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TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2021-22 (#1)
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Have Sidley VS AC and Kirkland TC AC coming up - if anyone has experience with either I would really appreciate any and all advice 
James Carrabino
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This is a great list! I would recommend starting a new thread that you can update so that this does not get buried in the vac scheme thread
This is a great list! I would recommend starting a new thread that you can update so that this does not get buried in the vac scheme thread
thanks, james! was thinking about that too (“great minds blah blah blah”)
did u apply for kirkland tc directly or for the vs?Have Sidley VS AC and Kirkland TC AC coming up - if anyone has experience with either I would really appreciate any and all advice
they cancelled the vs's and are doing only tc now
This might be a nosy question... but I feel like salary transparency is really important
Lets say on legal cheek, it states that a NQ lawyer at a firm earns £140,000
would that be for every NQ in every single department? does the salary you earn fluctuate by the department you are in?
lets say the firm is well know for real estate would someone in real estate earn lets say £160k and someone in their less money making department lets say banking would make £135k (this is all hypothetical btw)
so my main question is, would it work by the department you are in or by how many years you are qualified? lets say a PQE+1 would earn less than a PQE+5?
not sure lool
Lets say on legal cheek, it states that a NQ lawyer at a firm earns £140,000
would that be for every NQ in every single department? does the salary you earn fluctuate by the department you are in?
lets say the firm is well know for real estate would someone in real estate earn lets say £160k and someone in their less money making department lets say banking would make £135k (this is all hypothetical btw)
so my main question is, would it work by the department you are in or by how many years you are qualified? lets say a PQE+1 would earn less than a PQE+5?
not sure lool
Thanks so much for this James! I know in my case we only get one associate mentor in our chosen area but could pick out top three from the departments. As someone who finds energy really fascinating I chose the corporate seat in that and two disputes seats because I think I have a genuine interest in litigation (having working in a court got 11 months!)First of all, congratulations @LEL and @thirdtimelucky on securing vacation schemes! It is an exciting position to be in where you are about to experience the inner workings of a commercial law firm for the first time
I have seen some great suggestions on this topic and I think that the first thing to consider is whether you will have the opportunity to explore multiple seats throughout your time on the scheme or if you only get to explore one. If you have the opportunity to sit in multiple departments, then I would definitely take the recommendations that some users have given to sit in contrasting departments - perhaps one corporate seat and one disputes or advisory seat.
When making this decision myself, for example, I knew that I was really interested in trying competition/antitrust because a lot of the regulatory side of competition law is related to politics and international relations which I really enjoyed studying at uni. At the same time, I did not know enough about what being a competition lawyer entailed so if I had only had the choice of a single seat, I probably would have gone for one of the firm's bigger departments - corporate or litigation. At this firm, I ended up sitting in two seats - Private Equity and Competition, so I got the best of both worlds. Competition proved to be as interesting as I thought it was, partly because the team had its own clients and was not purely a support team, which may have also impacted my decision making.
I think personally that you cannot go wrong with a corporate seat at any commercial firm as you will gain exposure to a lot of the clients and work that drives the firm as a business! You will often have the chance to liaise with members from supporting teams and you will likely sit alongside plenty of other candidates for your seat to be well-structured enough that the firm is able to accurately assess you.
If you are really into disputes, then by all means choose that as your single seat and if you are interested in another more specialised area then I would be more inclined to choose it if it is an area where the firm specialises. As another user advised, it is good to get a sense of what the firm's specialisms and compulsory seats are so that you can have an accurate understanding of what it would be like to work at the firm in question when you come to choosing whether to train there
thanks again for the advice and for sharing your experience!!I'm only a future trainee but I believe salary changes much more with seniority than with the department you are in. So you would expect someone 1 year PQE in one department to earn roughly the same as someone else 1 year PQE in a different department at the same firm (although bonus may vary). But you would expect someone 5+year PQE to earn significantly more than someone newly qualified.
I haven't found much on this online and can't recall anyone having shared their interview experiences here on the forum. I think as long as you have four core answers prepared to why commercial law, why you, why KPMG and why KPMG over its competitors (I think this last one is important to demonstrate that you can distinguish it from other Big 4 firms and city law firms.
To practice for interviews, I would also recommend using the following resources-
- TCLA question bank (emphasis on motivation and competency questions)
- Preparing for CV based interviews
- TCLA mock interview service (can use for both case study interviews and standard interviews)
This used to sting so bad every.single.time.
Pizza and a good venting session with my best friend always helped though.
Before you start answering a question, think of the role you assumed in your team. Were you a listener, a leader, someone who challenged others to think of better solutions, someone who drew up a vision or was better at executing it etc.
Once you've understood the role you were in, move on to stating the context in which you were working in a team (group project at school/work, competition etc.) ➡️ explain your task and role ➡️ walk the reader through your process in executing your tasks (why you chose to do something, what worked and what didn't, what you didn't when something didn't work etc.)➡️ summarise both the outcome of your individual efforts and the overall outcome for the team.
I hope this helps!
Jessica Booker
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NQ salary will typically be fixed and across all departments (e.g. what you are paid when you qualify).
As you progress as a qualified associate, there tends to be a salary band that you sit within. That band could change every year though. Sometimes this band can be so narrow though and very fixed by how many years PQE you are (depends on the firm's remuneration strategy).
However, your salary will typically vary much more based on your bonus payments. This could be as low as 0% of your base salary and I have known it to be as high as 40% (might even be higher in some firms though). It isn't unknown for some departments to pay higher bonuses on average than other practice areas, typically because their lawyers are either bringing in more £££/$$$ or because of the hours they work or both. It isn't uncommon for bonuses to be calculated on the basis of the firm's overall performance, the department's performance, and your individual performance.
For firms that do have a salary band, your salary may also increase each year based on your performance. Therefore, if you outperform your peers that qualified at the same time every year, the more senior you get the bigger the difference in your salary vs theirs.
You'll definitely earn more as you progress and that will typically increase each year. You'll see some indication of salaries for PQE levels across firms here:
Inside Info | RollOnFriday
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At NQ/associate level which department you’re in won’t matter. There will be a base salary tied to your seniority, possibly a discretionary bonus, and a bonus tied to your hours. So an NQ in real estate and corporate will earn the same. However it’s possible that a 5 PQE in real estate may take home more if they’ve hit a higher billable target and/or received a discretionary bonus while the other person just hit a lower target or didn’t receive a discretionary bonus. But as an NQ within the same firm there should be no difference, to my knowledge.Thanks so much for this James! I know in my case we only get one associate mentor in our chosen area but could pick out top three from the departments. As someone who finds energy really fascinating I chose the corporate seat in that and two disputes seats because I think I have a genuine interest in litigation (having working in a court got 11 months!)
I wouldn’t call it “practice” but a lot of people choose to do it when they accept the offer.
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