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TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2024-5

User5678

Legendary Member
Aug 16, 2024
253
347
After the initial application, is it just the AC for Howard Kennedy?
I think there is a Watson Glaser test and a video interview before the AC. I saw it on the allaboutlaw website and on the forum as this was the process for 2024, maybe allaboutlaw is not updated for this year so not too sure :(

PS: It would be amazing if it’s just an ac after the app😭
 
Last edited:

ilovegardening1111

Star Member
Premium Member
Nov 12, 2024
38
8
I think its good if you want to work in-house long term, and especially if you have an interest in financial services or the insurance industry.

Moving to private practice is not going to be straight forward if your experience is mainly in-house, even with a six-month secondment to a private practice firm. You will be competing in a job market where people have mainly worked in private practice. Those people will have worked with a broader range of clients, have gained work experience across practice areas and got used to more private practice process knowledge like business development, time recording etc.

It is not to say it will be impossible, it just will be more difficult than if you have trained in private practice. It may be more possible for firms that have a financial services/insurance sector focus, because your sector knowledge may be in more demand.

People may think it might be easy to impress on a six month secondment to the private practice firm and potentially be hired by them, but sometimes there are terms in secondment agreements that restrict firms/in-house teams from nabbing talent from one another.
Thank you Jessica for your response. If I were keen to qualify into litigation in private practice - would you say this would be more feasible?
 

Jessica Booker

Legendary Member
TCLA Moderator
Gold Member
Graduate Recruitment
Premium Member
Forum Team
Aug 1, 2019
15,299
21,373
Thank you Jessica for your response. If I were keen to qualify into litigation in private practice - would you say this would be more feasible?
I would say this would actually be quite difficult. In-house roles tend to be much more corporate/commercial based, with general advisory work (eg regulations) rather than having a litigation focus. There might be some in-house roles that are more litigation specific and in those cases it could be okay. But ultimately if you want to work in private practice and especially in litigation, I would recommend training in private practice rather than in-house.
 

badmintonflyinginsect

Valued Member
Premium Member
Jan 26, 2023
105
85
The tasks that I have completed in my vacations schemes I think were quite illustrative for what one may expect to find in the respective practice areas:
  1. In corporate M&A/PE: reviewed contracts for chance of control clauses, reviewed and prepared a memo on a due diligence report prepared by the seller's counsel, drafted clauses for ancillary documents, took notes on meetings, researched legal uses of particular legal instruments in transactions (such as purpose of using a deeds in an M&A deal).
  2. In litigation: many research-centered tasks, whether on substantive legal points pertaining to a dispute, procedural rules for submission of documents to a court, or past damages figures awarded for similar litigations.
  3. In financial regulatory (although I suspect it applies more broadly to advisory practices): again research-heavy tasks, which were however more focused around regulatory frameworks and prior decisions of regulatory bodies such as the FCA and PRA.
As for the skills you can work on prior to the VS to maximize your chances of completing your tasks to a high standard, I would list the following:
  1. Research skills: as you have seen legal and commercial research is a core part of work in a law firm, particularly for juniors. As such, it could be very helpful to familiarize yourself with Westlaw and LexisNexis, particularly in relation to use of short cuts and filters.
  2. Drafting skills: as important as research skills is the ability to communicate legal points in a precise manner. In transactional practices this is essential, as the details of your writing will one day determine the rights and obligations of the parties, but it should not be overlooked for advisory and contentious practices either. In most cases, you will need to communicate your findings via an email or a memo and you will need to simplify your research into a shorter format whilst retaining all the relevant nuance. Moreover, more generally, a big part of the assessment of your work product will come down to how well structured and clear your writing is.
  3. Planning skills: a significant part of ensuring you complete many tasks to a high standard will come down to proper planning, ensuring you (i) have enough on your plate to keep you busy but not so much that you get overwhelmed; and (ii) have received proper instructions. Both of these I think come down to asking the right set of questions when you are receiving a task and noting down answers and further instructions.
Thank you so much Andrei! I also wanted to ask what resources are usually available on the firm-provided device for such research? Is there open access to the web?
 
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badmintonflyinginsect

Valued Member
Premium Member
Jan 26, 2023
105
85
Thank you so much Andrei! I also wanted to ask what resources are usually available on the firm-provided device for such research? Is there open access to the web?
Sorry for double-posting @Andrei Radu! But do you have any tips for preparing for a client pitch exercise and a negotiation exercise? How can I go about preparing for each and what can I expect?
 

Andrei Radu

Legendary Member
Staff member
Future Trainee
Gold Member
Premium Member
Sep 9, 2024
689
1,253
Thank you so much Andrei! I also wanted to ask what resources are usually available on the firm-provided device for such research? Is there open access to the web?
Glad I could help :). Yes, you should have open access to the web (bar some sites designated as a security threat or as improper by the system; but this is not something likely to hinder your research efforts). Besides that, you will likely have: (i) some sort of Intranet or firm-wide resources platform, which will give you access to training materials, examples of past work, document formats etc. and (ii) subscription to the most important legal research resources, such as Westlaw and LexisNexis (and, likely, some more niche resources as well, depending on areas of expertise).
 

tomaspessanha

Active Member
Nov 19, 2024
16
23
I scored 3 average and 2 below average with work ethic, ownership and social adaptability as my top strengths.

In previous years, some candidates progressed to the telephone interview stage with below average, while others didn’t progress despite having above average scores.


I also noticed that some candidates progressed with the same strengths to mine, so I’m hoping Mayer Brown still values those same strengths 😅

Great, thank you!
 

ilovegardening1111

Star Member
Premium Member
Nov 12, 2024
38
8
I would say this would actually be quite difficult. In-house roles tend to be much more corporate/commercial based, with general advisory work (eg regulations) rather than having a litigation focus. There might be some in-house roles that are more litigation specific and in those cases it could be okay. But ultimately if you want to work in private practice and especially in litigation, I would recommend training in private practice rather than in-house.
Thanks for the advice :)
 

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