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- 📩 A CMS trainee on what actually got him the offer
📩 A CMS trainee on what actually got him the offer
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Join us on May 10 for a session with Adam Khattak, trainee solicitor at CMS, who will share everything you need to know to secure a training contract.
Adam will share how he secured his training contract and the key decisions that shaped his journey. He will also go through his approach to applications, what he focused on at each stage, and how he positioned his experiences to stand out.
Applications
Research for your applications
Access over 20 law firm profiles, complete with breakdowns, seats, secondments, and other requirements.
A 9-step law firm research checklist that shows you what to look for, where to find it, and how to use it.
This breaks down recent transactions and explains how to move beyond simply mentioning a deal, towards demonstrating real commercial understanding and relevance.
How to structure your answers, apply the rule of three and build a compelling narrative for your applications.
15 real application answers samples from major firms along with an explanation of what worked and why
What to do if your efforts still aren’t converting, despite trying everything.
Application tracker, CV & Cover Letter Guidance
Track your applications, access CV and Cover Letter templates, and more.
Psychometric Tests
A clear breakdown of the key skills tested in critical thinking tests, along with where to practice, mistakes and red flags to watch out for.
Interviews
Commercial Awareness Starter Pack
Guidance on how to develop your commercial awareness and a worked example showing what a strong answers looks like.
Over 80+ interview questions asked by leading law firms.
Covering common formats, how firms assess answers, and how to communicate clearly and confidently on camera.
Work Experience
How to gain Legal Work Experience
This covers six avenues you could explore to gain relevant legal work experience.
Explore free virtual internships and DIY vacation schemes. Build real-world skills you can showcase on applications.
80+ opportunities across law firms, chambers, early-careers programmes and paralegal roles.
Studying
Includes proven tips for managing time, revision, and exams.
First Class Problem Question Model Answer
How to structure a problem question answer and showcase your legal reasoning.
Covers how to open with impact, write clearly and finish with a focused conclusion.
Oscola Referencing Cheat Sheet
A simplified guide to OSCOLA referencing, covering how to cite cases, legislation, books, journal articles, and more.
Tesco Faces Billions in Equal Pay Claims
60,000 Tesco store assistants are claiming that they are paid up to £5.50 less than Tesco warehouse employees despite performing work of equal value. Tesco is defending itself against this claim on the basis that equal pay between these two categories of worker would ‘disregard economic reality. ’
The claim is being represented by lawyers at Leigh Day and also involves claims for back-pay (previous pay that these workers have received). These lawyers estimate that the total claims could reach £4 billion, and Tesco has been summoned to an employment tribunal to explain why these pay differences are unrelated to gender (as the warehouse workers were nearly 90% men).
The Implications
This case is part of a wave of equal pay claims across major UK retailers including Asda, Morrisons and Next, with workers scoring successive legal victories. And Morrisons is facing a parallel claim to Tesco over equal pay in Leeds at the moment, with an employment tribunal hearing set to begin this week.
Retailers argue that warehouse work commands higher wages because labour markets demand it, as these jobs are physically demanding, involve unusual shift patterns, and face competition from other logistics companies like Amazon paying a premium to attract these workers. Store assistants by contrast face less competitive pressure as the available labour pool for these roles is larger, and these roles typically occupy usual daytime hours.
What does this wave of claims mean for retail?
The Equality Act 2010 requires equal pay for work of equal value unless employers can prove pay differences stem from genuine factors unrelated to gender
Unions and claimant law firms have established successful litigation models for these sort of cases, encouraging workers to adopt more of these claims
The threat of multi-billion pound liabilities might force retailers towards pre-emptive settlement or gradual pay equalisation
How to Use This In Applications
3 May 1788 — First daily evening newspaper, the Star and Evening Advertiser, was published in London.
4 May 1896 — Daily Mail is published, marking ‘the birth of modern journalism’.
5 May 1964 — The Council of Europe declared 5th May as Europe Day, celebrating peace and unity in Europe.
6 May 1966 — The ‘Moors Murderers’ are found guilty. As the death penalty was abolished six months earlier, the judge passed the only sentence he could — life imprisonment.
7 May 1928 — Voting age for women was reduced from 30 to 21 through the Equal Franchise Act 1928
8 May 1559 — The Act of Supremacy was passed, through which Queen Elizabeth I became the ‘Supreme Governor’ of the Church of England.
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The Future Trainee Academy brings the full recruitment process into one place, with guidance from a recruiter who assessed 10,000+ candidates and examples from future trainees at top firms.
It covers applications, interviews, assessment centres, and more. You’ll also get a certificate you can add to your CV and LinkedIn.
When you join, you will also gain access to the Watson Glaser Practise Hub where you can practise as much as you need to comfortably pass it!
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