Case Study: Baker McKenzie – From Rejection to Selective Open‑Day Invite on £0 Content

hassan2990
Oct 27
2 min read

At a Glance

Cost £0 (free ECS content); prep time ~1h 55m
Frameworks: PEAL‑3™, PEAL‑X™, STAR‑3™ (+ 90‑second macro‑pitch)
Stage reached: Baker McKenzie Selective Open Day (London)

Before

Previously rejected; broad motivations, and no memorable pitch. Strong intention, weak structure; no paid coaching.

After

Invitation to Baker McKenzie’s Selective Open Day; firm‑fact motivation, quantified STAR‑3™ evidence, and a tight 90‑second macro‑pitch that stuck with screeners.

Problem

The candidate needed to flip a prior rejection into an invite at a firm that prizes concise, commercially anchored answers. His earlier application leaned on biography and adjectives, not firm‑specific facts or quantified outcomes. With no budget for coaching, he had to: (1) compress experience into single‑line, metrics‑first bullets; (2) prove researched motivation tied to Baker McKenzie’s cross‑border platform; and (3) deliver a 90‑second pitch memorable after dozens of applications. Using only ECS’s free materials, he rebuilt motivation and competency content to match graduate‑recruitment scanning: fact‑dense, timed, evidence‑led, and clearly linked to the London strategy and training model.

Solution

Mapped 6‑sentence PEAL‑3™ “Why this firm?” → motivation flagged “precise & commercial.”
Completed 200–250‑word PEAL‑X™ box with two quantified proof‑points → firm‑fit credibility ↑.
Converted experiences into STAR‑3™ bullets (3 Actions / 3 Results) → skim‑time ↓; evidence density ↑.
Rehearsed 90‑second macro‑pitch (3 loops) → filler words −60%, confidence 9/10.

Result

Within ~2 hours of structured free prep, the candidate received an invite to Baker McKenzie’s Selective Open Day—from the same firm that rejected him last year. Reviewers responded to the fact‑per‑sentence motivation and quantified competency lines. The same PEAL‑X™ + STAR‑3™ + macro‑pitch stack now underpins Magic Circle and US‑firm submissions.

ROI

Metric	Result
Investment	£0 (free ECS content)
Outcome	Selective Open Day invite
Pay‑back period	Immediate access to a TC feeder route
Pathway	Open Day → VS → Training‑Contract track

Testimonial: “Just been invited to a selective open day by a firm who rejected me last year… because of your free content. Undisputed GOAT.” — Anonymised (consent on file)

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