TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Z48]

Hey, has anyone applied for the Freshfields winter scheme? I started researching and preparing my apps for this cycle today and saw that apparently Freshfields' winter deadline was yesterday? I thought the first deadline was Sidley Austin (tomorrow, 13th September).


View attachment 6241

That’s launching next year, it’s December 2025

 

[MCL]

Oh right- haha I didn't even notice. I was too fixated on the 11th September, thanks.

That’s launching next year, it’s December 2025

 

[Kay Aston]

Hello, I am trying to polish up my answer for the first video question (I can give an example of how I approached the experience section if anyone asks)
The question is basically "Why do you want to be a commercial lawyer at x, and what qualities and skills do you require to be successful at this?"

ITS ONLY 2 MINUTES!
My approach to the question is to break down the question into three sections

why commercial law?
why x firm?
what skills and how do i demonstrate them?
The problem is that I only have time to go through this twice based on my script

eg GLOBAL SCOPE -> x's GLOBAL SCOPE -> SKILLS REQUIRED AND HOW I DEMONSTRATE RE. INNOVATION
INNOVATION -> x's INNOVATION -> SKILLS REQUIRED AND HOW I DEMONSTRATE THEM RE. INNOVATION

I would just appreciate some pointers on the video section. I'm going to finish drafting the script tonight and then record it tomorrow; then repeat the process for the second question

Hi @bollingdale ! I completed my fair share of video interviews, and found the hardest bit by a mile to be the time pressure! My advice would be (and it's easier said than done) to try not to say too much. In video interviews, you are being assessed on the content, but importantly you're also being assessed on your communication skills, how you speak and your non-verbal communications. If you try and make a million points and say it all really fast, it won't come across particularly well. So consider reducing your content, 2 minutes is enough time to make a compelling point about the 3 things you have outlined as long as you don't go into much detail. If you like, I am happy to take a look at your script if you DM it to me, and I can give you my thoughts about the level of detail?

 

[bollingdale]

Hi @bollingdale ! I completed my fair share of video interviews, and found the hardest bit by a mile to be the time pressure! My advice would be (and it's easier said than done) to try not to say too much. In video interviews, you are being assessed on the content, but importantly you're also being assessed on your communication skills, how you speak and your non-verbal communications. If you try and make a million points and say it all really fast, it won't come across particularly well. So consider reducing your content, 2 minutes is enough time to make a compelling point about the 3 things you have outlined as long as you don't go into much detail. If you like, I am happy to take a look at your script if you DM it to me, and I can give you my thoughts about the level of detail?

Thanks I’ll polish up what I have and send it through .you might be right, might only be able to focus on one of the points I run through. I’ll send it you later thanks so much.

I was wondering about sharing my experience section here. It might be helpful but I’m in an exam mindset where I’m paranoid recruiters won’t like to see “cheating”

 

[User5678]

@Kay Aston
I have recently just completed a placement scheme (1 year in my third year) at BCLP. I sat in their core real estate team for the year which is one of the strong sector of the firm. I am on track to receive a 2:1 at university.

I am looking to apply to more finance and private equity/m&a firms this year and I think my knowledge is limited in these sectors as compared to real estate and tax sectors.

Do you have any suggestions for me and are their any specific firms which you think I will have an upper hand applying to considering I have one year of legal experience and also a part time job at flex legal considering I am still facing rejections

Thank you in advance for helping

 

[SoonToBeTrainee]

@Kay Aston
I have recently just completed a placement scheme (1 year in my third year) at BCLP. I sat in their core real estate team for the year which is one of the strong sector of the firm. I am on track to receive a 2:1 at university.

I am looking to apply to more finance and private equity/m&a firms this year and I think my knowledge is limited in these sectors as compared to real estate and tax sectors.

Do you have any suggestions for me and are their any specific firms which you think I will have an upper hand applying to considering I have one year of legal experience and also a part time job at flex legal considering I am still facing rejections

Thank you in advance for helping

There’s a lot of firms which have real estate M&A teams, so perhaps those will help bridge your interests.
Some firms with strong PE M&A offerings also specialise in real estate investments.
I’m pretty sure HL is strong on real estate M&A and Jones Day real estate PE.

 

[Deleted member 31571]

@Jessica Booker I private messaged you about a personal question I have regarding my upcoming application for the Ashurst winter vacation scheme!

 

[legaldruid]

Hi guys, is Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) doing the Watson Glaser test this year? Can't seem to find it on their website

 

[Broadwater]

HSF Open Day PFO… I thought my application was good as well. If I’m getting rejected at Open Day’s how am I going to get a VS 😳😳😳

I got rejected from White & Case’s open day but got a VS from a US firm. Don’t take it personally

 

[Kay Aston]

@Kay Aston
I have recently just completed a placement scheme (1 year in my third year) at BCLP. I sat in their core real estate team for the year which is one of the strong sector of the firm. I am on track to receive a 2:1 at university.

I am looking to apply to more finance and private equity/m&a firms this year and I think my knowledge is limited in these sectors as compared to real estate and tax sectors.

Do you have any suggestions for me and are their any specific firms which you think I will have an upper hand applying to considering I have one year of legal experience and also a part time job at flex legal considering I am still facing rejections

Thank you in advance for helping

Hi there @User5678 ! @SoonToBeTrainee has given some great advice which I definitely second, locating firms which are strong in both Real Estate and the Finance/PE work that you are interested in, will be your best bet. There are so many full-service firms which will have great reputations in both of these areas, and as @SoonToBeTrainee suggested, they often go hand in hand. For example, when I spent time at Clifford Chance, I sat in their SABRE team (Structured Asset Backed Real Estate), which is a team based within Global Financial Markets (finance), but specialising in real estate and asset-backed sectors, because these things intertwine so frequently. I hope this helps, but happy to discuss further!

 

[👩🎓]

Hi @Jessica Booker, what would you recommend the cover letter divide to be for why law, why the firm, and why you - my section on why the firm is the longest with 2 paragraphs (but I have linked personal experiences/interests in there, as it is relevant to the firm's practice areas) and my other sections are 1 paragraph each. Any thoughts would be highly appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Jessica Booker, what would you recommend the cover letter divide to be for why law, why the firm, and why you - my section on why the firm is the longest with 2 paragraphs (but I have linked personal experiences/interests in there, as it is relevant to the firm's practice areas) and my other sections are 1 paragraph each. Any thoughts would be highly appreciated.

Thank you.

There won’t be a set answer to this but it sounds like you have got a balance of all three elements in there, so I don’t think you should worry about how many paragraphs there are (as this is not really important).

 

[👩🎓]

There won’t be a set answer to this but it sounds like you have got a balance of all three elements in there, so I don’t think you should worry about how many paragraphs there are (as this is not really important).

Thank you @Jessica Booker

 

[bollingdale]

AAAAAH I JUST NOTICED 3-4 TYPOS IN MY ALREADY SUBMITTED WORK EXPERIENCE SECTION AAAAAAAAAA

 

[TheInevitableTCholder2024/25🙏]

For the Latham open day application the first question is 'What area of law are you interested in learning more about, and why?' Would it be okay to say employment law - is this something the firm has a focus on?

I mean yeah they’re full service so they have a good employment team, but it’s not what you think ofwhen you hear of Latham Watkins- you think of Leveraged Acquisitions, PE-led M&A, debt finance, Equity Capital markets (IPOs), etc. Then again , they never said what are we more known for, they said what are you lost interested in learning about, but I’d stick to what they’re traditionally known for to be on the safe side

 

[lolololol]

anybody have insight into the hsf assessment?

 

[VacSchemer]

AAAAAH I JUST NOTICED 3-4 TYPOS IN MY ALREADY SUBMITTED WORK EXPERIENCE SECTION AAAAAAAAAA

It happens to the best of us unfortunately

 

[coldmilc]

Hi, does anyone know what Gibson Dunn expects when they ask for " an outstanding personal achievement which added value to either your academic or working environment", and how is it different from "any other noteworthy achievements that will support my application"?

For context, I talked about my experience organise a refugee outreach programme with my student society, and this set a precedent for the successors of my society to get involved in similar programmes (thereby adding value). However, I have gotten some mixed feedback, with the main criticism being that I should focus more on a personal achievement that shows my personality.

For the other achievements, I plan to just write about my awards and previous society positions.

Any help on what the firm is expecting when they ask something like this? Thank you!

 

[bollingdale]

It happens to the best of us unfortunately

Does anyone know how they view some typos, the application encourages you to write as much as possible, but when you actually paste your responses into the boxes it cuts it off at around 600 words, so the actual stuff in the boxes I didn't check as closely as the text i had on my drafting page. Like, the rest of it is very strong in terms of 'telling a story' like they said and demonstrating skills through examples; im just hoping they wont go "oh well...there's a typo" and throw it out. I spotted it by getting an ai to read it back to me and there are 3 small typos.

 

[bangarangbass39]

"Nature of the activity you have undertaken or achievement you have been awarded. If you are referring to an activity please remember to specify dates and the typical number of hours per week spent on this activity. (200 words max)"

This is for Mishcon De Reya's achievement and activity section. The application only allows for a max of 4 work experiences to be listed. I listed one legal internship, my bar work during uni, my current researcher role for an NGO and my volunteer work as an academic mentor. For this section can I mention other legal internships I completed? For achievements, all I can think of is a Full Master's Scholarship and Bursary I received for underrepresented/low-income students.