TCLA General Discussion Thread 2022-23

[anon_law23]

Hi @Jessica Booker, I hope you're well. I have an interview for a paralegal role next week at a US fintech company. How do I best prepare for it? Also, do TCLA offer mock interviews for companies such as this?

Thank you!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker, I hope you're well. I have an interview for a paralegal role next week at a US fintech company. How do I best prepare for it? Also, do TCLA offer mock interviews for companies such as this?

Thank you!

Hi there - yes, we can adapt our mock interview service to cover all form of entry level legal roles. When you purchase your mock interview just ensure you provide more detail as to the role (any job spec information is helpful) and we can adapt the questions so they align more closely to what that organisation would ask for that role.

 

[saj2002]

I am feeling a bit discouraged. This is my first official round of applications and I've done three online assessments thus far. They all went either badly or just average (specific shout out to Amber Jack for being weird and general about their feedback).

I feel like I've nailed down application techniques but beyond that, I don't know... I am losing hope. Does anyone know how much weight online assessments usually hold? Specifically situational judgement tests, as I struggle with those. And is anyone else in the same boat?

(P.S. I am not applying to Magic Circle/Silver Circle/American firms, mostly mid-size international/regional firms).

 

[nataliasayy]

If anyone is looking for accommodation for spring vac schemes 2024 in London, please feel free to pm me!

I have a spare double room in E1 (walking distance from city of London) to sublet for £200 a week. All bill and utilities are included, the flat is shared with 2 others; 1 male and female (LSE, KCL students), with 2 shared bathrooms, kitchen, living room and balcony. The room is available from 30th March to 27th April and is suitable for spring vac schemers.

I'd be happy to hold virtual or in-person viewings!

PS. Apologies to the TCLA team if this is not the most suitable place to post this type of listing. I am a student at LSE with several friends studying law. As I have a room in need of subletting and recognize that fellow vac schemers may be looking for accommodation at this time, I felt this post might benefit some members of the forum.

 

[Jessica Booker]

If anyone is looking for accommodation for spring vac schemes 2024 in London, please feel free to pm me!
I have a spare double room in E1 (walking distance from city of London) to sublet for £200 a week. All bill and utilities are included, the flat is shared with 2 others; 1 male and female (LSE, KCL students), with 2 shared bathrooms, kitchen, living room and balcony. The room is available from 30th March to 27th April and is suitable for spring vac schemers.

I'd be happy to hold virtual or in-person viewings!

PS. Apologies to the TCLA team if this is not the most suitable place to post this type of listing. I am a student at LSE with several friends studying law. As I have a room in need of subletting and recognize that fellow vac schemers may be looking for accommodation at this time, I felt this post might benefit some members of the forum.

Hi there - not a problem to post this where it could be helpful to our community!

 

[ellabasing]

Hi Jess,
I have been applying to Vacation Schemes for this summer with the hope of securing a TC, but unfortunately, have not yet been successful. While I am waiting to hear back from the remaining few, I have also been looking into applying for Paralegal/Legal Secretary roles in the case that I am not able to secure a VS. I originally planned to start my PGDL this September, however would you recommend to just apply for these roles despite not having completed this qualification yet or is that something I can’t do until I complete the PGDL and SQE? I have tried to do some research on this, but it seems that some firms explicitly state these qualifications as prerequisites, while others do not. Any advice or information you have would be greatly appreciated!

 

[ADKM]

Hi @Jessica Booker. Wanted to know ur thoughts on how project management skills can be transferred into law? I've seen roles such as legal project manager but don't quite understand its scope. Can u explain what these professionals usually do?

 

[Law Student]

Hi

I have an interview with a firm that I had a vacation scheme with last year. Do you think in my interview I should mention the vacation scheme frequently? For instance, if they ask why I am interested in the firm, can I say their values resonates with mine and link back to work experience and then say the vacation scheme confirmed I’m interested?

Also, do they think they’ll hesitate giving me a VS because I was unsuccessful on their VS before?

 

[prospectiveswitcher]

Hi

I have an interview with a firm that I had a vacation scheme with last year. Do you think in my interview I should mention the vacation scheme frequently? For instance, if they ask why I am interested in the firm, can I say their values resonates with mine and link back to work experience and then say the vacation scheme confirmed I’m interested?

Also, do they think they’ll hesitate giving me a VS because I was unsuccessful on their VS before?

Are you applying for a vacation scheme at a firm where you have already completed a vacation scheme? Normally that isn't allowed?

 

[Law Student]

Are you applying for a vacation scheme at a firm where you have already completed a vacation scheme? Normally that isn't allowed?

I am but you are allowed to reapply at this firm even if you have done a vacation scheme with them before!

 

[prospectiveswitcher]

I am but you are allowed to reapply at this firm even if you have done a vacation scheme with them before!

Hmm, ok, seems unusual. I would imagine they may be a little sceptical if you already completed the scheme. Maybe try speaking about how what you learned on the scheme helped develop you, and what you've done/learned since the last scheme means you are in a better position to apply yourself and hopefully be successful for a TC. I'm not really qualified to answer so maybe someone else can weigh in but I would think positioning yourself as 'I've done this before' may hurt rather than help, but it depends on how you position things. They will be quite interested in why you are re-applying and why you think things are different this time around.

 

[StewartJones]

Any advice for the Commercial Awareness Competition Semi-Finals?

 

[Queen]

Does anyone know where the community page is located?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Does anyone know where the community page is located?

Do you mean the access to the subcribers part of TCLA?

 

[streanor]

Any advice for the Commercial Awareness Competition Semi-Finals?

Hi! Have you done your semi-final too? How did you find it? 😊

 

[Law Student]

Hey, does anyone know what a law costs draftsman is? I’ve seen a few firms have job openings for this role. I’ve tried to research and I get the gist of it but I’m not sure what a normal working day would look like

 

[Law Student]

Hi, another question, I’ve been offered a full time role which will give me paralegal experience. The problem is that it is not paid and they call it “work experience.” Is this not illegal since I will be working full time? If so, what should I do about it?

Any advice will be appreciated because I have got a limited time to accept the role

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi, another question, I’ve been offered a full time role which will give me paralegal experience. The problem is that it is not paid and they call it “work experience.” Is this not illegal since I will be working full time? If so, what should I do about it?

Any advice will be appreciated because I have got a limited time to accept the role

Unfortunately organisations can offer "volunteer" positions that are unpaid and still be on the right side of the law, even if they are full-time. They don't have to be a charity or non-for-profit organisation either.

Organisations can often fall on the wrong side of the law surrounding this though by effectively making you work like an employee but just labelling you as a volunteer. If, for instance, you are doing the same responsibilities as someone who is employed as a worker at the firm, this in itself could mean you are entitled to minimum wage and all the other employment rights an employee would have. There are a whole load of other factors too, but I am by no means a legal expert on this to go into them, but other factors could include stopping you from working elsewhere or putting performance measures in place.

The trouble is that loads of organisations know that "volunteers" who they are treating as employees do not have the legal backing to pursue claims for employment rights though. To do so, you'd need to start legal proceedings against the organisation and that can be time consuming and sometimes costly.

Generally I would say this is unethical but not necessarily illegal. I don't have an issues with organisations doing this who are not-for-profit, but feel it is an issue if revenue-generating companies are bringing in people on this basis for more than four weeks. In my opinion, ultimately they should be paid if even less than four weeks and if you are doing actual work, but four weeks is considered by many to be a reasonable cut off for something to be an unpaid "internship" or placement opportunity.

If you did want to pursue it, get them to at least confirm what kind of expenses they will cover for you (e.g. travel, lunch allowance) and also maybe ask what processes are in place to move from a volunteer role to a paid position.

Generally though, I would argue such arrangements should be avoided and if everyone did that, then the practice would diminish. But I get it is hard to just turn down opportunities that may help build a CV out or help you secure future roles. I myself have placed people in unpaid positions labelled as work experience, albeit for no longer than 4 weeks and in instances where the individual was not contributing to the firm's revenue-generating work.

 

[Law Student]

Unfortunately organisations can offer "volunteer" positions that are unpaid and still be on the right side of the law, even if they are full-time. They don't have to be a charity or non-for-profit organisation either.

Organisations can often fall on the wrong side of the law surrounding this though by effectively making you work like an employee but just labelling you as a volunteer. If, for instance, you are doing the same responsibilities as someone who is employed as a worker at the firm, this in itself could mean you are entitled to minimum wage and all the other employment rights an employee would have. There are a whole load of other factors too, but I am by no means a legal expert on this to go into them, but other factors could include stopping you from working elsewhere or putting performance measures in place.

The trouble is that loads of organisations know that "volunteers" who they are treating as employees do not have the legal backing to pursue claims for employment rights though. To do so, you'd need to start legal proceedings against the organisation and that can be time consuming and sometimes costly.

Generally I would say this is unethical but not necessarily illegal. I don't have an issues with organisations doing this who are not-for-profit, but feel it is an issue if revenue-generating companies are bringing in people on this basis for more than four weeks. In my opinion, ultimately they should be paid if even less than four weeks and if you are doing actual work, but four weeks is considered by many to be a reasonable cut off for something to be an unpaid "internship" or placement opportunity.

If you did want to pursue it, get them to at least confirm what kind of expenses they will cover for you (e.g. travel, lunch allowance) and also maybe ask what processes are in place to move from a volunteer role to a paid position.

Generally though, I would argue such arrangements should be avoided and if everyone did that, then the practice would diminish. But I get it is hard to just turn down opportunities that may help build a CV out or help you secure future roles. I myself have placed people in unpaid positions labelled as work experience, albeit for no longer than 4 weeks and in instances where the individual was not contributing to the firm's revenue-generating work.

Thank you so much for your thorough advice, I really appreciate it

 

[Aggie022]

Hi Jessica,

I am due to accept an offer for a place at the University of Law. The offer is for a origramne in SQE1&2 LLM PART TIME. please anyone able to explain to me the exam dates on the website because they make no sense to me at all.

As a partime student I start my course in January 2025 and write my SQE1 in July 2025. This is the same amount of time given for a full time student that started their course in September 2024 ans is writing their exams in January 2025. I cant seem to don't understand why I am getting the same amount of time ti oreoare for the exams as someone who is a full time student. I have tried calling and messaging the university a number of times and I have gotten no where in trying to find a response to this question.