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

[A92167!8]

Pinsent London AC anyone not receive the booking link?

 

[SOAS22]

Anyone heard from BLM?

 

[Law2021vacschemer]

Anyone know how long Freshfields take to respond post-AC?

 

[A92167!8]

Lol I'm panicking bc the Pinsent AC booking link hasn't come through (they said should have already received) - I can't do one of the two options. I have emailed to say i haven't received but should I email again to say my choice? Anyone else not received?

 

[GXA123]

Lol I'm panicking bc the Pinsent AC booking link hasn't come through (they said should have already received) - I can't do one of the two options. I have emailed to say i haven't received but should I email again to say my choice? Anyone else not received?

hey! when did you get the link?

 

[A92167!8]

hey! when did you get the link?

Haven't received the booking link but got an email invite maybe 15 mins ago

 

[rose0904]

does anybody know how many vac schemes Eversheds holds for regional offices?

not sure if it's the same for all of them, but Cardiff only has one

 

[rose0904]

Hello! Does anyone have any advice or tips on how to prep for the Simmons & Simmons AC? This is my first virtual AC so I was also wondering whether you see / interact with any of the other applicants?

You do see the other applicants in between the different tasks and have a quick discussion about how things are going but you don't interact too much. In terms of advice, both the written exercise and case study are quite hard to prep for. For the interview, prep competency examples & the standard motivational questions!

 

[esther18]

Clifford Chance 2024 TC offer!! Kinda still in shock to be honest! Just wanted to thank everyone on here for being so supportive and kind throughout the process - this is such a lovely and special community. Genuinely wishing everyone all the best with their journeys to their dream careers - we got this!

 

[allthingslegaltech]

Just did my first VI of the season - honestly have no idea how it went it's a blur already.

 

[h1]

@Jessica Booker maybe you'll have some insight on this but would you say it's worth a direct TC app with 1 week private practice and 3 weeks in house legal (both city/multinational)? So broken from VS rejections that I don't want to go through it if unlikely to get past app stage

 

[Lian Lian]

anyone still waiting on HL and Links for summer?

I'm still waiting for Links summer. Radio silence since I applied and completed the WG

 

[Lian Lian]

Has anyone not received the tests from Mayer Brown after submitting an application for a vs? I thought they were automatic but doesn't seem so

I've not either. I checked my application portal and it says that my application is 'completed' even though I didn't complete the tests

 

[letmeintolaw]

hi everyone! just contingency planning here... what is the job market and application process for paralegal roles like? I am in my penultimate year so have another chance next year to secure a TC, but failing that I will want to apply for a paralegal role. Is it super competitive? Do most places want you to have previous experience and not be straight out of uni? What is the application process?

any insight anyone has will be majorly appreciated ta x

 

[Abii]

hi everyone! just contingency planning here... what is the job market and application process for paralegal roles like? I am in my penultimate year so have another chance next year to secure a TC, but failing that I will want to apply for a paralegal role. Is it super competitive? Do most places want you to have previous experience and not be straight out of uni? What is the application process?

any insight anyone has will be majorly appreciated ta x

It really varies but it is competitive, and the entry level salaries often are not very high - so maybe factor your living costs in such as do you/can you live at home especially with the rising living costs. Even now with three years experience the feedback I get when unsuccessful for other paralegal roles is that I don't have enough experience for the more senior paralegal roles.

I secured my first role straight out of uni, a 3 month role before starting my masters, and then a full time role straight after finishing a masters (not the LPC). I leveraged transferable skills as I worked almost full time throughout university, although in a retail customer service role. But I linked that by saying I have time management and organisation skills, ultimately the client or business if in house are your customer and my academic skills etc.

If you have any in demand language skills these can be useful for securing your first role, or temporary contracts.

 

[Deleted member 11671]

hi everyone! just contingency planning here... what is the job market and application process for paralegal roles like? I am in my penultimate year so have another chance next year to secure a TC, but failing that I will want to apply for a paralegal role. Is it super competitive? Do most places want you to have previous experience and not be straight out of uni? What is the application process?

any insight anyone has will be majorly appreciated ta x

You might want to gain some paralegal experience part-time through organisations like flex.legal before you graduate to test the waters maybe?

 

[Jessica Booker]

@Jessica Booker maybe you'll have some insight on this but would you say it's worth a direct TC app with 1 week private practice and 3 weeks in house legal (both city/multinational)? So broken from VS rejections that I don't want to go through it if unlikely to get past app stage

On that information alone, yes you should apply. But I don’t think that will be deciding factors in an application.

 

[h1]

On that information alone, yes you should apply. But I don’t think that will be deciding factors in an application.

Thanks Jessica!

 

[djqb]

Dechert VS offer ✨✨✨ (nicely timed after a Jones Day pfo)

Congrats! Can I ask when you did your AC and when you were invited the for the same for the spring scheme?

 

[Rob93]

hi everyone! just contingency planning here... what is the job market and application process for paralegal roles like? I am in my penultimate year so have another chance next year to secure a TC, but failing that I will want to apply for a paralegal role. Is it super competitive? Do most places want you to have previous experience and not be straight out of uni? What is the application process?

any insight anyone has will be majorly appreciated ta x

It's fairly competitive and can take a while to get your first role. Once you've built up a bit of experience things open up significantly. A lot of genuine entry level opportunities will be in-house, many firms will want you to have the LPC and/or substantial experience - with that said, if you very proactively monitor firms' careers pages you can catch some opportunities that don't have as many hats in the ring because they aren't running through recruiters, LinkedIn or job boards.

Keep an open mind about what you're willing to do for a first gig and how much you expect to get paid.

Get registered with as many legal recruiters as possible, connect with a couple people from each agency on LinkedIn and monitor their posts - don't be shy about sending them a message if they share an interesting opportunity. If you're interested in a specific industry, find recruiters in that industry - at least in financial services, they will sometimes have recruiters specialised in the industry fielding paralegal candidates: this is probably somewhat true in some other industries.