Pope humbled by magic circle offers
A University of York philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) student has revealed that she has training contract offers from a trio of magic circle outfits.
Selina Pope — who is in her final year of her PPE degree and hasn’t even studied law yet — was offered trainee positions at Clifford Chance, Freshfields and Slaughter and May.
And after just a quick glance of Pope’s LinkedIn, it’s clear to see why she’s a woman in demand.
Pope — who will complete the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) and Accelerated Legal Practice Course (LPC) at BPP Law School next year — has undertaken vacation schemes at all three elite firms, including an additional week at Freshfields’ Hong Kong outpost.
Having eventually accepted a training contract offer from the Anglo-German outfit, she told student newspaper The Tab:
Before accepting the training contract with Freshfields, I also had to decide between offers at Slaughter and May and Clifford Chance. I did vacation schemes at these three firms so it was a really hard choice for me — I really enjoyed my time at all three, but ultimately, Freshfields felt like the right ‘fit’ for me.
Describing the offers as “humbling”, Pope, who is able to speak both Mandarin Chinese and French, explained how she was just relieved her hard work had paid off.
The young PPE student won’t commence her training contract until 2018, but it’s clear that she has no intention of taking her foot off the gas. According to her LinkedIn, the top student — difficult to argue with that one — is currently undertaking a summer internship at global investment bank Goldman Sachs.
Nervous, but equally excited about making the move to the capital to start he career as a City lawyer, Pope encouraged students to break down their career goals into “smaller ones”. Continuing she said:
If your overall goal is to get a graduate job at Goldman Sachs by the end of university, break that down into smaller, more short-term goals to help you get there. That way a goal that seems initially difficult to achieve can become more tangible and achievable.
Remember the name: Pope.
