Law with a year abroad applications

[l16d]

I have recently got into a year abroad (was previously on a straight LLB 3-year course, but will now be going abroad next year & doing a 4 year course) so am now unsure what I am allowed to/should be applying to for commercial law firms ! A few of my friends who have been on a 4 year course since enrollment have said that they have been told to apply to first year schemes now, and on most vac schemes it states that they are open to 'penultimate year law students' (which I am obviously now no longer), but then I am also clearly not a first year student! Was wondering if anyone knows what happens if I apply to one which is the 'wrong one' or anything else i might need to know? I was hoping to be able to apply to 1st year schemes as they seem less competitive & stressful than VCs but other than that would I just have to apply to VCs for the next cycle? Sorry if this question has been posted already or is in the wrong place - this is my first post on here!

 

[OH]

I can only comment on friends who were in the same situation 2-3 years ago before jetting off to Sydney/Singapore, they emailed and were told that applying for first year schemes were fine (e.g. at Clifford Chance and Slaughters) in most cases, but different firms have different policies. So I'd just ask to make sure lol. Several of them were accepted on the first year schemes and fast-tracked to TCs/vacation schemes so I'd 10/10 recommend applying to as many as possible if you have time.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I have recently got into a year abroad (was previously on a straight LLB 3-year course, but will now be going abroad next year & doing a 4 year course) so am now unsure what I am allowed to/should be applying to for commercial law firms ! A few of my friends who have been on a 4 year course since enrollment have said that they have been told to apply to first year schemes now, and on most vac schemes it states that they are open to 'penultimate year law students' (which I am obviously now no longer), but then I am also clearly not a first year student! Was wondering if anyone knows what happens if I apply to one which is the 'wrong one' or anything else i might need to know? I was hoping to be able to apply to 1st year schemes as they seem less competitive & stressful than VCs but other than that would I just have to apply to VCs for the next cycle? Sorry if this question has been posted already or is in the wrong place - this is my first post on here!

Your eligibility is typically based on when you are eligible for a training contract. If you could start a training contract that the firm are recruiting for this year, then apply for vacation schemes. If you would be eligible for the next recruitment cycle (2021-22) training contracts, then apply for first year schemes