VINSON & ELKINS RLLP
We have a very flat hierarchy here so on a daily basis our trainees interact with partners, senior associates, associates, other trainees and support staff
research and have something to say. It’s as if they’re engaging with what you do not just talking about what they want, which is always good.” The need for engagement is echoed by both Sarah and Mark. “Before the actual interview, candidates are given a problem question and time to prepare an answer, which then forms the beginning of the interview itself,” explains Sarah. “It’s not always getting the answer right that is important, it is how they present it. How they come across when they are talking to us, whether they make eye contact, what they do with their hands, those sorts of things. Obviously, you will get slightly different answers from people who are lawyers and non-lawyers, so we take that into account. If law students have had some experience of contract law, for example, then we will be looking for them to pick up on any relevant points in that area. It’s about them showing their strengths, whatever those strengths may be.” While Mark agrees, his criteria are often much more related to how he sees the candidate operating as part of
a team. “At interview we are looking for a combination of things,” he points out. “Like everyone else we want exceptional academics, but also some evidence of real-world experience. It’s very difficult in half an hour to make an assessment of the person, but – as we all work really long hours, in very close quarters – one of the tests in my head is that if I have to sit next to you on a long haul flight for 14 hours, am I going to want to reach out and strangle you at the end of it? It may be a tough test, but it’s the reality of the process. We can work cases locked in a hotel with a team for two weeks on end – I have to be sure that we are going to function and gel.” The vacation scheme itself is once again designed to be as much like working for V&E as possible. The work allocation system is the same as that used on the training contract – meaning that work can come from three or four different departments. This gives candidates a sense of what it’s like to juggle different demands and be involved on different things at the same time. Mark is also clear that although there is a social side to the vacation
placement, the firm doesn’t overdo things – once again, honesty prevails. “We don’t do what some US firms in the City do and take them out to the ballet or sports every evening,” he explains. “We just don’t think it’s representative of what real life is like here and we want people to understand that. We feel that, as much as we are testing the candidates, they are also testing us. With a programme of just four trainees every year we can’t afford to get the wrong people and that works both ways – they have to be as comfortable with us as we are with them. “The vacation scheme is also about making sure that the sense I wasn’t going to hate sharing an office with them after our first half-hour meeting was correct and that they can get on well with a range of people. We have a very flat hierarchy here so on a daily basis our trainees interact with partners, senior associates, associates, other trainees and support staff. We want to make sure that not only are they not going to go to pieces the first time a senior partner talks to them, but also that they are not rude and
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