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

[Jessica Booker]

This is a silly question but... when answering 'what difficulty may arise when operating in country X' and discussing political difficulties: what is the reasoning? Is it that general political difficulties may affect clients, re taxation or changes to laws, or the firm itself? My head has gone totally blank!

I won't be an expert on this (I am the least commercially aware person on this forum!) but I would assume it could impact the firm and its clients. It will really depend on what the difficulty is. Sometimes it might be more difficult to operate as a law firm in that country (e.g. changes to legal systems via politics) but in other ways, it might be that the political aspects are impacting the economy more broadly on either a micro or macro level, and therefore impacting clients ability to operate in that country/region. As a law firm is also a business, the same could apply to them too.

I think going into the specifics of what the political difficulties are and the implications for either the legal system, economy or markets will help you identify who it could be impacting most.

 

[ISABE11A]

I won't be an expert on this (I am the least commercially aware person on this forum!) but I would assume it could impact the firm and its clients. It will really depend on what the difficulty is. Sometimes it might be more difficult to operate as a law firm in that country (e.g. changes to legal systems via politics) but in other ways, it might be that the political aspects are impacting the economy more broadly on either a micro or macro level, and therefore impacting clients ability to operate in that country/region. As a law firm is also a business, the same could apply to them too.

I think going into the specifics of what the political difficulties are and the implications for either the legal system, economy or markets will help you identify who it could be impacting most.

That actually really helped with pointing me in the right direction, thank you!

 

[AL123456]

Does anyone know if the Links ACs are in person or online? My portal says face to face interview but the email says they will use webex and so I was confused

 

[Commerciallaw]

Does anyone know if the Links ACs are in person or online? My portal says face to face interview but the email says they will use webex and so I was confused

it is online

 

[lawful_neutral216]

Just a quick question before I provide more guidance - were your module grades on your application form?

Yes all grades were present on my application form.

 

[RachelLouise22]

Has anyone done an Eversheds AC this cycle?

 

[Miki3999]

Yes all grades were present on my application form.

I think they just want to confirm that your grades are indeed your grades. If they wanted to ask you questions about specific modules, they could do that simply by looking at the application form. I remember I was once told to bring my transcripts to the AC, but no one even looked at them.

 

[Leightoncass]

Oh sorry I missed that. Is it like the WG test?

Not in the slightest. You can’t prep for it so just relax

 

[S87]

Can I ask something?
Is networking so fundamental? How much importance do recruiters place on name dropping?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Yes all grades were present on my application form.

Then I really wouldn't worry about this in a sense of providing your transcripts. It is just a process to verify that the grades you listed are correct.

The firm invited you to interview knowing your grades and your mitigating circumstances, and so I don't think there is going to be an issue in it being surprising to them that you achieved these grades/or the circumstances happened.

You may get questions about your academics (same as anyone could), and it is not uncommon to be asked why you think you did less well in one module over another. I would be prepared to potentially get a question like this or your thoughts/analysis/opinion on why you academic achievements are what they are. You don't necessarily need to go into lots of detail about your extenuating circumstances though - you can just focus more on the positives (e.g. the ECs being over, or what you have gained/learnt to deal with the ECs if they are still there/come up again).

 

[Lian Lian]

Does anyone know if the Links ACs are in person or online? My portal says face to face interview but the email says they will use webex and so I was confused

Hi! Is this AC for their spring or summer vac scheme? All the best btw!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Can I ask something?
Is networking so fundamental? How much importance do recruiters place on name dropping?

To me, networking is important for your learning, but not directly for the recruitment process.

Where it can help is indirectly, as it can really help you refine an application and potentially set you up well for interviews too.

But telling me you met someone from the firm means little on its own. Hundreds (sometimes thousands) of applicants meet people from the firm each year. However, there are plenty of ways in which you could learn from the person you have networked with and that could tell me a lot about you, if you explain it that way.

 

[lawful_neutral216]

Then I really wouldn't worry about this in a sense of providing your transcripts. It is just a process to verify that the grades you listed are correct.

The firm invited you to interview knowing your grades and your mitigating circumstances, and so I don't think there is going to be an issue in it being surprising to them that you achieved these grades/or the circumstances happened.

You may get questions about your academics (same as anyone could), and it is not uncommon to be asked why you think you did less well in one module over another. I would be prepared to potentially get a question like this or your thoughts/analysis/opinion on why you academic achievements are what they are. You don't necessarily need to go into lots of detail about your extenuating circumstances though - you can just focus more on the positives (e.g. the ECs being over, or what you have gained/learnt to deal with the ECs if they are still there/come up again).

I think they just want to confirm that your grades are indeed your grades. If they wanted to ask you questions about specific modules, they could do that simply by looking at the application form. I remember I was once told to bring my transcripts to the AC, but no one even looked at them.

Okay thank you everybody for your responses!

 

[T.]

Has anyone done the Kennedys SST yet? Is it just me or was that SST really difficult 😩😩

Have you got the feedback yet?

 

[SOAS22]

Has anyone done the gateley interactive assessment?

Yes, I have

 

[InNeedofaTC]

My Gateley assessment says ‘Please complete by 31 January 2022’. Does that mean within 7 hours or any time tomorrow?

 

[James Carrabino]

@Jessica Booker

Would you know anything about the BCLP situational judgment test? Although the firm has said it won't time you, it still recommends you spend about 45 mins. However, I'm thinking about taking advantage of the situation by spending as much time as I need. I'm just concerned as to whether there is a running timer or not (unlikely, but I had to provision for that possibility)? If there is, I'd probably try to stick to 45 mins as much as I can. If not, why not take as much time as I want?

To clarify, while I won't have a time limit to complete my test, I also want to know whether there is a timer running in the background anyway.

My guess is that if they do not mention anything about time being taken into account, then time will not be taken into account. One can never be 100% sure but I personally would use as much time as I feel that I need to get the answers right.

That said, usually a firm's guidelines are not arbitrary. If you spend significantly in excess of 45 minutes you may start second-guessing your responses and altering correct answers. These tests usually want your gut instinct (and taking this approach usually gets you the best results)!

 

[James Carrabino]

Opinions on shortening phrases in applications?
E.g. 'private equity (PE)' and then referring it to PE then onwards?

I personally do that. I think as long as you fully write out the term first and then put the necessary bracket after (as you've done), you can then refer to the shortened version thereafter. I wouldn't overdo it though, but it can be useful in saving words.

From the applications I have reviewed, most candidates who write 'PE' in their answers do not formally introduce it first as you are proposing, in which case I advise them not to use the abbreviation. If you introduce it in the way that you have shown, then no-one can fault you for using the abbreviation.

My only question is, how many times do you plan to use the phrase private equity? If it is 2-3 times then I am not sure it is worth the hassle!

 

[Jessica Booker]

My Gateley assessment says ‘Please complete by 31 January 2022’. Does that mean within 7 hours or any time tomorrow?

It will mean by 23.59 tomorrow but you might want to do it earlier in case there are any technical issues and you need to speak to the recruitment team.

 

[James Carrabino]

This is a silly question but... when answering 'what difficulty may arise when operating in country X' and discussing political difficulties: what is the reasoning? Is it that general political difficulties may affect clients, re taxation or changes to laws, or the firm itself? My head has gone totally blank!

Good question! There is a broad spectrum of things which could be considered 'political difficulties' - on the one hand, as you mention, a new government could come in which plans to raise the corporate tax rate, change regulation within specialised sectors, change the qualification process to become a lawyer etc. These are all things that affect law firms and their clients, but are challenges that large international law firms could expect to face from time to time.

On the other end of the spectrum, a government could limit or ban foreign investment, seize a clients' business, threaten a law firms' lawyers who support political opponents, or make any other range of radical policy decisions that undermine a law firm's ability to operate effectively within a certain jurisdiction. There are of course many political difficulties which fall somewhere between these two extremes as well!

Please let me know if you have any further questions