I applied online. The process took 6 months. I interviewed at DLA Piper (London, England)
Interview
Initially begins with online application, followed by assessment day in London. The assessment day consists of a number of business games and is fairly informal. There is also an opportunity to network with senior partners while there. Successful applicants are accepted on to a 2 week vacation scheme in Easter for non law students and July for law students. During the two week placement you will rotate between two randomly selected departments, like IPT or Litigation.
After the two weeks is the final assessment day which consists of an interview with a pre-prepared presentation on a set topic, a commercial exercise, and a proof-reading exercise.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Depending on who interviews you, the follow up questions to the presentation are very hard. They will push you and argue against your presentation to see how well you present yourself and hold your ground under pressure.
Other questions include general commercial and cv based questions, but you will be expected to back up all your answers with examples.
Asked about when we have displayed the values of the firm and a time we have worked well in a team. I used the STAR method - situation, task, action and result - which helped me prepare answers for the various values of the firm.