Hogan Lovells Vacation Scheme: Complete Guide From Application to Hiring

If you are looking to start a legal career, then you may have heard about Hogan Lovells. They are one of the leading law firms in the global legal sector, offering plenty of graduate opportunities.

When applying to Hogan Lovell, you need to pass every step of the recruitment process in order to be a successful candidate. The application process is very competitive, so proper preparation is your ultimate tool.

In this article, we cover everything you need to know when applying to Hogan Lovell, from the various steps in the hiring process to preparation tips.

About Hogan Lovells

Hogan Lovells is a top global law firm that was established in 2010 when the UK firm Lovells and the US firm Hogan and Hartson merged.

They are a huge law firm that handles complex legal and commercial issues on behalf of their clients.

The firm has over 2,500 lawyers located throughout the world. They have more than 52 offices located in Asia, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.

Hogan Lovell seeks intelligent, collaborative, and determined candidates from different backgrounds. The most important requirement is that a candidate should have a strong academic record. You need to have scored 2.1 or above in your degree.

Hogan Lovells International LLP

Hogan Lovells offers graduates and job seekers a variety of work placement opportunities. Candidates can attend an insight event, vacation scheme, training contract, or be a campus ambassador to get first-hand experience of life as a city lawyer.

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Training Contracts

Your training contract is where you start your journey to becoming a brilliant lawyer. Training contracts give you an opportunity to work at the forefront of the global legal sector.

While every trainee has different experiences, you are guaranteed to play a significant role in some of the most intriguing cases in the world. You will also learn from the best legal minds in every sector.

During your two-year training contract, you will rotate through four seats across six different key practise groups. This means you will move around the Hogan Lovells firm and experience different sectors of law and work with new colleagues every six months. This experience will help you decide which area you would like to pursue in the legal field.

The training contract is structured so that you start work almost immediately and develop the necessary skills. You will work on live projects for real clients and take on real responsibility.

Once you have completed your training contract, you will have the technical skills, experience, and industry-recognised qualifications to become a top lawyer.

Hogan Lovells’ application for training contracts is open between September 20, 2021 and January 31, 2022. Law students and final-year non-law student applications reopen on June 1, 2022, and close on July 31, 2022.

Vacation Schemes

Hogan Lovell has an intake of 60 trainee solicitors every year. Approximately half of these trainees participate in one of the vacation schemes.

Vacation schemes are a great kickstart to a legal career. Trainees work alongside partners and associates, gaining top-of-the-range experience. You will spend three weeks assisting with client work. This includes key practise areas such as litigation, corporate, and finance.

Some of the tasks you will be responsible for include drafting documents, attending meetings, and conducting legal research. You may even get a chance to attend court.

The vacation schemes offer practical experience, which is supported by tailored workshops, discussions, work shadowing, case studies, and networking events.

The firm’s summer vacation schemes are open to penultimate, final-year students, and graduates. The application for the summer vacation scheme opens on September 20, 2021, and closes on October 31, 2021.

The winter vacation scheme is also open to penultimate, final-year students, and graduates. Applications for the winter vacation scheme open on September 20, 2021 and close on October 31, 2021.

Insight Events

Hogan Lovells insight events take place between 16–17 June 2022 and 18–19 August 2022. To apply for this, you need to be in your first year of study or second year of a four year course. Applications open in January 1, 2022 and close in February 1, 2022.

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Hogan Lovells Hiring Process

The Hogan Lovells recruitment process is designed to help both Hogan Lovells and you see whether you both fit together.

The hiring process consists of various steps, which we will delve into shortly.

Hogan Lovells Application Form

The online application form is the first step of the hiring process and it is also your opportunity to impress Hogan Lovells.

The firm receives more than 2,500 applications for training contracts, so make sure that the responses you fill in on the form help you stand out from other candidates.

Besides your personal details, the application form also asks competency-based questions. These will be about your personal development and relevant work experience.

There is plenty of space on the form for you to elaborate on your answers. Make sure you use this space to your advantage and provide as many details as you can.

Hogan Lovells is not only looking for legal work experience. So list any work experience that you may have to demonstrate your understanding of business, meeting deadlines, time management, and communicating with people. Show how the skills you have acquired from student jobs can be used in your future career.

Also give examples of where you have engaged with the law. This shows that you have given some thought about your career and made decisions based on research.

The recruitment team will also be looking to see whether the way you work matches the core values of Hogan Lovells. The core values are an important factor that is carried throughout the application process.

Hogan Lovells’ core values are good citizenship, clients come first, one global team, commitment to the company’s success, and excellence in all work.

The application form is the only way to showcase your experience, as you cannot upload a CV. So the application form is like a tailored CV to help the firm get the information they need about you.

Hogan Lovells Watson Glaser

If you are looking to become a Hogan Lovells employee, then you most likely need to take the Pearson Watson Glaser test, which was specifically created for the job.

The Watson-Glaser test is divided into five parts. The previous, long version was called the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal—Form A. It consisted of 80 questions and had a time limit of 60 minutes. The latest, short version, contains 40 questions and has to be completed in 30 minutes.

The Hogan Lovells critical thinking test evaluates a number of abilities, including drawing conclusions, recognising assumptions, and evaluating arguments.

There are five sections of the test, each covering a different ability.

The test consists of multiple-choice questions. You have to select the correct answer for each question on an answer sheet and place a cross next to it.

All Watson-Glaser tests contain a short passage of text followed by a statement or question. You will need to read the instructions carefully. Only use the information provided to answer the question.

To successfully pass the Hogan test, it is essential that you practise the skills so that you are familiar with what the test requires.

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Preparation Tips

• Carefully read through each question.
• Make sure you are correctly matching the questions to your answer sheet.
• Take practise tests to improve your skills.

The Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE)

The route to solicitor qualification has changed since autumn 2021. All graduates, no matter what field they are in, need to pass the Solicitors Qualifying Exam. The LPC will no longer be available.

The SQE is a centralised assessment consisting of two stages: SQE1 and SQE2.

SQE1 assesses your legal knowledge and SQE2 tests your practical legal skills. You will need to have two years of qualifying legal work experience, such as a training contract, and successfully pass a character and suitability test.

Hogan Lovells has partnered with BPP University Law School and other leading law firms to develop the City Consortium practise programmes. The firm’s training contract will help prepare you to pass all the assessments.

The programme includes a law conversion course for non-law graduates, called a Postgraduate Diploma in Law (pGDL).

Hogan Lovells Assessment Day

The Hogan Lovells assessment day is a full-day event at the firm’s head office in Atlantic House, London. The day is designed to provide you with more information about the firm and for them to further evaluate you to see whether you have the skills they require.

First-year students do not need to participate in assessment days. But for vacation schemes and training contracts, students will need to take part in several activities at the assessment centre.

Once the assessment day is complete, there are no more application activities you need to pass.

The assessment day includes three assessed events.

What to Expect on Assessment Day

The day starts off with an introduction to the firm by a Hogan Lovells partner, associate, or graduate recruit.

You will then need to complete a Hogan Lovells critical thinking test, which is slightly different from the online test.

This is followed by a casual lunch and a guided tour of the head offices by trainee solicitors.

Training contract applicants will then be required to do a Hogan Lovells commercial business exercise. This is used to assess their teamwork skills.

You will be interviewed by a member of the graduate recruitment team to test your knowledge of the legal and business sectors.

After this, there will be two more interviews. One with a Hogan Lovells partner and one with graduate recruiters. These interviews are personal. They aim to understand your interest in a legal career, assess your knowledge, and evaluate your ability to handle real workplace situations.

If you have applied to be a campus ambassador, your assessment day will differ. You will need to take the Hogan Lovells critical thinking test, an interview, and a presentation skills exercise.

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Partner Interview

The Hogan Lovells partner interview ranges from 45 minutes to an hour. The interview has two goals.

To first understand why you want to pursue a legal career, as well as your knowledge of the legal and business world. And secondly, to see how you respond to common workplace situations.

Some of the questions you may be asked include:

• Why did you choose law?
• Why do you want to pursue commercial law?
• Why Hogan Lovells?
• What other legal firms have you applied to and why? Is Hogan Lovells similar to them?
• Where do you want to open your law practise and why?
• You may even be asked questions about the case study you completed earlier in the day.

Preparation Tips

• Prepare thoroughly for the interview. Research Hogan Lovells and stay up-to-date with the firm’s current news.
• Understand Hogan Lovells’ international strategy.
• Try to be flexible in your answers.
• Hogan Lovells seeks commercial awareness. Read about businesses and follow a company trending in the news. Read about their case and collect information from different sources.
• Don’t rush your answers. If you require additional time, please request it.
• Answer truthfully. Do not answer what you feel the interviewer wants to hear.
• Prepare yourself to ask questions about the interviewer. Keep your questions original, and don’t base them on research you have conducted on Hogan Lovells. Questions can be based on the interviewer’s career path, what they like about Hogan Lovells, and their clients.

Situational Interview

The situational interview is your final interview. You will be questioned by Hogan Lovells HR and a senior associate.

They will have a card which they will read out. You will also be given a chance to look at the card. They will ask you questions based on the hypothetical workplace scenarios on the card. You will need to explain how you would react in each situation.

Even though there are no right or wrong answers, it is important to be mindful of the firm’s core values when answering. Demonstrate that you are a team player and client-focused. Show that you are aware of the firm’s values.

The interviewer may also add to the situation to make it more challenging. This is important for the recruiter to see how well you handle work situations and also identify your behavioural tendencies.

Preparation Tips

• Be as honest as possible when answering questions.
• Keep the firm’s values in mind.
• Be accountable for your work and your mistakes.
• Make sure you can back up your response with a reason or facts.
• Prepare to explain why you didn’t choose other answers.

Hogan Lovells Commercial Business Exercise

One of the core values of Hogan Lovells is teamwork. The commercial business exercise is a group activity that has been specifically created to see how you work within a team. It is similar to a team meeting where the team collaborates to find a solution to a problem.

The exercise is based on an issue that a Hogan Lovells client has had in the past.

The commercial business exercise does not assess your technical legal knowledge, but rather how you approach and work through the problem at hand.

Even though you are evaluated alongside other candidates, this activity is not a competition.

Hogan Lovells Pre-employment Screening

Hogan Lovells will verify the information you have provided them with.

The conditions of the offer of employment include credit checks, verifying your academic qualifications and professional memberships, criminal record searches, employment history, and whether you can legally work in the UK.

Once you clear all the checks, you are one step closer to working for Hogan Lovells.

How Long Is the Hogan Lovells Hiring Process?

The recruitment process depends on the number of tasks you need to complete.

There are hundreds and thousands of people applying for the same job. Most of them are filtered out through the online test, but many still need to go through the assessments and interviews.

Online tests and application screening generally take no longer than a week. If you are successful, you will only know if the job posting is closed.

It will take the firm another month to shortlist candidates. The successful candidates will be invited to attend interviews and the assessment centre.

Assessment centres most often take place in the first quarter of the year. You should receive your results about one or two weeks later.

So the entire hiring process can take approximately six months.

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Final Thoughts

Hogan Lovells is one of the top international law firms. So it’s no surprise that they only select the best candidates.

The firm has a very lengthy and competitive hiring process. To pass every step of this process, you need to prepare for each interview and test.

JobTestPrep offers helpful resources, including professional practice tests and preparation kits. You can use these tools to help you pass the recruitment process, and successfully become a trainee at Hogan Lovells.