Clifford Chance

Birmingham student Gareth-Lee Smith wins sixth Clifford Chance's Intelligent Aid competition

Gareth-Lee Smith, a Masters student at Birmingham University has won Clifford Chance's sixth Intelligent Aid competition with his essay on ethics in business and his performance in the finals at Clifford Chance. Gareth wins £5,000 towards his tuition fees and will join 19 of the winning finalists on a vacation scheme at the firm.

Students were invited to apply their intellect to win a place on a Clifford Chance vacation scheme by submitting a 600 word essay answering discussing the topic of ''Ethics in Business: Ethical business culture can only be created by strong regulation''. Based on the essay submissions alone, judges chose the top 40 essays and the selected candidates were invited to Clifford Chance Canary Wharf office for a two day final.

The final required students to present individually to a selection committee of partners and other members of the firm on a commercial case study. The final also included several presentations from Partners and lawyers, designed to help them approach and digest the content received over the two days, as well as to prepare for their own presentation.

At the end of the two day final the judges agreed on the top 20 applicants who were all awarded with a vacation scheme place, and Gareth-Lee Smith was chosen as the overall winner.
Emma Matebalavu, London Graduate Recruitment Partner at Clifford Chance commented, "I'd like to thank all those who took the time to enter this year as, the competition which is now in its sixth year, once again saw a number of excellent candidates with high quality submissions. Gareth is a worthy winner of a very challenging competition and we look forward to welcoming him, and the other 19 finalists to the firm during their vacation scheme."

As with last year, additional support was offered to potential applicants of the competition. Clifford Chance hosted 18 workshops and invited 21 universities to attend skills sessions specifically tailored around providing guidance on how to approach the essay submission.