Is the London-China TC less competitive

HF3000

Standard Member
Feb 24, 2021
5
19
Hi all,

for those who have applied to China-London TCs,

I would like some opinions on China-London TC and London-Asia TC Linklaters and Freshfields are doing.

Do you think it's less competitive since they require native speakers? I am a native speaker of Mandarin (I also speak Cantonese) so I thought maybe there are less applicants comparing to their London TCs. But obviously, I don't know how many trainees they take on each year with their Asia programmes.

Will they focus less on GCSE/A Level? I know in Chinese job market, law firms don't ask about secondary education, so I was wondering if that would be the same for their Asia programme?

I was hoping Jessica could share some insight.

Thanks a lot!
 

Badawy

Star Member
Future Trainee
Junior Lawyer 19
  • Apr 4, 2020
    28
    66
    From my experience with Middle East TCs - Yes, there are fewer applicants. But there are far fewer spaces in comparison to London. Out of Linklaters' large intake (100?) only a handful of those would be London-Asia future trainees. So it could be less competitive, or about the same. You just have to balance whether your language skills and interest in the region make you the perfect person for the TC, or whether you're better off applying to London.

    Although, I am not the person you are looking for nor have any experience with neither, so might be completely wrong! Hope it was useful to some degree.
     

    Jessica Booker

    Legendary Member
    TCLA Moderator
    Gold Member
    Graduate Recruitment
    Premium Member
    Forum Team
    Aug 1, 2019
    14,469
    20,154
    As per my PM, it is less competitive in turns of numbers, but the standards will be the same. Some UK firms don’t have specific A-level requirements too (like Freshfields) and so I don’t think that would be any different for their Asia/London contracts.
     
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    Dheepa

    Legendary Member
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    M&A Bootcamp
    Junior Lawyer 43
  • Jan 20, 2019
    852
    2,158
    Hi all,

    for those who have applied to China-London TCs,

    I would like some opinions on China-London TC and London-Asia TC Linklaters and Freshfields are doing.

    Do you think it's less competitive since they require native speakers? I am a native speaker of Mandarin (I also speak Cantonese) so I thought maybe there are less applicants comparing to their London TCs. But obviously, I don't know how many trainees they take on each year with their Asia programmes.

    Will they focus less on GCSE/A Level? I know in Chinese job market, law firms don't ask about secondary education, so I was wondering if that would be the same for their Asia programme?

    I was hoping Jessica could share some insight.

    Thanks a lot!

    So I’ve never applied for London-Asia TCs but I know these TCs are immensely popular with international students. Most apply because I it’s their ideal solution - they’d get to train in London and work closer to home at a prestigious international firm within the short term. Because of that, I really don’t think they’re any less competitive, probably just as if not more competitive than a normal London TC.
     
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    Reactions: OB and HF3000

    Palilegal

    Well-Known Member
  • Jan 22, 2022
    22
    58
    From my experience with Middle East TCs - Yes, there are fewer applicants. But there are far fewer spaces in comparison to London. Out of Linklaters' large intake (100?) only a handful of those would be London-Asia future trainees. So it could be less competitive, or about the same. You just have to balance whether your language skills and interest in the region make you the perfect person for the TC, or whether you're better off applying to London.

    Although, I am not the person you are looking for nor have any experience with neither, so might be completely wrong! Hope it was useful to some degree.

    Do you by any chance know the number of TC positions Links offers in the ME? If you made it to the Links ME TC AC, how many students do you recall being up against?
     

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