Clifford Chance Interview Questions
& Process

It was all done virtually. A few days after sending my CV, they emailed me a link to answer questions. I had about a week to complete it. The process involved about 15 seconds to think and one minute to respond in English, and then it automatically moved to the next question. In the end, they told me there were no openings in the department I wanted, but they would keep my application on file.

The assessment day had a group exercise, a case-study, and a written exercise. After that was a competency interview. For the case-study, you had to look through a lot of documents about a potential client project and figure out the main risks. Then you had to write up the risks and talk about them with a Partner and an Associate.

This interview was pretty different from other first interviews I’ve had. It mostly focused on scenarios rather than me or my background. Like, 85% of it was about what I’d do in specific situations – like what I’d deliver, how I’d approach the work, and how I’d interact with stakeholders, even specific groups. They really wanted to know my change management insights and how I’d fit into the project. I was surprised to get this kind of in-depth questioning in the first round, I usually see that in later stages. It was also pretty intense with two interviewers, and I didn't have much time at the end to ask them questions about the company, which is pretty important to me. I'm wondering if this is maybe because it's a contract role!

I applied for a Proofreader role at CC, which is the only Magic Circle law firm that consistently advertises this position for day and evening shifts. Initially, they advertised full-time contracts, but these have now become 12-month contracts. I was sent the same two assessments for both roles. As I have extensive experience, I completed the assessments without any issues. However, I received no feedback, interview, or offer on either occasion. My follow-up attempts were also unanswered. I was quite disheartened until I received an email confirming the base salary of 'early 20sk' and an additional £3750 for out-of-hours work (evenings and weekends). This is less than what I was offered as a trainee proofreader with no experience 10 years ago, which explains the high turnover. The recruitment and compensation process was absolutely terrible.