General Discussion Thread 2020-21

[JD]

Hi guys, regarding BCLP’s TC, some people have received their AC invited for the London office today.

Feeling a little discouraged but trying to remember that what is meant to be will be. Hope everyone is doing well today !

How do you know?

 

[Deleted member 5185]

How do you know?

I am a member of 'The Student Room' and somebody posted about it in the forum.

 

[JD]

I am a member of 'The Student Room' and somebody posted about it in the forum.

have you heard anyone being rejected yet post application for direct TCs? If not, I wouldn’t worry about it too much, just wait and see. I know some people that have been waiting since Nov 2019, so hopefully they get back to everyone soon.

 

[Deleted member 5185]

have you heard anyone being rejected yet post application for direct TCs? If not, I wouldn’t worry about it too much, just wait and see. I know some people that have been waiting since Nov 2019, so hopefully they get back to everyone soon.

Yes that is a very good point actually. Thank you !

 

[thecorporatelawyer]

Rejected from Slaughters!

I’m so sorry to hear this! Was this for their direct TC?

 

[Deleted member 4851]

Anyone know how long Sullivan & Cromwell take to respond to applications approximately?

A week for a rejection, if you did not hear back I guess it's good

 

[Pallatablelawyer]

Yes that is a very good point actually. Thank you !

hey man i think the student room post was yesterday

 

[Legal_Eagle91]

Got an email from Akin Gump saying that they cannot sponsor a visa for international students

 

[Pallatablelawyer]

Got an email from Akin Gump saying that they cannot sponsor a visa for international students

They might not but it if you have not finished your undergraduate degree, I would advise just e-mailing them to say the new rules means they wont have to sponsor you. Finish the LPC & you get two years

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

They might not but it if you have not finished your undergraduate degree, I would advise just e-mailing them to say the new rules means they wont have to sponsor you. Finish the LPC & you get two years

That is not quite true. As a training contract is two years and won't start until 2-3 months after someone graduates/completes the LPC, where the post-study work visa is a maximum of two years, it wouldn't cover a whole training contract.

You would basically need your training contract to start before your course officially ended.

So a firm would need to still get a Tier 2 visa for you. It will be easier for them to do this as of January 2021, but it is their choice to do so and if they are saying they won't get a visa for you, then unfortunately that is their stance on the matter.

 

[IntrepidL]

Got an email from Akin Gump saying that they cannot sponsor a visa for international students

Are you sure? I know someone who's starting their TC there soon, and I am pretty sure they're an international student :/

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Are you sure? I know someone who's starting their TC there soon, and I am pretty sure they're an international student :/

They can change their stance on this if they want to. If the firm has emailed to say they can't sponsor visas, then I would say that is their stance.

The only way I can see it being a mistake is if they are mistaken in thinking the person applied for an internship and is not studying in the UK.

Lots of international students have rights to work in the UK - especially those on hereditary visas, so its not always a good way of trying to spot who has been sponsored or not.

 

[Pallatablelawyer]

That is not quite true. As a training contract is two years and won't start until 2-3 months after someone graduates/completes the LPC, where the post-study work visa is a maximum of two years, it wouldn't cover a whole training contract.

You would basically need your training contract to start before your course officially ended.

So a firm would need to still get a Tier 2 visa for you. It will be easier for them to do this as of January 2021, but it is their choice to do so and if they are saying they won't get a visa for you, then unfortunately that is their stance on the matter.

I understand this but say I get a TC for September 2022.. I am on an LLM now, and I decide to go home and i come back in September 2021 .. LPC for 9 months ( you will be a tier 4 student) LPC 9 months .. finishes in June.. your leave to remain expires at the end of august.. you can apply for a post-study at the very earliest within 3 months before you are due to arrive.. that covers that .. you have to apply for the two year post-study visa and if the Lpc is 2 years from september 2022 to September 24.. shouldnt that theoretically be covered ?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

I understand this but say I get a TC for September 2022.. I am on an LLM now, and I decide to go home and i come back in September 2021 .. LPC for 9 months ( you will be a tier 4 student) LPC 9 months .. finishes in June.. your leave to remain expires at the end of august.. you can apply for a post-study at the very earliest within 3 months before you are due to arrive.. that covers that .. you have to apply for the two year post-study visa and if the Lpc is 2 years from september 2022 to September 24.. shouldnt that theoretically be covered ?

Unfortunately not.... your post-study visa starts immediately after your course ends not after the period of leave to remain (which no longer exists).

It is why very few firms had Trainees on post study visas pre 2009, they were all on Tier 2 visa back then.

The old issue also used to be that the LPC was not a masters course level (back in 2009) so was not eligible for the two year visa stay anyway. Although this has been resolved now because of student finance and many LPC courses have an optional additional module to make it up to a masters level, this may be an issue with the new SQE prep courses.

 

[Pallatablelawyer]

Unfortunately not.... your post-study visa starts immediately after your course ends not after the period of leave to remain (which no longer exists).

It is why very few firms had Trainees on post study visas pre 2009, they were all on Tier 2 visa back then.

The old issue also used to be that the LPC was not a masters course level (back in 2009) so was not eligible for the two year visa stay anyway. Although this has been resolved now because of student finance and many LPC courses have an optional additional module to make it up to a masters level, this may be an issue with the new SQE prep courses.

So are you saying that the new rules are saying there will no longer be those 4 months or 6 months? Because as far as I am aware i havent heard anything about the scrapping of that. Thats what i mean when i say leave to remain. There is always a gap to allow people to apply in the UK. If they are scrapping that then that would just be very weird.

 

[Pallatablelawyer]

So are you saying that the new rules are saying there will no longer be those 4 months or 6 months? Because as far as I am aware i havent heard anything about the scrapping of that. Thats what i mean when i say leave to remain. There is always a gap to allow people to apply in the UK. If they are scrapping that then that would just be very weird.

You usually get 4 months or 6 months with the completion of an undergraduate or psotgraduate course .. like it is baked into your visa.. eg my student undergrad was still oct even though my course finished in june.. this is what i meant by leave to remain btw.

 

[Legal_Eagle91]

Are you sure? I know someone who's starting their TC there soon, and I am pretty sure they're an international student :/

Yes, I thought it's because of COVID as someone mentioned before that Akin Gump canceled TC for this year

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

So are you saying that the new rules are saying there will no longer be those 4 months or 6 months? Because as far as I am aware i havent heard anything about the scrapping of that. Thats what i mean when i say leave to remain. There is always a gap to allow people to apply in the UK. If they are scrapping that then that would just be very weird.

you won’t be allowed 4/6 months and then 2 years on top of that. You will either apply for the graduate route before your Tier 4 is up (they are suggesting even before your course finishes) or not apply for it and only get your period of leave if you don’t apply for it). If you applied into your period of leave after your course finished, then are likely to back date the two year period so it starts once your course ended, not when your Tier 4 expires.

All the processes are still be to written though - so there are a lot of unknowns that no one can guarantee right now. Because of that, most employers who have a two year graduate programme are not going to rely on a post student visa. If it was 18 months or less, then it’s much more likely.

The last time there were post-study visas, you didn’t even apply, you just got it tied into your student visa.

Unless you are doing a topped up masters course, the LPC and potential SQE prep courses wouldn’t make you eligible for a two year post-study visa either...

 

[2019grad31]

Hello, anyone heard back from Harbottle & Lewis or done the first stage interview?

Haven’t heard anything either!

 

[Pallatablelawyer]

you won’t be allowed 4/6 months and then 2 years on top of that. You will either apply for the graduate route before your Tier 4 is up (they are suggesting even before your course finishes) or not apply for it and only get your period of leave if you don’t apply for it). If you applied into your period of leave after your course finished, then are likely to back date the two year period so it starts once your course ended, not when your Tier 4 expires.

All the processes are still be to written though - so there are a lot of unknowns that no one can guarantee right now. Because of that, most employers who have a two year graduate programme are not going to rely on a post student visa. If it was 18 months or less, then it’s much more likely.

The last time there were post-study visas, you didn’t even apply, you just got it tied into your student visa.

Unless you are doing a topped up masters course, the LPC and potential SQE prep courses wouldn’t make you eligible for a two year post-study visa either...

Very informative. You are right there are still alot of unknowns. But from what I have seen you definitely have to apply. The facts sheet has it as a route you have to actually apply for. Which means it could possibly be possible with current visa rules which will give you the 4 months that you currently have on normal tier 4 visas. However you are right it is currently unclear if doing the LPC will make you eligible. However, doing the LPC LLM should because it would be a masters degree. For firms that make their trainees take it as a masters, I am pretty sure it would make you eligible. Infact the fact sheet stipulated that as long as you start an undegraduate or masters degree in the 2021/21 session, you will definitely be eligible for it. But then again, alot of unknowns and it will all be solved when it is introduced properly in the summer of 2021.