Why did you choose Clayton Utz?
TIM GRELLMAN Clayton Utz
I chose Clayton Utz for two reasons. Firstly, I was drawn to Clayton Utz’s culture, which you get a sense of at the cocktail evenings. While many of the cocktail evenings I attended seemed tense, the two Clayton Utz cocktail nights were relaxed and enjoyable. Whether I was speaking to the person serving the food, a graduate lawyer, or a senior partner, the conversation was friendly. This was unsurprising; Clayton Utz prides itself on having an egalitarian culture as part of its goal of being an elite firm with people who are not elitist. After meeting many people from the firm on each of the cocktail nights I knew this was the place I wanted to work. Secondly, Clayton Utz’s long term strategy stood out to me during the process. Clayton Utz is one of the big six Australian law firms and the only one of that group to not merge with an overseas firm. As such, Clayton Utz is the largest independent law firm in Australia. This is a result of Clayton Utz’s long term strategic commitment to Australia and its people/businesses. I am drawn to this strategic commitment to Australia and its people and businesses. The application process is notoriously time-consuming and stressful. How did you balance it amongst all of your other commitments? Try to do all of your applications during the Semester break (July); it’s crazy to leave this to Week 1 and onwards of Session 2 when work piles up. If you’re fortunate enough to get several interviews, try to do two or more in one day. I made the mistake of not doing more than one interview in a day. This meant some weeks I would have 3 or 4; it is very hard to study on a day that you have an interview!
Also, don’t worry if you don’t have experience at a law firm. I had never worked at a law firm before receiving my clerkship offers; the trick is to show how your extracurriculars give you traits that are valuable in a firm. For me, I focussed on my sporting commitments and positions on Executive Councils; these gave me skills such as teamwork and communication that is as important (if not more) to a firm than showing that you know the law back to front. What was the most challenging question asked during the interview? How did you respond? In my applications I noted that I have captained several sporting teams. In one interview I was asked “There is a lot of sledging these days in cricket, when I used to play we never sledged. How do you handle, and respond to, being sledged intensely when you open the batting for Macquarie Uni Cricket Club?” My reply: “Yes, there is a lot of sledging, sometimes it gets quite intense and personal. I handle it by telling myself before facing each delivery that I believe in myself, my batting technique and my club, and that if I do make a mistake, I believe in my teammates and am confident that they can contribute. For me, this means in a law firm, yes, there will be challenging situations but if you believe in yourself and your colleagues and work in a team, you will overcome the challenge and produce a good result for your client (or, in my case, the cricket team).” I said before you don’t need legal experience; you need to show how your non-legal experience will help in a law firm. This answer attempts to do that. I hope this is a good example for you to consider. Best of luck!
Believe in your time-management ability: you wouldn’t have got this far in law school if you didn’t have the ability to time-manage so I have confidence you will be okay. How do you think your application stood out? Based on my experience, the most important element of an application that stands out is extra-curriculars. At interviews and cocktail nights you will not be asked much about your studies; people want to know you. So be sure to include your extra-curriculars!
Macquarie University Law Society
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