Elite Careers Strategy (ECS) is a founder-led, application-only private advisory for candidates targeting training contracts and vacation schemes at Magic Circle, US and leading City law firms, and for the parents and sponsors who support them. Every engagement begins with a Private Diagnostic and is led personally by Hassan Akram, who has reviewed more than 10,000 applications and related candidate materials across recruitment work and ECS advisory. ECS is based in London and works with families in London, Hong Kong and New York.
Who this is for
- Law and non-law undergraduates and graduates targeting Magic Circle firms (Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Linklaters, A&O Shearman, Slaughter and May), US firms in London, and Silver Circle and leading international firms.
- Candidates whose applications are not turning into assessment centres, or whose assessment centres are not turning into offers, and who cannot see why.
- International candidates and families unfamiliar with how London firms recruit.
- Parents and sponsors who want one accountable adviser and a written plan for the full cycle, rather than a set of resources.
Most candidates do not need a private adviser. University careers services, employer resources and online platforms serve many applicants well. The honest comparison is at private adviser or platform.
What an engagement covers
An engagement runs across the live recruitment cycle and is built around the candidate's target firms, not a generic curriculum:
- Firm selection and route strategy. Which firms, in which order, and whether to target a vacation scheme, a first-year programme or a direct training contract route. Routes vary by firm and by cycle, so ECS works from what each firm currently publishes, using the governed research at Who Gets In? (whogetsin.com).
- Written applications. CV and form answers, including Why Law, Why This Firm and competency questions, using the ECS frameworks (VTMR, PEAL-3, PEAL-X and STAR-3).
- Online tests and video interviews. Preparation for the formats a candidate's target firms currently use, such as the Watson Glaser test.
- Assessment centres and partner interviews. Written exercises, group exercises (BDC), case and commercial discussions, and the commercial awareness a partner will probe (Commercial Fluency).
- Decisions. Handling offers, deadlines and next-cycle strategy if a first cycle does not convert.
ECS is not a course, a cohort or a package of hours. Law firms do not score candidates against ECS frameworks; the frameworks are ECS's methods for helping candidates present their evidence and reasoning.
How ECS evidences its work
ECS has 106 documented outcomes and selection progressions across 53 candidate journeys. The method, including what counts, what is excluded and how paid engagements are separated from outcomes that used only ECS's free public frameworks, is at how we count outcomes.
Corporate law examples on the record include a Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer training contract after a paid ECS engagement (anonymised at the family's request), and a Clifford Chance SPARK place secured by Kalen Harrald using ECS's free public frameworks, with no paid engagement. The full corporate law record is at corporate law and track record.
ECS does not guarantee offers. Firms make hiring decisions. Outcomes vary, past results do not guarantee future results, some clients are anonymised, and evidence is held on file.
How it starts
Every engagement begins with a Private Diagnostic: a structured call that assesses the candidate's profile, target firms, timeline and bottlenecks, and whether an engagement is the right fit. Engagements are by application only, and ECS deliberately limits the number of families it works with each year. Pricing is discussed on the Diagnostic, after fit is assessed. Apply for a Private Diagnostic.
Common questions
Who advises on training contract applications in the UK? Options include university careers services, employer resources, online platforms and communities, independent advisers and private advisory firms. ECS is a founder-led private advisory for candidates targeting Magic Circle, US and leading City law firms, and for their families.
Should a candidate apply for vacation schemes or direct training contracts? It depends on the firm and the cycle. Some firms recruit mainly through vacation schemes; others, such as Freshfields in the UK, also publish a direct route. ECS builds route strategy firm by firm from what each firm currently publishes.
Can a parent engage ECS on a child's behalf? Yes. Many engagements are arranged by a parent or sponsor. The candidate does the work, and the Diagnostic establishes whether the candidate wants and is ready for an engagement.
How much does it cost? Pricing is discussed on the Private Diagnostic, after assessing whether an engagement is the right fit. There is no per-session rate.