Overall, very positive experience. The process for me was: 1) Submit application form (standard stuff), with personal statement (850 words, on why commercial law, why Freshfields, and why they should hire you) 2) Get invited to do Watson Glaser test: For mine, this had a 30 minute time limit. The key is to practice well beforehand, and know what each of the sections are asking for. I got the invite 13 days after application window closed. 3) Assessment centre: I got the invite to the AC about 5 days after the Watson Glaser. The day is in 4 parts: a) Written assessment - for me, in CoVID times, this was done online before the day of the AC, but I believe that usually you would do it in person, at Freshfields' offices on the day. If the format is always the same, you are asked to imagine you are a trainee, and are given some instructions from a supervisor, along with a couple of supporting e-mails. You are then given a draft e-mail from your supervisor to comment on (pointing out mistakes, ambiguities, inaccuracies, overly formal/informal language etc.), and told to redraft a paragraph (the redrafting is much simpler than it may sound - don't overthink it). The key to this (for me at least) is to read and re-read all the material before you begin, so that you can then work through the exercise at speed, without having to be constantly going back to the question/instructions etc. I suggest being methodical; you could either work through line by line, or go through thematically (i.e. looking for typos first, then factual inaccuracies, then ambiguity etc.), whatever works for you. b) Interview with two lawyers. Focus of this one is on your motivations for a career in international commercial law, why you want to work at Freshfields, and your suitability. If you didn’t do a law degree at university, be prepared to explain how you think what you studied fits with a career in law. My interviewers were incredibly nice, and all of the conversation was done with good humour. However, they are thorough, so make sure you have a good idea of your motivations and skills, and that you can articulate these things clearly. Think about qualities that lawyers need (organisation, analytical ability, teamwork etc.) and think of times you’ve demonstrated these. They will also ask you some ‘situational’ questions (e.g. what would you do if your colleague was slacking off). There’s no secret to answering these questions, just think reasonably about the best course of action. Then there’ll be some time for questions at the end. It should be 45 minutes of interviewing, then 15 minutes for your questions. Don’t prepare so much that it sounds like you’re reading off a script. c) Talk with a current trainee. No one assesses you here - this is genuinely just 15 minutes to ask a current trainee whatever questions you like. No pressure. d) Analytical interview: You’re given about 30 minutes to read through an article, then questions will be asked about the article. I suggest you read through a couple of times, then prepare a brief, concise precis of the article; this is likely to be the first question. Then there are some questions about material that is generally in black and white in the article. After that there’s more general questions about what you think can be extrapolated from the info in the article, general questions about the background commercial environment. You can’t fully prepare for this one. Just be confident, and don’t be afraid to consider your answer before speaking. You will not be expected to use any law in your answers, and you don’t have to be Warren Buffet. Just be a bit savvy and you’ll be fine. Again, there is 45 minutes of questioning, then you have 15 minutes to ask questions at the end. You get breaks in between each of these sections. I got the offer one week after the AC. I hope someone finds this helpful.