Clifford Chance and Dentons considering doing the same
City law firm Taylor Wessing has embraced a new space-themed video game designed to assess the character traits of its training contract hopefuls.
In a break from more traditional graduate recruitment methods, the firm has teamed up with gaming technology outfit Arctic Shores to roll out ‘Cosmic Cadet’ (pictured above and below).
According to the game’s creators, the sci-fi style tool will examine candidates’ aptitude, thinking style, interpersonal skills and ability to deliver results. Taking 25 minutes to complete, wannabe lawyers have to collect stars while navigating through six different levels.
Speaking to Legal Cheek, Sarah Harte — graduate talent manager at Taylor Wessing — said:
Game-based assessments have been successfully deployed by a number of leading organisations in other industries. As a firm we use technology to enhance the candidate experience and explore new methods to identify our high-potential recruits, we find this is an excellent way to strengthen our diverse and inclusive culture.
Stressing that the new tool is designed to support rather than replace the current assessment methods, Harte continued:
We will be leading on this new innovative approach in the legal market and are the first in the sector to have integrated it into our processes for the recruitment of London training contract positions only.
Taylor Wessing — which performed well in Legal Cheek’s Trainee & Junior Lawyer Survey — will use the new tool as part of its selection process for training contracts due to commence in 2020. With aspiring lawyers usually snapped up two years in advance, the firm has revealed the game will be formally introduced in October this year.
But the top-rated technology practice isn’t alone. Legal Cheek understands that magic circle outfit Clifford Chance and global behemoth Dentons are both considering adopting the recruitment game too.
Clifford Chance tested the game out on last year’s summer vacation schemers, while Dentons — the largest law firm in the world by lawyer headcount — kicked off a two-month pilot of the tool back in December in its Dubai office.
So aspiring City lawyers better brush up on their gaming skills if they want to bag themselves a training contract.
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