TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

[Mike Wazaoski]

Does anyone else feel they are delaying applications and waiting for it to be perfect?

Any tips would be appreciated!

On the plus side - The video Interview for PwC was completed last week. Still waiting to hear back but usually it's mid-November.

 

[jwalk03]

Application Update - Last posted 17/10/23

Bank of England Trainee solicitor programme - Completed online tests
White and Case WVS- Application sent
Hogan Lovell TC- Application sent
Hogan Lovell Lift off - WG Complete
NRF WVS - Application sent (No test received assuming PFO)
Stephenson Harwood WVS - Application sent
Cleary Gottlieb WVS - Application sent
Travers Smith WVS -Application sent
Gowling TC - Application sent
Mayer Brown TC - Application Sent
CMS TC - WG invite (to be completed)
A&O TC - Application Sent (test and Vi to be completed)

PFO Heaven
Sidley - PFO
Jones Day - PFO
Slaughter and May TC - PFO
Linklaters - Failed WG - PFO
Simmons - Failed VI - PFO
Clifford chance TC - Failed WG - PFO

Pending Applications
Mischon De Reya SVS - Application Pending
HSF SVS - Application Pending
Freshfields - Application pending

I am not applying to any Summer Vacation schemes online winter, possibly Spring and Direct TC.
Has anyone done of the firms above and have progressed further than I have and when did you apply?

Not feeling very hopeful at all!

Hey! Can you remember how long Clifford Chance took to send you your WG outcome? I remember last cycle they sent them like the day after so was just wondering if it's the same this year?

 

[Bubbles]

Hi @Jessica Booker , I applied to Irwin mitchell yesterday and their preliminary questions asked if I had already started my LPC. when I clicked no, it said "if you have not completed the LPC when offered a TC, you will undertake the SQE as a Graduate Solicitor Apprentice'. Is there a major difference between these two routes and is there any place I can find out more info about them? (I also don't know how much of an impact this change will have on me since I am an international student).

 

[Mike Wazaoski]

Has anyone come across this question from Mischon and got an idea of how to refer to being a "shaper"?

We believe that successful lawyers are great Shapers: individuals with interests, hobbies, passions or visions; and the drive and motivation to develop these in order to shape the world around them. We're looking for people who can shape the information they are given; shape arguments; shape relationships; shape solutions (see https://www.mishcon.com/graduates/mishcon-shapers). Tell us about a time that you have demonstrated being a Shaper. (300 words max) *​

​

Beyond what is on the hyperlink.

 

[malvern3142]

Has anyone done the Legal Cheek Winter Vac Scheme, or have any details on if it's worth doing for trying to obtain a TC?

Legal Cheek run it in collaboration with 16 reputable firms across 5 days. Idk how that would be structured and if it would give you enough exposure to any 1 firm so that it would benefit you applying to one of their direct TCs.

 

[lawapplicant]

Has anyone come across this question from Mischon and got an idea of how to refer to being a "shaper"?

We believe that successful lawyers are great Shapers: individuals with interests, hobbies, passions or visions; and the drive and motivation to develop these in order to shape the world around them. We're looking for people who can shape the information they are given; shape arguments; shape relationships; shape solutions (see https://www.mishcon.com/graduates/mishcon-shapers). Tell us about a time that you have demonstrated being a Shaper. (300 words max) *​

​

Beyond what is on the hyperlink.

Use the examples on the question. I did about debating - 'shape arguments'.

 

[Ash2323]

Hi @Ash2323,

Congratulations on your LL.M in Germany and for your experience working in tech, I am sure this is going to be extremely valuable for application to law firms. I guess we do have something in common as I was a non-law student who studied in Italy and came to the UK for a master at a Russel Group university and decided to apply to law firms quite late (I applied to all my law firms in December 2022).
Some tips that I have for you are:

• Connect to as many people as possible that are future trainees, trainees, associates or even partners at the firms that you are applying to. When I first started applying this was extremely fundamental to my journey as the people I met opened my eyes to so many different aspects of the profession, practice areas, and also shared good application tips.
• As much as you will feel disadvantaged, I feel like you already have a good profile and will not have any issues in being successful! However, how I managed to believe in myself whilst I thought I would have never been successful as a non-law student from outside the country is using my differences strengths to my advantage in the application process. Being from abroad and knowing multiple languages ended up being one of the main things that really helped me stand out amongst the rest of applicants. Additionally, my internship as well as academic experiences in different countries helped too as they showed my open-mindedness and why I valued the international aspect of many firms. So, use your differences and what you think is a disadvantage to your advantage, because I promise you they are not!
• Do thorough but efficient research for all the firms you are applying to. When I first started applying I find it hard to do this as I applied to 25 firms. However, by the time I arrived to my 10th application, I developed a really efficient strategy for myself that allowed me to do an in-depth research of a law firm in less than a day. What I did was creating a table with 4/5 websites to check such as Legal 500, Chambers Student etc. I then combined them with the firm's website and youtube videos on the firm, I took the most relevant information and I linked the most interesting ones to my background to emphasise why I wanted to join a particular firm. This template really saved me.
• I did not know which firms I should apply to, so I decided to apply to a lot of firms as I knew that I was interested in so many different practice areas and opportunities. This advice might be controversial but I was not willing to apply again the following year if I did not get a training contract offer and so I decided to apply to a large number of firms. What I found out during this process was that I started to come across more firms that I did not know initially, and these ended up being a better fit for me than the most known in the market.
• Do not feel like you have to interact with a firm to be successful in securing a vacation scheme or a training contract. I did not attend any events with Goodwin and Gibson Dunn but managed to secure these vacation schemes, and the same thing was true for many people I met on the schemes.
• Expect rejections. Unfortunately, these are part of the process and they really help you grow. So, welcome them and analyse yourself and your applications if you receive one. They are just learning opportunities.

I hope my experience can be motivating to you and good luck with your journey!

Thank you so much Axel, it’s a pleasure to hear about your experience and its really nice to hear from someone “atypical” who also has foreign language skills/lived in another country, you are right it is definitely a bonus!


I guess your method of jumping into the deep end is something I have also been doing, I applied to 2 MC firms and got rejected but since then have actually found other firms I did not know of with more interesting practice areas (e.g. Taylor Wessing, Goodwin, Gowling wlg)


Did you find that by applying to firms in December that you were at a disadvantage for the firms recruiting on a rolling basis? Also in your first cycle did you also focus on applying on open days or did you rely on other experience and stick to vac schemes? As I would like to apply to open days, but feel that due to the time pressure and similar length in applications, maybe a vac scheme is better

 

[axelbeugre]

Thank you so much Axel, it’s a pleasure to hear about your experience and its really nice to hear from someone “atypical” who also has foreign language skills/lived in another country, you are right it is definitely a bonus!


I guess your method of jumping into the deep end is something I have also been doing, I applied to 2 MC firms and got rejected but since then have actually found other firms I did not know of with more interesting practice areas (e.g. Taylor Wessing, Goodwin, Gowling wlg)


Did you find that by applying to firms in December that you were at a disadvantage for the firms recruiting on a rolling basis? Also in your first cycle did you also focus on applying on open days or did you rely on other experience and stick to vac schemes? As I would like to apply to open days, but feel that due to the time pressure and similar length in applications, maybe a vac scheme is better

I definitely felt like I was at a disadvantage but by applying, and subsequently talking to graduate recruitment, I realised that even if a firm is rolling, they will offer you the interview or the assessment centre if they like you. For instance, I applied to Gibson Dunn late December (when the applications opened on the 1st of September and were rolling) and I got an interview invite the same day I applied.
This goes to show you that if a firm really likes you, they will offer you the interview even if it is ''later in the cycle''.

In my cycle, I did not focus on applying to open days or anything like that cause my master was exhausting enough honestly speaking! I did attend a couple of insight events through organisations like Rare Recruitment and SEO London but those are just easier to get. I did not put myself through open day applications at the time as I decided to apply to law firms later since before then I was applying to consulting very heavily so there was no time for open days for me.

I would say that if you do not have time, just focus on vacation schemes applications, which are already tiring!

 

[johnnn821]

Hey guys anyone heard back for Linklaters' Open Day?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thoughts on a 2 page covering letter? There really isnt anything that I would like to remove..

I would very much expect this to be too long. It’s not really about what you would like to include, it’s more about what are the few key messages you should include.

I suspect you are trying to include too much to show the variety of your experiences and motivations, but you will need to be more selective as to what is the most persuasive. Alternatively if you are limiting the number of points you are making, you are then going into too much detail.

Most cover letters can fit on one page, especially if they have no formal formatting. Many firms will explicitly tell you it cannot be more than 1 page as well. At most I think a page and a bit (no more than a page and a half) is more than enough.

There is a real risk that the longer it is the more likely it is not to be read either at all or thoroughly enough.

 

[Legalstalker]

Hey! Can you remember how long Clifford Chance took to send you your WG outcome? I remember last cycle they sent them like the day after so was just wondering if it's the same this year?

yep it was like a day or two

 

[rkmg2510]

Hey everyone,
Just wondering what your approach to the following question would be: 'Why do you want to be a solicitor at an international law firm? (350 words)' for HWF VS. Would you structure the answer in two parts broken down into a. why a solicitor and b. why at an international firm, or see it solely as focused on the international firm component?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker , I applied to Irwin mitchell yesterday and their preliminary questions asked if I had already started my LPC. when I clicked no, it said "if you have not completed the LPC when offered a TC, you will undertake the SQE as a Graduate Solicitor Apprentice'. Is there a major difference between these two routes and is there any place I can find out more info about them? (I also don't know how much of an impact this change will have on me since I am an international student).

The only difference between the routes is that as a graduate apprentice you work alongside completing your SQE studies. It is technically a shorter period to qualify compared to a year of studying and then two years as a trainee. As you are working from the outset and the graduate solicitor apprentice takes between 27-33 months (time is dependent on you being a law or non-law graduate), you will either need sponsorship or the right to work in the UK for more than 2 years though. A post-graduate work visa would not be a sufficient amount of time to cover an graduate apprenticeship (but it also tends to not be sufficient for a traditional TC too though).

 

[catlover123]

People that have done the W&C VI - how did you find it?

 

[F12M34L]

Hey everyone,
Just wondering what your approach to the following question would be: 'Why do you want to be a solicitor at an international law firm? (350 words)' for HWF VS. Would you structure the answer in two parts broken down into a. why a solicitor and b. why at an international firm, or see it solely as focused on the international firm component?

I got the same exact question. @Jessica Booker any thoughts?

 

[axelbeugre]

Hey everyone,
Just wondering what your approach to the following question would be: 'Why do you want to be a solicitor at an international law firm? (350 words)' for HWF VS. Would you structure the answer in two parts broken down into a. why a solicitor and b. why at an international firm, or see it solely as focused on the international firm component?

The way I would structure is broken down into two parts as you said: Why you want to be a solicitor and why at an international firm, focusing specifically on the international side of things.

Make sure to mention your reasons as to why you are interested in an international law firm and link them back to you. I think that the first part can be a little bit shorter than the second but all and all this would be the structure I would follow. This is because it exhaustively answers the question and it allows you to convey your genuine interest in the profession and at an international firm.

When picking your reasons for why an international firm, make sure to pick things that are very specific to HWF otherwise you would risk to be too generic and that might work against you.

I hope these tips help and good luck @rkmg2510

 

[Bubbles]

If a firm states on its website "please note we are unable to employ you unless you have the right to work in the UK at the date the role commences and for the duration of the contract" - does this mean they don't offer sponsorships?

This is Hill Dickinson btw - I can't find any info about sponsorships. If anyone knows their grad rec email address pls send it through!

 

[axelbeugre]

If a firm states on its website "please note we are unable to employ you unless you have the right to work in the UK at the date the role commences and for the duration of the contract" - does this mean they don't offer sponsorships?

This is Hill Dickinson btw - I can't find any info about sponsorships. If anyone knows their grad rec email address pls send it through!

Yes, that is exactly what they mean unfortunately!

 

[emilyding]

Does anyone else feel they are delaying applications and waiting for it to be perfect?

Any tips would be appreciated!

On the plus side - The video Interview for PwC was completed last week. Still waiting to hear back but usually it's mid-November.

when did you apply for PWC?

 

[Bubbles]

Yes, that is exactly what they mean unfortunately!

Thank you. It's just getting really hard to actually find firms I like that provide visa sponsorships. Quite unfortunate that I'm not interested in commercial law 😔