Understanding Different Case Study Formats in Assessment Centres
If you're preparing for an assessment centre at an international commercial law firm, it's essential to understand the various case study formats you might encounter. Graduate recruitment should be specifying which of these formats you should be expect when you receive your AC invite. However, grad rec can give you ~3 days between invite and AC (a few weeks if you’re lucky!) - if you wait until then, you won’t be giving yourself the best chance to prepare adequately. Therefore, way earlier in the process - ideally around the time you submit your written application - you should already be asking those who have previously gone through your target firm’s recruitment process (e.g. friends, future trainees) about whether to expect a case study and, if so, what format it will be in.
The good news is, the technical knowledge you need will largely be the same across all formats; it’s more the soft skills that will slightly vary depending on the format. So, while all formats are designed to evaluate your ability to analyse information, solve problems, and communicate effectively, they assess these skills in slightly different ways. Here's a guide to the different formats and what each entails:
1. Written Case Studies
Overview: In this format, you'll be given a set of documents and asked to provide a written analysis or recommendation. This might involve drafting a report, memo, or email.
Key Focus Areas:
Clarity and Structure: Ensure your writing is clear and logically organised. There should be extremely clear and explicit visual cues such that the reader’s first impression just based on how the optics of the document (i.e. just how it looks) even without diving into its contents evokes a sense of clarity and structure. Even without reading its contents, the reader should feel safe in the knowledge that your written document is not a stream of consciousness, but rather a well-thought out, well-planned curation of your findings, however complex they may be. To ensure this, you MUST spend a good chunk of time planning out your sections, main points, main concerns etc BEFORE you attempt to put pen to paper. use headings, bullet points and even tiered i.e. legal numbering (1 > 1.1 > 1.1.1 and so on to demonstrate headings, sub-headings, sub-sub-headings and so on) to break down your analysis.
Attention to Detail: Pay close attention to the information provided, ensuring your recommendations are well-supported by evidence from the documents.
Time Management: Allocate your time wisely to read, analyse, and draft your response within the given timeframe.
2. Oral Presentations
Overview: Some case studies require you to present your findings verbally to someone (partner/senior associate roleplaying as your supervising partner/senior associate or client), often followed by a Q&A session.
Key Focus Areas:
Clarity and Structure: Just because it’s an oral not a written presentation, don’t be fooled into thinking it’s a “chat”. Oral presentations need to be just as structured as written presentations (see above) - if anything, you need to signpost section transitions in oral presentations even more than written presentations, to ensure that your listener is following your flow and structure throughout.
Presentation Skills: Practice delivering your analysis confidently and clearly. Use visual aids if allowed, but ensure they enhance rather than distract from your message.
Handling Questions: Be prepared to defend your recommendations and think on your feet during the Q&A. This tests your ability to remain composed under pressure.
3. Group Case Studies
Overview: In a group setting, you'll collaborate with other candidates to analyse a case and present a collective solution. This often comes in the form of a negotiation exercise where the two sides have diametrically opposing objectives (e.g. one side is the buyer and the other side is the seller in an M&A scenario - the buyer wants to suppress the purchase price and the seller wants the opposite).
Key Focus Areas:
Teamwork: Demonstrate your ability to work effectively with others. Listen actively, contribute constructively, and facilitate group discussions. You are likely to come across teammates or counterparts who are difficult to deal with - demonstrate that you are able to work with difficult people, not allow them to fluster you and still invite them to contribute even if you do not like them on a personal level.
Eye on the ball/Time Management: Just like all other formats, group case studies are often designed to be extremely time-pressed. However, the difference is that, in other formats, you are able to control your own use of the time available, but in group case studies you can be dragged down by other people going down rabbit holes and wasting time on irrelevant discussions. You need to demonstrate assertiveness but also sensitivity in steering the conversation in the right direction. The worst mistake you can make is to fail to achieve your objective: for example, if the whole point of the exercise was to agree on a purchase price, everyone in the assessment centre will have failed if by the end of the hour (or however long you are given) you still couldn’t agree on a purchase price!
Consensus Building: Work towards a shared solution, balancing different viewpoints and ensuring everyone's contributions are valued.
4. Subject-Specific Case Studies
Overview: These exercises are tailored to assess specific industry knowledge relevant to the role. For example, a case study for a project management role might involve planning a product launch. You are less likely to encounter these in vacation scheme/training contract recruitment processes as those processes do not normally look for candidates who have the technical skills to “hit the ground running” in any particular practice area (unless your target firm is particularly known for a particular practice area). By contrast, you are more likely to encounter these when assessed for paralegal roles, which likely requires successful candidates to work in a specific practice area and start productive fee-earning quickly.
Key Focus Areas:
Industry Knowledge: Use your understanding of the field to identify key issues and propose informed solutions.
Application of Expertise: Show how your knowledge can be applied practically to solve the problem at hand.
Tips for Success
Understand the Brief: Carefully read the instructions and ensure you understand the task before diving in. Too many highly intelligent and capable candidates panic and miss the point of the exercise simply because they did not spend enough time on understanding what is being asked of them!
Plan Your Approach: Take ample time to outline your structure, whether it's for a written report or a group discussion.
Stay Focused: Avoid getting sidetracked by irrelevant information. Keep the main objectives in mind and prioritise accordingly.
Practice: Familiarise yourself with different case study formats through our free resources and practice exercises to get to a level of confidence where you can tell yourself: “I’ve done it before, I can do it again!“.
