They treat their university brand as the strategy. Firms don’t. Here’s the reality (and what you should actually do): 1. Firms recruit for outcomes, not optics. Slaughter and May hires from 70+ universities . White & Case says 80% of its trainees come via vacation schemes — not brand-name CVs . Your task is to prove you can deliver under pressure. Action: Show proof of outcome — quantify your achievements using the VTMR™ Formula (Verb–Task–Metric–Result). 2. Generic answers kill applications. Recruiters at Linklaters and White & Case openly reject cover letters that could be copy-pasted to another firm . Action: Apply the PEAL-X™ Framework. Every sentence must contain a firm-specific fact — a deal, client, ranking, or sector. 3. Commercial fluency beats academic polish. Clifford Chance explicitly values intellectual agility and the ability to discuss commercial issues, not just legal theory . Action: Train with STAR-3™ — structure competency answers around Situation, Task, Action, and 3 Results (deal, client, and personal outcome). 💡 At City Careers Coach, this approach has delivered a 95% offer benchmark across flagship clients — including White & Case, Ropes & Gray, and Sidley Austin. University prestige may open the inbox. Framework-based execution secures the offer.