TCLA General Discussion Thread #2 (2021)

[Jacob Miller]

Hey guys, have a VS coming up soon.

Any advice on how I can maximise the relationship with my supervisors(not sure if they are trainee/associate supervisors, firm hasn't informed us yet).

Also, in terms of tasks, how can I ask my supervisor for guidance? The firm hasn't informed us how we will be assessed(if at all), but seeing how its a VS situated in InsideSherpa/Forage , I assume the tasks will be centralised, so would it be possible for my supervisor to help?

Thanks!

In terms of building relationships, just be authentic and personable. Don't try and show off of whatever, listen carefully and take on board anything they give you in terms of help and advice.

Ask GradRec if it's possible to ask for input from supervisors with assessments but it almost certainly won't be as they'll treat any assessments more like exams than normal work, so to speak.

Best of luck!

 

[Jacob Miller]

One of my favourite things about moving to London is the absolutely incredible array of food you can get, and also the different range of styles of food places from street stalls up to the most incredible seated restaurants.

I've recently discovered Vietnamese food, I'm currently celebrating getting by degree classification with a banh mi from a wonderful takeaway place a few miles from my house.

What's everyine else's favourite meals and cuisines more generally? Do you enjoy eating out or cooking? I love both!



Picture is of my pork and beef banh mi 😍😍

 

[Matt_96]

Oh amazing! Thanks for emailing and checking! Hopefully we get good news soon.

Tbh if you've been waiting a while it is always worth emailing to find out what's going on. I once got an interview invite within hours of emailing to ask what had happened to my application!

 

[Matt_96]

Also for any of you guys with super duper social skills, I've been given a chance to go into the office in person for one day of my virtual VS as the team I'm sitting with has decided to do a trial run of heading back in. Do you have any tips for *shudder* real life networking? It'll only be the one day and is a normal working day, but I've been told lots of team members other than my trainee buddy and supervisor are going to be there.

 

[LawGrad2019]

Also for any of you guys with super duper social skills, I've been given a chance to go into the office in person for one day of my virtual VS as the team I'm sitting with has decided to do a trial run of heading back in. Do you have any tips for *shudder* real life networking? It'll only be the one day and is a normal working day, but I've been told lots of team members other than my trainee buddy and supervisor are going to be there.

Not sure I have 'super duper' social skills* - but hopefully have some good advice!

Try to picture someone in your head, at your level, who impresses you when you interact with them in person. Is it a firm handshake? Good eye contact? Smiles lots, etc?

I think the key is to try to avoid any nervous fidgeting you might be tempted to do and "fake it 'till you make it" in terms of appearing confident and engaged. It's just one day but you can really make a great impression by being friendly, saying hello to everyone in the team, learning names, and trying to appear confident in your own skin. Being in person offers a big advantage because you can read the room in terms of knowing when/if to disturb people and ask questions.

*You must have great social skills to secure the vacation scheme, so remind yourself of that fact!

As soon as you leave the office, you can breathe a sigh of relief!

 

[Matt_96]

Not sure I have 'super duper' social skills* - but hopefully have some good advice!

Try to picture someone in your head, at your level, who impresses you when you interact with them in person. Is it a firm handshake? Good eye contact? Smiles lots, etc?

I think the key is to try to avoid any nervous fidgeting you might be tempted to do and "fake it 'till you make it" in terms of appearing confident and engaged. It's just one day but you can really make a great impression by being friendly, saying hello to everyone in the team, learning names, and trying to appear confident in your own skin. Being in person offers a big advantage because you can read the room in terms of knowing when/if to disturb people and ask questions.

*You must have great social skills to secure the vacation scheme, so remind yourself of that fact!

As soon as you leave the office, you can breathe a sigh of relief!

It's just hard to know, because despite being a relatively confident person in real life, so far all my success with law firms has been virtual, well-practised and restrained. I think I'm more worried that I might be too much!

 

[LawGrad2019]

It's just hard to know, because despite being a relatively confident person in real life, so far all my success with law firms has been virtual, well-practised and restrained. I think I'm more worried that I might be too much!

I completely get what you mean - and I'm the same actually (especially with great lightening 😆), but you can still notice many annoying habits over video call and get a good feel for a person's personality, so don't worry

'Too much' is an interesting worry - in a way, you want to be your natural self and see if the firm is a genuine fit. I have friends with SUCH varying personalities and all of them have gone to different firms based on that. There is a lid for every pot!

 

[Soph]

Does anyone have any experience of the Jones Day vacation scheme? I have mine coming up soon and am struggling to find out any information or tips online

 

[Andrew M]

Also for any of you guys with super duper social skills, I've been given a chance to go into the office in person for one day of my virtual VS as the team I'm sitting with has decided to do a trial run of heading back in. Do you have any tips for *shudder* real life networking? It'll only be the one day and is a normal working day, but I've been told lots of team members other than my trainee buddy and supervisor are going to be there.

In addition to what @LawGrad2019 said above, bare in mind that the trainees, associates and partners you will be meeting with will be in a similar position to you, in terms of being out of practice for the social and practical aspects of working in the office. So I really wouldn't worry about it!

 

[dosblancos7]

In terms of building relationships, just be authentic and personable. Don't try and show off of whatever, listen carefully and take on board anything they give you in terms of help and advice.

Ask GradRec if it's possible to ask for input from supervisors with assessments but it almost certainly won't be as they'll treat any assessments more like exams than normal work, so to speak.

Best of luck!

Thank you- I didn't realise that point about GR but will defo take that into account !

 

[lawstudent12345]

Quick question - should I address my supervisor (an associate) by saying "Dear [first name]" or should I say "Dear Mr. [last name]"

obviously I want to be respectful but also I don't want things to be overly formal/awkward?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Quick question - should I address my supervisor (an associate) by saying "Dear [first name]" or should I say "Dear Mr. [last name]"

obviously I want to be respectful but also I don't want things to be overly formal/awkward?

Just first name - they are a colleague not a client (and even with clients, depending on how well you know them it will often be first name only).

 

[djqb]

Whatever you do, do not read the comments sections of the recent Legal Cheek articles on pay raises amongst US law firms.

They are filled with goons and muttonheads who possess the highest degree of stupidity within so called "legal" circles.

Need to cleanse my soul after that.

 

[Jacob Miller]

Whatever you do, do not read the comments sections of the recent Legal Cheek articles on pay raises amongst US law firms.

They are filled with goons and muttonheads who possess the highest degree of stupidity within so called "legal" circles.

Need to cleanse my soul after that.

The problem is I need to go read it now 👀😂

 

[whisperingrock]

Whatever you do, do not read the comments sections of the recent Legal Cheek articles on pay raises amongst US law firms.

They are filled with goons and muttonheads who possess the highest degree of stupidity within so called "legal" circles.

Need to cleanse my soul after that.

It's just a bunch of people who don't realise just how much work getting that paycheck actually involves. I have friends at the likes of Milbank, and when even paralegals are working weekends, you know the work-life balance is nonexistent. Some people think the trade-off is worth the money, but I never applied to US firms for exactly this reason. Fuck earning money you don't have the time to spend.

Also, Legal Cheek could stand to actually post useful content and news instead of the 5th bait article in a week about this. I get more useful information about law firms from Slaughter and Dismayed on Instagram.

 

[Andrew M]

Whatever you do, do not read the comments sections of the recent Legal Cheek articles on pay raises amongst US law firms.

They are filled with goons and muttonheads who possess the highest degree of stupidity within so called "legal" circles.

Need to cleanse my soul after that.

The comments section on Legal Cheek is a no-go, period. I'm honestly not sure why they actually bother having it, it really doesn't reflect well on the website.

 

[BoulderCO]

It's just a bunch of people who don't realise just how much work getting that paycheck actually involves. I have friends at the likes of Milbank, and when even paralegals are working weekends, you know the work-life balance is nonexistent. Some people think the trade-off is worth the money, but I never applied to US firms for exactly this reason. Fuck earning money you don't have the time to spend.

Also, Legal Cheek could stand to actually post useful content and news instead of the 5th bait article in a week about this. I get more useful information about law firms from Slaughter and Dismayed on Instagram.

I think their firm lists and events can be pretty decent. But IMO their reporting can also veer from genuinely insightful to tabloid-y. Not an expert but sometimes it seems best to just pick a lane and stick to it 🤷‍♀️

 

[Jessica Booker]

The comments section on Legal Cheek is a no-go, period. I'm honestly not sure why they actually bother having it, it really doesn't reflect well on the website.

It is off the same mould as Roll on Friday. Legal Cheek cleverly saw that RoF were never going to change their reporting model of sticking to only reporting on a Friday and saw a massive opportunity to be far more modern.

Ultimately both websites were designed in a way that was about trying to make the mundane world of law tantalising and encourage the type of remarks in posts and forums. They both make a lot of money out of that model - it doesn’t matter how the comments reflect on the website when they are making money from it and law firms are willing to throw £££££ at the websites because the traffic/audience is there.

And so they have become the channels for lawyers to vent their toxicity into via anonymous comments/posts, which in turn fuels that profitability. It’s probably a form of therapy for some lawyers - they can’t say these things in the real world (or at least without some repercussions) and so they post it anonymously to vent or to help massage their own egos. They post it there as it is the one place someone might agree with them - anywhere else and no one would care what lawyers are up to or what they think of other law firms. They’ll revisit the posts just to check how many up-likes they have to try and reassure themselves it’s ok to not be the very nice person they know they are (seen the stats to prove it!)

Fortunately we see that so rarely on TCLA. I love the fact this community is the antidote to that attitude.

 

[Jessica Booker]

If you didn’t know this already, you can set a bespoke URL for your LinkedIn profile.

I highly recommend it as 1) it can improve how easy it is to search for you and 2) it will look tidier if you ever include it on a CV or application form.

Just go to the right hand column of your LinkedIn profile and there is a “edit public profile & URL” option.

 

[ScrappyDoo]

Hey everyone!

Has someone got access to Practical Law can you please PM me as I urgently need to access this particular link and can’t

Would really value someone’s help!! ❤️