TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2024-5

[m25]

Hi, I need as much advice on this as possible. I am a final year law student from India. I have a good Indian law firm job in hand that I shall have to join in August if I accept the offer. I don't need to accept the offer anytime soon, so I have a lot of time in hand. I have been considering TC apps for quite some time since I would want to work abroad and many of my seniors from university have gotten successful in securing TCs at firms like CC, Freshfields and Bakers. However, I feel like I have wasted quite a lot of time thinking and have actually missed most of the deadlines till now. The only firm I applied to was CC, where I got rejected after clearing WG. Should I start applying now given my limited knowledge of commercial awareness (I used to listen to a few podcasts from august- October end, and I have a good grasp of basic concepts like M&A, PE)? Do I even have good firms left because I feel most deadlines for this year have already ended? Will I be able to write apps in the very limited time I am left now?

Please help me out!

 

[Samridhi Jain]

Thought I wrote the most horrendous app to Goodwin and got VI invite today. Any advice for the Goodwin VI for direct TC? would really appreciate it

 

[futuretrainee202X]

Weirdly, I just logged on to post that I got invited for VI today!

Congrats! When did you apply?

 

[futuretrainee202X]

Thought I wrote the most horrendous app to Goodwin and got VI invite today. Any advice for the Goodwin VI for direct TC? would really appreciate it

Congrats! When did you apply?

 

[Mug Fan]

Thought I wrote the most horrendous app to Goodwin and got VI invite today. Any advice for the Goodwin VI for direct TC? would really appreciate it

Thought I wrote the most horrendous app to Goodwin and got VI invite today. Any advice for the Goodwin VI for direct TC? would really appreciate it

Same, I was reading mine a few days ago, thinking “oh gawd” 😂

 

[pleasepleaseplease]

No probs. Thanks! My first ever TC app as a career changer.

Pretty late. I completed the initial application on the 29th November and then the online tests on the 7th December (had slightly longer deadline due to waiting for test link that had reasonable adjustments). It was for the business stream.

thank you for letting me know! wishing you all the best with your applications x

 

[Samridhi Jain]

Congrats! When did you apply?

I literally applied 23.59 - I'm shook but very happy

 

[Zaidoz10]

Do Goodwin send VI’s in batches? I haven’t heard anything yet.

 

[Mug Fan]

Do Goodwin send VI’s in batches? I haven’t heard anything yet.

Possibly, the turn around time to complete the VI is quite quick (2 business days). So they might work through them in stages?

 

[Zaidoz10]

Possibly, the turn around time to complete the VI is quite quick (2 business days). So they might work through them in stages?

Really hope so, thank you!

 

[cjwx]

Does anyone know how long Stephenson Harwood take to respond to TC applications If you send it early? Has anyone heard back this cycle?

 

[WhiskeyCharlie]

Do they have multiple TC dates? I have not heard back from the VI. I completed the VI on the 21st of december, so im guessing they are?

Does anyone have any info on this?

I know CMS sent out AC invites for WC 13/1 and 20/1, multiple dates for both weeks. And they claim to be non-rolling, so there may additional ACs in late Jan or Feb, but as of right now, i know there are ACs invites send and already scheduled.

 

[allenpopi]

does anyone know if goodwin's VI is timed?

 

[sarahfw]

Hi everyone, I'm currently trying to tackle this application question:

'Tell us about any open days and events that you have attended in the legal sector'

I haven't managed to speak to the firm in question on the Legal Cheek virtual law fair and nor have I managed to attend many events relevant to the sector they are in. I am struggling to think how to link the events I have attended to the work of this firm. I have however done five weeks QWE in an in-house department that is relevant to one of the firm's key sector focus areas. I attending a law firm event giving external training to the in-house team. Could I mention that and try and weave it back into my interest in the firm? Can I also mention Forage experiences in response to the above?

Hello, does anyone have any pointers on the above question? Thank you all so much for your help

 

[Tintin06]

Hello, does anyone have any pointers on the above question? Thank you all so much for your help

It's about showing commitment to law. So don't worry about firm x. Show what you gained from events. E.g. types of firms of interest. You could also mention practice areas. What about firm intake sizes etc? It's about showing your understanding, ultimately. What do you think lawyers do? What stood out from each event?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello, does anyone have any pointers on the above question? Thank you all so much for your help

There has already been some great advice from @Tintin06 above, but you don't have to make everything directly relevant to the firm you are applying to. The purpose of this question is to see how you are exploring your career options and also see what you are taking from those events in terms of refined motivations, improved knowledge or even a developed skill set.

The law firm event on the in-house training is very relevant - I would definitely include this. You can also include Forage programmes in this section, assuming you are not listing them elsewhere, like a work experience section. Your QWE should definitely be in your work experience section though - it would be best suited there rather than in this part.

You can also talk about the Legal Cheek fair more broadly - you don't have to reference conversations with the firm you are applying to. You can talk more broadly about what you gained from attending the event and speaking people from across firms, especially if its helped refine your motivations to the type of firm you are applying to.

 

[cjwx]

Q4. Please explain the factors that influenced your decision to apply to Dentons and specifically to the office location you selected, focusing on aspects beyond the firm's global, polycentric structure.

Does this mean you can not mention any cross border work that was conducted by the London office if you are applying to the London office? It's a little bit wild to me that you can't mention the global nature of the firm when that is its biggest selling point and is mainly what is focused on across all the websites that speak about Dentons. @Jessica Booker do you have any pointers for things to look for?

 

[AnAnonymousDuck]

Hey guys, does anyone have any insight for Clifford Chance AC?

 

[👩🏼💼]

Hey guys, does anyone have any insight for Clifford Chance AC?

Hey! Happy to share my experience.

For Clifford Chance the AC structure is a brief introduction, a written exercise (40 ish minutes) an interview (75 mins) and then a group exercise (30 mins)

In the written exercise there was a case study we had to read and address what the main issues surrounding the company were (ours was finance based and it was a company in financial difficulties looking to recover) and how they could navigate them. We had to write our responses in a business email and send off to a ‘colleague’.

Interview was with partner and senior associate. The questions were on competencies, motivations for law and CC, and the case study. It was about 70/75 mins. You don’t need to remember facts/figures as we had the info with us still.

Group task was another case study we had to read in small groups (think there were five per group), discuss and come to a unanimous decision on a related question. We had 2 mins each to present our ideas to the group and work as a team to come to a conclusion whilst a partner and senior associate sat in and observed/took notes.

Biggest tips would be try to integrate commercial awareness into your interview and written exercise. Focus on teamwork in the group exercise. Try to be as confident as you can with your strategy in the written exercise as that will help in your discussion in your interview too.

Good luck! Hope all goes well.

 

[👩🏼💼]

Q4. Please explain the factors that influenced your decision to apply to Dentons and specifically to the office location you selected, focusing on aspects beyond the firm's global, polycentric structure.

Does this mean you can not mention any cross border work that was conducted by the London office if you are applying to the London office? It's a little bit wild to me that you can't mention the global nature of the firm when that is its biggest selling point and is mainly what is focused on across all the websites that speak about Dentons. @Jessica Booker do you have any pointers for things to look for?

I would avoid that being your main point if you’re explicitly asked to look beyond this. A lot of firms have a global element and you can imagine this is something a lot of people state to be a selling point. Equally, if it’s Dentons’ biggest selling point, almost every application would talk about it. They’re wanting you to stand out with less obvious reasons.

It’s perhaps not that you can’t mention it at all; you could integrate it into a different point e.g., that their global nature facilitates another key selling point of that firm (from the top of my head: that it has a strong business model, is full-service, is highly ranked for banking, M&A etc). Mentioning cross-border work I’m sure would be fine so long as it’s in relation to more than just their global nature.

To supplement, you could look at recent work based in the UK, London-based clients, London initiatives (pro-bono, NextLaw, charity work etc.) and really emphasise why London is where you want to train without needing to talk too much about work outside of London.

Good luck!