General Discussion Thread 2020-21

[FutureCity]

Rejected from Stephenson Harwood summer VS but they asked if I would like to be considered for a TC?

Asking for anyone's experience if this is common? Not quite sure whether to treat the news as sad rejection news!

I would take that as good news

 

[lawlad]

Rejected from Stephenson Harwood summer VS but they asked if I would like to be considered for a TC?

Asking for anyone's experience if this is common? Not quite sure whether to treat the news as sad rejection news!

Definitely good news. From what I know Stephenson Harwood recruits a lot of trainees through the direct training contract route (unlike some firms) so you still have a fair chance of getting a TC!

 

[Lawbour]

I think a lot of people use F-LEX legal recruitment for paralegal positions?

Ahh yes I am signed up to them but they have never offered me a legal position lol

 

[Lawbour]

Yes and Ryder Reid too. They're also quite good for that

Thank you, will definitely check them out

 

[csyn]

I would take that as good news

Definitely good news. From what I know Stephenson Harwood recruits a lot of trainees through the direct training contract route (unlike some firms) so you still have a fair chance of getting a TC!

ahh okay! was starting to think it was just a common courtesy rejection message hahah. Thank you both - really helpful, I appreciate it

 

[D95]

sorry if this has already been asked - what recruitment agency did you use? I'm also looking for some paralegal work to start once my exams are over

I'd recommend trying with the following agencies:
- Strictly Recruitment (law firms)
- Graff Search (in-house)
- Pure Search (in-house)
- DMJ Legal (in-house + co-sec)
- Jameson Legal (law firms)

Probably goes without saying, but they will mostly advertise for London only.

 

[S87]

Guys do you know if Akin Gump only hires from VS?

@Daniel Boden you had an AC with them, do you have an info?

Thank you

 

[Alice G]

Guys do you know if Akin Gump only hires from VS?

@Daniel Boden you had an AC with them, do you have an info?

Thank you

I am not 100% certain re. Akin Gump, but most US firms I know of do tend to recruit from vac schemes predominantly. They have a much lower intake than many UK origin firms who have a higher capacity, therefore, to recruit through VSs and TCs unless they explicitly state they take from just VSs, like HSF.

 

[S87]

I am not 100% certain re. Akin Gump, but most US firms I know of do tend to recruit from vac schemes predominantly. They have a much lower intake than many UK origin firms who have a higher capacity, therefore, to recruit through VSs and TCs unless they explicitly state they take from just VSs, like HSF.

Hi Alice,

Thank you for your response. Would you mind telling me to which US firm are your referring to? I will create a post later this week after a deep research.

 

[Alice G]

Hi Alice,

Thank you for your response. Would you mind telling me to which US firm are your referring to? I will create a post later this week after a deep research.

I know that Latham and Shearman tend to recruit mostly from vacs. In fact, I want to say that Shearman might now recruit exclusively from vacation schemes. Am I right in thinking this @Paul - Shearman & Sterling? I thought I saw something in the Monday Q&As a while back though I might be mistaken!

I also know Kirkland favour vacation scheme participants, as do Weil and Gibson Dunn I believe. Are you able to confirm the latter two @Daniel Boden?

I think White & Case could possibly be slightly different but they have a very sizeable intake each year versus the other US firms so this probably explains that though. I think they do still mostly recruit from vacs but can't be 100%, maybe someone else is better placed to advise on W&C specifically.

 

[Samar]

Does anyone know when Macfarlanes are doing their TC ACs this year? Think there is an earlier one and then one after all the vac schemes are complete but not sure if the first one has already happened

 

[S87]

I know that Latham and Shearman tend to recruit mostly from vacs. In fact, I want to say that Shearman might now recruit exclusively from vacation schemes. Am I right in thinking this @Paul - Shearman & Sterling? I thought I saw something in the Monday Q&As a while back though I might be mistaken!

I also know Kirkland favour vacation scheme participants, as do Weil and Gibson Dunn I believe. Are you able to confirm the latter two @Daniel Boden?

I think White & Case could possibly be slightly different but they have a very sizeable intake each year versus the other US firms so this probably explains that though. I think they do still mostly recruit from vacs but can't be 100%, maybe someone else is better placed to advise on W&C specifically.

Thank you very much @Alice G

 

[Daniel Boden]

Guys do you know if Akin Gump only hires from VS?

@Daniel Boden you had an AC with them, do you have an info?

Thank you

I know that Latham and Shearman tend to recruit mostly from vacs. In fact, I want to say that Shearman might now recruit exclusively from vacation schemes. Am I right in thinking this @Paul - Shearman & Sterling? I thought I saw something in the Monday Q&As a while back though I might be mistaken!

I also know Kirkland favour vacation scheme participants, as do Weil and Gibson Dunn I believe. Are you able to confirm the latter two @Daniel Boden?

I think White & Case could possibly be slightly different but they have a very sizeable intake each year versus the other US firms so this probably explains that though. I think they do still mostly recruit from vacs but can't be 100%, maybe someone else is better placed to advise on W&C specifically.

Thanks for your message @S87. Akin Gump basically solely recruits from VS - they only hold TC interviews if it doesn't get the desired amount of trainees from the scheme. Weil and Kirkland have the same approach but Gibson Dunn only recruits from VS barring exceptional circumstances. Hope that helps!

 

[S87]

Thanks for your message @S87. Akin Gump basically solely recruits from VS - they only hold TC interviews if it doesn't get the desired amount of trainees from the scheme. Weil and Kirkland have the same approach but Gibson Dunn only recruits from VS barring exceptional circumstances. Hope that helps!

Thank you so much @Daniel Boden

 

[Alice G]

A&O have been hosting 'trainee takeovers' on their Instagram account and think the final one is tomorrow. Just seen on Linkedin they are inviting people to submit questions for some trainees to answer on tomorrow's takeover - the account name I believe is @aomadeformore. Think this is a really great way to engage with the firm and learn a little bit more about corporate law more generally so please do make the most of firms offering these kinds of things guys! Nothing stopping you writing what you learn from these virtual interactions in your apps for next cycle...

 

[Changes]

Have a virtual workshop with Lewis Silkin on Wednesday (was originally 3 days with some time spent sitting with a team but not yet sure of the format other than knowing there will be presentations and networking opportunities). There will be a chance to ask questions so planning to do some more in depth research on the firm for research.

Anyone else attending? Anyone have any tips for preparing for things like this?

 

[Alice G]

Have a virtual workshop with Lewis Silkin on Wednesday (was originally 3 days with some time spent sitting with a team but not yet sure of the format other than knowing there will be presentations and networking opportunities). There will be a chance to ask questions so planning to do some more in depth research on the firm for research.

Anyone else attending? Anyone have any tips for preparing for things like this?

This sounds great! I hope you enjoy it in terms of prep I would genuinely just say try to think about what matters to you from a firm and make sure you ask those questions so you can better gauge how suited you feel to them, this really is a two-way street after all even though it doesn't feel like it sometimes. Make sure you research really well and ask the questions which truly cannot be found online. Otherwise, check out the video interview tips thread here: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/video-interviews-tips-and-tricks.2324/, as this gives what I hope are some handy dos and don'ts for virtual interviews and video conferences.

 

[FutureCity]

am I the only one who hasn't heard anything from Reed Smith since they decided to postpone/move online their assessment centres?

 

[003]

am I the only one who hasn't heard anything from Reed Smith since they decided to postpone/move online their assessment centres?

I got an email earlier, VS delayed until autumn (2 x 1 week schemes instead of 2 x 2weeks) and they're reviewing using online platforms for interviews ​

 

[FutureCity]

I got an email earlier, VS delayed until autumn (2 x 1 week schemes instead of 2 x 2weeks) and they're reviewing using online platforms for interviews ​

Yeah, got the email right after I posted it.

A delay in vacation scheme dates doesn’t work for me unfortunately