Did anyone apply for Expedia group legal intern position?
TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25
- Thread starter Jessica Booker
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- Sep 9, 2024
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Hi @TonyStark since I have gotten this type of questions a number of times, I firstly just want to make some general observations as to how I think you should go about researching them.
My responses will be based on general knowledge based on reading the legal press, experience in commercial law, and sometimes some quick research using some of the sources I will list bellow. I think my experience and readings sometimes give me an opportunity to add substantial value through my input, but most parts of the answers I give will be based on the quick research I do. For the purposes of an interview or application, I think you should normally aim to do this research yourself, as it (i) will build useful skills and add depth to your understanding of the legal market; and (ii) will likely mean you can find more unique insights and form a more nuanced and accurate view of a given firm - I am unable to spend more than a 10-15 minutes on such a task.
Now go through the resources I would rely on and my research methodology:
- First, I would start by using resources that can give me a broad overview of the firm, such as the TCLA, Law.com, and Chambers Student Firm Profiles. They will give you a good understanding of the 'type' of firm you are looking at, which will help a lot with narrowing the pool of potential competitors you are looking at.
- Then, you should look at the firm's profile on Chambers UK and Legal 500 to identify what are the practice areas the firm has received good rankings for - you can generally assume those will be its areas of focus. After you have identified the main practice areas, you should look up the general rankings for each practice areas on Chambers UK and Legal 500 - this will help you identify the firms that are also well recognized for their expertise in those rankings. For US competitors, you will perhaps want to look at Vault and Chambers USA rankings as well to make more global comparisons - as in many cases, their client base for which they compete for UK mandates will greatly depend on their original client base in the US.
- Finally, to differentiate the firm from other well-recognised firms in a practice area, use the legal press: articles on publications like The Lawyer, Law.com, Legal Business, Bloomberg Law, or The Global Legal Post (but also some podcasts such as The Lawyer podcast, Law, Disrupted, or Bloomberg Law) are very useful to look at comparisons between the best firms in different practice areas and sectors. For instance, in corporate M&A, you might find about the total value of deals a firm has advised on in a given period, the average value of deal they worked on, whether it has advised on lots of deals in a given sector, how much revenue the practice has generated, how much it has grown, whether it gained/lost partners through lateral hires etc - and how all of those date points compare to those of rivals. This research can definitely help in finding an a great answer to 'what makes us different' types of questions.
Finally, to come back to your initial question, I will give you the input that I think would be perhaps the biggest value-add (particularly if you do not have time and/or access to some of the legal press resources I mentioned). Skadden is known to be an elite US firm (consistently ranked in the V10) with great Transatlantic capacities (having a middle to large US office, more well developed than of most other V10 players) and is probably the leading corporate M&A firm in this space. Corporate M&A is its core area of focus, as Skadden is perhaps the one firm that has actually shaped this practice area, pioneering core parts of the field. In modern rankings, it is consistently ranked as having the among the top 3 highest total values of deals the advised on, and in many cases it is the 1st. Regarding competitors in corporate M&A, in the UK we would be looking at mainly the MC firms (particularly Slaughter and May and Freshfields), whereas for US firms this would be Latham, Sullivan & Cromwell, Cleary Gottlieb and Davis Polk.
- Sep 7, 2024
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Not a silly question at all. Honestly, I felt exactly the same way when I started.
What worked for me was realising that it’s totally normal to find it difficult at first, especially with sources like the FT. I used to open those articles and feel completely lost. I didn’t understand half the terminology and couldn’t follow the logic of what was being discussed. So I decided to build things from the ground up.
I created a running list of terms I didn’t understand, even really basic ones like offer and acceptance, as well as economic ideas like interest rates, inflation, or monetary policy. I used resources like Investopedia and Finimize to break them down into digestible bits. Over a few months, I noticed a shift. I was no longer just reading articles, I was understanding them, because I had that foundation.
TCLA Academy is such a helpful tool as well. If I had access to it during my application season, I know it would have helped me even more.
One thing I’ve learned is that commercial awareness isn’t just about the headlines. It’s about understanding why something matters. Starting with foundational concepts like scarcity, supply and demand, and the basic economic problem, gives you the tools to link stories together and think critically.
You’re doing great by simply being aware of the challenge. Don’t worry about retention right away. Focus on understanding things little by little, and it will start to click.
- Sep 7, 2024
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From their website, I’ve seen there are 12 TC spots, so I reckon their VS number is about that size, most likely more. Feel free to email Grad Rec to be sure
Here’s their email: [email protected]Link below…
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- Sep 7, 2024
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I wouldn’t worry too much. Sometimes progression emails or next stage invites can be delayed for all sorts of reasons, especially around capacity or internal scheduling. It’s not always a reflection of how you’ve done.
In the meantime, I’d really recommend using this period to keep building on key skills that will help you regardless of what happens next. For example, brushing up on commercial awareness, practising your interview skills, or even doing mock case study exercises. These will not only prep you for an AC if it comes, but also sharpen you for future applications down the line. Also, don’t underestimate how helpful it can be to reach out to trainees and lawyers at firms you’re interested in/even outside the firm. Their insight can really shape how you approach interviews and give you a more rounded view of the industry. It’s such an underrated part of preparation that often makes a huge difference.
You’re doing all the right things by staying proactive. Keep going…things often fall into place when you least expect it.
- Sep 7, 2024
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This is definitely something that can be done, though it’s not something I see happen often. The firm will usually give you feedback on your vac scheme performance anyway, which some argue tends to be a more meaningful point for reflection.
At this stage, especially if assessment centres are still ongoing, recruiters are likely focused on processing those rather than giving feedback to candidates who have already secured a vac scheme offer. In some cases, the feedback at this point might be fairly minimal or even negligible, depending on how you performed.
That said, if you're genuinely curious and would find it helpful for your development, there’s no harm in politely asking. Just manage expectations in terms of how detailed a response you might get.
- Sep 7, 2024
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Please don’t worry. Retail and volunteering experience are really valuable. They show transferable skills like communication, teamwork and resilience that law firms highly value.
For example, you could say something like, managing volunteering alongside part-time retail work helped you learn how to juggle multiple responsibilities while staying organised and reliable. That’s a key skill in law, where you often have to manage competing deadlines.
It’s all about how you frame it. Many people secure training contracts without legal experience by showing strong skills and self-awareness. You’re doing really well. Keep going.
I subscribed to the commercial awareness course on TCLA. The key with commercial awareness is to build it over time - eventually you start seeing/recognising the same themes cropping up and your CA feels organic and not crammed.
TCLA course gives you a 15 minute revision/quiz every day of the main stories going on and I found it really helped me!
I also listen to the 10 min FT podcast each day.
Little and often works for CA!
Hi guys!
This was my 1st application cycle and so far nothing come from it yet 😅
I was just wondering if anyone had any tips on what to do over summer and also during my PGDL (which i start in sept) which isn't just VS's as they seem hard to come by! Any knowledge about building legal experience or what stands out on an application which I can do in my own time would be amazing!
Good luck to everyone still waiting to hear 🤞❤️
This was my 1st application cycle and so far nothing come from it yet 😅
I was just wondering if anyone had any tips on what to do over summer and also during my PGDL (which i start in sept) which isn't just VS's as they seem hard to come by! Any knowledge about building legal experience or what stands out on an application which I can do in my own time would be amazing!
Good luck to everyone still waiting to hear 🤞❤️
has anyone heard from Browne Jacobson post TI today? (Losing patience now😭)
Does anyone have any good ideas/resources for temp legal jobs to do in the next 2 months? I’d have to take a month worth of annual leave in June/July for schemes and so getting a new job right now isn’t that feasible but would still like to be doing *something* relevant if possible.
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- Sep 9, 2024
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Hi @CupOfTea17 I think working on building your profile and knowledge and preparing for the next cycle over the summer is a great idea. For some reason, the majority of people concentrate the vast majority of their efforts in the normal applications cycle, which is also the time they tend to be busier with university and other commitments. However, starting preparation early can be hugely beneficial. A friend of mine who was previously unsuccessful took this very seriously over the last summer (treating it almost like a full time job towards the end) and now has several VS offers.
I would advise you to do the following things:
- Start writing applications early: The first and most important thing is to start working on applications early. Some firms already open their applications in early August, and even for the ones that do not, you can (i) do the research work and determine what would go into your why the firm reasoning; and (ii) if the specific firm's applications questions stay constant between the cycle, you can have a go at answering them already. The most important thing for maximizing chances of securing a VS/TC is to send as many high quality applications as possible. Since researching and writing an application takes a lot of time, particularly before you have built your skills in this regard, it will be very difficult to attain this when you have other commitments and when you have to get many of them done over a short span of time. If you can do some of the work in the summer, this should enable you to improve both quantity (as ideally you can have many of them already completed by the time most people start - my friend had around 20-25 done by late September) and quality (as you will have more time to invest to ensure each one is up to standard).
- Work on your commercial awareness: as you may have heard other people say, commercial awareness is a skill that you can only build over a longer time span. If you can invest time daily to read articles or listen to podcasts discussing the business world, this will pay huge dividends when you reach the interview stage.
- Do Forage Work Experiences: these work experiences are very useful for a number of reasons - they help you learn about practice areas, give you proof you can mention of your interest in them, show commitment to pursuing commercial law, and can be used to showcase interest in a specific firm. The more you can do (ideally across a wide spectrum of practice areas and firms you are interested in), the better.
- Try to find other work opportunities: I know this is quite difficult, but if you can get any work experience at law firm or in house legal department, even if not in the commercial sphere, or if merely a shadowing opportunity, this could be also very useful. A method that I have heard sometimes work with smaller firms and businesses is simply cold calling and emailing. If you do not necessarily ask to be compensated and want the experience more as an insight opportunity, given enough tries, I think this could work.
Hi, I was just wondering which TCLA course it was that gave you the quizzes as I cannot seem to find it? Everything seems to be not relevant or closed for enrollment.
Thanks!
I think W&S sent out a few AC invites last Friday, but given that they staggered their WGT invites i'm assuming that their AC invites are staggered too.
Same! Their first AC is next Wednesday I think - would anyone know if it’s normal for firms/Browne Jacobson to wait until the last moment to send out AC invites (or should I expect a PFO in due course)?
Any insights on Winston and Strawn final interview? I’m really panicking (it’s tomorrow!) and I can’t seem to find anything online.
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