Matt Oliver
Matt is a former FTSE 100 lawyer and qualified career coach who founded Trainee Solicitor Surgery in 2009. He’s helped over 300 aspiring solicitors secure training contracts at top UK and US firms, drawing on 10 years of legal practice and 15+ years of coaching expertise.
Matt shares free, trusted advice in his articles and offers expert one-on-one coaching for those who want tailored support from someone who has been on both sides of the process.
Posts
If a cover letter is required, it needs to convince the recruiter you’re the ideal candidate. This essential guide gives you a proven structure and expert advice on how to stand out – while avoiding the common mistakes that weaken most applications.
Whilst the majority of law career hopefuls will have heard of the website lawcareers.net, in my experience, there are many who aren’t getting as much out of it as they could do. What Is LCN? Lawcareers.net (LCN) is one of the largest law careers websites and has a broad range of quality information and advice…
The importance of law career fairs is often under-estimated by candidates and you will be missing a trick if you don’t attend any. Whilst we wouldn’t recommend you go to lots of them, we would certainly recommend you attend at least one or two carefully selected fairs. They are a safer and less scary way…
September/October of each year sees the start of various new cycles in the worlds of students, graduates and law job applicants. Students are either starting a new year at university or commencing the GDL or LPC at law school. Out of those who have already finished their studies, the lucky ones will be commencing their…
In this post, I outline how to prepare for, and practice, training contract and vacation scheme assessment centre tests & exercises. So you’ve gone through the hard slog of applications and you’ve made it through to the next stage. Awaiting you is the firm’s assessment centre and you’re wondering what to expect. Assessment centres (or…
Law firms need to know that their future trainees have the skills required to work in client-facing situations. And that they can be depended on to make an impression which reflects favourably on the firm. But a presentation exercise isn’t about presentation skills alone – it’s also a test of organisation and planning. What to…
More widely used in assessment centres for accountancy and finance, numerical reasoning tests are, nonetheless, still used by some law firms in their recruitment practices. Far from being a test of mathematical ability, these assessments are generally designed to see how well you can interpret data and statistical information. What to expect: The format of…
Verbal reasoning tests are one of the most common forms of aptitude test used by law firms for recruitment purposes. They are used across a range of sectors, including law, as being able to accurately comprehend written information is an important skill for most graduate roles. There is evidence to suggest that they can actually…
Working as a solicitor is rarely a solitary job, thus it is essential for all training contract applicants to show that they have the ability, and the correct competencies, to work successfully as part of a team. The way that many law firms will assess this is through a structured Group Exercise. What to expect:…