TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Tintin06]

I've written gleamed rather than gleaned. This is in reference to skills. Is this going to be fatal? It's hard to notice such things. Especially when it's a correct word. Even if not used correctly here. It's hard to catch all errors.

 

[Andrei Radu]

How to best answer the question 'why this firm' in a structured manner in an interview? Any insights would be appreciated @Ram Sabaratnam @Amma Usman @Andrei Radu

To add to @Amma Usman's great post on this, I just wanted to lay out the basic structure I used. There are other structures you can employ for a great answer but this one ended up working very well for me, even when I had to cover a lot of information over a span of 3-4 minutes.

Introduction: State the number of reasons you will discuss and the basic point of each - eg. "I want to join your firm instead of your competitors because of three key reasons: firstly, the firm's strength in X department; secondly, the firm's strategic focus on Y; thirdly, the firm's Z approach to training".

First reason

1. State the feature of the firm and state the basic idea behind your interest in it - eg. "So, firstly, I am attracted to the firm's strong corporate M&A team because of my interest in learning about new businesses across a variety of fields and working on complex contractual negotiations"
2. Explain the factual claim you are making about the firm and back it up with evidence; if possible in a way which distinguishes it from rivals - eg. "Having researched the firm, I know it is a market leader in this practice area because of its reputable rankings in Chambers/Legal 500 and its numerous high-end mandates such as ..."
3. Tie it back to yourself and elaborate on your interest in the relevant feature of the firm, linking it to an example form an experience if possible - eg. "Thus, your firm is the ideal place to explore my interest in the area, as I would be learning from the best practitioners in the field while working on the most important matters. This opportunity excites me, as I have recently completed a Forgae M&A virtual internship, where I got to complete usual trainee tasks such as due diligence and proofreading - an experience which further confirmed the alignment between my skills and motivations and the work of the firm's M&A department."

Second/Third reason:

• Repeat the same three steps and do not forget to signpost

Conclusion: Summarize your points and reaffirm your interest - eg. "As such, because of the interests I just discussed in X, Y and Z features, your firm is the ideal place to begin my legal career".

 

[lawyerletsgo]

anyone have a list of places still accepting applications for vs?

 

[Andrei Radu]

I've written gleamed rather than gleaned. This is in reference to skills. Is this going to be fatal? It's hard to notice such things. Especially when it's a correct word. Even if not used correctly here. It's hard to catch all errors.

I really do not think it will be - I discovered multiple typos/misspellings in some of my successful applications, with some examples being far more noticeable than yours.

 

[Tintin06]

I really do not think it will be - I discovered multiple typos/misspellings in some of my successful applications, with some examples being far more noticeable than yours.

Thanks Andrei - that's very helpful, honestly.

 

[Chris Brown]

anyone have a list of places still accepting applications for vs?

I have seen a few but I’m not entirely sure whether they are rolling or non-rolling apart from Ropes & Gray which is non-rolling.

Womble Bond Dickinson: deadline 30th Jan.

Orrick + Ropes and Gray: deadline 31st Jan.

Gateley: deadline 31st Jan

Russell-Cooke: deadline 7th Feb

Bevan Brittan: deadline 11th Feb

Simmons & Simmons (Bristol): deadline 15th Feb

Michelmores (Bristol & Exeter): deadline 17th Feb

Stephenson Harwood: deadline 28th Feb

RWK Goodman: deadline 28th Feb

 

[Sad_Old_Grad]

Hello, lovely people of the forum! I have a DLA VI coming up and was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to provide some advice? I get horribly nervous doing these things and usually stutter the whole way through…

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hello, lovely people of the forum! I have a DLA VI coming up and was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to provide some advice? I get horribly nervous doing these things and usually stutter the whole way through…

My experience with DLA VI was one of a very typical VI, I was not surprised by any particular question. For my general tips for VIs and VI preparation, I have written an in depth guide (which you can access here) - please see in particular sections 1 and 2.

 

[zoobla20]

@Andrei Radu hi, hope you're well. Just wondering, do you have any tips for when a firm asks "how do we make a profit?"

 

[Monopolyman]

Anybody heard from Travers for the summer vac scheme?

 

[BobThebIlly]

Hello, this is a pretty last minute request for advice for the WG but I would truly appreciate any advice you may have. For context, it is due tomorrow.

My biggest area of concern is the “drawing conclusions” part of the test — I consistently achieve 42-46% on it even after practicing multiple questions on it.

For assumptions, I achieve 88% and for evaluating arguments I receive 100% consistently

I really am not sure where I am going wrong with the conclusions part of the test and it’s really bringing my overall average down drastically

Any advice is welcome including suggested websites

 

[kokoprep]

Hey - did anyone who did VI on the first week on Jan 2025 (SPECIALLY 6/7th), heard back with AC

 

[Jessica Booker]

I've written gleamed rather than gleaned. This is in reference to skills. Is this going to be fatal? It's hard to notice such things. Especially when it's a correct word. Even if not used correctly here. It's hard to catch all errors.

Might not even be picked up as an error - at the same time it could and firms that are particular about errors may mean that it does contribute to their decision, but I could easily see how something like this is missed.

As I have said many times before, at one firm I worked at we used to do a drafting skills session as part of the trainee induction and the question at the start of the session that nobody got right was “as a percentage, how many trainees had errors in their application” and it was always above 98%. And those were the people hired! Used to be very funny as the consultant (ex partner) running the session used to then show a range of the mistakes and it included some howlers!

Accuracy is important but there can be lots of minor errors that are missed unless scrutinised to a very heavy level (like was done in the drafting skills session).

 

[Kakaboo]

Anyone know what Gateley is looking for in their application when they ask "Please provide relevant detail and information from your work experience to date."?
Given that there aren't any other questions apart from one about their Forage work ex, should the answer to this read like a cover letter? Like what I've done, what I've learned and how the skills apply to Gateley?

What office are you applying for!

 

[AlexWilliams]

Hi all, I have been invited to Fieldfisher AC and just wondered if anyone is able to share their experiences either from the previous years or this? This is my first AC so looking for any specific or general advice. It includes a group/paired exercise, an individual case study (I believe to be a written exercise) and an interview.

For the interview, I feel confident I can prepare for it. But the other two exercises are new to me so any advice would be most appreciated. I think I have seen some case study practice exercises for AC on here before, would these help? Thanks

This is for the Direct TC.

 

[James Wakefield]

Hmm do I apply for another vacation scheme today or apply to be on The Traitors? 🤔

 

[lawyersum]

Hmm do I apply for another vacation scheme today or apply to be on The Traitors? 🤔

Literally the same question I asked myself this morning🧐🤭Surely through the roundtable and missions I can demonstrate my transferable teamwork skills🙃

 

[Chris Brown]

Hmm do I apply for another vacation scheme today or apply to be on The Traitors? 🤔

Why not apply for both? 👀

Then you can mention it in VS interviews. 😂

 

[Chris Brown]

Anybody heard from Travers for the summer vac scheme?

I was looking at last year’s VS forum and it seemed that people began getting interview invites from around mid Feb onwards and some were in March. 🙂🥲

It might be a few weeks before we hear back because I think TS read applications first and then shortlist all the successful applicants for the partner interview. 🙂🥲

 

[lou1707]

'With our values of trust, respect, innovation and collaboration in mind, what person or event has had the biggest impact on you in the last 12 months and how would you utilise what you have learnt from this in your role as a trainee solicitor at Hill Dickinson LLP' I am really struggling to find an appropriate approach to answer this question. Would anyone have any guidance on what kind of topic and structure would be best? Many thanks!
For context I am part of my uni law clinic and I'm in charge of producing a podcast focusing on commercial law/TMT/innovation with a team so I was thinking talking about this