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TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2024-5

SS21

Esteemed Member
Oct 17, 2022
82
88
It tells me a lot about a firm’s culture (and attitude to trainees) if their only recruitment method is through a 2-3 week internships which is mostly aimed at 19-21 year olds.
*cough cough* DLA piper 😂😂😂 so funny bc I even work in-house for one of their biggest clients but I’m not good enough to be a trainee unless I do their clown scheme lmao
 

Mug Fan

Esteemed Member
Dec 15, 2024
89
166
It tells me a lot about a firm’s culture (and attitude to trainees) if their only recruitment method is through a 2-3 week internships which is mostly aimed at 19-21 year olds.
Tell me about it! Appreciate I’m going to sound like an arse here but here goes… honestly I have 10 years corporate banking experience closing deals for multinational corporates all over the world. I guarantee there is very little for me to gain from your poxy 2 week vacation scheme.

I know that sounds entitled but it feels like such an unnecessary hoop to jump through and isn’t suitable for every situation.

Not to mention using 2 weeks annual leave for the privilege!
 

Ram Sabaratnam

Legendary Member
Staff member
Future Trainee
Gold Member
Premium Member
Sep 7, 2024
451
1,042
i literally havent heard anything from Mishcon since i applied in mid-November - should i assume PFO?

Hiya @LawLawLawLawLaw

I wouldn't assume that just yet. In previous application cycles, Mishcon has sometimes only progressed candidates several months after applying. This is often just a result of the sheer volume of applications they receive. In my own case, during one cycle, I applied in November and wasn’t progressed until May! I definitely think there's still hope. Try not to worry too much just yet. In the meantime, if you have the energy, it might be worth sending out a few more vacation scheme or direct training contract applications to other firms. It’s always good to keep your options open while waiting to hear back. Hope you get some good news soon!
 

desperateTCseeker1998

Legendary Member
Gold Member
Premium Member
Jan 1, 2023
432
506
*Cough cough* HSF. 👀😂​
This one has always really bothered me. Who did they pay to get ranked so highly on that ‘social mobility employers index’ thing when they only hire through 2 week long vacation schemes that are inaccessible for a lot of ‘socially mobile’ candidates?
 

Broadwater

Legendary Member
Oct 19, 2021
140
414
Tell me about it! Appreciate I’m going to sound like an arse here but here goes… honestly I have 10 years corporate banking experience closing deals for multinational corporates all over the world. I guarantee there is very little for me to gain from your poxy 2 week vacation scheme.

I know that sounds entitled but it feels like such an unnecessary hoop to jump through and isn’t suitable for every situation.

Not to mention using 2 weeks annual leave for the privilege!
It’s not about you. It’s about them wanting to assess you before they drop ~£100k on training you
 

desperateTCseeker1998

Legendary Member
Gold Member
Premium Member
Jan 1, 2023
432
506
For King & Spalding, are people providing first year grades? For some reason 'Please list below the breakdown of all confirmed (final) module grades to date:' reads to me like we only need to list the modules which count towards our final grade
 

Jessica Booker

Legendary Member
TCLA Moderator
Gold Member
Graduate Recruitment
Premium Member
Forum Team
Aug 1, 2019
15,316
21,390
For King & Spalding, are people providing first year grades? For some reason 'Please list below the breakdown of all confirmed (final) module grades to date:' reads to me like we only need to list the modules which count towards our final grade
I think they mean you don’t have to include grades for modules that are not fully complete (eg if you have completed earlier assessed essays but not summer exams), but I read this that you would need to include and fully completed first year modules whether they count towards your degree or not.
 
Reactions: Ram Sabaratnam

Jessica Booker

Legendary Member
TCLA Moderator
Gold Member
Graduate Recruitment
Premium Member
Forum Team
Aug 1, 2019
15,316
21,390
Do the firms actually contact the referees? So many firms ask for two, not even one, and I am quite worried to make my already busy professors even busier...
yes - I wouldn’t worry about this too much though, both firms and universities manage it in their own way. Many professors delegate the references to admin in their faculty office for instance.
 

desperateTCseeker1998

Legendary Member
Gold Member
Premium Member
Jan 1, 2023
432
506
I think they mean you don’t have to include grades for modules that are not fully complete (eg if you have completed earlier assessed essays but not summer exams), but I read this that you would need to include and fully completed first year modules whether they count towards your degree or not.
Thanks Jessica!

Also where are people finding info for the K&S application? they have barely anything about the TC on their website, no chambers student profile etc so basically only the Legal Cheek page is directly about the TC and that's not very detailed.
 

3000to1shoteverytime

Legendary Member
Dec 9, 2023
182
224
Just adding to the PEP calculations debate. It doesn't always show profitability accurately as some partnerships have equity partners on a lockstep basis. Also some firms earmark a portion of profits for both the non equity partner bonus "pots" and indeed other fee earners and non-fee earner "pots" , i.e., they distribute a percentage of it to their staff rather than keeping all profit for distribution amongst full equity partners.
 
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Reactions: The-PFO-Collector

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