Two things I learned recently that I feel will benefit some people here:
1. If you have ever applied to
Slaughter and May via the direct TC route and didn't get an interview invite, don't bother applying again unless there's something majorly different about your application. This was one of their FAQs.
2. If you are a qualified lawyer outside of the UK, even if you have just graduated/cleared the bar exam in your home country, you cannot apply to
Macfarlanes via the direct TC route. Again, this was one of their FAQs.