TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[pleasepleaseplease]

Kennedys AC!! Any advice would be super appreciated

Congrats! Please could you share when you did the VI and how long they took to come back to you?

 

[fitzer401]

AC invite 2 hours ago

Amazing! Do you mind me asking when you applied?

 

[pleasepleaseplease]

Kennedys Direct TC AC!! 🥹

Congrats! When did you complete the VI?

 

[EA95]

AC invite 2 hours ago

Congrats, can you advise when you applied?

 

[lilymawe1]

Amazing! Do you mind me asking when you applied?

Thanks and no problem! I applied mid October (not sure exact date) but a long time ago, for spring too!

 

[suhana]

has links started giving out summer ac invites?

 

[Amma Usman]

Hi guys! Do you have any suggestions for showcasing commercial awareness in an application without being overly descriptive? I don't want to sound like I'm listing deals and awards on a firm's website but am not sure how to correctly engage with material when I'm not yet really in the industry..

I humbly ask for the Avengers to assemble...
@Ram Sabaratnam @Andrei Radu @Amma Usman

Hey there,

There’s a common misconception that commercial awareness needs to be shown all through for successful written applications. Now don’t get me wrong, it certainly is important, but some questions and some stages will require you to show this more, than others. For example, if the question asks for a recent development and its impact on X firm‘s clients, this clearly requires more commercial awareness than why you want to be a commercial lawyer. You may also find that this skill is tested more in interviews, than actual written applications (dependent on the firm’s application questions). That said, it is always beneficial to find a way to weave this in, though this requires less effort than is typically perceived by applicants. For example, adequately explaining why you are drawn to X firm’s corporate practice, backed up by specific life examples, is a clear demonstration of commercial awareness because it shows you understand the core foundational aspects of corporate law work. The ability to not make this generic and tailored to the firm is, in my opinion, already showing an understanding of the commercial world and how law sits within it.

The problem with including deals is to ensure you don‘t just drop it, but fully explain why that solidifies your interest in the firm. As you can imagine, many firm’s will work on similar deals so this needs to be really strong.

These few tips should help if you decide to name a deal:

Focus on the why and impact: If a firm worked on a big deal, mention why it’s significant (e.g., its impact on the market or industry) and connect it to broader trends like ESG, tech innovation, or market consolidation.

Link it back to the firm’s strengths: Talk about how the deal or trend aligns with the firm’s reputation, strategy, or expertise. For example, “This reflects the firm’s strength in X sector and its ability to navigate complex cross-border matters.”

Engage with trends that interest you: Highlight your genuine curiosity about a key industry trend the firm is working on and why it resonates with you. E.g., I’m particularly interested in how the firm is advising clients on adapting to ESG regulations, a topic I explored during X experience.

Tie it to your goals: Show how the firm’s work inspires you or aligns with what you want to do in the future. This makes your application personal and authentic.

Best of luck! You’ll do amazing!

 

[xMontmorency]

W&C AC (summer) just now

 

[marisachr]

Congrats! When did you complete the VI?

Completed the VI on the 11th of Jan

 

[AnAnonymousDuck]

White & Case AC invite! Does anyone have any insight?

 

[carys09]

Hello everyone.

I haven’t heard back from Freshfields, Hogan Lovells and White and case for anything.

I completed HL’s first year scheme so I emailed grad recruitment that I don’t need to complete the WG which they confirmed but haven’t heard anything else.

Haven’t received a Freshfields WG. I applied on the 9th so I don’t know if I should email grad recruitment???

Is anyone in the same boat as me?

Im in exactly the same situation - still waiting to hear back from Freshfields (direct TC), Hogan Lovells (VS) and White and Case (VS)
I applied for Hogan Lovells at the start of Nov, was sent WG at the start of Dec and have not heard anything since. Someone else on here did an AC last wee and was told that they have only invited 12 people to AC so far and haven't got back to most people yet.
Freshfields doesn't send WG to everyone, only those whose applications they like so there's nothing to do but wait

 

[kelisi88]

Have you heard back yet?

nope, assuming pfo!

 

[kelisi88]

I see how disappointing. I had to redo the VI 3 times because of technical issues so only submitted it on Jan 10th but would you say it's still reasonable to assume a PFO?

oh man me too ( i had to re-record several times

 

[pleasepleaseplease]

Completed the VI on the 11th of Jan

I completed mine on the 10th and haven't heard back. I also saw a pattern that they sent all invites together (which is what they did for the VI invite) so bracing myself for a PFO soon :/

 

[AlegalA]

Congrats! Please could you share when you did the VI and how long they took to come back to you?

Did the VI on the 11th!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi everyone,

I just want to remind everyone in the TCLA community that we are all at different stages of our learning journeys about the legal industry, law firms, and recruitment processes.

Please be mindful of this, especially when responding to posts that you may think have a straight forward answer to or you feel could easily be answered via some online research.

TCLA is often part of people’s research - people come here to get advice from a community whose views they collectively respect. They utilise our community’s experience and opinions to try and get a multidimensional perspective to the questions they pose. This is ultimately why we exist as a forum.

Therefore, it is not appropriate to pass negative judgement on someone just because they don’t have the knowledge you do. Going out of your way to try and belittle others for the level of knowledge they have compared to you is not appropriate and is a clear breach of TCLA’s terms.

Thankfully 99.99% of the time, our community provides the supportive environment we purposefully want to create and maintain. It is on very rare occasions that a small minority of community users feel they should go out of their way to make others feel uncomfortable or inferior.

If you have experienced such behaviour, please remember you can always report it to use using the report button you will find on every post, private message or individual profiles. We take such behaviours seriously, will investigate it accordingly, and where necessary, take action against those who don’t abide by TCLA’s terms.

Many thanks

Jess

 

[EA95]

Btw do LL send out their AC invites for their spring vacation scheme at the same time?

 

[paralegaltotrainee]

Im in exactly the same situation - still waiting to hear back from Freshfields (direct TC), Hogan Lovells (VS) and White and Case (VS)
I applied for Hogan Lovells at the start of Nov, was sent WG at the start of Dec and have not heard anything since. Someone else on here did an AC last wee and was told that they have only invited 12 people to AC so far and haven't got back to most people yet.
Freshfields doesn't send WG to everyone, only those whose applications they like so there's nothing to do but wait

If I'm not wrong, I believe Freshfields is non-rolling so you probably won't hear back until after the deadline (23 Jan)?

 

[AlegalA]

Fieldfisher PFO!

 

[ashwright]

Hey there,

There’s a common misconception that commercial awareness needs to be shown all through for successful written applications. Now don’t get me wrong, it certainly is important, but some questions and some stages will require you to show this more, than others. For example, if the question asks for a recent development and its impact on X firm‘s clients, this clearly requires more commercial awareness than why you want to be a commercial lawyer. You may also find that this skill is tested more in interviews, than actual written applications (dependent on the firm’s application questions). That said, it is always beneficial to find a way to weave this in, though this requires less effort than is typically perceived by applicants. For example, adequately explaining why you are drawn to X firm’s corporate practice, backed up by specific life examples, is a clear demonstration of commercial awareness because it shows you understand the core foundational aspects of corporate law work. The ability to not make this generic and tailored to the firm is, in my opinion, already showing an understanding of the commercial world and how law sits within it.

The problem with including deals is to ensure you don‘t just drop it, but fully explain why that solidifies your interest in the firm. As you can imagine, many firm’s will work on similar deals so this needs to be really strong.

These few tips should help if you decide to name a deal:

Focus on the why and impact: If a firm worked on a big deal, mention why it’s significant (e.g., its impact on the market or industry) and connect it to broader trends like ESG, tech innovation, or market consolidation.

Link it back to the firm’s strengths: Talk about how the deal or trend aligns with the firm’s reputation, strategy, or expertise. For example, “This reflects the firm’s strength in X sector and its ability to navigate complex cross-border matters.”

Engage with trends that interest you: Highlight your genuine curiosity about a key industry trend the firm is working on and why it resonates with you. E.g., I’m particularly interested in how the firm is advising clients on adapting to ESG regulations, a topic I explored during X experience.

Tie it to your goals: Show how the firm’s work inspires you or aligns with what you want to do in the future. This makes your application personal and authentic.

Best of luck! You’ll do amazing!

Thank you so, so much @Amma Usman! You are honestly a legend - the tips you provided are exactly what I needed to deepen my analysis when talking about a deal. What you say about weaving in commercial awareness into responses makes a lot of sense.

If I may add as a follow-up, would the tips you provide also be helpful for answering 'Why Firm X?' questions if one is talking about practice areas?
And if may add another question sorry, may I check whether you can signpost your favourite posts on answering the three common 'why' questions?

Thank you so much I really appreciate your kindness and supportiveness - we are so lucky to be able to hear from you <3