Blake Lapthorn Tarlo Lyons

Blake Lapthorn is a large regional UK law firm, with five offices in the south of England: Southampton, Winchester, Oxford, Portsmouth and London. The firm is made up of over 100 partners and a total staff of over 800.

The firm's clients range from multi-national companies, owner-managed businesses, SMEs and government agencies.

Secondments

For graduates interested in working abroad Blake Lapthorn can co-ordinate secondments via the 135 international firms involved in TAGLaw (taglaw.com), a worldwide network of law firms.

Interview Questions

The application and assessment process at Blake Lapthorn is as follows:

• Online application
• Assessment day
• Final Interview

Online Application

From all applications received, around 45 candidates will be selected to attend an assessment day. Those applications showing evidence of thorough research, commercial awareness, awareness of Blake Lapthorn and distinctive personal achievement are most likely to be successful.

Assessment Day

• Psychometric tests
• Partner interview

Candidates invited to assessment days will undergo three psychometric tests (30 minute abstract, verbal and numerical) and be interviewed by a partner or senior manager of the firm. Candidates will then undergo a group exercise where they will be required to look at a problem brief and, with other members of the group, come up with a solution. The final assessment is a drafting exercise, wherby candidates look at a document and produce a letter to a client. A final short-list of around 20 candidates will be drawn up taking into consideration a number of factors including previous commercial work experience, the initial online application, interview feedback and test results.

Final Interview

• Partner interview
• Presentation

Final stage candidates will be invited to attend a partner interview, which will consist of a panel comprising of the trainee principal, a partner and senior manager. At this interview candidates will be asked to do a short presentation.