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

[GXA123]

did anyone email TW for an update?

 

[sxw517]

Has anyone heard anything from stephenson harwood?

 

[S87]

I know this sort of question has been asked quite often but I am particularly nervous for my first AC (in just 12 days!). It's my first ever cycle and feel fortunate to have an AC with Burges Salmon. Does anybody have any particular tips or experiences for a virtual AC with BS? I'm trying my hardest, but given it's my first attempt, I am worried I might be approaching it all wrong.

A very dear friend had an AC with them and although she did not get a tc, she said that they were supportive, nice and her lack of commercial awareness was the reason why she did not get a tc.

 

[TCApp2021]

Do people tend to take a full day off for ACs (where the AC is only around 3 hrs)? Not sure if I should work in the morning or use those hours to get some extra rest? (Sorry for the odd question!)

 

[GXA123]

Do people tend to take a full day off for ACs (where the AC is only around 3 hrs)? Not sure if I should work in the morning or use those hours to get some extra rest? (Sorry for the odd question!)

I think rest, just my personal opinion/preference. u need your full energy

 

[aspiringlawyer123_]

Do people tend to take a full day off for ACs (where the AC is only around 3 hrs)? Not sure if I should work in the morning or use those hours to get some extra rest? (Sorry for the odd question!)

I would say rest, but this is why I prefer morning AC. I cant really afford to book a full day off work for an AC!

 

[emilyrose99]

Do people tend to take a full day off for ACs (where the AC is only around 3 hrs)? Not sure if I should work in the morning or use those hours to get some extra rest? (Sorry for the odd question!)

If I the AC is in the morning, I’d probably work the afternoon. However, if it was in the afternoon I’d probably take the morning off!!

Personal preference though

 

[Jessica Booker]

Do people tend to take a full day off for ACs (where the AC is only around 3 hrs)? Not sure if I should work in the morning or use those hours to get some extra rest? (Sorry for the odd question!)

I’d personally suggest taking a day off if you can. It can be a pretty intense few hours.

 

[TCApp2021]

I think rest, just my personal opinion/preference. u need your full energy

I would say rest, but this is why I prefer morning AC. I cant really afford to book a full day off work for an AC!

If I the AC is in the morning, I’d probably work the afternoon. However, if it was in the afternoon I’d probably take the morning off!!

Personal preference though

I’d personally suggest taking a day off if you can. It can be a pretty intense few hours.

Thank you! Also, is preparing a few hours before the AC recommended.. remember seeing something in the forum suggest that I should try to do something unrelated immediately prior to the AC to help with nerves.

 

[LEL]

Thank you! Also, is preparing a few hours before the AC recommended.. remember seeing something in the forum suggest that I should try to do something unrelated immediately prior to the AC to help with nerves.

I personally read through my material when I wake up, then do something totally unrelated, then read through the material again 30-40m before the interview. There is not much you can do to help massively the morning of, so feel free to do whatever calms you down!

 

[robynm09]

Hi @LEL,

So for when I was doing vacation schemes, I did as @FS suggested and tried both a contentious and non-contentious seat (generally). I then thought about the practice areas that I was most excited about or interested in at that firm. For example, at White & Case I did EIPAF (a particular strength in London), whereas at Akin Gump I sat in Litigation (an area I was interested in exploring) and Insolvency (a particular strength in London).

I would not consider the number of hours rumoured to be worked in certain departments. I would also ignore rumours of conversion rates (personally I never heard that one practice area was 'harder' on a vacation scheme than another anyway).

So in short, balance what you are interested in with what the firm is good at. Think about if you were to practice at X firm, what area(s) you would want to explore on your TC!


Hi @robynm09,

Congratulations on being progressed to the AC stage with Debevoise! That's awesome news.

For article-based interviews, this post should be helpful. This post about ACs in general might be worth a read too.

I hope that is useful!


@FS agreed. This is great advice!


Hi @lellie23,

Congratulations on getting progressed to the AC stage! In addition to the posts I suggested above for @robynm09, this post may also be helpful (where @James Carrabino provides some fantastic advice). I would also recommend @AvniD's post here.

I hope that helps.

The biggest thing to do now that you have been invited, in my opinion, is to do preparation little and often if you can. The AC will come around quickly, but you will have at least a few days to prepare (which is plenty of time). Think about the areas that you feel comfortable about, and try to focus on those that you (currently) do not.

Please do reach out if you would like to ask any further clarifications!



Hi @TinaT,

To summarise the below, if you are going to bring up a particular deal, I would advise you to feel very comfortable discussing it and thinking critically about it under pressure. This is difficult to answer in the abstract, but I have been in an interview where half of my interview was centred around my thoughts on a commercial issue which was relevant to a deal that I mentioned. It therefore helps to have a strong footing in both the deal you are considering, but also the wider commercial context in which it is taking place.

If it helps, the process that I went through when thinking about a particular deal was this:

1. Research stage. I googled the deal to look for any news coverage that I could find about it or the firms involved and their strategies. This would take approximately 30-40 minutes maximum. I actually quite liked this stage(!). I often would print the articles I found out.
2. In line with the above, I would look at the Partners/Counsel/(Senior) Associates listed as being involved with the deal and consider their backgrounds (often using LinkedIn). 10-20 minutes maximum. I would add this, where necessary, to the information I had compiled in 1. Often I just hand wrote particularly interesting pieces of information (e.g., if a Partner who went to my university worked on it, other interesting deals they worked on etc.).
3. Digestion stage. I would read through and highlight the information that I had compiled in Stage 1. This took approximately 1-2 hours.
4. Noting stage. Using the information that I had highlighted in 3., I would note down the key points that I had gathered in 3. Often I felt like I retained quite a bit of background, so this stage really was only the key points.
5. Critical thinking stage. Thinking about the sort of questions they could ask me about this deal if I spoke about it (including those concerning related wider commercial issues). These would always include basic questions like "why did you pick this deal?", "which departments do you think were involved?" as well as more difficult ones, such as "what do you think were the commercial implications of X?" or "what do you think would have been challenging working on this deal?". This stage would last an hour or so (although I would think about it up until my interview as often it took me a day or so to sit with the question until I felt comfortable answering confidently on it).

Do ask any clarifiers if you would like to! On hand to help as always 🚀

Thank you George - appreciate the help!

 

[Riya20000]

Taylor Wessing AC invite 🥳 Any advice or tips would be really appreciated!

hey congratulations! when did you do the GBA?

 

[robynm09]

Hi @LEL,

So for when I was doing vacation schemes, I did as @FS suggested and tried both a contentious and non-contentious seat (generally). I then thought about the practice areas that I was most excited about or interested in at that firm. For example, at White & Case I did EIPAF (a particular strength in London), whereas at Akin Gump I sat in Litigation (an area I was interested in exploring) and Insolvency (a particular strength in London).

I would not consider the number of hours rumoured to be worked in certain departments. I would also ignore rumours of conversion rates (personally I never heard that one practice area was 'harder' on a vacation scheme than another anyway).

So in short, balance what you are interested in with what the firm is good at. Think about if you were to practice at X firm, what area(s) you would want to explore on your TC!


Hi @robynm09,

Congratulations on being progressed to the AC stage with Debevoise! That's awesome news.

For article-based interviews, this post should be helpful. This post about ACs in general might be worth a read too.

I hope that is useful!


@FS agreed. This is great advice!


Hi @lellie23,

Congratulations on getting progressed to the AC stage! In addition to the posts I suggested above for @robynm09, this post may also be helpful (where @James Carrabino provides some fantastic advice). I would also recommend @AvniD's post here.

I hope that helps.

The biggest thing to do now that you have been invited, in my opinion, is to do preparation little and often if you can. The AC will come around quickly, but you will have at least a few days to prepare (which is plenty of time). Think about the areas that you feel comfortable about, and try to focus on those that you (currently) do not.

Please do reach out if you would like to ask any further clarifications!



Hi @TinaT,

To summarise the below, if you are going to bring up a particular deal, I would advise you to feel very comfortable discussing it and thinking critically about it under pressure. This is difficult to answer in the abstract, but I have been in an interview where half of my interview was centred around my thoughts on a commercial issue which was relevant to a deal that I mentioned. It therefore helps to have a strong footing in both the deal you are considering, but also the wider commercial context in which it is taking place.

If it helps, the process that I went through when thinking about a particular deal was this:

1. Research stage. I googled the deal to look for any news coverage that I could find about it or the firms involved and their strategies. This would take approximately 30-40 minutes maximum. I actually quite liked this stage(!). I often would print the articles I found out.
2. In line with the above, I would look at the Partners/Counsel/(Senior) Associates listed as being involved with the deal and consider their backgrounds (often using LinkedIn). 10-20 minutes maximum. I would add this, where necessary, to the information I had compiled in 1. Often I just hand wrote particularly interesting pieces of information (e.g., if a Partner who went to my university worked on it, other interesting deals they worked on etc.).
3. Digestion stage. I would read through and highlight the information that I had compiled in Stage 1. This took approximately 1-2 hours.
4. Noting stage. Using the information that I had highlighted in 3., I would note down the key points that I had gathered in 3. Often I felt like I retained quite a bit of background, so this stage really was only the key points.
5. Critical thinking stage. Thinking about the sort of questions they could ask me about this deal if I spoke about it (including those concerning related wider commercial issues). These would always include basic questions like "why did you pick this deal?", "which departments do you think were involved?" as well as more difficult ones, such as "what do you think were the commercial implications of X?" or "what do you think would have been challenging working on this deal?". This stage would last an hour or so (although I would think about it up until my interview as often it took me a day or so to sit with the question until I felt comfortable answering confidently on it).

Do ask any clarifiers if you would like to! On hand to help as always 🚀

I think both links are for the same page - may I clarify whether it was supposed to be a different link for article-based interviews? Sorry if I've misunderstood, thank you!

 

[Limanehious]

Birketts invitation to interview! That's all my applications back, in the post-application stage. This is my second (third unofficially) cycle, and I really think that really really researching firms and only picking firms that I love, was really important. I applied to 5 firms: Eversheds, Pinsent Masons, Mills&Reeve, Trowers&Hamlins and Birketts- all of which had a strong Real Estate focus that matched my own experience. I have worked in student accommodation, then Social Housing, and now work as a paralegal in Real Estate Investment. That way, my 'why law' or 'why this firm' seemed specific and genuine. Of all 5 firms, I only had one rejection (Eversheds) and that was the only firm where I rushed the application. Every other, I have got through to the next stage! Fingers crossed for the next stage!!!

 

[Solicitorhopeful3000]

Hey spring or summer?

Summer!

 

[S87]

People going into direct TC apps, what's your strategy?
Personally, there are a bunch of virtual events that I would like to attend and enquire about direct tc spots and then target those firms.
What do you suggest?

 

[GXA123]

People going into direct TC apps, what's your strategy?
Personally, there are a bunch of virtual events that I would like to attend and enquire about direct tc spots and then target those firms.
What do you suggest?

this is a great strategy especially if u have the time

 

[thirdtimelucky]

Do people tend to take a full day off for ACs (where the AC is only around 3 hrs)? Not sure if I should work in the morning or use those hours to get some extra rest? (Sorry for the odd question!)

I took the whole day off, I think it’s best to be as relaxed as possible before the AC to give yourself time to be nervous and avoid any unnecessary work stress/things going wrong that may delay your attendance to the AC!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thank you! Also, is preparing a few hours before the AC recommended.. remember seeing something in the forum suggest that I should try to do something unrelated immediately prior to the AC to help with nerves.

I personally wouldn’t recommend doing any thorough preparation just before. Instead I would suggest trying to relax so your mind is sharper during the assessments.

However, it really depends on how you like to work. Some people will benefit from last minute preparations where they make the individual less anxious and where it acts like more of a warm up exercise for them.

 

[AspiringTrainee]

I personally wouldn’t recommend doing any thorough preparation just before. Instead I would suggest trying to relax so your mind is sharper during the assessments.

However, it really depends on how you like to work. Some people will benefit from last minute preparations where they make the individual less anxious and where it acts like more of a warm up exercise for them.

Personally, for my AC - it was 5 hours long and I did nothing before the event started. But I did make sure to do the daily wordle so my brain was woken up and I wasn't speaking nonsense in my presentation 🤣