My Training Contract Journey!

[historytolaw]

Hey Everyone!

I’ve enjoyed reading all the TC journey posts lately, so I thought I’d start my own! I’m a second-year student history and politics student at UCL (no dissertation stress just yet, thank goodness), but I figured updating this thread would help keep me motivated as I dipped my toes into the legal world.

For context, I do not have any A-Levels due to mitigating circumstances, but I do have an Access to HE diploma, which has left me with 141 UCAS points. So, my application to firms has to be strategic based on their requirements.

So, there are no Vacation Scheme applications for me yet—I don’t meet the eligibility requirements. But I’ve been making progress in other areas! I recently applied for the Clifford Chance Spark Scheme, and I’m anxiously waiting to tackle the Watson Glaser test. I'm not going to lie; I’m feeling a little nervous about it. I’ve heard the Watson Glaser is no walk in the park, but I’m staying positive and preparing as much as possible. Although, I cannot (for the life of me) grasp the assumptions section.

I’m trying to stay involved and build up my experience, even if it’s outside the traditional legal route. Seeing other people’s progress is motivating, and I’m excited to keep working toward those bigger applications next year. But for now, it’s a mix of uni, societies (getting involved in those more!), and prepping for the Watson Glaser.

Wish me luck!

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hey Everyone!

I’ve enjoyed reading all the TC journey posts lately, so I thought I’d start my own! I’m a second-year student history and politics student at UCL (no dissertation stress just yet, thank goodness), but I figured updating this thread would help keep me motivated as I dipped my toes into the legal world.

For context, I do not have any A-Levels due to mitigating circumstances, but I do have an Access to HE diploma, which has left me with 141 UCAS points. So, my application to firms has to be strategic based on their requirements.

So, there are no Vacation Scheme applications for me yet—I don’t meet the eligibility requirements. But I’ve been making progress in other areas! I recently applied for the Clifford Chance Spark Scheme, and I’m anxiously waiting to tackle the Watson Glaser test. I'm not going to lie; I’m feeling a little nervous about it. I’ve heard the Watson Glaser is no walk in the park, but I’m staying positive and preparing as much as possible. Although, I cannot (for the life of me) grasp the assumptions section.

I’m trying to stay involved and build up my experience, even if it’s outside the traditional legal route. Seeing other people’s progress is motivating, and I’m excited to keep working toward those bigger applications next year. But for now, it’s a mix of uni, societies (getting involved in those more!), and prepping for the Watson Glaser.

Wish me luck!

Hi @historytolaw, it's great to hear about the start of your TC journey! You seem to be taking all the right steps for your current stage, in that you are both slowly entering the applications scene and also building up your candidate profile and CV! The one thing I would advise you to also start doing is to apply for and attend some open days and other careers events. These may become extremely useful to you next year if you start applying for vacation schemes.

Regarding your WG struggles, the way I prepared for it was by creating a sheet of crucial information for each type of assessment and having that in front of me. I copied bellow the bullet points I had down, you may find them useful:

Assumptions = unstated piece of information which must be true for the statement in question to be true.

• Do not apply your own general knowledge or moral standards that are not included in the statement.
• Do not generalise.
• This section tests whether the statement in question assumes something, not whether you can assume something from the statement.
• Don’t conflate ‘assumable’ with ‘probable’.
• The test:
• Identify the premises and the conclusion.
• Does the conclusion logically follow from the premises?
• If not, does the assumption offered validate the conclusion? Is it a necessity for the assumption to be true in order that the conclusion of the statement logically follows from the premise?
• Apply the ‘Inverse Test’: negate the assumption and if the conclusion is damaged, the assumption is correct.

This notes were partly based on an excellent course provided by TCLA, I highly recommend taking a look here if you haven't already.

Finally, I wanted to wish you best of look in your application journey, I'm looking forward to seeing your progress!

 

[historytolaw]

Hi @Andrei Radu

Regarding legal experience, during the sixth form, I was part of the Access Ashurst and Eversheds Unlocked programs. So far, at the University, I have gained valuable legal experience through internships, mentorship programs, and open days at top law firms. As a City Solicitors Horizons candidate, I completed a one-week internship at Sullivan & Cromwell, where I drafted client communications and developed my legal drafting skills. I have attended insight days at firms such as Davis Polk, Trowers & Hamlins, BCLP, Weil, and Clyde & Co. There are various other open days with HSF, Dechert, and White & Case that I attended during my first year. So this year, I feel as if I want to relax on the applications for open days and insights schemes and primarily focus on building my commercial awareness.

Thank you for your advice regarding assumptions; I greatly appreciate it!

I look forward to updating this forum on my journey!

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi @Andrei Radu

Regarding legal experience, during the sixth form, I was part of the Access Ashurst and Eversheds Unlocked programs. So far, at the University, I have gained valuable legal experience through internships, mentorship programs, and open days at top law firms. As a City Solicitors Horizons candidate, I completed a one-week internship at Sullivan & Cromwell, where I drafted client communications and developed my legal drafting skills. I have attended insight days at firms such as Davis Polk, Trowers & Hamlins, BCLP, Weil, and Clyde & Co. There are various other open days with HSF, Dechert, and White & Case that I attended during my first year. So this year, I feel as if I want to relax on the applications for open days and insights schemes and primarily focus on building my commercial awareness.

Thank you for your advice regarding assumptions; I greatly appreciate it!

I look forward to updating this forum on my journey!

That's great to hear, you seem to be way ahead of the curve! After you've built up your commercial awareness as well I expect you will be in an amazing position to succeed in your VS applications

 

[historytolaw]

Just finished the Watson Glaser test! I think it went alright, but I won’t know until I get the results 🤞. Feeling a mix of nerves and excitement!

On a brighter note, I received some positive feedback for my Civil Service Fast Stream Internship application, which has boosted my confidence. Hoping this momentum continues as I move forward!

 

[historytolaw]

Ermmmm, just received an email from Vantage, regarding the WG, and I PASSED?????????

Now, it's the waiting game of hearing back around Feb 2025...