TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Aspiringsolicitor01]

Honestly, working hours are very similar at the top end of firms. Be it US, MC, even SC.

As someone once told me, if you’re working buy-side at 3am, another firm will also be up doing sell-side at 3am.

That said, it depends on the practice area. Contentious / restructuring work is slightly more slow-paced and has potential for better hours.

If you go into something like tax, you can probably get away with leaving the office at 5/6pm most days…

Hence my reason for being drawn to employment law (employer side).

 

[studentdelaw786]

For anyone applying to Davis Polk’s Insight Day:

are you guys shortening the firm’s name to DPW or DP to save words, or is it recommended to not do that?

@Andrei Radu - would love to get your thoughts on this, please.

thank you!

 

[studentdelaw786]

Does anybody know if Simmons

Honestly, It is going to sound very cliche but resilience is very important! Application processes are not easy at all and are fiercely competitive. My motivation when getting rejected is remembering that the average age of a qualified solicitor is around 30. You are not behind at all, and it only takes one yes for you to finally land that role so just try your hardest to stick at it

thank you, you’re very kind.

i try to keep that in mind - just very difficult to process rejections when you think you’ve written very good applications :/

 

[SoonToBeTrainee]

Hence my reason for being drawn to employment law (employer side).

The exact same salary for much better hours. Count me in too!

 

[thelegalstudent]

You will usually get up to three months after your course is completed where you can stay in the UK on your student visa. So your eligibility for summer vacation schemes will depend on when your course finishes. If your course hasn't officially concluded/finished, eligibility might be tricky as you will be limited to working 20 hours a week. If the scheme starts or ends three months after your course finishes, you would need to secure another visa.

Another student visa would only be possible if you were going on to further study. You can apply for the post-study visa (graduate visa) though that will give you up to two years of being able to work and live in the UK with few restrictions. Many international candidates apply for and secure this visa to allow them to work after their studies have finished: https://www.gov.uk/graduate-visa

Hi Jessica, thank you for your reply - that was really helpful! My course is anticipated to end on the 30th of June so I'm assuming this would indicate that my visa would be valid through till September?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica, thank you for your reply - that was really helpful! My course is anticipated to end on the 30th of June so I'm assuming this would indicate that my visa would be valid through till September?

Most likely yes - I can't provide specific advice on your individual situation though, and you should check your visa's status and end date as this will be subject to how long you have held your student visa for.

 

[bangarangbass39]

What are people’s thoughts on the US firms’ working hours, I’m curious? If I see legal cheek reporting an average finish time beyond 8pm I don’t apply to a firm. I’m not against working hard but I want a life.

US aint the one for you my brother/sister/them in Christ.

At Bakers (an intl firm with US headquarters) everyone emphasised they are not US in culture. From the trainees to associates, to partners and Business Development. HOWEVER, when you dug further, they all said they weren't leaving the office before 8 pm. They strongly reiterated to us that you shouldn't expect yourself to be leaving before 8pm. They do respect you completing things outside of work as long you communicate clearly in advance

This massively depends on department culture, but from the experience of asking different staff at different firms, the hours tend to match across the board (bar corporate/transactional work which is bonkers). From IP to Disputes and Employment, trainees all discussed regularly working to at least 8 pm and beyond at BM. The difference (compared to the US firms) is that their weekends are more often untouched and their holidays are respected completely. However, don't expect to not work during the holiday, even if you are in a traditionally seeming "easy" or "less stressful seat" (the employment trainees were disgruntled about working during easter!)

A general rule of thumb I received is that if they're a top 20 UK firm in terms of revenue and/or they're paying you over 100k as an NQ, it is highly unlikely you will have the WLB you're seeking. Make of that what you will, but checking this against Legal Cheek's reported timings, the advice does hold some weight.

Exclusive research: What time do lawyers finish work at the UK's top 100+ law firms? - Legal Cheek

Junior lawyers face long days, late finishes, and an 'always available' culture, highlighting the demanding nature of a life in corporate law

www.legalcheek.com

The Firms Most List - Legal Cheek

www.legalcheek.com

Another recommendation was that if they are Tier 2 and above for Corporate deals at the premium level (like 750 mil and above), then just know...it's a rough one. Bare in mind we all have to complete a transactional seat as per the SRA guidelines, so choose your fate carefully!

M&A: Upper Mid-Market And Premium Deals, £750m+ > London

Market-leading analysis, rankings and editorial commentary - see the top law firms & lawyers in M&A: Upper Mid-Market And Premium Deals, £750m+ in London

www.legal500.com

So, to conclude, I'd focus on less elite transactional-driven firms if you want comparatively good WLB - typically US, MC, and SC firms - regardless of their size and "unique culture", they will all expect the same of you in terms of output/WLB. Instead, go after firms that are recognised for a wide range of non-transactional services and practices that stand out as their USP. Or they may be sector-driven (Bird n Bird, Osborn Clarke, etc.).

That is unless you are focused on being a transactional solicitor. If so, why not go for the big ticket because you will be working the same amount of hours as solicitors on the opposite end of a transaction? Might as well get paid the same or more...

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi @Andrei Radu, I am applying to HFW's Open Day. Please could you provide any guidance on how to answer 'What interests you about HFW and what are you hoping to learn more about on our Open Day?'

Would writing about their practice areas that interest me and an opportunity to gain further insight into those be a good idea? Along with that and the culture at the firm, if there is anything else I should consider, please let me know!

Hi @pleasepleaseplease I definitely think it is a good idea to write you want to learn more about practice areas that interest you. The only caveat to that is to make sure that the practices you choose to write about are some of the bigger ones in the London office and ideally some of the ones the firm is known for in the market (which you can ascertain by taking a look at their Chambers UK and Chambers Global rankings).

Besides that, I think it is in general a good idea to identify the firm's unique selling points (USPs) - be them related to practice areas, culture, training or international offices - and explain you want to learn more about them. Some of the USPs identified by the TCLA team in HFW's Firm Profile (which you can access here) also include:

• Sector-focused firm, with a particularly strong reputation for shipping and commodities
• Inherently global practice, with lots of opportunity for cross-border work
• Disputes-heavy firm, with high rankings for their contentious teams

 

[LawLawLawLawLaw]

Hi there! transitioning from mostly open day applications now to vac scheme application - wondering how I can practice the WG? does anyone know of any free websites to use or any other resources links?

 

[Andrei Radu]

For anyone applying to Davis Polk’s Insight Day:

are you guys shortening the firm’s name to DPW or DP to save words, or is it recommended to not do that?

@Andrei Radu - would love to get your thoughts on this, please.

thank you!

I would definitely not go for DP, I haven't seen that acronym used at all in reference to the firm. DPW is a bit more tricky, as sometimes people do informally refer to the firm as such. However, since the firm does not refer to itself in this way, and since the reputable legal press does not either, I would not risk it.

While it will only cut one word instead of two, I would just refer to the firm as 'Davis Polk' after using the full 'Davis Polk & Wardwell' in the first sentence.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I would definitely not go for DP, I haven't seen that acronym used at all in reference to the firm. DPW is a bit more tricky, as sometimes people do informally refer to the firm as such. However, since the firm does not refer to itself in this way, and since the reputable legal press does not either, I would not risk it.

While it will only cut one word instead of two, I would just refer to the firm as 'Davis Polk' after using the full 'Davis Polk & Wardwell' in the first sentence.

I agree with this - I generally don't see any firms with two names shortening it, the firm's with three or more tend to shorten it themselves in one format or another, and then I advise to go with that format.

If you are worried about word count, there is typically many more ways you can shorten your writing elsewhere than potentially shortening the firm's name in a way it doesn't use/isn't commonly used in the legal sector.

 

[g.cl.2020344]

Guys I am beginning to really stress about my winter vac scheme applications.
Dechert- done by written assessment almost 3 weeks ago and no news
W &C- Applied in September but no comms since then
H&L- Applied in September but no comms since then (done the Waton Glacier test)
Covington- No comms since application
Ashirst- No come since application

should I assume I have been rejected from the ones I haven't heard from since application cos some people on here have done AC's for the firms already!!

 

[ACivilLawyer]

I’m currently attending the W&C virtual event- grad team said they sent out invites for the first open day (14 Nov) today and will send out outcomes for the 2nd open day (21 Nov) later this week

Did they mention when people should expect to hear back re. WVS?

 

[LexNavigator]

I’m currently attending the W&C virtual event- grad team said they sent out invites for the first open day (14 Nov) today and will send out outcomes for the 2nd open day (21 Nov) later this week

Hi, did W&C’s grad rec team say anything about when we should expect to hear back for WVS applications following the VI?

 

[SamiyaJ]

Did they mention when people should expect to hear back re. WVS?

Nope, just said they received a lot of applications and working through them all

 

[SamiyaJ]

Hi, did W&C’s grad rec team say anything about when we should expect to hear back for WVS applications following the VI?

They said soon! Didn't specify when

 

[Parsorandini]

Why am I the opposite to everybody here? Never practiced the WG in my life but yet never failed one ever. Genuinely find it mostly easy - have scored 99th percentile for CC and 94th for Linklaters. Yet I was rejected for both because my application writing and interviewing skills are absolutely horrendous.

Basically using this to moan because apparently all my god given skill points were used to max out the bloody Watson Glaser Test of all things, leaving me a talentless hack in everything else 😭

EDIT: And I can't even help people get better because I don't know what I do. I've never looked at a study resource or anything - I have no working out to show. Anyone know of any firms' application process that are just 5 WG tests? 🥲

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Latham open day rejection, anyone have any insight if it’s still worth applying for the vacation scheme?

Hi @hazanelson

I think it's definitely worth applying! It's much more common than people think for applicants to be rejected from an open day but then be successful in securing a vacation scheme or training contract in the same recruitment cycle. I would take a look at your application and see how it can be improved before submitting for the vacation scheme. Best of luck!

 

[IneedaTCASAP]

Guys I am beginning to really stress about my winter vac scheme applications.
Dechert- done by written assessment almost 3 weeks ago and no news
W &C- Applied in September but no comms since then
H&L- Applied in September but no comms since then (done the Waton Glacier test)
Covington- No comms since application
Ashirst- No come since application

should I assume I have been rejected from the ones I haven't heard from since application cos some people on here have done AC's for the firms already!!

I would rule out Covington.They only select 50ish to interview stage and that’s overlooked by partners grades etc are taken into account. Unless they do 2 batches I’ve given up hope. Ashurst is a rejection they’re dragging the process on. They could’ve rejected applicants post test if their results weren’t up to scratch.
for the others I don’t believe HL has given any AC’s out as of yet.

 

[hazanelson]

I’m currently attending the W&C virtual event- grad team said they sent out invites for the first open day (14 Nov) today and will send out outcomes for the 2nd open day (21 Nov) later this week

Looks like it’s a W&C open day rejection 😭