TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[missTCLA]

Hi all, I would be grateful to anyone who can PM me any tips for white and case video interview (vacation scheme).

 

[Miss Chocolate]

K

Hiya @Miss Chocolate


Yes, you're right! Hill Dickinson’s training contracts are divided into three distinct streams: business services, healthcare, and marine. This basically means that trainees choose a stream when applying and will complete their four seats within that area. So, if you apply for a health sector training contract, your seats will be focused on healthcare-related work, including seats such as clinical negligence, public law, or inquests rather than marine work. Similarly, those in the marine stream will work in areas like shipping litigation and yacht transactions, while the business stream typically covers covers corporate, real estate, and commercial litigation. Having spoken to the firm at a law fair a few cycles ago, they think this structure allows for more specialised training, helping trainees develop expertise in their chosen sector.

If you’re particularly interested in a cross-sector experience, this structure may not be ideal, but if you’re keen to develop deep expertise in a specific area, it can be a great fit. Hope that helps, and best of luck with your application! 😊

You are amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain that, it's really appreciated. I am for sure interested in cross-sector expertise and personally I find that the firm's way of training may not be right for me. Now I can't decided whether I should apply for the sake of applying or just focus on other firms. I feel desperate enough to send off an app anyway as I have loads of healthcare-related experience so would be able to sell myself 😭😭

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

K

You are amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain that, it's really appreciated. I am for sure interested in cross-sector expertise and personally I find that the firm's way of training may not be right for me. Now I can't decided whether I should apply for the sake of applying or just focus on other firms. I feel desperate enough to send off an app anyway as I have loads of healthcare-related experience so would be able to sell myself 😭😭

Hiya @Miss Chocolate

It might still be worth applying for their business services stream, given the quite wide range of seats that stream allows for. Based on looking at their website, the business services stream actually has the following seats available:

Banking
Commercial Dispute Resolution
Commercial, TMT & IP
Construction
Corporate
Education & Ecclesiastical
Employment
Family
Pensions
Private Client
Real Estate
Real Estate Finance
Real Estate Litigation
Regulatory
Restructuring
Tax and Financial Services

This could make for a quite varied training contract in terms of the sectors/industries to which you'll gain exposure. So I'd still highly recommend that you apply. Just ensure that you discuss the business services stream in a way that's compelling and speaks to your own personal motivation.

Good luck! You'll be great!

 

[Chris Brown]

I think Paul, Weiss SJt is not automatic. It’s like CMS WG a lot of people get it.

Yeah I imagine a lot of people will get it purely because a lot of people may have applied.

If Paul, Weiss received around 2,000 applications, they may have selected 50% of people to get the test which is 1,000 people. 🙂

I don’t think it’s automatic otherwise we all would have received it after submitting our applications! 🥲

I wonder how they will get the numbers down though, given they are only taking on up to 10 trainees.

 

[EA95]

and linklaters STILL hasn't gotten back to us 😭

It’s crazy because I’m waiting for their response to my application before I can decide on whether I apply for a spring VS scheme for another firm or their summer one.

 

[EA95]

Yeah I imagine a lot of people will get it purely because a lot of people may have applied.

If Paul, Weiss received around 2,000 applications, they may have selected 50% of people to get the test which is 1,000 people. 🙂

I don’t think it’s automatic otherwise we all would have received it after submitting our applications! 🥲

I wonder how they will get the numbers down though, given they are only taking on up to 10 trainees.

Do you think they may up their intake for the vacation scheme (not TC) ?

 

[Chris Brown]

Do you think they may up their intake for the vacation scheme (not TC) ?

I don’t think so tbh. They have acknowledged that they are expecting to get at least 2,000 applications for the VS this year. 🥲

By increasing the VS intake size, they would then need to increase the TC cohort size. 🙂

At the open day, Paul mentioned that next year they will have a WVS. I imagine this would mean an increase in intake sizes for both VS and TC.

I don’t think we can know for sure though as it is their first year of recruiting! 🙂

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi everyone,

I can imagine this gets asked every year but I am wondering if anyone has any tips on finding accommodation in London for a spring vac scheme. I am not from London myself and all of the advice I have seen on the forum on the matter is usually relevant for the summer when student residences offer short-term accommodation for the summer only.

Speak to the firm and see if they have any recommendations first of all. It maybe that they have given advice on this to other vacation scheme students.

Typically, I find one of the cheapest options, especially for a short 1-2 week scheme is budget hotels like Travelodge/Premier Inn/Ibis/EasyHotels, especially if you look at places just outside of central London but on major train routes. Hotels (particularly Travelodges) near easily commutable stations like Clapham Junction, Walthamstow, Brent Cross, Finchley, Croydon, and City Airport tend to be cheaper (e.g. £40-80 per night) depending on dates. I understand it may still be a drain on finances to cover something like this, but this is why speaking to the firm might be worthwhile as they may provide additional support for those who don't live locally or who can't commute.

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

So it’s looking unlikely that I will get a vac scheme this year 🙃 Is it worth applying to a few direct TCs? I’m career changer and plan on starting the gdl in the fall. It would be ideal to have an offer before then but I’m just wondering how realistic that is? I graduated from architecture and have worked in practice for about 1.5 years, but it seems like most people who get a direct TC worked as paralegals beforehand.

Working full time and going through the application process has been torturous. I don’t want to put myself through it again unless there’s some hope.

Hiya @papaya

Having been in a very similar position, I completely sympathise. I'm sure @Jessica Booker @Amma Usman and @Andrei Radu would have more time say here, but wanted to chime in before.
First off, yes, I think’s absolutely worth applying for direct training contracts! These routes often receive fewer applications, which can work in your favour. That being said, it’s worth taking a close look at your past applications to identify areas for improvement, whether in writing applications, interviews, or commercial awareness. This is because direct training contract routes can sometimes be more stringent in their assessment of these skills.

As I previously mentioned, while many of the people I've known have secure direct training contracts have had paralegal experience, I’ve met several trainees at large firms who did so without a vacation scheme. I’d highly recommend looking into legal work experience, business services, or compliance roles to strengthen your application. When I was applying, I had some project management experience that involved working with legal clinics, charities, and City firms on pro bono initiatives, which helped demonstrate relevant skills. Your architecture background could also be a real asset, especially at firms with strong real estate practices. I think it’s definitely worth highlighting how your skills/experiences could be transferrable to a career in law.

Working full-time while applying is incredibly tough, and I completely understand not wanting to go through it again unless it feels worthwhile. But given your experience and skills, I do think applying is still a live option. Wishing you the best of luck, and feel free to ask if you need any help on direct training contract applications! 😊

 

[Chris Brown]

Hi everyone,

I can imagine this gets asked every year but I am wondering if anyone has any tips on finding accommodation in London for a spring vac scheme. I am not from London myself and all of the advice I have seen on the forum on the matter is usually relevant for the summer when student residences offer short-term accommodation for the summer only.

If you meet the firm’s social mobility criteria they might offer financial support with accommodation, especially because you live outside of London. 🙂

Some firms offer this as standard (e.g., SH, Macfarlanes and Paul, Weiss) but for others you would need to send an email to grad rec. 🙂

Firms also generally reimburse travel expenses so if you do pick a place outside of London and commute in, I’m sure they would help cover the costs associated with it.

 

[coolpanda]

Cooley PFOOO! I don't get it. Got an invite to the Meet Cooley event, researched everything thoroughly and followed the application tips given during the event to a T. I don't know what firms want from me anymore tbhh

same here - honestly put in so much effort and I have quite a solid background. Was wondering if someone could give my app a read and give me some outside perspective.

 

[coolpanda]

For the Paul Weiss Amberjack assessment - what is the timing per question and is it multiple choice? Do you need a calculator for the numerical questions? Are they similar to Oxbridge/Medical School admission tests with logic maths-type questions?

 

[Miss Chocolate]

Actually getting so impatient with Withers omg 😭 I have a feeling I should just wait until first week of February for all my spring scheme applications. Withers' VS is in March so I would have thought they would try to get back by this week latest for interview invite/ rejection.

 

[Chris Brown]

For the Paul Weiss Amberjack assessment - what is the timing per question and is it multiple choice? Do you need a calculator for the numerical questions? Are they similar to Oxbridge/Medical School admission tests with logic maths-type questions?

I hope it isn’t that type of maths otherwise I’m cooked fr. 😂💀

 

[elsx]

Hi,

For this question :
Please tell us about any interests you pursue outside work and/or study, including any achievements you believe are noteworthy.
Would you include positions of responsibilities? I am a bit confused.
Would be grateful for any advice.

 

[elena11]

Hi guys I've got my first ever AC coming up so if anyone has any general advice for preparation that would be really appreciated!

Also I had a more specific question about how to answer a question about firm's competitors in an interview? I hear some people are asked about other firms that they have applied to. Is it best to state firms that are similar to the firm so that your 'interest' in the firm seems more genuine? Or does it not really matter what the other firms you've applied to are as long as you state why you prefer the firm you're interviewing for? I've applied to a mixed bag of firms so just wanted some more info on best practice for these types of questions. Thanks everyone!

 

[OliverTwist]

That is my last application sent for the cycle (Orrick VS).

Still awaiting to hear back from around 80% of my applications, with the majority being for direct TC, as I'm in full time employment.

Good luck to all!

*now off to my interpretative dance session to blow off some steam* I joke...

 

[rapunzel]

Hi,

For this question :
Please tell us about any interests you pursue outside work and/or study, including any achievements you believe are noteworthy.
Would you include positions of responsibilities? I am a bit confused.
Would be grateful for any advice.

Are you part of any committee in a university society? Or volunteered in a particular initiative? These are experiences I would mention in this question and expand on what transferable skills you have developed from them which would be useful as a lawyer like communication or interpersonal skills.

 

[elsx]

Are you part of any committee in a university society? Or volunteered in a particular initiative? These are experiences I would mention in this question and expand on what transferable skills you have developed from them which would be useful as a lawyer like communication or interpersonal skills.

I have volunteering/society committee experiences so I will add them there. Thank you!

 

[rapunzel]

Hi guys I've got my first ever AC coming up so if anyone has any general advice for preparation that would be really appreciated!

Also I had a more specific question about how to answer a question about firm's competitors in an interview? I hear some people are asked about other firms that they have applied to. Is it best to state firms that are similar to the firm so that your 'interest' in the firm seems more genuine? Or does it not really matter what the other firms you've applied to are as long as you state why you prefer the firm you're interviewing for? I've applied to a mixed bag of firms so just wanted some more info on best practice for these types of questions. Thanks everyone!

I would recommend mentioning firms that are similar to the one you are applying to so if they are US, MC, silver or regional firms. They normally ask this to gauge how interested you are in the firm in an indirect way and haven't just applied there on a whim because they will be investing a lot in you if you do secure a TC there. Hope this helps!