Commercial Awareness: Making The Switch From Chore To Habit
From Learnmore
Commercial awareness will often be defined in different ways by different people. Some might say it is simply about knowing what’s going on in the world. Others might add that it is about understanding a particular industry or trends in that industry and every related technical term that comes with it. However, rather than trying to give a precise definition, I would like to showcase how commercial awareness can be developed using practical tips and resources.
Read!
Yes, reading is an essential part of developing commercial awareness. It trains you to read faster and assimilate information quickly which law firms expect you to be able to do at assessment centres. But what should you read? And how often? Here are some newsletters I am subscribed to which come straight to my inbox:
- ZipLaw
- Watson’s Daily
- Non-Billable
- Legal Business Minds
- Bloomberg Tech
- LittleLaw
- The Washington Post WorldView
In addition, here are some books I have recently read:
- ‘All You Need to Know About Commercial Awareness’ by Christopher Stoakes
- ‘The Deals That Made the World’ by Jacques Peretti
- ‘All You Need to Know about the City’ by Christopher Stoakes
- ‘Financial Times Guide to Financial Markets’ by Glen Arnold
If you would rather not invest in physical books, there is also a wide collection of titles on topics such as the FTSE, financial markets, methods of financing deals and many more on Internet Archive.
In terms of how often to read, focus on a method consistency that works for you. In my case, I make it non-negotiable that I at least go through my newsletters every morning. That way, I will at least have some idea of the recent developments in the areas I am interested in for that day.
It might also be a good idea to create a running document where you put links to the articles/books/podcasts you’ve engaged with so far. This will help you see trends more easily as stories in the news develop and you begin to develop your own interests.
Listen!
If you would rather not read, or don’t feel like it at any particular time, then listening to podcasts is a great alternative. Here are some of my non-negotiables:
- The FT Newsbriefing
- Wake Up to Money
- Commercial Awareness with Watson’s Daily
- World Business Report by BBC World Service
Many of these podcasts will also have links to the relevant news stories being discussed in article format so you could supplement your understanding that way when you get the time. This is probably the best way to start implementing commercial awareness into your daily routine. You won’t even feel it!
Write!
Developing commercial awareness isn’t just about passively absorbing information. It’s very much an active process. One of the best ways to actively engage with the content you are consuming is to write articles on the topics you find interesting. There are many organisations that allow you to write articles for them including Legal Business Minds, a platform developed by a fellow City law graduate.
You could also write internally such as for the Pro Bono Gazette which will allow your work to be distributed across the cohort in physical copies and online. Writing articles is a potent tool for developing a deeper understanding of any subject you find interesting.
Business Case Studies
Much of developing commercial awareness will have you, in some form of another, reading about businesses. It follows that a good way of developing commercial awareness is by engaging with business case studies. You can find these online or, if you have friends at the Business School, you might approach some together during a study session. In doing so, think about:
- What are the main issues?
- Who requires advice? Is it just one company, a company director, an external stakeholder?
- Are there any supply chain issues to consider?
- How might a lawyer approach this? What departments in a law firm would likely take on this matter? Will they have to delegate any work?
- What have you recently read about that may be applicable to the scenario?
- What would be the short and long term consequences of the solutions you propose?
The list can go on but the key is to begin training yourself to spot issues and think about the best practical advice to provide in a business context.
Investopedia
This website is a great resource to have as a second tab when you are reading about technical topics and you want to look up the terms you don’t understand. For example, when reading a news article and you come across the word ‘bond’ or ‘derivative’, look it up on Investopedia and also look up other articles where that topic has been addressed.
The key is to never assume that you understand a technical term. Knowing the meaning of important key terms will also motivate you to read more around the topics which you now have a much better grasp of.
One Final Practical Tip
The approach I took in order to implement developing commercial awareness into my daily routine was to compound or progressively overload how much effort I put into it on a consistent basis. In much the same way that you need to train a muscle group harder in the gym to see results, the same is true for developing commercial awareness. Make it a priority to actively increase your efforts in building this crucial skill.
Many thanks to Andrei Dohotaru for these great tips on developing commercial awareness. Here's how he describes himself:
I am a First Class City Law graduate currently studying on the LLM SQE1&2 course at BPP University on a scholarship. I have developed a deep-rooted interest in corporate and commercial law and hope to become a qualified solicitor in one of those fields or something similar.