Hello y'all, I am surprised and confused on application of penal clasues (or liquidated damages as they say) under UK law. I practice my profession on a country where common law applies rather than Anglo-Saxon System and here we have clear rules on excessive obligations on penal clauses applied on contracts, they are not to be considered null, instead, if a litigation comes the court the judge is to limit its excesses (mostly regarding the amount but can vary depending on the nature of contract)

I was conducting a research on the subject regarding similar topic on UK law and surprised to see that under UK Law, the excessive penal clauses are outright nullified. I believe the relevant caselaw is Cavendish Square Holding BV v El Makdessi and ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis setting certain conditions on validity. Considering the legal system, I was led to believe the judges in UK have a larger margin of judicial discretion regarding disputes, with power to just curb excesses rather than direct nullification. Also, UK being a liberal country and all, I thought you guys had given the contractual freedom precedence over protection of weaker parties.

Total nullity also seems unhealty from business perspective as parties shall have limited insight on what they can agree as a penal clasue. So I wonder how the legal practitioners approach this subject ? Are there sector specific limits and ratios which is only known by relevant people ? Or people just stay on safe side and limiting the amount entirely ? In that case, how can one party deter other from breach ?

Any insights would be appreciated. Are they a good firm?

Hi all, I'd really value honest feedback on my CV, my interviews and my plan. The CV is attached as images (anonymised). I am:

- Litigation and arbitration lawyer, qualified in Ukraine in 2022, with about four years' PQE in commercial disputes mostly court litigation (contract, debt, lease and property claims, interim measures, enforcement) and roughly 10% arbitration.

- Co-founded a small disputes practice in 2024 with some friends from work, this has kept me working for the past 2 years and gave me the chance to get an llm abroad. After finding a job in England I will hand over the work to the other lawyers and leave this.

- Finished an llm in Switzerland, where I'm now based. There was no path to qualification here so I started studying for the SQE this February and sat in July. I didn't take a course or something, just got the books and studied myself so I don't have a course certificate or something like that. I also got an SQE2 exemption with my foreign qualification. I Got good grades and recently finished qualification steps early this month.

- I have no existing right to work in the UK, so I'd need a Skilled Worker sponsor.

- I've had a few interviews but none has led to a second round (I started applying directly after getting my SQE1 result so I've been at it for about 2 months).

- Money isn't the constraint right now: my pay in Ukraine was bonus-based and I saved enough to live comfortably for about five years across Switzerland and England. I say this only because I can afford to invest in the move but I just want to spend it on things that actually work, so I would love to here suggestions.

What I'm aiming for:

Commercial litigation or international arbitration at a mid-size or larger UK firm (London, but also Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham), or in-house. I am also open to hear about different career opportunities.

Questions:

1. Chances and Interviews: How realistic is it for someone with my background to get a role? What do UK recruiter look for in a first interview from a candidate, and what usually stops people reaching round two? Is it worth asking for feedback, and how?

2. Sponsorship: Should I raise it early or wait to be asked, and how do you answer "why England?" without it sounding like a visa play?

3. Practising certificate: I'm admitted but don't hold one. Should I get one now, or wait for an offer and let the employer arrange it? Is there any advantage to having one at interview, or any downside to waiting?

4. Level: How do UK firms treat a newly admitted solicitor with about four years' foreign experience, as an NQ or with credit for the experience? How much does having no UK experience cost me, and what pay band is realistic?

5. CV: Any changes?

6. Paid help: Is anything worth paying for to stand out: a UK LL.M., CIArb, a career coach or mentor, a CV review? I understand UK recruitment agencies can't charge candidates, so I'm not thinking of paying recruiters directly, but are specialist legal recruiters worth approaching on the normal no-fee basis?

7. Relocating: Should I get a tourist visa to be able to visit UK to network and look for career days, in person interviews or any event like that, or keep applying from abroad?

Thanks, and happy to answer questions about specifics

.

Im in my first year for the LLB (uni of Birmingham) program for postgrads, and I haven't really made friends. Im near reading week and I'm bored af (I'm going crazy LOL). I have 2 new friends but it seems like they’re kinda dry towards me LOL. Some things about me: I like going to the gym, I love dancehall
music, and i like drinking. I just wanna hangout so hmu if you have the same interests and wanna be friends or if ur just looking for a friend. I'm brown, F, and I’m from Toronto Canada :)

Hi all, recent grad here trying to land vac schemes (i know most dont require a CV though) at firms specialising in commercial litigation.

As title suggests - honest advice please!

Starting my paralegal role in a couple of weeks (clinical negligence) and honestly just absolutely shitting my self that I am not gonna be good enough/ can’t handle the pressure or that I’m gonna make bad mistakes

Wanted to be a solicitor since a child I really overcame a lot of adversity from a very poor drug addled family , i have a first class law degree, my LPC and quite extensive knowledge regarding medical stuff

However the past few years my health suffered severely eventually found out I had cancer and I’m now dealing with PTSD as a result,

Has anyone ever actually made it despite such difficulties, part of me wants to tell them I can’t do it and go work part time in a book store.

Harvey seems to have bought up all the advertising space in Temple for "Harvey for Barristers". I'm incredibly skeptical of what is, essentially, a custom harness / GPT wrapper but - that aside - has anyone signed up or gotten a quote? I'm curious about how they plan to charge sole traders but I don't want to get spam calls from them for the next 6 months.

Saw a tiktok about a young doctor talking about how awkward he feels with patients his age, and medical professionals were sharing that they essentially just talk to their age-mates like they would a friend. Wondered what the vibe is over here with us.

Has anyone else ever felt that internal awkwardness when working with clients who are your age or younger? Obviously need an SRA disclaimer here so: I maintain a high standard of client care and remain professional, regardless of how I’m feeling internally, but I’m curious whether anyone else has experienced this.

I’ve had clients who use slang I’d use in my personal life or make jokes that I’d make with my own friends, bc we’re obviously in the same tiktok/reddit/humour circles. I’m never sure if it’s okay to mirror their tone slightly to build rapport and help them feel comfortable, or keep my more formal approach to make sure they can trust me as an actual real legal professional🫠

I worry whether being too formal can unintentionally come across as distant or as though I’m putting myself above them, which is obviously never my intention.

At the same time, I want them to feel that they can trust me, feel comfortable opening up to me, and have confidence in my professional judgement and capabilities, regardless of the fact that we’re the same age and I’m not some senior experienced partner.

How do you strike that balance between building a genuine rapport with clients and maintaining professional boundaries, particularly when there’s little or no age gap?

I'm a first year studying History at Loughborough. I was meant to go to Warwick, and I got the grades, but due to illness I was forced to reconsider and stay closer to home. Will the fact that I'm not going to a Russell Group uni hold me back at all?

I have just started university and am already quite disillusioned with it all. I know that experience is key along with academics to get this type of job. It seems like everyone around me already has so much. One girl, 5 legal internships before starting university.

Is it enough just to have: a few open days, a spring week or two, a vacation scheme, and some other minor mooting / extracurricular things?

Thank you for your time.

Can you please tell me what is needed in a handover note, something that helped you a lot and that’s needed, specific processes, unwritten rules etc…

I’m considering a Senior Paralegal role in international arbitration at a City law firm, and the proposed contract includes a three-month notice period.
Is this normal for senior paralegal positions at City firms, particularly in international arbitration or commercial litigation?
My main concern is that a three-month notice period could put off prospective employers or make it difficult to secure another role, especially if a new employer wants someone to start sooner.
Would you negotiate for a one-month notice period, or is three months fairly standard for this level? I’m also interested in hearing from people who have changed firms while subject to a three-month notice period.
Would appreciate any advice from people working in London law firms, particularly in disputes or arbitration.

Hi All, I'm posting to find out honestly whether I'd be a suitable and desirable candidate for applying to a TC (will need to do a law conversion), or whether this isn't the right path for me.

About me: I'm 30 and would like to retrain as a personal injury solicitor. I'm specifically interested in catastrophic brain injury claims.

My background: I have psychology degrees (UG & PG). After graduating, I worked as a support worker, assistant psychologist, and a brain injury care manager at a dom care company. I now work in business development at a hospital, within our trauma and rehab team. I work with solicitors (claimant & defendant), motor insurers and rehab case managers.

Throughout all of it, I've been passionate about supporting people with brain injuries. I've supported clients directly, and in case coordination I liaised with legal teams, the MDT and case managers to plan interventions that helped clients meet their goals. I've seen the barriers at every stage, from rehabilitation to litigation to life after settlement.

Why law: Law has interested me for a while, but I’ve been thinking about it seriously now . When I think about my long-term career, I see myself moving into senior commercial, strategy or BD roles in healthcare. But the more senior you get, the more it's about wider business growth, revenue, profit, and the further it takes you from clients. What interests me, and what I'm passionate about, is working as closely as possible with clients. My earlier roles allowed me to do that, and I want to keep doing it, albeit in a different capacity. Working as a solicitor, would allow me to support a client through their entire journey. And I think, I do have real understanding of how solicitors, insurers, clinicians and rehab providers fit/work together. I know law firms are businesses too, and my BD experience has given me valuable commercial insight/skills that I'd bring with me.

My worry: I'm a non-law graduate, and many people going for training contracts are law graduates, paralegals, or already working at the firm (e.g, within the firms rehab team). Would claimant firms look at my experience and see someone who could make a good lawyer? Is this the right choice? Or have I got way to far ahead of myself?

Happy to answer any questions in the comments!

My CV is just not where I want it to be, at all. What jobs would you apply for? Both law and non law. What kind of things can I do outside of work hours to improve my profile? What can I do to get worthwhile experience? Imagine you're starting at 0.

It has recently crossed my mind as I have never really seen or heard of CLC or CILEX lawyers in Magic Circle or Silver Circle firms.

How are they perceived? Are they even present in these types of firms and if they are, what sort of roles are they in?

Hi all, I’m currently applying for training contracts and vac schemes at UK/US law firms. I seem to do well at the first stages and progress to SJT assessments, usually Cappfinity or Amberjack. But then I struggle a lotttt with these and it weakens my applications and I don’t progress

Unfortunately, I’m under a lot of financial constraints atm and can’t really spend £80-90 on question banks like a lot of the ones I’m seeing. Does anyone know of any free resources or even budget friendly ones which are helpful, that they use to get better at these SJTs?

Thanks

Introverts, how do you cope? I started working in an open plan office after working in 2-3 person shared offices and I found myself surprisingly drained each day and dreading the office. This isn’t my first time being in an open plan office, but goodness I feel so overstimulated from all the chatter, and rather exposed / watched as I have a fixed seat between my superiors. As a junior I’m not sure it looks good to sit in a quiet booth to work for more than 1-2h daily as well?

How do you also navigate having enough energy to go to work socials / drinks in the eve? By the time I get to Thurs eve, I’m knackered, having gone into the office 3-4 days consecutively! (and I’d rather be home or with friends/family instead! but even if I have my own social plans, I struggle to make it to them due to being tired / social battery at 0)

[To clarify, it’s not about long hours at the moment as my hours are currently okay. And I don’t know if I am neurodivergent but I wouldn’t rule it out.]

Hello! I am taking the LNAT in December. I’ve been preparing for 2 months and have been getting around 27 on most mocks and I believe I’m able to improve further. However, as I’m an international student and English is not my first language, I don’t really feel that confident with Section B (working on it tho!). My predicted grades are 3A* (and full marks in a law-related EPQ). I’m currently trying to balance out my uni choices between reaches and safeties, as I’m really anxious that on the day of my test something will go wrong and I’ll bomb it. Could you please tell me if this is a good list and if Warwick and QMUL are respected? At this point I really don’t know if I’m underestimating myself, I’m just really really scared. It’s so unfair we can’t get the results before submitting UCAS. For context, I’d love to pursue international criminal law in the future, and work in NGOs, etc. (I know this is very far-fetched tho haha)

KCL LLB
KCL PPL
LSE Anthropology and Law (My PS is really tailored to this one, and yes, I have an equal interest in both subjects)
QMUL English with European Law
Warwick English and French Law

Thank you!!

Hi everyone,

i’ve just started doing the CGQ route with CILEX and was wondering if anyone else on here was also going down this route and how people are finding it/ found it.

Hi everyone, has anyone received a job offer despite not necessarily ticking all the boxes of an ideal candidate for the role, and you felt that the firm took your extenuating circumstances into account?

What do you think helped you stand out?

Considering applying for a TC (London office) and would be great to hear from the experiences of people currently or formerly employed by them (or even on the opposite side). I know these experiences will also differ by office and practice area, but whatever people feel most comfortable sharing would be greatly appreciated.

Medical negligence salary for nq in north west what is the salary ranges

I've just been informed that I've been rejected from an open day that I applied to attend at Mayer Brown.

That's OK. I'm not going to complain about it, but I want to try and discern whether they rejected me automatically because of my A-Level & GCSE grades.

I have a rather unconventional academic trajectory. I barely scraped through my GCSEs and A Levels but then got an extremely high mark in my Undergraduate Degree and completed a MSt in Intellectual History at Oxford (I achieved a pretty solid result on this, though not amazing). I'm not intending to show-off, just provide an accurate picture.

Mayer Brown Application

As part of the process I had to enter absolutely all of my GCSE & A-Level grades , and then my degree results and my postgraduate result.

I then had to answer, in 250 words, the following prompt: 'What do you hope to gain from attending the event at Mayer Brown?'

My answer was as follows:

I would like to attend this event because I am interested in broadening and deepening my knowledge of the legal industry - in particular the commercial sector. This would build upon my experience working in the legal department of my local council - which I undertook as a Sixth Form student. I am an non-law graduate so am looking to tangibly deepen my contact with the industry so that I can work out whether I would be suited to it.
I studied intellectual history at Oxford, and, in the course of my studies, I read Maitland's legal and philosophical works. These caught my interest because they connected my intellectual interest in tracking how societies change, to the evolution of legal concepts. I have since attended a number of virtual open days at firms such as Slaughter and May and Ashurst Perkins Coie.
I am interested especially in Mayer Brown because of your relatively small number of trainee spaces. This suggests that trainees with you would be given responsibilities and exciting work, quickly. Your specialisation in the construction industry also appeals because I am attracted to the idea of working on tangible and concrete areas, where my work might potentially leave a physical foot-print, or alter our lived environment.
I am hoping to gain an understanding of what the working environment in a big commercial firm is really like, and, what the day-to-day work really consists of, so that I can ascertain whether I will enjoy work in the commercial law sector.

Is there anything obviously alarming about this answer? Do people think that it is likely that my answer to the question was (or was not) the decisive factor? Or is it just impossible to say.

Thank you!

-V

hey everyone

im a new uni student doing law and ive entered myself into a mooting competition, its a bit ambitious but id love to get to the final or semi final round at my uni ( this years internal competition) and im willing to put in major effort to do so.

ive been put as senior respondent so i want to know any of your tips to help me get me there. anything helps really, i know the obvious stuff like speaking, dressing professionally, correct terms to address judge. i guess just methods you used that helped you win the round, way to remember your argument for and against, dealing with stress and pressure all that sort of stuff.

thanks guys

The firm’s website says that their recruitment standards are the same year on year. If I met them last year I don’t understand how I don’t meet them this year especially since I have more work experience and a better application. I applied late into a rolling type of firm so I made sure to apply early.

It’s been 3 years since I’ve graduated and it seems like everyone can land a graduate job except me. I detach and refuse to let it bring me down though. Can someone shed light into this please?