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

[djqb]

What competencies did you get for the test if you don't mind me asking.

No worries - confidence, attention to detail, and judgement

 

[Asil Ahmad]

No worries - confidence, attention to detail, and judgement

That is good and thank you for this.

 

[Haris]

Has anyone heard back from Clifford Chance for the 2023 training contract?

 

[S87]

Has anyone heard back from Clifford Chance for the 2023 training contract?

Nope but the deadline was last week so I don’t think will hear soon.

 

[Haris]

Nope but the deadline was last week so I don’t think will hear soon.

Fair point, I just noticed that my application was updated the day after the deadline so was curious. Good luck to everyone else who applied!

 

[ZaraB]

Hi! I'm new to this forum and very glad it exists

Background: Biology graduate based in London looking to become a patent/IP attorney (need anymore info, let me know!)

I wanted to get some guidance from those who can provide some.

I recently applied for the Bristows STEM IP Workshop and received an email today to let me know that I have not been successful to attend. I thought it went okay. I was a bit nervous and just am generally, but prepared my answers for each question and thought I did well at answering each one, although for two of the questions I was quite brief.

Has anyone applied for a Bristows workshop this year and able to offer some tips on what they did to get through and what they may not have done well to get the through?

Also, does this mean I am automatically disqualified from applying for their TC as I would be noted on their system as having failed getting through to the workshop?

Also, anyone know of any other IP law firms based in London?

Any help and guidance would be really helpful!

Thanks!

Hey! I attended an event with their grad recruitment who specified that the TC and workshop recruitment processes are different and you can apply for the TC within the same intake.

 

[M&Amakesmyday]

Heya, has anyone received a Watson Glazer for Norton Rose Fulbright's Spring Vac Scheme?

 

[AvniD]

Hi! I'm new to this forum and very glad it exists

Background: Biology graduate based in London looking to become a patent/IP attorney (need anymore info, let me know!)

I wanted to get some guidance from those who can provide some.

I recently applied for the Bristows STEM IP Workshop and received an email today to let me know that I have not been successful to attend. I thought it went okay. I was a bit nervous and just am generally, but prepared my answers for each question and thought I did well at answering each one, although for two of the questions I was quite brief.

Has anyone applied for a Bristows workshop this year and able to offer some tips on what they did to get through and what they may not have done well to get them through?

Also, does this mean I am automatically disqualified from applying for their TC as I would be noted on their system as having failed getting through to the workshop?

Also, anyone know of any other IP law firms based in London?

Any help and guidance would be really helpful!

Thanks!

Welcome to the forum @raz! 🥳

It is great that you are reflecting on what you did well and the things you could improve on. Applications for law events/schemes need a lot of research, good structure, evidence for why you like the career and the firm and high-quality writing. Even if you have all of this, sometimes there are objective reasons why a firm might reject your application- capacity constraints, the volume of applications etc- that are completely out of your hands and are not a reflection on the quality of your application.

Nonetheless, a good place to start with improving your applications is to reflect on whether 1) you evidenced your interest in commercial law, particularly IP law, with your research, initiative to attend law fairs, webinars, speak to firms etc. 2) structured your answers clearly 3) personalised your applications with your motivations for pursuing a career in IP law at that firm.

Does this make sense and do any of the things I've mentioned stand out to you as missing/lacking in your application?

About automatic disqualification- does it say anywhere on their website that you cannot apply for a TC if your application for the workshop is unsuccessful? If this information is not clearly or easily available to you, please reach out to the firm's graduate recruitment so you can get this clarified.

About other London IP firms- I'd recommend looking through Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners for a thorough listing and ranking of these firms. Let me know if you're having difficulty finding them!

Wishing you the very best! Please do stay in touch about your applications and reach out if you have any further questions.

 

[vacschemeapss]

Heya, has anyone received a Watson Glazer for Norton Rose Fulbright's Spring Vac Scheme?

Nope. They screen apps before sending it and hence the delay ig

 

[M&M]

Hi all,
I applied for the BCLP Summer VS. I finished the BCLP strengths test around the 1st of Nov and haven't heard back yet. Did anyone do the test around that time and get a response?

 

[ellwilsen]

Hi all,
I applied for the BCLP Summer VS. I finished the BCLP strengths test around the 1st of Nov and haven't heard back yet. Did anyone do the test around that time and get a response?

I submitted my test on the 2nd and haven’t heard either!

 

[M&M]

I submitted my test on the 2nd and haven’t heard either!

I guess no news is good news but hopefully we get a reply soon!

 

[CC03]

Hi @Jessica Booker I got couple law firms on my list which I applied to last cycle. Do you think I can re-apply again? As I’ve heard from someone firms have AI technology which detects a candidates details and automatically rejects them. Is this true?

As my friend said he applied twice to a firm the following cycle and was outright rejected (a MC firm). For reference he made it to the AC in the first attempt and second attempt rejected at app stage

 

[John Travoni]

Hi @Jessica Booker I got couple law firms on my list which I applied to last cycle. Do you think I can re-apply again? As I’ve heard from someone firms have AI technology which detects a candidates details and automatically rejects them. Is this true?

As my friend said he applied twice to a firm the following cycle and was outright rejected (a MC firm). For reference he made it to the AC in the first attempt and second attempt rejected at app stage

The part where the firm automatically rejects you through AI is not true.

You are only prevented from applying to a firm if you make it to their AC and are unsuccessful, but this condition has to be part of the firm’s recruitment process. Most firms do not follow this but there are many firms that do follow this approach e.g. Linklaters.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker I got couple law firms on my list which I applied to last cycle. Do you think I can re-apply again? As I’ve heard from someone firms have AI technology which detects a candidates details and automatically rejects them. Is this true?

As my friend said he applied twice to a firm the following cycle and was outright rejected (a MC firm). For reference he made it to the AC in the first attempt and second attempt rejected at app stage

You don’t need AI for it in all honesty. It would be pretty clear from the applicant tracking system if you were reapplying. But there isn’t a system that automatically rejects you. At best it would stop you applying for the same vacancy in the same recruitment cycle more than once. It doesn’t apply to different vacancies though.

However, most firms will remove their data regularly due to GDPR (typically anywhere between 3 to 12 months from a vacancy closing or a the recruitment for a role concluding). There is no guarantee the data still sits on the system - you can typically find out how long they retain your data for by looking at their data policy.

The circumstances of your friend are not surprising. It might be that the firm had a policy you had to wait a certain period of time before reapplying (sometimes state you have to wait 12 months before reapplying) or it could be that there was not a lot of recent evidence of development in their application. I don’t think it was down to an automated process though.

 

[GXA123]

Is Dentons WG part of the first stage?

 

[ellwilsen]

Sorry to ask such a student room question lol but if I applied for a firm’s open day and they offered me a virtual one instead, does this mean anything or do firms tend not to reject people for open days?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Sorry to ask such a student room question lol but if I applied for a firm’s open day and they offered me a virtual one instead, does this mean anything or do firms tend not to reject people for open days?

I suspect with the recent news of the new variant, some firms are moving back to virtual open days rather than running them in person to minimise risks.

I don't think it has anything to do with you as an applicant nor that they don't reject people. They are bound to have rejected far more people than they have accepted, even with a virtual open day.

 

[jv1999]

Hi guys just wondering how people are able to do multiple vacation schemes (e.g. 5) and receive offers from all of them? From what I have heard, you usually have to accept a TC offer within a month or two of receiving an offer after a VS (maybe this is a generalisation).

Are people accepting a TC offer then reneging on it when they get an offer from the firm they do their next scheme with and repeating this process with multiple firms? Or are they confidently rejecting the offer in the hope that they'll get an offer following the next scheme they do? Or are people able to persuade firms to extend the deadline by which time they have to accept or reject the TC offer?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi guys just wondering how people are able to do multiple vacation schemes (e.g. 5) and receive offers from all of them? From what I have heard, you usually have to accept a TC offer within a month or two of receiving an offer after a VS (maybe this is a generalisation).

Are people accepting a TC offer then reneging on it when they get an offer from the firm they do their next scheme with and repeating this process with multiple firms? Or are they confidently rejecting the offer in the hope that they'll get an offer following the next scheme they do? Or are people able to persuade firms to extend the deadline by which time they have to accept or reject the TC offer?

There is a very loose "voluntary code of recruitment practice" that says that a firm shouldn't make you accept an offer before the 15th September as you go into the final year of your undergraduate degree. If you are past this point, then you would have 4 weeks to accept the offer. However, the code is completely voluntary and some firms to not stick to it. Some firms will demand you decide on your offer within a week.

Ultimately if you aren't given time to consider your offers, then accepting and reneging is the most appropriate thing to do. I would never advise declining an offer unless you have a written offer from another firm.

The best thing to do is to ask for an extension of the deadline as you have suggested by explaining you do have other vacation schemes you want to complete first. A firm can obviously say no to this though. They do have to manage their intakes and ensure they don't under recruit. Therefore they may need to know sooner rather than later as to whether you will accept or not (so they can make subsequent offers). This is particularly the case if they need you to complete the GDL/LPC/SQE and they need to sign you up to those courses.