Interviews
Commercial awareness for aspiring solicitors
The single most-tested and least-understood graduate competency in law — what it means and how to build it.
"Commercial awareness" appears in almost every law graduate job description and trips up almost every applicant. It's not about knowing the FTSE 100 by heart — it's about understanding how businesses make money and how law affects that.
What it actually means
A commercially aware trainee can answer questions like:
- Why would this client do this deal? What's the business rationale?
- How does the firm itself make money, and who are its key clients?
- What's happening in the economy or a sector that creates legal work — M&A activity, regulation, restructuring, disputes?
It's the ability to see the client's business problem behind the legal instructions.
How to build it (genuinely, not by cramming)
- Read one good business source daily. The Financial Times, The Economist or a quality business podcast. Five focused minutes a day beats cramming the night before.
- Pick three stories and go deep. For each, ask: who wins, who loses, and where does the legal work come from?
- Connect news to firms. When a big acquisition is announced, ask which firms advised and why.
In the interview
You'll often be asked "tell me about a recent business story that interests you." Have two prepared, and don't just summarise the headline — explain the commercial dynamics and the legal angle. That second layer is what separates a strong answer from a recited one.
Commercial awareness isn't a fact to memorise; it's a habit of reading the business world like a lawyer. Start the habit early and it compounds.