TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Ram Sabaratnam]

For 'why the firm' questions is it wise to mention their emphasis on pro bono or is this a weaker reason

Hiya @legal18

While it’s definitely not a bad idea to mention a firm’s pro bono practice as part of your answer to “why the firm” questions, I’d recommend avoiding making pro bono the main focus of your answer. When you join a firm, the majority of your time will be spent working in their core practice areas, so it’s more important to highlight your interest in the specific areas they’re known for or the industries they specialise in. For example, if the firm has a strong reputation in sectors like tech, life sciences, or energy, or is well-regarded for certain work like M&A or restructuring, these should take centre stage in your answer. Many firms value applicants who show an interest in contributing to their pro bono work, and it can be a nice way to align your values with the firm’s culture, but try to use this as an opportunity to demonstrate your research into the firm's main areas of work.

Hope this helps! 😊

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

For Wilkie's final question 'Please tell us about your achievements and positions of responsibility. (500 words)' Do we need to relate these back to the firm/the role?

Hiya again @legal18 🥳

This question is really a chance for you to showcase your experiences, so don’t worry too much about tying everything back to the firm or role. While it might feel tempting to relate your achievements directly to Wilkie or the legal profession, that’s not the main purpose here. Instead, I'd encourage you to focus on highlighting the skills you used and developed in these positions of responsibility or, when mentioning achievements, what was particularly impressive about the achievement and how you went about earning it.

For example, if you held a leadership role, talk about the challenges you overcame or the impact you made. If your achievements required perseverance, teamwork, or innovative thinking, make sure to bring those elements to life. It might be worth using a very loosely applied STAR method to help you structure how you discuss each of these positions/achievements. With 500 words, you have room to give detailed examples and really drive home why these accomplishments/position of responsibility matter.

Good luck! 😊

 

[ashwright]

I've seen a few people do 'suggest firms for me' posts recently and I thought it would be fun and helpful to hop on the trend!

There are some non-negotiables for me - decent/good firm culture, international opportunities and supportive/well-structured training. I understand they are largely subjective but they are still important for me to say at the outset because at some firms, these qualities might categorically not be present (e.g., narrow focus on one market). Also, by 'culture', I don't mean work-life balance, just that the people are friendly.

Other fun facts: very interested in the US, interested in IP and life sciences (but happy to explore anything else - I am far from committed to a specific sector), I have decent language skills.

Academic record is strong (GCSEs, sixth-form, second year uni), but with a bad blip in first year (with mitigating circumstances). Non-Oxbridge; RG.

No VS, no open day experience

I appreciate any thoughts

 

[NCTC2025]

Freshfields

I thought Freshfields deadline is in January and is non-rolling?

 

[Samridhi Jain]

Hey I just used the test platform the firm gives you access to and did all the questions multiple times haha

hey, when do they give you access to this? i got an email that i will be getting the test invite Friday but did not get access to prep

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

when an application asks, 'what skills would make you good trainee solicitor at XYZ firm' are you meant to be specific about the firm or more general like - good at communication because that's important as a lawyer?

Hiya @elizabethkate

I’d definitely recommend mentioning at least one or two skills that you can tie specifically to the firm. While general skills like communication are important for any lawyer, the question allows you/invites you to tailor your answer to the firm. By doing so, you can show that you’ve thought carefully about their environment and what skills might be expected from their trainees. For example, if you’re applying to a US firm with a smaller trainee intake, you’ll likely be given significant responsibility from the outset. This means skills like excellent time management and organisation are crucial. You could mention this briefly and then link this to examples from your own experience, such as balancing multiple deadlines or managing high-stakes tasks.

Similarly, if the firm’s training contract structure gives trainees plenty of interaction with clients or senior colleagues, they will likely place a strong emphasis/value on trainees demonstrating excellent written and verbal communication skills. Again, you could mention this and then draw on examples from your own background, like any client-facing work, pro bono projects, or other roles where clear, professional, client-facing communication was a key element of your role. Good luck with your application! 😊

 

[Tclarocks123]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction. I have some extra time to allocate to applications.Does anyone know of a private equity law firm that has no A-level requirements. Already applying to Paul Weiss, Willkie and Jones Day.

Ropes

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction. I have some extra time to allocate to applications.Does anyone know of a private equity law firm that has no A-level requirements. Already applying to Paul Weiss, Willkie and Jones Day.

Heya @sunshine101

That’s great that you’ve got some extra time to focus on applications! In addition to the firms you’ve already mentioned, I’d definitely recommend looking into Ropes & Gray (thanks @Tclarocks123 🥳) and Akin. They’re both well-regarded in private equity and have no minimum A-level requirements.

If you’re open to firms that might not be as immediately associated with private equity but still have strong corporate practices, Baker McKenzie is another great option. Their corporate M&A work is highly respected, and they don’t impose A-level requirements either, so they could be a good fit. Best of luck with your applications, and feel free to reach out if you need any more suggestions or help! 😊

 

[tarty23]

what is defined as a small v large trainee intake? I know some firms offer 70+ which is obviously significant, however would an intake of 10 be seen as small though some firms take even less than that?

 

[plshireme]

No cover letter needed - I secured the vac scheme this year (prayed a lot though)

o

Congrats! Can I ask when you submitted a CV did you include any legal work experience (if you did any) and dates for when you worked where? I've spent a lot of time travelling so my employment dates have gaps in them, wondering whether it's worth just removing them

 

[LawyerUpPal]

Was this the CRT or the Video Interview?

Not video interview and not sure what CRT means but its the online assessment like WG I assume. I didn't access it. Email just said: "Lois Colquhoun from Akin sent you a message "Application to Akin - Invite to Online Assessment ".

 

[LawyerUpPal]

I thought Freshfields deadline is in January and is non-rolling?

It was from a scheme I did in summer.

 

[LawyerUpPal]

Hi Thabks for this info! I got HL WG today
did you get this information from an event? I was wondering if it was automatic

Yes, directly from GR.

 

[futuretrainee2503]

Yes, directly from GR.

Thanks a lot

 

[Audric_T]

Congrats! Can I ask when you submitted a CV did you include any legal work experience (if you did any) and dates for when you worked where? I've spent a lot of time travelling so my employment dates have gaps in them, wondering whether it's worth just removing them

thank you, no legal experience I’m a career changer - I included dates. Personally I wouldn’t avoid gaps but it’s probably better for the experts here to confirm

 

[MayaM0921]

@Jessica Booker

Hi Jessica,

I’ve progressed to the written assessment stage with a firm after completing an extensive application and online test. However, all the available time slots for the assessment fall during the working hours of my winter vacation scheme. I reached out to request a transfer to their summer application cycle, which has a later timeline, but they refused simply saying “due to timing issue”.

Is there anything I can do in this situation? I feel quite disappointed, as I wouldn’t have applied if I had known this in advance, especially considering the effort I put into writing over 1,000 words for their application.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[Andrei Radu]

@Jessica Booker

Hi Jessica,

I’ve progressed to the written assessment stage with a firm after completing an extensive application and online test. However, all the available time slots for the assessment fall during the working hours of my winter vacation scheme. I reached out to request a transfer to their summer application cycle, which has a later timeline, but they refused simply saying “due to timing issue”.

Is there anything I can do in this situation? I feel quite disappointed, as I wouldn’t have applied if I had known this in advance, especially considering the effort I put into writing over 1,000 words for their application.

Thanks for your advice!

Hi @MayaM0921, just before @Jessica Booker can come back to you on this with a more informed perspective, one idea that I would consider is choosing one of the time slots happening within the vacation scheme week. If the exercise is only one hour long, you could just do it in your lunch break.

Alternatively, you could speak to your supervisor about coming in a bit earlier and leaving slightly earlier one day, so that maybe you can complete the written assessment from 4-5? I would however only advise this if you have a really good relationship with your supervisor, as you definitely do not want to be seen as insufficiently motivated; and you want to prioritize doing everything to be successful in a VS rather than for an intermediary application stage.

Finally, if you have not yet disclosed to the other firm's graduate recruitment the reason why you are unable to do the written assessment at the available times, I would consider doing so. Telling them you have another VS will raise your candidate profile and slightly changes your "bargaining position". However, I would only do so (i) if I thought the other options wouldn't work; and (ii) while stressing to the graduate recruitment team that I do have a preference for their firm, but that given the extreme levels of competitions in applications you have to prioritize the more concrete opportunity of a VS if they cannot postpone your written assessment.

 

[sammm10101]

received HL test for summer

 

[marisachr]

Anyone know if the Reed Smith session today on Situational Judgement Tests was recorded?

 

[Andrei Radu]

what is defined as a small v large trainee intake? I know some firms offer 70+ which is obviously significant, however would an intake of 10 be seen as small though some firms take even less than that?

There is no agreed upon figure for what counts as a small, medium, or large trainee intake. These are ambiguous and relative concepts; which get even more fuzzy if you consider options such as describing certain intake numbers as 'small to medium' or 'medium to large' sizes. But if I were to express my personal intuition as to figure ranges, I would say:

• Small intake: from 1 to 10-15
• Medium intake: from 15 to 30
• Large intake: 30+

A final point to add is that what counts as small/medium/large will depend on the context in which you are discussing an intake size. If you are mentioning an intake size in the context of an US firm, and you are aiming to differentiate it from other US rivals, it would not make a lot of sense to label an intake of 15 as 'small', since the majority of other US firms in the City will have have smaller intakes than that. However, if you were aiming to differentiate the firm from Magic Circle rivals, even an intake of 20/30 could count as small.