I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at A&O Shearman in Jan 2012
Interview
I first applied for a place on A&O's summer vacation scheme and then later converted this into an offer of a training contract. The process was quite long winded and involved a long online application, then two interviews for the Vacation scheme (one CV based, on case study based), with an additional interview at the end of the vacation scheme. I was interviewed by one senior associate and two partners.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The most difficult part by far was the case study interview which will be a part of the recruitment process for all vacations schemes and training contracts. You're presented with a large volume of information relating to a transaction and are asked to advise the client (the interviewing partner) based on a long list of questions with only 20 minutes to prepare. It really tests you're general commercial knowledge and sense as well as any technical legal knowledge you may have (n.b. it's perfectly possible to do without a legal background - I read History as an undergraduate and had no formal legal knowledge when I interviewed)