TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2022-23

[Denver]

Hey does anyone remember if white and case made you pick both preferences ? I.e could you do spring then no other preference? I had summer as my second preference and they are not letting me change it.

I think there was the option to select the same scheme for all 3 preferences

 

[CorpLawyer00]

I think there was the option to select the same scheme for all 3 preferences

Fml I’m so dumb

 

[WAL007]

Hi guys, for Dentons training contract, one of the question asks the following, "Please tell us about a current issue or news article that has interested you. How might the topic be relevant to Dentons and our clients" - for this question, they are not asking us to talk about a business deal right but a trend. I.e I was initially going to talk about a merger deal but I am not sure if that will answer the question.

Also what is the difference between polycentric and swiss verein and which one does denton fit in?

 

[Cryingtiger]

Hey does anyone remember if white and case made you pick both preferences ? I.e could you do spring then no other preference? I had summer as my second preference and they are not letting me change it.

They allowed you to pick the first two options, and third option no preference!

 

[DivyaBasan]

hi @Jessica Booker, when answering application questions on the ‘benefits to being an O shaped lawyer’ or ‘the impact the SQE will have on the legal profession’, should we tie in our own experiences or knowledge on the firm? Or should we just answer the question in a more academic format?

Thanks in advance 😊

 

[rayemuse]

Hi guys, for Dentons training contract, one of the question asks the following, "Please tell us about a current issue or news article that has interested you. How might the topic be relevant to Dentons and our clients" - for this question, they are not asking us to talk about a business deal right but a trend. I.e I was initially going to talk about a merger deal but I am not sure if that will answer the question.

Also what is the difference between polycentric and swiss verein and which one does denton fit in?

Hey, I answered the same ques for the VS app. Pretty sure you can answer as you want as long as you're clear about how it could be relevant to them. But I wrote about a trend and got through to the next stage, so I know that works at least.

Dentons is both polycentric and swiss verein. Polycentric= Dentons has no single headquarters or dominant national culture, Swiss verein= a type of law firm which is made up of lots of separate international offices that have merged under one umbrella name and brand (aka Dentons).

 

[Jessica Booker]

hi @Jessica Booker would you be able to give me some advice please. What would you recommend someone do if, after being offered an interview for a TC at one office, you now prefer another office location? Would you recommend sharing this with the firm before the interview or after? Or would you recommend not at all? Thank you so much.

I would generally advise asking them before the interview so not to waste your time or theirs. It is very common for firms to ensure interviewers are the people you would be working with in that location, and so there is a major risk that you would need to do the interviews again if you wanted to change location.

For some firms, they will say you just have to reapply, especially if you have applied for a regional office and are now trying to apply for the London office or another office that gets more applicants.

I'd ultimately move though if your preferences are to work in a different location. I don't think it is worthwhile working somewhere you aren't going to be happy/settled or can commit to in the medium term.

 

[kmo20]

Hi does anyone have any tips for BCLP’s online test and how best to prepare/what it includes? And is there a Watson Glaser element?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi guys, for Dentons training contract, one of the question asks the following, "Please tell us about a current issue or news article that has interested you. How might the topic be relevant to Dentons and our clients" - for this question, they are not asking us to talk about a business deal right but a trend. I.e I was initially going to talk about a merger deal but I am not sure if that will answer the question.

Also what is the difference between polycentric and swiss verein and which one does denton fit in?

I read that it could be an individual matter/deal or a trend.

 

[Lawstudent52]

I would generally advise asking them before the interview so not to waste your time or theirs. It is very common for firms to ensure interviewers are the people you would be working with in that location, and so there is a major risk that you would need to do the interviews again if you wanted to change location.

For some firms, they will say you just have to reapply, especially if you have applied for a regional office and are now trying to apply for the London office or another office that gets more applicants.

I'd ultimately move though if your preferences are to work in a different location. I don't think it is worthwhile working somewhere you aren't going to be happy/settled or can commit to in the medium term.

OK thank you so much for your help!

 

[Jessica Booker]

I accepted an offer for a vac scheme at firm 'A' on the basis that it would be in the office closest to where I reside (their London office). Due to the dates, I had to reject an offer from London firm 'B'. Nonetheless, since accepting the offer from firm 'A', they recently told me the internship will instead be in Leeds, and will thus have to relocate me.

Do firms offer support with accommodation on the basis that I must relocate? I was inclined that the placement would be in London, which works with my family commitments and my proposed accommodation arrangements. I also would not have rejected the offer from 'B' if I knew 'A' would have me working in Leeds.

I am not too enthusiastic about having to do my summer placement on the other side of the country, but I do not want to kick up a fuss in case I lose my overall spot on the scheme. I'm not too sure how to approach this.

I would explain this to the firm and see if there is any support they can provide. You can explain you will be out of pocket by hundreds of pounds by having to find short-term accomodation in the region. The worst they can say is no and then you are in no different a position than you are in now. There is no harm in at least enquiring, especially given they are the ones who have changed it after the offer was made.

I would also contact firm B to see if there is any chance you could be reconsidered for their opportunity, explaining the other vacation scheme has been relocated to another office that doesn't appeal to you. Again, they may just say no (because you turned them down) but I really don't see the harm in at least asking - it again doesn't change your position any more negatively than you are in now and there is a slight chance that it could present an opportunity that you currently don't have.

 

[lawstudent22]

How is it best to ask a firm for an AC outcome ASAP due to a potentially conflicting VS offer? I have an offer from a US firm that schedules their VS across different weeks, depending on candidate availability. I'm awaiting two AC outcomes that would affect this, and ideally, I'd like to know if I've secured a place on these before giving my availability, but both firms said it could be 2/3 weeks before we'd hear back. I don't want to annoy them by asking for an earlier outcome.

 

[CEPtk]

V&E offer. Came through half an hour ago!

 

[lawapplicant]

I accepted an offer for a vac scheme at firm 'A' on the basis that it would be in the office closest to where I reside (their London office). Due to the dates, I had to reject an offer from London firm 'B'. Nonetheless, since accepting the offer from firm 'A', they recently told me the internship will instead be in Leeds, and will thus have to relocate me.

Do firms offer support with accommodation on the basis that I must relocate? I was inclined that the placement would be in London, which works with my family commitments and my proposed accommodation arrangements. I also would not have rejected the offer from 'B' if I knew 'A' would have me working in Leeds.

I am not too enthusiastic about having to do my summer placement on the other side of the country, but I do not want to kick up a fuss in case I lose my overall spot on the scheme. I'm not too sure how to approach this.

Poor Londoners! Us Northerners have to pay for accommodation in London (which the VS payment barely covers), whilst Londoners get to bag the VS money for themselves!!

 

[Jessica Booker]

How is it best to ask a firm for an AC outcome ASAP due to a potentially conflicting VS offer? I have an offer from a US firm that schedules their VS across different weeks, depending on candidate availability. I'm awaiting two AC outcomes that would affect this, and ideally, I'd like to know if I've secured a place on these before giving my availability, but both firms said it could be 2/3 weeks before we'd hear back. I don't want to annoy them by asking for an earlier outcome.

I wouldn’t over think this - you just need to ask. I know it can be worrying as you have never been in this situation before, but it will be something the graduate recruitment team are very used to having a conversations about. They will have a policy/view on how to deal with such requests and will give you an answer as to whether they can tell you or not.

You are not going to annoy them.

 

[aishaslm]

HL PFO… yeah. Kinda sucks.

 

[HLL]

HL and gibson dunn pfo in the same day okieeee

 

[hannah04]

Just got a VS offer after a brutal string of PFOs and starting to lose hope🤩. I just wanna thank everyone on this thread for all the help, I was on this thread almost every day and appreciated all the support and messages everyone had for each other and it helped keep my spirits high when I was on the brink of giving up to this process. Hang in there everyone <3

 

[Jessica Booker]

Poor Londoners! Us Northerners have to pay for accommodation in London (which the VS payment barely covers), whilst Londoners get to bag the VS money for themselves!!

To be fair to the poster, this is a very different situation.

Most people apply to a job knowing where the location is and make a decision on whether to apply or not based on location. Ultimately they make a decision knowing what the costs will be. In this instance, the poster has had that location changed and so it is ultimately in a place they didn’t apply to.

Also, not all Londoners will be getting free accommodation. Many have to still pay rent or extend their leases to attend schemes which will equally eat through any earnings they get as a vac schemer. Even people who are London born and bred are often contributing to their family incomes/contributing to rent too, so they don’t necessarily pocket it either. So a lot are in the same boat as the Northerners.

 

[lawstudent22]

I wouldn’t over think this - you just need to ask. I know it can be worrying as you have never been in this situation before, but it will be something the graduate recruitment team are very used to having a conversations about. They will have a policy/view on how to deal with such requests and will give you an answer as to whether they can tell you or not.

You are not going to annoy them.

Thank you!!