TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[lawyersum]

Can't believe I can actually say this, but got the offer for Hogan Lovells' TC! Thank you to everyone on here for all the support and advice. I've been on this platform since 2020 and faced sooooo many rejections post-interview and post-VS. Never give up trying guys.

If anyone is applying to the firm, I'm more than happy to answer Qs and help where I can

Congrats!!!! This just gave me that extra bit of inspiration I've been needing lately

 

[Jessica Booker]

Can't believe I can actually say this, but got the offer for Hogan Lovells' TC! Thank you to everyone on here for all the support and advice. I've been on this platform since 2020 and faced sooooo many rejections post-interview and post-VS. Never give up trying guys.

If anyone is applying to the firm, I'm more than happy to answer Qs and help where I can

This is amazing news!! Congratulations!

 

[Kay Aston]

Can't believe I can actually say this, but got the offer for Hogan Lovells' TC! Thank you to everyone on here for all the support and advice. I've been on this platform since 2020 and faced sooooo many rejections post-interview and post-VS. Never give up trying guys.

If anyone is applying to the firm, I'm more than happy to answer Qs and help where I can

Congratulations @NMA - fantastic news 🚀

 

[Kay Aston]

in the application to A&O Shearman should I connect each of my work experiences to A&O? Like saying how it would benefit me as a trainee in A&O or just how it would help me as a lawyer generally?

Hi @saminoriya ! It is not necessary to directly spell out in each of your experiences how they would relate to A&O, but I would definitely be mindful of the qualities and values that A&O advertise that they are looking for in future trainees, and have these in mind while writing out your roles and responsibilities for each employment. Similarly, it is not necessary to say 'I do x and therefore this would make me a great lawyer because x', in the application form, the qualities that will make you a great lawyer will shine through from a well-drafted and thoughtfully written work experience section ✨

 

[MCL]

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).

 

[Zi48]

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.

 

[Szofi66]

@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