’d like to make a couple of points and ask a question. First, if you are thinking of taking the BVC it’s well worth applying for a scholarship. Unfortunately I didn’t years ago as I thought that as a ‘mature’ or late entrant the selection committee would assume that I had sufficient funds to maintain myself. Means are a criterion for an award but the main thing about applying is not so much the potential rewards, which can be substantial — several thousand pounds — but the sheer kudos of being awarded a scholarship. It’s good for the CV. You may only get a wig and gown (not insubstantial in itself) but it’s worth applying anyway.
Secondly, it’s good practice for pupillage and other legal interviews. The chance of being interviewed is very good. Look at the scholarships available at each Inn — they are similar so it’s probably not the main reason for applying to one rather then another. It’s probably a bit late for this year but check and keep an eye open for scholarship closing dates. The criteria for the referees include headings such as Intellectual ability, Motivation, Integrity, Potential as an advocate.
My question is this. The student I talked to said that she had been told that she would be given a case from a choice of three to look at for half an hour and then to give an opinion about for about twenty minutes. Has anyone had recent experience of such an interview, either positive or not, that you are prepared to share with the rest of us? I’m sure that it would help others in the future to decide whether or not to apply — although my simple advice is, ‘Do it!’
Interviewers, please feel free to comment!
Richard
Filed under: Editorial, Law School, Law Students, Profession
Clearly I need to learn how to put in proper paragraphs! I had them in my draft.
Richard
Having experience of this type of interview I have the following to say:
1) Do not spend too much time on the first part, skim it over quickly and then pick up the finer points if theres time – they will ask you what the outcome of the case is and if you havent read it you will feel extremely ill prepared.
2) The main thing they seemed to be looking for is the ability to speak confidently about new material, as well as the legal reasoning on the case.
3) Its important to show independant thought, in interviews like this where 100’s of applicants are interviewed everyday you stand a better chance of success if you stand out a little.
4) Don’t apply for a scholarship if your parents are going to pay your fees, unless you like recieving diplomatic letters explaining how you’ll be an excellent lawyer but unfortunatley aren’t quite poor enough.
Well, I suppose that the idea of scholarships is primarily to assist the poor and needy! There is a justifiable means-related part to the process but it is at least good practice for pupillage interviews and I suppose that one gets some idea of the competition out there.
Thanks for telling us about your experience anyway and do look at the discussion board and post any questions you may have there. It’s getting livelier.
Best wishes,
Richard
I had my scholarship interview about three and a half weeks ago at Inner Temple and hopefully these little pointers will be of help to students applying for scholarship at the Inn in the future.
This is a small account of my recent scholarship experience:
1. Arrive at the Inn and sign in. We are told that we will be required to read a recent, unreported decision in one of three areas of law. The areas of law available for selection this year were (i) Criminal law; (ii) Commercial law and (iii) Administrative law. I chose criminal.
2. After a bit of hanging around, applicants were taken to the library in groups of five and were given our case to read. We had 30 mins to read the decision, concerntrating on the what the court decided, why they decided the case in the way that they did and what were the competing arguments in favour and against.
3. Once the half hour had elapsed we were taken back to the treasury office and waited to be called to before the interview panel.
4. Once called, I was taken into a room where a panel of five senior members of the inn were seated behind a long table. The chair of the panel introduced everybody on the panel. I sat, smiled and said ‘hello’.
5. The panel members took in turns to ask me questions. The first set of questions were about my previous achievements (or lack thereof); my current engagements (university, mini-pupillage etc) and what area of law interested me the most.
6. The second set of questions were based entirely on the case I read earlier. I explained the facts of the case to the panel, told them what the court held and so on. I was then probed about whether I agreed with the decision and whether I would have applied a different test. I said I disagreed with the decision, stated my reasons why and suggested an alternative test.
7. The third set of questions related entirely to my financial situation and whole I planned to pay for my BVC. I explained my circumstances and my plan of action but made a point of saying that I could not proceed to the BVC without the Inns help.
8. Finally, I was asked if I had any questions. I said ‘yes’. Curiously, I hadn’t been asked the favourite ‘why do you want to be a barrister?’. So I asked, would you like to know why I want to be a barrister? They said yes, and I gave my reasons.
9. I was thanked for my attendance and was told that I would find out how I got in a couple of weeks. I left, unable to tell whether my interview had gone well or not!
As it turns out, I was awarded a substantial scholarship and I am over the moon!
One of the things that struck me when I was preparing for my interview was the total lack of information about peoples previous experiences available on the web besides all the usual cliches.
My advise to future applicants is as follows:
1. Do you best to relax. Everybody gets nervous no matter what they say and its okay to be anxious. The important thing to remember is that it is never anywhere near as bad as you think it’ll be.
2. If you’re given a case to read as I was, read it, think about it and don’t panic if you are unsure about the finer details. My case concerned the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, which a statute I was very unfamilar with. I just got to grip with the facts and simplified the issues. This is something you’ve probably done countless times during your degree so its nothing new.
3. In the interview be polite, listen to the questions carefully and if you need time to consider an answer (as I did), ask for it. When asked personal questions about previous success or failures, be honest and candid. They are only trying to learn more about you, not to shoot you down.
4. Finally, have confidence in your ability and remember that your panel are people. Its not Dragon’s Den, nor is it Fame Academy!
I hope this helps any future scholarship applicants. I’d be interested to hear about the experiences of other students at Lincoln’s, Gray’s and Middle.
Daniel, thank you for an informative and candid description of the process, it was very helpful indeed.