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TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

Kay Aston

Star Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Premium Member
Sep 8, 2024
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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

Well-Known Member
Sep 12, 2024
21
29
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”
 
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User5678

Legendary Member
Aug 16, 2024
258
348
@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

Legendary Member
  • Dec 29, 2023
    141
    334
    @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.
     
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    Kay Aston

    Star Member
    Staff member
    Gold Member
    Premium Member
    Sep 8, 2024
    28
    50
    @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!
     

    👩🎓

    Legendary Member
    Premium Member
    Oct 31, 2023
    140
    68
    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

    Legendary Member
    TCLA Moderator
    Gold Member
    Graduate Recruitment
    Premium Member
    Forum Team
    Aug 1, 2019
    15,315
    21,390
    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).
     

    TheInevitableTCholder2024/25🙏

    Esteemed Member
    Gold Member
    Premium Member
    Mar 16, 2022
    75
    144
    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
     
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    coldmilc

    Standard Member
    Premium Member
    Jul 11, 2022
    8
    38
    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

    Well-Known Member
    Sep 12, 2024
    21
    29
    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

    Legendary Member
    Sep 13, 2023
    240
    391
    "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.
     

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