TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[studentdelaw786]

faegre drinker PFO - that's the last of the cycle - see you all next year! Starting the GDL at ULaw in London next year self funded with the hope of getting a winter vac scheme.

Guess I should be expecting mine very soon!

Commiserations to you. You’ll be back better!

 

[Andrei Radu]

I got 2 average and 3 above average on the Mayer Brown verbal reasoning test. Reckon that's enough to pass to the next stage?

While I think the progression decision depends on a more holistic assessment and on the results of each cohort, your scores definitely give you good chances - I know someone who was progressed last year with worse results than yours.

 

[yeezyee]

anything from winston & strawn post wg?

 

[tianna09]

hello, i have a question or maybe advice. i have applied for informal work experience on the 7th march, i then followed up as i received no reply on the 5th april, i then got a reply stating that they had 'lost my application' therefore i would have to resend it. i sent it in 5 minutes, now it is the 11th april and i have not received anything (not a decision but i havent even received confirmation that they have my application) yet. this whole situation is really frustrating to me as ive only got 1 application left in this cycle and im trying to figure out other avenues of gaining experience over the summer. should i ring the firm, or perhaps email a person instead of their careers email, or shall i leave it because they dont exactly have an obligation to answer me and i could be bugging them if ive already sent one follow up email.

 

[pepsicola96]

Of course it will vary by firm, but has anybody had success asking their firm to cover accommodation for a vacation scheme?

I'm doing two weeks in July with a firm, and it's an hour train away, which isn't too bad but it's closer to 1hr 45/2 hours door to door). I'm fully prepared to commute but I might ask the firm for a hotel/accomodation, they wont hold it against me right lol

 

[billyonthespeeddial]

Winston interview 💪

 

[Jessica Booker]

hello, i have a question or maybe advice. i have applied for informal work experience on the 7th march, i then followed up as i received no reply on the 5th april, i then got a reply stating that they had 'lost my application' therefore i would have to resend it. i sent it in 5 minutes, now it is the 11th april and i have not received anything (not a decision but i havent even received confirmation that they have my application) yet. this whole situation is really frustrating to me as ive only got 1 application left in this cycle and im trying to figure out other avenues of gaining experience over the summer. should i ring the firm, or perhaps email a person instead of their careers email, or shall i leave it because they dont exactly have an obligation to answer me and i could be bugging them if ive already sent one follow up email.

I would generally recommend leaving it at least two weeks before chasing up. Its less than a week since you sent your application, so I would wait until the end of next week before following up again.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Of course it will vary by firm, but has anybody had success asking their firm to cover accommodation for a vacation scheme?

I'm doing two weeks in July with a firm, and it's an hour train away, which isn't too bad but it's closer to 1hr 45/2 hours door to door). I'm fully prepared to commute but I might ask the firm for a hotel/accomodation, they wont hold it against me right lol

If you got a taxi to and from your house to the station, would this make your journey easier? This might be an alternative (and the firm might be happy to cover the taxis both ways) if they cannot provide accommodation. This is what I often did in firms when we didn't provide accommodation. Vacation scheme students would submit their receipts either at the end of the week or at the end of the scheme, and we would refund them.

There is no harm in asking for support in the form of accommodation or whether any additional financial support can be provided for things like taxis.

Success on securing accommodation is going to depend on the firm and also your circumstances, so I would just ask rather than trying to get a sense of other people's experiences, as this can be very different from firm to firm or even individual to individual.

 

[mg42guy32]

any interviews from Faegre?

 

[A worried graduate]

While I think the progression decision depends on a more holistic assessment and on the results of each cohort, your scores definitely give you good chances - I know someone who was progressed last year with worse results than yours.

I got 4 above twice in a row and didn’t progress though so no clue

 

[TonyStark]

Hi @Chris Brown to take the questions one at a time:

• Market position: Paul Hastings is a Vault 20 firm (the immediate next tier in general reputation after the V10 in the US, particularly in regards to transactional practices) operating a medium-sized office in the City with a focus on finance/capital markets practices.
• Closest competitors in core practice areas: in the capital markets space, while we could subdivide between competitors in ECM, DCM, CLOs, securitization, and high-yield (and, for the purposes of the interview, perhaps one ought to look up Chambers rankings for all of them) at a general level I would say Paul Hastings' competitors will be some of the Magic Circle firms (in particular, A&O Shearman and Clifford Chance), Latham, White & Case, Weil, and Milbank. For its big ticket lender-side banking and finance practice, the firm's main rivals would be Latham, A&O, Linklaters, Clifford Chance, White & Case, and Milbank. For its private equity investment funds offering, we would be looking at Kirkland, Simpson Thacher, Debevoise, Clifford Chance, and Goodwin.
• Closest US firm competitors: looking at other V20 firms with a focus on finance/capital markets practices, I would say Milbank, Weil, and Ropes & Gray.
• What makes Paul Hastings unique: the firm has market leading expertise in the CLO and hotels & leisure space; and as opposed to many of its finance-focused US competitors it has strong expertise in a set of practices that can be complementary for many transactions, such as employment, real estate, and white collar crime.
• Securitization: securitization essentially involves taking illiquid assets (so, assets that cannot be traded) such as loans, pooling them together, and repackaging them into securities (such as bonds) that can be sold to investors. The pooling of many different assets (such as mortgages, student loans, credit card receivables etc) in theory will provide the investors with greater protection from impact of defaults, which makes buying the package of assets more attractive than purchasing specific assets individually. This is a method used by banks and other lenders to take credit off their balance sheets and transfer risk to investors; freeing them up to loan more money to others. It is also a highly-regulated area of finance following the Great Financial Crisis, so there is a lot of work for lawyers to ensure business remain compliant.
• High-yields products: this refers to the offering of high-yield bonds; sometimes also called 'junk bonds'. The term is used in opposition to investment-grade bonds to refer to bonds issued by companies who are at a higher risk of default. To compensate for it, the companies will have to offer investors significantly higher yields (essentially, higher interest payments) than for investment grade bonds.

Finally, I have recently written an in depth post describing the differences between debt and equity finance, I will quote it bellow:

Hi @Andrei Radu ,

Please could I trouble you the same questions but for Skadden?

How would you describe Skadden’s’ position in the City of London? Who are the firm’s closest competitors in relation to (1) the firm’s core practice areas and (2) other US BigLaw firms in London? What makes Skadden unique compared to its competitors?

Many thanks

 

[studentdelaw786]

any interviews from Faegre?

Do you know of anyone that has been invited?

It’s a little unnerving to have seen someone get a PFO already..

 

[jojo23]

did anybody hear from browne jacobson this week?

 

[mg42guy32]

Do you know of anyone that has been invited?

It’s a little unnerving to have seen someone get a PFO already..

I don’t know anyone invited either but it should be hopefully be alright!

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Just got feedback post AC, and I was rejected because my interviewers were "uncertain about my commitment to the UK" (international candidate, recent graduate from RG London, some work experience in my home country). I am not sure how my interviewers assumed that given: I was not asked anything about my commitment to the UK, and I did make a case about training in the UK (spoke about how I chose to study law in the UK in the first place, cited diversity and opportunities to deal with international law) while answering "why our firm". I was told I was a "fantastic" candidate otherwise, with a unique background and fresh perspectives. Not only am I unsure how to deal with this going forward, but this remark has left a sour taste - it feels like a cop-out, biased way to reject international candidates.

Hi @1123tripod

I’m really sorry to hear this. It’s such a frustrating piece of feedback, especially when you weren’t even asked directly about your commitment to the UK. As an international candidate myself, I was actually surprised by how often this concern came up during my own interviews, even when I thought I’d made my intentions clear. During one interview with a US firm, a partner quite bluntly asked how the firm could be sure I intended to stay in the UK long term rather than return to Canada (something I wasn’t fully prepared for, but I managed to give a fairly solid response on the spot).

From that point on, I realised that I had to make sure it was clear that I wanted to be at a firm long-term, that is, beyond just qualification. I tried to think of phrases that made this clear even when it wasn’t explicitly asked. When explaining why I wanted to join a firm or pursue commercial law, I started making it clear what I found exciting about practising law in the UK, and how that’s made me want to actively build a long-term career here. I also found it helpful to frame things in terms of wanting to join a firm, not just train at one (something @Jessica Booker mentioned before), and which helps show you’re thinking beyond qualification.

It’s hard when a rejection feels like it’s based on something you didn’t get a chance to clarify. But it’s also something you can address going forward, just by being a little more explicit and intentional in how you frame your motivations. Good luck with any future interviews.

 

[CupOfTea17]

did anybody hear from browne jacobson this week?

Is this after TI? I thought they would get back to us this week, hopefully next week 🤞

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

finally got a VS offer 😭 was starting to lose all hope that i can start training in 2027

Ah, so pleased to read this! Have seen how persistent you've been this cycle @toad92 - this is very well deserved!!! Good luck with the scheme!!!

 

[Law queries]

Hello guys, i recently took the capp test for linklaters - my strengths are critical thinking and resilience but my lowest is commercial thinking - will i be able to meet their benchmark or is this really bad? (

 

[Amma Usman]

I got 2 average and 3 above average on the Mayer Brown verbal reasoning test. Reckon that's enough to pass to the next stage?

I personally advise you to worry less about the scores. There are so many things that are considered when scoring, and different questions test different competencies that sometimes aren’t fully reflected in the scores themselves.

For example, I’ve received what I thought were quite low scores on verbal reasoning tests and still progressed to the next stage. Your mix of 2 average and 3 above average on the Mayer Brown test sounds promising, especially if the rest of your application is strong. Fingers crossed!

 

[Amma Usman]

Hello guys, i recently took the capp test for linklaters - my strengths are critical thinking and resilience but my lowest is commercial thinking - will i be able to meet their benchmark or is this really bad? (

Hey!

I’d try not to worry too much just yet. From what I understand, the competencies on the Capp test are usually looked at collectively, not in isolation. So even if commercial thinking wasn’t your strongest, strengths like critical thinking and resilience still carry a lot of weight.

It’s not necessarily a dealbreaker to have one area lower than the rest, especially if the overall picture still reflects strong potential.