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📩 What does it actually take to get a training contract?
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If you’re applying to firms like Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, this session is for you.
On 3 July at 15:00, Jada Cupid, future trainee at HSFK, is joining us to break down exactly what worked for her.
She will go over her background, how she approached applications, researched the firm, prepared for assessment centres and interviews, and what she believes made the real difference between progressing and getting rejected.
You'll walk away with a clearer sense of what these firms are actually looking for, and what you can start doing differently in your own applications.
PS: If you would like to see how a recruiter analyses an application, or the approach used by a future trainee to secure 5 vacation schemes, check out the events below.
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.
Yum Brands, the American multinational fast food corporation behind brands like KFC and Taco Bell, has announced that it is selling Pizza Hut for a total of $2.7 billion. This sale will be to a private equity firm called LongRange Capital and to Yum China: a Chinese fast food corporation that split off from Yum Brands in 2016.
This sale follows years of Pizza Hut underperforming relative to the other brands under the Yum Brands umbrella. Pizza Hut only accounted for 10% of the company’s operating profits, and excluding Pizza Hut the company’s operating profits grew by 10% last year (whilst Pizza Hut has been declining consistently in the same period).
Analysis
This deal is a typical example of portfolio rationalisation, which is a practice that conglomerates (large companies made up of distinct businesses) commonly carry out in order to allocate greater focus to profit-generating businesses. This sale not only allows Yum Brands to reallocate capital/resources towards growing KFC and Taco Bell, but also allows Yum Brands to take some value from Pizza Hut right now rather than allowing the brand’s value to further deteriorate.
The PE firm behind the part-acquisition of Pizza Hut, LongRange Capital, has a portfolio that spans gyms, funeral services and diamond manufacturing. This calls into question whether a turnaround of Pizza Hut is possible when even Yum Brands with its sector expertise struggled to make this happen.
What does this mean for fast food?
This deal sits within a wider trend of consolidation in the food and beverage sector, with other large transactions involving companies like Kellogg and Unilever as of late
PE appetite for consumer brands like Pizza Hut appears to remain strong despite the underlying performance of these target businesses being weak, suggesting that investors believe operational turnarounds are possible
Yum China choosing to acquire the Chinese arm of Pizza Hut implies that a poorly performing brand may retain its strength in certain jurisdictions
How to Use This In Applications
21 June 1948 — The first stored programme to run on a computer was executed n the Small Scale Experimental Machine at Manchester University.
22 June 1802 — The Health and Morals of Apprentices Act is passed, limited children to a maximum twelve hour working day; children under nine were prohibited from working in the mills.
23 June 2016 — The EU Referendum took place, resulting in the UK leaving the EU.
24 June 1825 — The birth of W.H. Smith, news agent and bookseller.
25 June 1978 — The first version of the rainbow flag, which represents the LGBTQ pride, was flown during a parade in San Francisco.
26 June 2015 — U.S. Supreme Court ruled in bergefell v Hodges that state bans on same sex marriage were unconstitutional.
27 June 1914 — Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, culminating in World War I.
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Want a clearer route to securing a training contract?
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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