TCLA General Discussion Thread #2 (2021)

[Bonolaw]

Stephenson Harwood Summer V/S offer !!!!!!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Stephenson Harwood Summer V/S offer !!!!!!

Congratulations!

 

[Kablahc]

The firm finally sent my documents!!!!!! Just committed to my TC after signing it... rejecting everything else now is too nerve wracking, I never thought I would be doing this 😂 😂 😂 😂 although writing 'future trainee' on LinkedIn feels so good

 

[law89]

Does anyone know if Pinsent Masons takes on many trainees from their direct TC route?
Also, I note that the character limit for each of their application questions is 4000 characters (around 700 words). Would you be expected to pretty much fill this character count even though it is so high? I only ask as other firms have had much shorter character counts for the same type of questions and I don't want to risk sending in an unnecessarily longer answer if this is not necessary. (I.e I feel that I can answer one of the questions in 400 words and ideally don't want to have to somehow make up the 700 words when I don't think anything added will add to my answer).

 

[JayC]

Does anyone know if Pinsent Masons takes on many trainees from their direct TC route?
Also, I note that the character limit for each of their application questions is 4000 characters (around 700 words). Would you be expected to pretty much fill this character count even though it is so high? I only ask as other firms have had much shorter character counts for the same type of questions and I don't want to risk sending in an unnecessarily longer answer if this is not necessary. (I.e I feel that I can answer one of the questions in 400 words and ideally don't want to have to somehow make up the 700 words when I don't think anything added will add to my answer).

If it includes spaces then I’d think that’s more like 500 words (google also says on average 4000 characters is 500 words) and some other firms have that so probably try to come in with at least 450 words on each, although probably there’s a bit more flexibility since it’s a character count

 

[Jessica Booker]

Does anyone know if Pinsent Masons takes on many trainees from their direct TC route?
Also, I note that the character limit for each of their application questions is 4000 characters (around 700 words). Would you be expected to pretty much fill this character count even though it is so high? I only ask as other firms have had much shorter character counts for the same type of questions and I don't want to risk sending in an unnecessarily longer answer if this is not necessary. (I.e I feel that I can answer one of the questions in 400 words and ideally don't want to have to somehow make up the 700 words when I don't think anything added will add to my answer).

I quite regularly see PM applications that don’t use the full character limit. As long as you answer the question and your answer is well structured, I wouldn’t worry if it is closer to 3,000 characters.

 

[law89]

Thank you for your responses Jay & Jessica that really helps!

 

[Anon 11031]

Thank you for your responses Jay & Jessica that really helps!

I'm not sure if it helps but my characters for each question were 3500, 3700 and 3990 respectively. At first I found the limit a bit overwhelming but it does include spaces, meaning it ends up being about 500 words.

I also found that once I started writing my answers there was much more information I wanted to include than I'd initially thought! Good luck ☺️

 

[MFK]

Hey is this the Dubai summer internship? Have you heard back from them?

Hi, I've applied for the Dubai summer internship but haven't heard back after the WG. They said they will let me know 10th May.

 

[33c]

the firm that offered me a TC a month ago still hasn't sent me the documentation even though i've made clear to them verbally that my intention is to accept and i've rejected other offers to do so - this is my anxiety talking but do you guys think I should email them next week (it'll be 5 weeks since offer) to see when they'll send it to me?? Because next month I'll be in a difficult situation where the CSFS will probably offer me a placement which i wouldn't feel comfortable rejecting unless I've put pen to paper with the law firm. or do you guys think i should just chill and wait for it? I'm still in shock they offered it to me in the first place 😂

Also, since I won't be doing the VS with them, HR said if I had an interest in a particular practice area they'd put me in touch for a Zoom coffee/email with an associate/partner etc from that area. I'm totally new to corporate/commercial law so everything looks new and shiny and amazing to me - if you guys were in that situation what practice area do you think is particularly interesting or would be fun to get exposure to??

Hey I'm not sure if someone already answered your question but is this for Dentons? I was offered a TC following the VS and the offer letter went into my spam folder so it might be worth checking there!!

 

[Kablahc]

Hey I'm not sure if someone already answered your question but is this for Dentons? I was offered a TC following the VS and the offer letter went into my spam folder so it might be worth checking there!!

Hey no worries I got it through yesterday after chasing up with HR! And omg are you a future trainee?

 

[Asil Ahmad]

Guys on an application if a question asks to list scholarships and achievements can we list that we got a TCLA scholarship will that look bad or good on an application. Thoughts on this @Jaysen @Jessica Booker and will you lot be okay with this been put on an application.

 

[Jacob Miller]

Guys on an application if a question asks to list scholarships and achievements can we list that we got a TCLA scholarship will that look bad or good on an application. Thoughts on this @Jaysen @Jessica Booker and will you lot be okay with this been put on an application.

I'm sure this would be great to include in an application!

 

[Asil Ahmad]

I'm sure this would be great to include in an application!

Thank you for this I am just worried about what law firms will think about it.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Guys on an application if a question asks to list scholarships and achievements can we list that we got a TCLA scholarship will that look bad or good on an application. Thoughts on this @Jaysen @Jessica Booker and will you lot be okay with this been put on an application.

Yes, you can include your TCLA scholarship. I know several of our previous scholars have included it in applications.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you for this I am just worried about what law firms will think about it.

I don’t see why/how it would be perceived negatively.

 

[Asil Ahmad]

Yes, you can include your TCLA scholarship. I know several of our previous scholars have included it in applications.

Thank you for this will add it onto my application.

 

[Asil Ahmad]

I don’t see why/how it would be perceived negatively.

I am just overthinking it.

 

[JayC]

What’s a TCLA scholarship?

 

[Jessica Booker]

What’s a TCLA scholarship?

We run a scholarship programme each year that gives people access to our premium content.

Scholarships are awarded on the basis of any of the following factors:

• Financial circumstances
• Being from an underrepresented group
• Where a scholarship will make a substantial impact to your application journey

For 2021, we awarded 85 scholarships. The next programme is likely to be announced at the end of this year.

You can find out more information here: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/scholarship/