TCLA General Discussion Thread 2022-23

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica @Jessica Booker will a firm always fill all interview slots? Or is there a possibility for less candidates to be interviewed? Thank you

Once they factor in unpopular times/dates, cancellations and no shows, most firms will have some empty interview slots.

However some firms will just invite more people until they are filled.

 

[Lawyerwithadream]

Once they factor in unpopular times/dates, cancellations and no shows, most firms will have some empty interview slots.

However some firms will just invite more people until they are filled.

Thanks Jessica

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hi @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. I was doing the Baker Mckenzie direct TC app and had a few questions regarding the app. I'd be grateful if you could please help me out with these questions.

1. Q - Do you have any extenuating circumstances that prevented you from meeting our minimum academic requirements? - I meet their minimum academic requirements comfortably but I still have some extenuating circumstance which explain inconsistency across my modules. Should I add the extenuating circumstances to my app then or should I leave them out because I meet their minimum?

2. The work ex section only allows for 150 words per experience. Usually, for my other applications, I start with describing what the organization does and where it's located (since I am an international candidate) but I reckon that with a word count this low, I won't have the space to do all this. So what according to you should go into the work ex description?

3: I had attended about 25 online events in 2021 and 2022 (just online events and not open days) and a majority of these events were hosted by Linklaters. So my question is (i) Should I write about them on the Baker Mckenzie app and (ii) Do I need to describe my key takeaways? (they're fairly obvious and the title of the event gives it away so IMO I don't think it's required but what is your take on this)

4: Can we mention 'culture' in our application even if we haven't personally interacted with the firm or anyone at the firm? I was listening to one of their podcasts wherein a trainee describe how she was working on something urgent and difficult and even then her peers and supervisors took the time to explain to her the nuts and bolts of that thing patiently. I really liked this example and I want to mention it on my app but as you can see, there is no personal interaction that I've had with this trainee, I just got to know of this story via the Spotify podcast. So can I mention this or is it just too far-fetched?

5: Q - Select three key skills that you believe are critical to the role of a commercial lawyer. How have you developed these skills? - How can I answer the latter part of this question? are they looking for any particular event wherein we might have worked on these skills for a certain time (for example during an internship lasting a month) or do they expect a longer term commitment to having developed these skills (multiple internships lasting 7 months cumulatively for example).

6: The firm requires a personal/professional referee and an academic referee. While I understand that an academic referee is someone who might have taught us at university, I don't understand what they mean by the term "personal"? Can I put down the details of my brother?

Apologies since these are too many questions. Thanks in advance.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker hope you are doing well. I was doing the Baker Mckenzie direct TC app and had a few questions regarding the app. I'd be grateful if you could please help me out with these questions.

1. Q - Do you have any extenuating circumstances that prevented you from meeting our minimum academic requirements? - I meet their minimum academic requirements comfortably but I still have some extenuating circumstance which explain inconsistency across my modules. Should I add the extenuating circumstances to my app then or should I leave them out because I meet their minimum?

2. The work ex section only allows for 150 words per experience. Usually, for my other applications, I start with describing what the organization does and where it's located (since I am an international candidate) but I reckon that with a word count this low, I won't have the space to do all this. So what according to you should go into the work ex description?

3: I had attended about 25 online events in 2021 and 2022 (just online events and not open days) and a majority of these events were hosted by Linklaters. So my question is (i) Should I write about them on the Baker Mckenzie app and (ii) Do I need to describe my key takeaways? (they're fairly obvious and the title of the event gives it away so IMO I don't think it's required but what is your take on this)

4: Can we mention 'culture' in our application even if we haven't personally interacted with the firm or anyone at the firm? I was listening to one of their podcasts wherein a trainee describe how she was working on something urgent and difficult and even then her peers and supervisors took the time to explain to her the nuts and bolts of that thing patiently. I really liked this example and I want to mention it on my app but as you can see, there is no personal interaction that I've had with this trainee, I just got to know of this story via the Spotify podcast. So can I mention this or is it just too far-fetched?

5: Q - Select three key skills that you believe are critical to the role of a commercial lawyer. How have you developed these skills? - How can I answer the latter part of this question? are they looking for any particular event wherein we might have worked on these skills for a certain time (for example during an internship lasting a month) or do they expect a longer term commitment to having developed these skills (multiple internships lasting 7 months cumulatively for example).

6: The firm requires a personal/professional referee and an academic referee. While I understand that an academic referee is someone who might have taught us at university, I don't understand what they mean by the term "personal"? Can I put down the details of my brother?

Apologies since these are too many questions. Thanks in advance.

1) No - I only think you should include things where you don’t meet the criteria. This goes for extenuating circumstances more generally. If you have performed strongly, there is no need to mention the circumstances.

2) You don’t have to describe what the organisation does in a work experience entry no matter how long it is. You should just focus on your responsibilities, the outcomes from your work, and if there is anything you particularly gained from the experience.

3) You’d only provide this information if asked to describe careers events you have attended. If the firm does ask for this, then you could just combine the programme of events you attended with Linklaters rather than listing them one by one. If it’s obvious what you learnt from the title, then don’t mention it again. It’s only if it’s something that isn’t obvious that you should.

4) Yes - culture can be assessed by not meeting the firm in person.

5) You provide examples to back up your claims of these three skills. It doesn’t matter if it’s one example, three separate ones, or even more. It’s just about substantiating your claim of them. It doesn’t matter what the examples are though.

6) Personal referees should not be relatives. They should be someone who has known you for a long time who can verify who you are and vouch for your character. Ideally they should be in some form of professional role (civil servant, nurse, teacher, small business owner, middle management in a company, anyone with professional accreditations for their industry).

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

1) No - I only think you should include things where you don’t meet the criteria. This goes for extenuating circumstances more generally. If you have performed strongly, there is no need to mention the circumstances.

2) You don’t have to describe what the organisation does in a work experience entry no matter how long it is. You should just focus on your responsibilities, the outcomes from your work, and if there is anything you particularly gained from the experience.

3) You’d only provide this information if asked to describe careers events you have attended. If the firm does ask for this, then you could just combine the programme of events you attended with Linklaters rather than listing them one by one. If it’s obvious what you learnt from the title, then don’t mention it again. It’s only if it’s something that isn’t obvious that you should.

4) Yes - culture can be assessed by not meeting the firm in person.

5) You provide examples to back up your claims of these three skills. It doesn’t matter if it’s one example, three separate ones, or even more. It’s just about substantiating your claim of them. It doesn’t matter what the examples are though.

6) Personal referees should not be relatives. They should be someone who has known you for a long time who can verify who you are and vouch for your character. Ideally they should be in some form of professional role (civil servant, nurse, teacher, small business owner, middle management in a company, anyone with professional accreditations for their industry).

Can I please PM you for two follow-up questions? Thanks.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Can I please PM you for two follow-up questions? Thanks.

If the questions fall into the following categories, then yes:

• Mitigating or extenuating circumstances
• Anything relating to a specific job offer
• Advice relating to personal circumstances that may impact a recruitment process or your time with an employer
• Reasonable adjustments
• Concerns around misconduct, whether that is relating to you, another TCLA member, fellow employees, your employer, or an organisation you have recently applied for a job with

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

If the questions fall into the following categories, then yes:

• Mitigating or extenuating circumstances
• Anything relating to a specific job offer
• Advice relating to personal circumstances that may impact a recruitment process or your time with an employer
• Reasonable adjustments
• Concerns around misconduct, whether that is relating to you, another TCLA member, fellow employees, your employer, or an organisation you have recently applied for a job with

Thank you. One of the two questions isn't related to the above so I'll just ask you here. Can my retired teacher from high school qualify as a personal referee? Or can the founder of a tech startup that I interned at qualify as a personal referee? Which one of the two would be considered a stronger reference? Thanks. I will DM the other question since it is related to mitigating circumstances.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you. One of the two questions isn't related to the above so I'll just ask you here. Can my retired teacher from high school qualify as a personal referee? Or can the founder of a tech startup that I interned at qualify as a personal referee? Which one of the two would be considered a stronger reference? Thanks. I will DM the other question since it is related to mitigating circumstances.

Yes - the retired teacher would be ok. The tech start up person would be an employment referee unless they knew you for a long time after or before the internship.

How strong a referee they are is not determined by their job title, but by how well they know you, how long they have known you, and how much they can vouch for your character.

 

[charlotte1704]

Has anyone heard back from Penningtons Spring VS post AC?

 

[lb1997]

Has anyone heard back from Penningtons Spring VS post AC?

I haven’t yet! They said 2 weeks though

 

[charlotte1704]

I haven’t yet! They said 2 weeks though

They said by the end of Feb in a recent e-mail 😫

 

[FluffyPursian]

They said by the end of Feb in a recent e-mail 😫

Haven't heard back myself either guys if its any consolation! 🙃

 

[Law Student]

Do commercial law firms place a high importance on students picking commercial law as an optional module?

There are more interesting modules that I would rather pick but I’m questioning whether I can get further in applications if I studied commercial law

 

[Jessica Booker]

Do commercial law firms place a high importance on students picking commercial law as an optional module?

There are more interesting modules that I would rather pick but I’m questioning whether I can get further in applications if I studied commercial law

It really depends on how much "commercial law" is elsewhere in your applications. If it is lacking elsewhere, then taking commercial modules can be an easily way to show your interest in the topic. However, if you have lots of other evidence, you don't necessarily need to add to it.

 

[Lawyerwithadream]

Hi @Jessica Booker when answering a question in relation to a trainee not completing his/ her work and asking me (also a trainee) to complete their part, is it okay to inform my supervisor about the situation and ask for advice/next steps?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker when answering a question in relation to a trainee not completing his/ her work and asking me (also a trainee) to complete their part, is it okay to inform my supervisor about the situation and ask for advice/next steps?

Yes, this sounds a sensible step, although it won’t necessarily be the first one (this might be something you can decide of your own accord). I would say how you would try to lead the conversation with the supervisor or what specific advice you are looking to gain from the supervisor.

 

[Lawyerwithadream]

Yes, this sounds a sensible step, although it won’t necessarily be the first one (this might be something you can decide of your own accord). I would say how you would try to lead the conversation with the supervisor or what specific advice you are looking to gain from the supervisor.

Thanks a lot Jess that’s super helpful!

 

[Momo]

Hello @Jessica Booker I d like to ask if an international student that does not have an English-qualifying law degree receives a TC offer, must one take the PGDL before beginning the SQE? Or can the PGDL be skipped? Thank you in advance.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello @Jessica Booker I d like to ask if an international student that does not have an English-qualifying law degree receives a TC offer, must one take the PGDL before beginning the SQE? Or can the PGDL be skipped? Thank you in advance.

The PGDL is not a necessity to qualify under the SQE, but many firms will still have a personal requirement for it.

You should check with each firm what their policy is.

 

[Momo]

The PGDL is not a necessity to qualify under the LPC, but many firms will still have a personal requirement for it.

You should check with each firm what their policy is.

Thank you for the response. I ll email the individual firms.