TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

[NJS]

how many firms is everyone waiting on? im waiting on 3 and then that concludes my cycle!

I'm waiting on two (planning on writing one more) and got one VS (with the great help of this forum!)

 

[EqualityNonNegotiable]

Ron mate you think you know it all but you're absolutely clueless, perfect example of the Dunning Kruger effect.

Don't worry whether other people are capable of becoming lawyers. Focus on yourself as you really should.

 

[Seville123]

Do you have any tips for converting a vac scheme at an MC firm - Have one coming up in the summer (was fast-tracked from the open day) and could really use some help as it's my first scheme.

- Make sure you let your Principal/supervisor know where you are at all times
- Be enthusiastic and curious; don't be afraid to ask your Principal/supervisor questions about the work that they are doing.
- During the department presentations, make sure to be enthusiastic and ask lots of questions - it may not necessarily count towards conversion but it does help to build confidence when a Partner says that you asked a good question!
- Be proactive in organising coffee chats with employees - have coffee chats not with employees from all hierarchical levels, and different departments. Graduate recruitment may ask you during the scheme how many coffee chats you have organised, so be prepared for that.
- At the same time, ensure that you manage your workload, and do not organise so many coffee chats that you can not do your work to a high standard!
- If you have assessed work to submit, submit it on time
- Before the vac scheme, really brush up on your commercial awareness, but also your *technical knowledge*. The reason I didn't convert my vac scheme was because I did not have enough technical knowledge.
- If you are a non-law student, take some time to read a few contracts, and get to grips with how they are set out, and what is in them. Have a brief look at the Companies Act 2006. Have an initial understanding of how companies are run: AGMs, Model Articles, Directors' Duties, etc.
- Understand how an M&A deal works if your MC firm is prominent in Corporate - watch 'The Anatomy of a Deal' by Allen & Overy on Youtube.
- Have serious attention to detail, and set out your written work clearly

That's all I can think of for now!

 

[saj2002]

Training Contract Interview Questions | 175 Practice Questions (2018)

We've produced these training contract interview questions to help you practice for interviews and assessment centres at law firms. Why? Well, we've arranged many mock interviews over the years and we see a substantial difference in performance after students have practiced real interview questions.

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

This thread is also very useful:

Definitive Guide to Law Firm Interviews! *Monday Article Series*

In this week's (slightly delayed - sorry!) Article, we take a look at law firm interviews. Introduction Almost every law firm’s application process involves some form of interview. This style of interview is designed to find out about your motivations, experiences, skills and characteristics...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

Thank you so much!!! this is very helpful

 

[sxw517]

You do understand that you are applying for jobs where you're going to having discussions like this everyday for many many hours a week. If you find it so "tiresome" perhaps you should consider a different career path...

No, I wasn't aware... please enlighten me, I'm ever so interested...

 

[RonRod13]

Ron mate you think you know it all but you're absolutely clueless, perfect example of the Dunning Kruger effect.

Don't worry whether other people are capable of becoming lawyers. Focus on yourself as you really should.

Great, you made a claim. Do you care to substatiate it and give it some actual weight?

 

[EzeLaylor]

- Make sure you let your Principal/supervisor know where you are at all times
- Be enthusiastic and curious; don't be afraid to ask your Principal/supervisor questions about the work that they are doing.
- During the department presentations, make sure to be enthusiastic and ask lots of questions - it may not necessarily count towards conversion but it does help to build confidence when a Partner says that you asked a good question!
- Be proactive in organising coffee chats with employees - have coffee chats not with employees from all hierarchical levels, and different departments. Graduate recruitment may ask you during the scheme how many coffee chats you have organised, so be prepared for that.
- At the same time, ensure that you manage your workload, and do not organise so many coffee chats that you can not do your work to a high standard!
- If you have assessed work to submit, submit it on time
- Before the vac scheme, really brush up on your commercial awareness, but also your *technical knowledge*. The reason I didn't convert my vac scheme was because I did not have enough technical knowledge.
- If you are a non-law student, take some time to read a few contracts, and get to grips with how they are set out, and what is in them. Have a brief look at the Companies Act 2006. Have an initial understanding of how companies are run: AGMs, Model Articles, Directors' Duties, etc.
- Understand how an M&A deal works if your MC firm is prominent in Corporate - watch 'The Anatomy of a Deal' by Allen & Overy on Youtube.
- Have serious attention to detail, and set out your written work clearly

That's all I can think of for now!

This is so helpful - Thank you so much 😍😍 I was so lost figuring out how to prepare 😭 so this is going to be really helpful in figuring out where to start.

 

[VacayScheme]

- Be proactive in organising coffee chats with employees - have coffee chats not with employees from all hierarchical levels, and different departments. Graduate recruitment may ask you during the scheme how many coffee chats you have organised, so be prepared for that.
- At the same time, ensure that you manage your workload, and do not organise so many coffee chats that you can not do your work to a high standard!

Question for anyone who's done vac schemes before - how do you actually go about the above? Are you just encouraged to approach people at random or is there more guidance during the vac scheme itself?

Arguably my biggest concern about doing well on my vac schemes is the networking side of things - definitely doesn't come naturally 😅.

 

[EqualityNonNegotiable]

Great, you made a claim. Do you care to substatiate it and give it some actual weight?

No thanks, you have not shown an ounce of an ability to reflect so there is no point. You're exhausting and quite frankly have been given too much 'air' time already.

 

[RonRod13]

No one wants to engage in this debate anymore. If you disagree with what countless other people have told you, that’s fine.

If you want to go into an interview when asked who a firm’s competitors are and you answer “all US firms”, I hope that goes well for you, Ron Rod. What a fantastic display of business acumen that is. Have a good day.

Sorry, when did I say that I would go into an interview and my response would be "all US firms". That is an absurd conclusion to jump to and you can't infer that from my statement earlier saying that W&C's competitors are, indeed, every other US commercial law firm.

 

[yxngd2x]

Who’s got Willkie partner interview this week just out of interest and is there anyone who did it last year that has any advice?

 

[RonRod13]

No thanks, you have not shown an ounce of an ability to reflect so there is no point. You're exhausting and quite frankly have been given too much 'air' time already.

Another point with no weight or backing to it. There's also no need to use ad hominem abuses, it's quite unnecessary.

 

[Legalstalker]

Mcdonalds is in the fast food industry, not the sit-down, restauraunt dining industry, it caters to people who want affordable, quick, on-the-go food. Their competitors are other fast-

I’m sorry the only thing I took from your message was that McDonalds is affordable 😭 I transfer from my savings to buy a McFlurry 🥹

 

[Wannabe_Lawyer]

dear lawd I cant go through another cycle like this 😭 v&e pfo post vi

Ditto

 

[laby201]

Sorry, when did I say that I would go into an interview and my response would be "all US firms". That is an absurd conclusion to jump to and you can't infer that from my statement earlier saying that W&C's competitors are, indeed, every other US commercial law firm.

Someone asked who W&C’s competitors were, likely in preparation for an interview answer. Your direct response was:

“Literally every other US law firm...?”

What an absurd conclusion I jumped to when you said their competitors were all US firms. It can be directly inferred from your answer that, presumably, that’s who you regard W&C’s competitors to be.

Would love to see your Watson Glaser score, sure you’d thrive on the inferences section.

Now, is there a way to mute people on this forum? You’ve had your 15 minutes of fame, Rod.

 

[EqualityNonNegotiable]

There's also no need to use ad hominem abuses, it's quite unnecessary.

like that you mean?

Im honestly shocked by so many people's lack of business acumen and ability to understand their business models. You're applying to jobs where you're going to be doing this on a daily basis so its a bit alarming to be honest...

You do understand that you are applying for jobs where you're going to be having discussions like this everyday for many many hours a week. If you find it so "tiresome" perhaps you should consider a different career path...

 

[Seville123]

Question for anyone who's done vac schemes before - how do you actually go about the above? Are you just encouraged to approach people at random or is there more guidance during the vac scheme itself?

Arguably my biggest concern about doing well on my vac schemes is the networking side of things - definitely doesn't come naturally 😅.

It can be quite daunting at first!

Depending on the firm you go to, you will get an e-mail and Microsoft Outlook. With this, you will be able to see the calendar and schedules of the employees you wish to speak to. Use this to see their availability, and also send invitations for coffee chats that way. The employees know that there will be vac scheme students there who are eager to network, so a lot of the time, they are willing to meet with you and answer all of your questions (at least at the firm I went to lol!).

 

[holz567]

I spilt an entire glass of water over myself at an AC yesterday during my interview and I would still rather relive that experience than have to see another post from RonRod.

 

[Seven]

Im honestly shocked by so many people's lack of business acumen and ability to understand their business models. You're applying to jobs where you're going to be doing this on a daily basis so its a bit alarming to be honest...

Have you been offered a TC yet?

 

[rosec]

Question for anyone who's done vac schemes before - how do you actually go about the above? Are you just encouraged to approach people at random or is there more guidance during the vac scheme itself?

Arguably my biggest concern about doing well on my vac schemes is the networking side of things - definitely doesn't come naturally 😅.

I think that different firms have different approaches to this- on one of my vac schemes there were quite a few opportunities to network with people across the firm and grad rec made us aware that we don't necessarily need to actively set up coffee chats for this reason but on another scheme we were encouraged to 'walk the floors' and show that initiative in asking for work/ questions

my advice would be to not set up coffee chats for the sake of it/ because you think it would look good, but if you are genuinely interested in speaking to someone for a particular reason. with that being said though make sure you are still showing enthusiasm and interest whenever there are opportunities to network and also make sure you are delivering work to a high standard. I hated networking too so I definitely get you! you will be okay so long as you perform well on tasks and come off as genuinely interested/ personable