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Private Capital

Develop the skills Freshfields trainees use to navigate private capital transactions

Complete work that simulates life on the job. 2-3 hours and self-paced.
Stand out in your application to Freshfields. Show us you're a motivated candidate.

Why complete this Job Simulation

A risk-free way to experience work on the job with us at Freshfields. Practise your skills with example tasks and build your confidence to ace your applications.

Self-paced

2-3 hours

No grades

Optional assessment

Introductory

We are offering you the opportunity to experience the day-to-day work of our lawyers and practise some of the skills our Private Capital practice uses when advising leading private equity sponsors on high-profile deals.

In this programme, you will take on the role of a Trainee Associate and work through two modules that mirror the typical responsibilities of a Freshfields trainee during a live transaction. Your client, a fictional private equity firm called Forest Crystal Ventures, is bidding to acquire NordTech Systems, a Scandinavian technology company.

The Freshfields virtual job simulation provides a window into how our Private Capital practice collaborates across different specialist practice groups to help clients make informed investment decisions.

How it works

Complete tasks guided by pre-recorded videos and example answers from our team at Freshfields. No live sessions, all self-paced.
Receive a Freshfields-endorsed certificate to showcase your achievement and add it to your CV and LinkedIn as an extracurricular activity.
Use your completed programme experience to stand out in applications and interviews.

Skills you will learn and practice:

Attention to Detail

Critical Thinking

Email Communication

Legal Reasoning

Organizational Skills

Introduction from Freshfields

Tasks

Intro & Scenario

Background context and your project team

Your role

You are a Trainee Associate in Freshfields’ Private Capital practice.
Your team is helping a financial sponsor (a private equity investment firm) that wants to buy another company, known as the target company.
- The sale is happening through a competitive auction process, meaning several potential buyers are reviewing the target’s documents at the same time.
You are part of the team reviewing the target company’s documents in a secure online platform called a virtual data room (VDR), and helping to organise input from specialist legal teams (e.g., Tax, IP).
- Such teams typically include lawyers, accountants, business analysts, and other professionals. Your work will primarily focus on reviewing the legal sufficiency, consistency, accuracy, and completeness of standard company documents.

Your goal

Help the client make an informed decision on whether to proceed with the deal and on what terms.
- Accountants and business analysts will focus on items such as projections, revenue, and accounting details. Your goal is to identify potential legal and contractual issues so your client is fully informed about the risks of pursuing the target business.
By completing your work accurately and clearly, you will contribute to spotting potential risks early and ensuring the team is prepared for negotiations.

Intro & Scenario

Background context and your project team

Your role

You are a Trainee Associate in Freshfields’ Private Capital practice.
Your team is helping a financial sponsor (a private equity investment firm) that wants to buy another company, known as the target company.
- The sale is happening through a competitive auction process, meaning several potential buyers are reviewing the target’s documents at the same time.
You are part of the team reviewing the target company’s documents in a secure online platform called a virtual data room (VDR), and helping to organise input from specialist legal teams (e.g., Tax, IP).
- Such teams typically include lawyers, accountants, business analysts, and other professionals. Your work will primarily focus on reviewing the legal sufficiency, consistency, accuracy, and completeness of standard company documents.

Your goal

Help the client make an informed decision on whether to proceed with the deal and on what terms.
- Accountants and business analysts will focus on items such as projections, revenue, and accounting details. Your goal is to identify potential legal and contractual issues so your client is fully informed about the risks of pursuing the target business.
By completing your work accurately and clearly, you will contribute to spotting potential risks early and ensuring the team is prepared for negotiations.

Reviews

4.7

There is no better way to understand what due diligence is and its purpose, than to have a go yourself. Ample guidance in drafting spreadsheets and emails has made it a great entry level simulation and provides you with the confidence to complete a simulation at the next level. Each exercise included a model answer which is a perfect learning tool to assess how you can improve your work.

Student, University of Cambridge

i enjoyed the practical, hands-on experience of reviewing virtual data room documents and updating a due diligence Q&A tracker. The simulation helped me understand that working accurately and concise is of higher importance, due to the pressure of meeting deadlines. Overall it was beneficial and i would recommend this programme to other students.

Student, Nottingham Trent University

What i found most valuable about the Freshfields Simulation was how concretely it showed why the small, unglamorous parts of a trainee's job matter. Cross-referencing the Tax and IP teams' questions against the VDR updates wasn't just an exercise in reading comprehension - it forced me to think like the deal team would.

Student, Queen Mary University of London

Tasks

Intro & Scenario

Background context and your project team

Your role

You are a Trainee Associate in Freshfields’ Private Capital practice.
Your team is helping a financial sponsor (a private equity investment firm) that wants to buy another company, known as the target company.
- The sale is happening through a competitive auction process, meaning several potential buyers are reviewing the target’s documents at the same time.
You are part of the team reviewing the target company’s documents in a secure online platform called a virtual data room (VDR), and helping to organise input from specialist legal teams (e.g., Tax, IP).
- Such teams typically include lawyers, accountants, business analysts, and other professionals. Your work will primarily focus on reviewing the legal sufficiency, consistency, accuracy, and completeness of standard company documents.

Your goal

Help the client make an informed decision on whether to proceed with the deal and on what terms.
- Accountants and business analysts will focus on items such as projections, revenue, and accounting details. Your goal is to identify potential legal and contractual issues so your client is fully informed about the risks of pursuing the target business.
By completing your work accurately and clearly, you will contribute to spotting potential risks early and ensuring the team is prepared for negotiations.

Intro & Scenario

Background context and your project team

Your role

You are a Trainee Associate in Freshfields’ Private Capital practice.
Your team is helping a financial sponsor (a private equity investment firm) that wants to buy another company, known as the target company.
- The sale is happening through a competitive auction process, meaning several potential buyers are reviewing the target’s documents at the same time.
You are part of the team reviewing the target company’s documents in a secure online platform called a virtual data room (VDR), and helping to organise input from specialist legal teams (e.g., Tax, IP).
- Such teams typically include lawyers, accountants, business analysts, and other professionals. Your work will primarily focus on reviewing the legal sufficiency, consistency, accuracy, and completeness of standard company documents.

Your goal

Help the client make an informed decision on whether to proceed with the deal and on what terms.
- Accountants and business analysts will focus on items such as projections, revenue, and accounting details. Your goal is to identify potential legal and contractual issues so your client is fully informed about the risks of pursuing the target business.
By completing your work accurately and clearly, you will contribute to spotting potential risks early and ensuring the team is prepared for negotiations.