TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2021-22 (#1)

[Commerciallaw]

I want to be honest with you but I truly believe this is the best advice I can give you now - I think trying to prepare now at this late stage won't be helpful to you.

I recommend instead you get a good night's sleep, rest up and take it easy. Anything I would recommend in terms of preparation would require more than a couple of hours and ideally not absorbing it only a matter of hours before your interview. It is like trying to revise for an exam hours beforehand - it's only going to confuse and panic you more trying to take on information at this late stage.

A few tips that might help:

1. Try to skim read quickly through all the information you are given for the case study first before reading it in detail. Understanding the full scope of the information given to you in likely to help you to frame your thinking it a much more logical way. The most important factor could be the last thing you read and could change your analysis of all the other information, and so understanding all the information you have quickly can help you make better assumptions/conclusions
2. Quality will always win out over quantity - depth of thought, structure, flow and accuracy will always win out over an illogical flow of headline points with little analysis
3. Remember who your audience is - an output from the exercise to a fictional client will be very different to what you would provide to a partner in the law firm. Try to anticipate what they already know and therefore what you don't have to tell them (unless they have asked for it).

Hi Jessica.

In response to this post. What is your general advice for preparing for a written assignment (a have a few days before my AC).

 

[average_jo123]

Hi! I had my interview this week. I think it’s very difficult to prepare for the interview as they could really ask you anything - but I would say make sure you know your CV very well and are able to back up every decision you’ve made in your academic/career journey. Make sure you remain calm if you face any challenging questions and think before you speak (I feel like I rambled 😅).

@ap_88 did they ask you to elaborate on specific experiences you've listed on your CV e.g. specific task under a work experience? Or are the CV-related questions more general e.g. why law, why this uni, why did you achieve a lower grade on this module

 

[RS31]

I think a challenge here is that without very expensive subscriptions to industry publications it can be very difficult to get high-quality detail on particular deals - the FT does not devote its ink to exhaustively scrutinising the legal nuances of things, and firm publications are often along the lines of 'it was very complex because of [whatever] and we innovated in [some way]' but there's not great visibility of what the challenges or solutions were. If you can find that info, though, and you're *actually interested in it* and can say something reasonably insightful, that's another way to build it out

I think lots of great quality information is available on firm websites! No subscription needed at all.

 

[MH]

Hi everyone. I watch this forum frequently but haven't posted before. I was wondering if people could tell me where they at with the same firms so I could manage my expectations?

DLA Piper - Applied and did WG but not heard anything since. My portal hasn't even updated since 20th Dec.

HL - Also not heard anything, although I requested my WG score and its 59 percentile. Could someone please help me understand this in context? They said their pass mark this year is 18 percentile, but 59 seems quite low? I'm quite confused by it

Linklaters summer - Not heard anything since I applied in December, portal says 'on hold'

Also, I applied to Travers and think it was one of my strongest applications so far. But my word count was not 500. I don't want to panic but I knew the cover letter should have been in the 500 range. Mine was around 650. Will this drastically detriment my application?

Thanks!

For DLA Piper I'm in the same boat as you. Completed WG and heard nothing since.

As for Travers, my cover letter was even longer than yours! I think as long as cover letters aren't ridiculously long it won't matter. If they wanted people to stick to a strict word limit surely they would've added one?

 

[lhs444]

Has anyone heard from V&E?

 

[Ambs123]

At what stage was this? If you don't mind me asking

Both was post app!

 

[ee300]

HSF AC!!! It's my first ever AC so would really appreciate any tips if anyone has any 😅

 

[rose888]

HSF AC!!! It's my first ever AC so would really appreciate any tips if anyone has any 😅

hey congrats! when did you apply?

 

[CorporateLaw101]

I have a Mishcon VI to complete but have no interest in pursuing the firm anymore. It is best just to email grad rec or just leave it incomplete?

I’ll take it 🙋🏻‍♂️Didn’t manage to apply before the deadline 😆

 

[emilyrose99]

HSF AC!!! It's my first ever AC so would really appreciate any tips if anyone has any 😅

Wooo congrats !! Is this spring or summer?

 

[Jessica Booker]

We really need to some posts on what life is like as a graduate recruiter. Could give applicants way more perspective about how painstaking the process can be. Thanks for always clarifying @Jessica Booker.

Haha - I always thought that would be super boring, but I'll have a think about how something like this might help the TCLA community understand how GR teams work (without it sounding like a massive whinge 🤣)

 

[Samir_O]

anyone heard back from w&c post initial app for summer vac?

 

[TCApp2021]

For Hogan Lovells, what would you guys recommend writing for the (optional) 'other information' question. Not sure if I could write about why law/why HL as there isn't really a section for this?

 

[AvniD]

March 11 is no time at all for many law firms, especially at the moment while so many people are off work due to Covid.

7 weeks feels like 7 hours to graduate recruitment and 7 years to a candidate 😂

@Jessica Booker the 7 years thing resonated more than I'd like to admit 😅 😅 😅

 

[OO28]

For Hogan Lovells, what would you guys recommend writing for the (optional) 'other information' question. Not sure if I could write about why law/why HL as there isn't really a section for this?

Grad Rec said it could be anything, including why law, why HL. I would recommend choosing something that makes you stand out, or something where you've made a real impact. I actually spoke about my year abroad experience and getting stuck in a foreign country during the pandemic. I wrote about the steps I took to find a humanitarian flight back home and said that it built my resilience and various skills that I would bring to Hogan Lovells as a trainee.

 

[TCApp2021]

Grad Rec said it could be anything, including why law, why HL. I would recommend choosing something that makes you stand out, or something where you've made a real impact. I actually spoke about my year abroad experience and getting stuck in a foreign country during the pandemic. I wrote about the steps I took to find a humanitarian flight back home and said that it built my resilience and various skills that I would bring to Hogan Lovells as a trainee.

Thank you

 

[YUKI1201]

For Hogan Lovells, what would you guys recommend writing for the (optional) 'other information' question. Not sure if I could write about why law/why HL as there isn't really a section for this?

Second OO28 on this - I wrote my experience of migrating to a foreign country at 15 due to my parents' business issues and how I coped with language barriers, culture shock and incorporated myself into the community, and then I said now studying in the UK I'm part of my uni's WP programme helping students from underrepresented backgrounds. And then one sentence saying international outlook + resilience developed was crucial and can benefit my career as a commercial lawyer. In the AC they were so interested in this and we talked A LOT about it!

It doesn't have to be a massive achievement - but make sure you use this section to give them an impression/image of who you really are and what have you done, that's what they care about the most.

 

[ssolicitorz]

I'm waiting to hear back after a second stage interview that I did last week and the wait is honestly killing me... the amount of times I check my email daily lol

 

[AvniD]

Hi guys,

I always struggle to relate the firm' s deals to my professional experience. For example, I mention the firm's work with a construction company and connect it to my legal experience in construction law but the feedback is always "you can add more". I am a bit lost!

You don't necessarily need to relate a firm's deals to your professional experience- the link firms are looking for is between your motivations and the deals you're mentioning. Why do those deals in particular interest you? What experiences (events, conversations, webinars etc.) have informed your interest?

Try also using a crisp structure when you talk about deals. Something like stating the deal ➡️ what was the significance of the deal/what stood out to you about it (the offices/practices that were engaged, the approach used etc.) ➡️ why did this deal stand out to you (involved practice areas you're interested in, the way the deal harmonised different teams and practices, the kind of responsibilities trainees had etc.)

Does this help?

I have to confess, I am one of those who, very now and then, gets an FT subscription (I guess I like to have a return on my money) but I do find hard to connect with people on Linkedin. I write a nice introduction and present myself in a professional manner and no answer most of the times. I also had an interview with one of W&C's partners and despite being unsuccessful I want to connect because she is a force to be reckoned with.

LinkedIn is such a hit or miss (mostly miss) when it comes to forming lasting, meaningful professional connections but you're doing well by trying to reach out by making polite introductions. If you're at university or still in touch with your university professors, I'd highly suggest getting in touch with them for help in making connections, maybe by introducing you to people they know among their network. This was by far the best and most impactful way I've made professional connections.

 

[summer207]

Mayer Brown PFO! (post-job simulation)