TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2022-23

[Rollon23]

Does anyone know how long AG take to come back to candidates after a VI?

 

[AlexJ]

I am now reliably informed that applications will open Sept 1, closing Feb 16th 2024. Recruiting for March 25, March 26, September 26 and March 27 (maximum 8 TCs)

Does anyone know when King & Spalding's TC opens and if it's rolling? Also not sure if it's for second years only

 

[amrita6399]

Does anyone know how long AG take to come back to candidates after a VI?

Did you get a response from AG after your TC application?

 

[Tintin06]

Does anyone know what Freshfields apps are marked out of? I just SAR'd my score.

 

[Asil Ahmad]

BCLP VI Invite does anyone have any advice for it and what to expect. Is it a competency based interview or another type of interview. Thank you in advance.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I had a thought recently: do you think graduate recruitment do not take mitigating circumstances seriously anymore because most candidates who do not meet the grade threshold probably cite such reasons as the cause? Without a doubt, many candidates have mitigating circumstances... but I have a feeling a lot of candidates exploit this section. I wonder if recruiters can distinguish the real from the fake.

It depends what the circumstances are in all honesty. Not all mitigating circumstances are the same.

Someone dealing with intense and long term chemotherapy is not the same as someone dealing with food poisoning

Someone dealing with a sudden and unexpected death of a partner or parent is not the same as dealing with the death of a distant elderly relative.

It also depends on the evidence you have got to support the mitigating circumstances. If you can show the circumstances led to a blip in performance, the circumstances are verified in a way. If you can’t show a blip, then the question is what will your true abilities be.

But in short, mitigating/extenuating circumstances are considered.

 

[Deleted member 30234]

Can anyone advise on preparing for competency interviews please? How do you recall all specific situations you have been involved in when starting from scratch? For your answers following the STAR structure does it have to be about a specific situation that happened in your various roles? It is really confusing to understand

 

[gggg]

hey guys!! General question: Im entering my final year of university and when applying for direct training contacts i keep seeing starting 2026- i am genuinely confused as to what i am meant to be doing during those 2 years besides completing the SQE. Does anyone know?

 

[LJ]

hey guys!! General question: Im entering my final year of university and when applying for direct training contacts i keep seeing starting 2026- i am genuinely confused as to what i am meant to be doing during those 2 years besides completing the SQE. Does anyone know?

A lot of people will be applying in their second year of uni so would have their final year followed by the SQE year before starting.

You could have a gap year or some firms may allow you to bring your date forward if they have a need or someone else has deferred. If you are in your final year of uni and haven’t got much experience it may be better to apply for vacation schemes - most firms offer a higher % of TCs through VS.

 

[jnice]

Can anyone advise on preparing for competency interviews please? How do you recall all specific situations you have been involved in when starting from scratch? For your answers following the STAR structure does it have to be about a specific situation that happened in your various roles? It is really confusing to understand

i followed this process when preparing for my competency interviews:
1) searched for the competencies that the law firm is looking for.
2) looked through my CV and matched up the competencies the law firm’s looking for with each of my experiences on my cv. E.g., I worked in retail, and would often serve customers. So I matched up interpersonal and communication skills with this experience.
3) on flash cards, I wrote out each experience to demonstrate the competency using the STAR method, making sure I had at least two examples for each competency.
4) I practiced using the flash cards until I know no longer needed to flash cards.

Tip - on the flash cards, you need to write in note form so that when doing the interview, you’re not reciting what you’ve written on the flash cards but rather, in the interview when asked to demonstrate X competency, you know what example you can bring up and explain to fully demonstrate that you possess the competency that they are looking for.

Hope this helps!

 

[NJS]

Does anyone know if the Allen and Overy video interview is sent before or after the deadline?

 

[kmo20]

Does anyone know if the Allen and Overy video interview is sent before or after the deadline?

Before the deadline, they send it when you submit your application

 

[lawstudent0303]

hi! i'm looking to purchase WG practice tests. i used Assessment Day last year but my scores weren't the best. do you have recommendations on which provider ends up being the closest to the actual WGs?

 

[mfuturetrainee]

hi! i'm looking to purchase WG practice tests. i used Assessment Day last year but my scores weren't the best. do you have recommendations on which provider ends up being the closest to the actual WGs?

job test prep is quite good id say

 

[hannah04]

does anybody know when W&C started getting back to people for TCs last year?🫣

It may not be the same for direct TCs but just as a reference I got a PFO about 2 months after submitting my app for the VS

 

[plmokn]

Anyone heard from Paul Hastings?

 

[mfuturetrainee]

has anyone had any luck getting their WG test scores back from freshfields?

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hi @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. I had a question about Slaughter and May. The firm's USP is its multi-specialist approach which means that a typical corporate trainee will not just do a subset of corporate work (like he would in other firms), but he would engage in different things like IPOs, private M&As, regular corporate tasks like amending board minutes etc.

My question is, to display an interest in this approach, do we need to show a specific interest in different kinds of legal work (through our legal work experience) or do we need to showcase our personality of being a curious generalist over a specialist (through our hobbies/extra-curriculars)?
Thanks.

 

[Civ457]

Can you use the same example of a news story or challenges in the legal sector in a second interview if you used it in the first interview with the same firm, the week before?

 

[BubbleTeaFan]

When are we likely to hear back from HL post-WG?