Ask TLT Anything!

[Jaysen]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to say a very special welcome to @Marcus Ketley, Early Careers Advisor at the law firm TLT, to TCLA. It has been a pleasure to get to know Marcus over the last few months and to see how much he cares about helping aspiring lawyers in their journey to securing a training contract.

He is live right now to answer any questions you have about the training contract process, TLT, making yourself stand out, and anything in between.

Welcome Marcus!

---

Apply for the TLT vacation scheme by 10 January 2025

Apply for Beyond by 10 January 2025

Apply for the TLT training contract by 31 May 2025

 

[ZoeFNorth]

Hi there, this is Zoe North and I'm a career-changer. What advice would you give to a candidate who would like to apply for a new area of law that they don't have much experience in?

 

[Marcus Ketley]

Hi all,

I am looking forward to answering your questions 😊

 

[Kavina]

Hi Marcus,

I was wondering whether we may apply to both the Vacation scheme and Beyond programme?

Thank you!

 

[Marcus Ketley]

Hi there, this is Zoe North and I'm a career-changer. What advice would you give to a candidate who would like to apply for a new area of law that they don't have much experience in?

Hi Zoe,

A lot of firms use a strengths-based process when recruiting for their Early Careers roles, focussing more on potential than demonstrated experience. Therefore, I would say one of the key things to focus on is your motivations for wanting to explore that area of law and any skills/strengths you have that you would be able to bring to the role! Keep yourself informed with key developments taking place in that area of law and ensure you understand how this may impact the firm, their clients, and the role of a Trainee/Solicitor in that firm. This will allow you to speak confidentially about that area of law and demonstrate your motivations for applying.

Marcus

 

[pleasepleaseplease]

Hi Marcus, do you take trainees mainly through the vacation scheme? Is there a disadvantage if I apply directly for a training contract? This is because I am on a study visa and only allowed to work 20 hours term time. The vacation scheme is during my term time so I won't be able to work full time during the scheme. Thanks!

 

[LawJourney101]

Hi Marcus. I have been able to pass through to the video interview rounds consistently (it is my first cycle this year) but am completely inept when it comes to video interviews. I become nervous, my heart beats quickly, I stammer and tend to answer the questions badly especially when they come as a surprise. Do you have any advice? It is disheartening to be disqualified from the process in 5 minutes after spending hours writing the application. Should I choose another career?

 

[Marcus Ketley]

Hi Marcus,

I was wondering whether we may apply to both the Vacation scheme and Beyond programme?

Thank you!

Hi Kavina,

Candidates are only eligible to apply for either the Vacation Scheme or the Beyond programme. However, due to the focus of the Beyond programme being to increase representation in the industry, candidates who narrowly miss out on a place on the Beyond programme will be automatically considered for the Vacation Scheme with TLT.

Marcus

 

[ZoeFNorth]

Hi Zoe,

A lot of firms use a strengths-based process when recruiting for their Early Careers roles, focussing more on potential than demonstrated experience. Therefore, I would say one of the key things to focus on is your motivations for wanting to explore that area of law and any skills/strengths you have that you would be able to bring to the role! Keep yourself informed with key developments taking place in that area of law and ensure you understand how this may impact the firm, their clients, and the role of a Trainee/Solicitor in that firm. This will allow you to speak confidentially about that area of law and demonstrate your motivations for applying.

Marcus

Thank you, Marcus!

 

[Marcus Ketley]

Hi Marcus, do you take trainees mainly through the vacation scheme? Is there a disadvantage if I apply directly for a training contract? This is because I am on a study visa and only allowed to work 20 hours term time. The vacation scheme is during my term time so I won't be able to work full time during the scheme. Thanks!

Afternoon!
It really depends on which office and how many vacancies we have available! This year we are running our Direct Training Contract recruitment process in Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Scotland, and Belfast so if any of those offices are of interest to you I would definitely recommend applying.

 

[Jamshaid Allah Ditta]

Hi all,

I am looking forward to answering your questions 😊

Dear Marcus,

Please guide me on the following questions:
1. How can I enhance my commercial awareness?
2. How can I identify the competitors of law firms?

Thank you

 

[Marcus Ketley]

Hi Marcus. I have been able to pass through to the video interview rounds consistently (it is my first cycle this year) but am completely inept when it comes to video interviews. I become nervous, my heart beats quickly, I stammer and tend to answer the questions badly especially when they come as a surprise. Do you have any advice? It is disheartening to be disqualified from the process in 5 minutes after spending hours writing the application. Should I choose another career?

Afternoon!
Video Interviews are really tough so, whilst I completely understand how this can be disheartening, you will not be the only applicant currently feeling this way. With video interviews, it all comes down to practice! Try coming up with a list of 10-15 'typical' questions and video yourself answering them, this way you will start to get used to the spontaneous nature of the video interviews and also the unfamiliar feeling of speaking into a camera. If you feel comfortable doing so, you could send these practices to your peers who can review these for you and provide some insights.
It is also worth noting that not all firms will have a video interview stage, for example, at TLT we currently do not use video interviews in our Early Careers recruitment process.
Marcus

 

[LawJourney101]

Afternoon!
Video Interviews are really tough so, whilst I completely understand how this can be disheartening, you will not be the only applicant currently feeling this way. With video interviews, it all comes down to practice! Try coming up with a list of 10-15 'typical' questions and video yourself answering them, this way you will start to get used to the spontaneous nature of the video interviews and also the unfamiliar feeling of speaking into a camera. If you feel comfortable doing so, you could send these practices to your peers who can review these for you and provide some insights.
It is also worth noting that not all firms will have a video interview stage, for example, at TLT we currently do not use video interviews in our Early Careers recruitment process.
Marcus

Thank you.

 

[Aspiringlawyer26]

Hi Marcus, do first year grades matter when applying to TCs? How much would they impact an application, given that many students who perform really well in first year may not always do well in third year and those who perform poorly in first year may end up excelling by the end of their degree? Thank you!

 

[Marcus Ketley]

Dear Marcus,

Please guide me on the following questions:
1. How can I enhance my commercial awareness?
2. How can I identify the competitors of law firms?

Thank you

Afternoon!

Commercial Awareness is a really interesting one. There are a plethora of materials available online (e.g LawCareers.Net Commercial Questions or LittleLaw) which focus on explaining what is going on in the legal market in a user-friendly way, therefore I would definitely recommend taking a look at these sources as we enter further into recruitment season.
However, I would also say that commercial awareness does not always need to be overcomplicated... have a think about some of your key hobbies and interests, what could you find out about the laws associated with these? For example, when it comes to sports (I personally am not a huge fan!) but there are so many legal concepts involved (contracts; employment; insurance; real estate) which are easy to overlook. There is a much greater chance of you understanding the legal concepts surrounding something you are passionate about rather than jumping into the Financial Times!

When identifying competitor firms, I suppose it really depends what you deem their key comparison point to be. Is it in terms of size? revenue? geography? If you want to compare key practice areas, the Legal 500 is a good place to start and this can be filtered by region.

Marcus

 

[pleasepleaseplease]

Afternoon!
It really depends on which office and how many vacancies we have available! This year we are running our Direct Training Contract recruitment process in Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Scotland, and Belfast so if any of those offices are of interest to you I would definitely recommend applying.

Thanks, Marcus! One more question, do you sponsor work visas?

 

[GV]

Hi Marcus, will any vac schemes or training contract opportunities be opening in London?

 

[Marcus Ketley]

Hi Marcus, do first year grades matter when applying to TCs? How much would they impact an application, given that many students who perform really well in first year may not always do well in third year and those who perform poorly in first year may end up excelling by the end of their degree? Thank you!

Afternoon,

Most of the time firms will ask you to list all of your undergraduate grades on the application form. In law, we recruit quite far in advance and therefore we often ask candidates to list if they are on-track for whatever our minimum grade requirement is. First year grades can be quite useful as part of that process. If you can see that someone has achieved consistent 2:1s or 1sts, this will support you in understanding if they are on-track (at the time of application) to achieve our minimum requirement, especially if the candidate is at the beginning of their second year when they apply.


I would not let your first year grades put you off applying, especially if the firm is looking for your final grade rather than a modular breakdown. If there are any mitigating circumstances surrounding the outcome of your first year, I would recommend including these where appropriate.


Marcus

 

[Marcus Ketley]

Hi Marcus, will any vac schemes or training contract opportunities be opening in London?

Afternoon,

This year we are focussing our Trainee recruitment outside of London. Our Vacation Scheme and Beyond opportunities are live in Bristol, Manchester, and Scotland. We also run direct TC processes in those office, Birmingham, and Belfast.

Marcus

 

[Marcus Ketley]

Thanks, Marcus! One more question, do you sponsor work visas?

TLT holds a sponsor licence which enables the company to sponsor overseas nationals on a skilled worker visa in line with Home Office guidelines. It is TLT's policy that before any consideration for skilled worker visa sponsorship is given, any permission to work in the UK without the need for sponsorship should be exhausted first.

Skilled worker visa sponsorship cannot be guaranteed and we look at each situation on a case by case basis, in line with the Home Office requirements at the time and TLT’s visa policy conditions.