2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion

[Soriginal234]

PFO from Dechert! Applied last year .:.

Same here! Applied in November and expected the PFO lol

 

[arbitracion]

Same here! Applied in November and expected the PFO lol

haha yes I felt like it was only a matter of time

 

[Lastseasonwonder]

I'm no

it's very similar to the Links test - situational judgements with a little bit of WG style questioning at the end

What qualities do BCLP look for?
Well rounded individuals who can demonstrate commercial awareness, an interest in current affairs, intellectual curiosity, entrepreneurialism and creativity. Strong intellectually capability, communication and interpersonal skills, drive and commitment, analytical ability, resilience and knowledge of the legal sector / market with an appreciation for client demands and needs.

@cryingoverTCs where did you find these BCLP qualities.

 

[I.Like.UFOs.Not.PFOs]

I used to work as a lecturer. I think you’re doing the right thing. It’s often the students who are struggling most or feeling most desperate that explore these options, so some general advice sounds like the best way of giving them a gentle and helpful no. FWIW I don’t think a university would be likely to take this further unless a) there was evidence this had been agreed or b) that it had in fact happened.

That's a relief - I really wasn't sure how else to handle this, and I didn't realise that the university may not be able to take this further without extra evidence. Hopefully it will never reach that stage. Also, thank you so much for your guidance!

 

[whisperingrock]

It’s unlikely to cover a training contract. Unless it’s a masters level course, the LPC won’t give you the two year visa. Even if it did, it’s unlikely you training contract would start immediately after your course ends - those that do tend to be the accelerated LPC courses that definitely won’t be covered by a two year graduate visa.

I completely forgot about the LPC after they said they were a current university student. You're right.

 

[AAA_a]

Same here! Applied in November and expected the PFO lol

sorry to be that person but is this for summer vs?

 

[Daniel Boden]

Firstly, I am so sorry that you had to go through that with the students in your cohort, as well as the pain you must have gone through due to your injury and your personal circumstances. It sounds like a horrendous situation to have been in, and it is extremely admirable that you have gotten to where you are now, despite all of these challenges.

In terms of the situation at hand, I’ve sent them the advice I constructed and they have just responded with thanks, but that they will ‘find a different answer from someone else.’ I am not really sure how to interpret this without being presumptive.

I think if for some reason they gave me concrete evidence that they were going to actually cheat (beyond that message above), I may be obliged to take this further. For now though I think I am just going to remove myself from the situation and hope it does not reach that stage.

Thank you so much for your advice and for sharing your perspective, it has been very helpful!

In that case, you have done all you can and as @Jacob Miller and others have said, it is their decision what happens now and is not on you. If they come back to you and tell you that they are getting someone else to sit the exam then I think you have to report it because if it came out that you knew and did nothing, you yourself could be guilty of an academic offence so I doubt you'd have much choice sadly.

I really do commend you for how you have handled it so far. Sounds like you have given a very considered and measured response and that person is lucky to have you as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Pallatablelawyer]

The lol on the end made me lol!!! Congratulations!!

Thank you so much!

 

[tc123]

sounding like a broken record but has anyone heard from simmons and simmons post-VI for summer?

 

[AspiringSolicitor]

sounding like a broken record but has anyone heard from simmons and simmons post-VI for summer?

I emailed the other day and they said "We are still reviewing applications so unable to provide an outcome as of yet.Our sincere apologies for the delay." it looks like they're STILL sending out VIs!?!

 

[JayC]

Willkie written exercise! Does anyone have any advice on how to prepare? Feel free to message me

 

[Jacob Miller]

Firstly, I am so sorry that you had to go through that with the students in your cohort, as well as the pain you must have gone through due to your injury and your personal circumstances. It sounds like a horrendous situation to have been in, and it is extremely admirable that you have gotten to where you are now, despite all of these challenges.

In terms of the situation at hand, I’ve sent them the advice I constructed and they have just responded with thanks, but that they will ‘find a different answer from someone else.’ I am not really sure how to interpret this without being presumptive.

I think if for some reason they gave me concrete evidence that they were going to actually cheat (beyond that message above), I may be obliged to take this further. For now though I think I am just going to remove myself from the situation and hope it does not reach that stage.

Thank you so much for your advice and for sharing your perspective, it has been very helpful!

Thank you for the kind words! Unfortunately these things happen and I just had to keep my head down and push through. Gave me some good answers for resilience questions though, every cloud...

I think you're 100% doing the right thing here. Please feel free to DM me about if anything else crops up and you'd prefer to chat about it in private.

 

[MikSoroko]

Has anyone heard back about the Simmons evolve placement year? Asking for a friend

 

[Lastseasonwonder]

@Dheepa @Jacob Miller @Daniel Boden @Naomi U @Alice G

For an AC/Interview, where does my commercial awareness need to be? To be specific, are there things I should definitely know about instead of being able to talk about my interests?

This leads me to my follow up question, what can one do in terms of commercial awareness in anticipation of an interview/AC - I have some firms in the works and I hope to have an AC/Interview for any or all of them. Im not saying I will get it but I am so worried that I want to start prepping my commercial awareness/knowledge now rather than after getting the invitation for the AC/interview. What can I do?

For more context, If I get the ACs, they will include a written exercise, partner/associate interview, presentation and negotiation.

Thank you

 

[rachelzane101]

Are k&e interviewing everyone who had an ac?

 

[I.Like.UFOs.Not.PFOs]

In that case, you have done all you can and as @Jacob Miller and others have said, it is their decision what happens now and is not on you. If they come back to you and tell you that they are getting someone else to sit the exam then I think you have to report it because if it came out that you knew and did nothing, you yourself could be guilty of an academic offence so I doubt you'd have much choice sadly.

I really do commend you for how you have handled it so far. Sounds like you have given a very considered and measured response and that person is lucky to have you as far as I'm concerned.

Thank you for your kind response!

Honestly, I hope that they were just bluffing in their message. If they weren’t (and I had evidence) like you said, I genuinely do not have much choice but to report them. I just really hope it doesn’t reach that stage

 

[frksch]

Random one but does anyone know how many places there are on CMS academy? trying to work out TC conversion rate so I can add to my stress

 

[Jacob Miller]

@Dheepa @Jacob Miller @Daniel Boden @Naomi U @Alice G

For an AC/Interview, where does my commercial awareness need to be? To be specific, are there things I should definitely know about instead of being able to talk about my interests?

This leads me to my follow up question, what can one do in terms of commercial awareness in anticipation of an interview/AC - I have some firms in the works and I hope to have an AC/Interview for any or all of them. Im not saying I will get it but I am so worried that I want to start prepping my commercial awareness/knowledge now rather than after getting the invitation for the AC/interview. What can I do?

For more context, If I get the ACs, they will include a written exercise, partner/associate interview, presentation and negotiation.

Thank you

Hi Dwight,

It's challenging to say precisely where your commercial awareness needs to be in terms of specific stories. For me, CA was always a combination of being aware of general news and current affairs as well as how these affect or could affect law firms/ the firm you're at and how these factors ininteract. I think you should also have one or two key stories/ issues in which you are more expert for the sort of "what have you been looking at in the news" issues.

For staying up to date with CA, I personally woukd recommend the Financial Times, Finimize, the TCLA newsletters and also the CA forums here which will be expanding in the coming weeks with @Dheepa and I putting some more discussions in there.

For the other parts of the AC like the negotiation and case study, you might want to look at the articles I've already written on these if you've not read them before.

Hope this helps!

 

[I.Like.UFOs.Not.PFOs]

Thank you for the kind words! Unfortunately these things happen and I just had to keep my head down and push through. Gave me some good answers for resilience questions though, every cloud...

I think you're 100% doing the right thing here. Please feel free to DM me about if anything else crops up and you'd prefer to chat about it in private.

I’m glad you found the silver lining 😉

And of course, thank you for the offer - I will definitely reach out if things take a turn!

 

[frog]

Doing batches in alphabetical order is my latest theory... why I torture myself with speculation I’ll never know...

What letter do you think they are up to? I might have a long wait ahead 😂