TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Jessica Booker]

If an application recruits on a rolling basis until january but i would hve a chance to attend a firm event in a months time, is it worth waiting till that to submit my application or better to submit now??

I would wait until the event. If it's rolling until January, applying anytime until mid-December will be quite early in the application window. The vast majority people won't apply until the last month of the application window.

 

[TheInevitableTCholder2024/25🙏]

Hey! Im doing research for HL and I'm really struggling to distinguish it from other firms. Would anyone be willing to share what the USP of the firm is and what makes it different

Hi there! I've listed some of the headline Covington USPs identified in the recent profile TCLA published for the firm:

• At the intersection of law and politics
• Specialist focus in life sciences
• High-stakes, high-profilepro bono
• Experts in technology regulation
• Close-knit community focused on mutual accountability

Each of these points is explained in a lot of detail in the new profile (which you can access here). By reading it you might find more aspects you find an interest in.

Now, regarding your worry about the lack of alignment between your experiences and the firm: while ideal, I don't think you need actual experiences to justify interest in a firm's USP's. For instance, the fact that Covington advises many governmental bodies might be interesting to you simply because you are interested in being involved in headline-grabbing highly-political mandates. You can explain how such an interest arose out of related studies (perhaps a more politically-relevant module you did in univeristy or for A-levels), out of extracurriculars (like debating competitions, MUN etc), or purely because of you following the world of politics as a hobby. Another option is not to focus so much on your intellectual interests, but on what you think the best environment for you to learn and work in is - here you could mention the USP about a close-knit community, without needing to necessarily support that by referencing an actual work experience - one can observe the value and benefit of such an environment in many other areas besides the workplace.

Thanks!!!

 

[Andrei Radu]

For Squire Patton Boggs open day it is asking 'What are our strengths in the legal sector?' How do I answer this without sounding super generic because quite a few firms have strong contentious practice, employment law like SPB...

Firstly, while some firms may also have strengths in the same practice ares as SPB has, it is unlikely that there will be many firms having strengths in the same exact suite of practice areas like SPB. For instance, Quinn Emmanuel, Slaughter and May, and Debevoise all have strong contentious practices, but do not also have equally strong employment practices. Thus, your strategy could consist of listing several practices areas for which (when taken in conjunction) SPB is the best firm. Now, it is unlikely that good employment and contentious practices will suffice, as there are likely to be some other firms that also have that. Nonetheless, the more practice areas you add, the more other firms will you be able to exclude. Thus, by the point at which your answer is 'SPB's has a unique position in the market becasue of its strengths in employment law, contentious work + X practice area + Y practice area', I would not expect many other firms to fit that exact description. Thus, your answer will not sound generic.

Secondly, another way to approach this is to dig deeper in a firm's expertise besides its Chambers ranking. You can research and find in what particular segments of a practice area SPB is particularly good at. Some of the questions you might find it useful to consider are:

• Are there any types of cases or other mandates that the firm advises on more often than others? Are they in any particular sector of the economy?
• Has the firm had a particularly long history in the practice area, which gives it a superior reputation?
• Has the firm advised on any particularly important matters?
• Can the main client base of the firm's practice be distinguished from that of other firms? Does SPB target a particular segment of the market?
• Are there any awards/other recognition from the legal press showcasing the quality of its practice or top practitioners? Has the firm recently hired any top practitioners in the field?
• Has the headcount or revenue generated by a given practice area significantly increased?

Among others, I think you might find the Legal 500 rankings as particularly useful when researching sector expertise instead of just practice area expertise.

Thirdly, you can look beyond pure practice area/sector expertise. Essentially, the question asked in the SPB application could be interpreted as 'What are positive features of our firm from a client's perspective when they compare us to other firm?s'. From a client's perspective, a strength can consist of a feature of a firm which is not that closely related to expertise. Essentially, you should look at the firm on the whole, and from the perspective of a client rather than an applicant ask yourself what might attract you to it. For instance, a firm might be a market leader in legal tech, which maybe can automate many of the tasks that other firms staff their trainees/associates on. This can save a client lots of money and can therefore be highly attractive.

Finally, remember that this question is not a 'Why the firm' question and therefore you do not need to individuate your answer to a level of specificity that no other law firm would qualify for. It simply asks you to pace SPB in the context of its competitors in the market . As such, the firm will not expect you to find further specificity where there simply isn't from a client's perspective. As such, if you have narrowed it down to a point where the strengths you mention only apply to a very few other number of firms, you do not necessarily have to go a lot deeper.

 

[lawyersum]

Firstly, while some firms may also have strengths in the same practice ares as SPB has, it is unlikely that there will be many firms having strengths in the same exact suite of practice areas like SPB. For instance, Quinn Emmanuel, Slaughter and May, and Debevoise all have strong contentious practices, but do not also have equally strong employment practices. Thus, your strategy could consist of listing several practices areas for which (when taken in conjunction) SPB is the best firm. Now, it is unlikely that good employment and contentious practices will suffice, as there are likely to be some other firms that also have that. Nonetheless, the more practice areas you add, the more other firms will you be able to exclude. Thus, by the point at which your answer is 'SPB's has a unique position in the market becasue of its strengths in employment law, contentious work + X practice area + Y practice area', I would not expect many other firms to fit that exact description. Thus, your answer will not sound generic.

Secondly, another way to approach this is to dig deeper in a firm's expertise besides its Chambers ranking. You can research and find in what particular segments of a practice area SPB is particularly good at. Some of the questions you might find it useful to consider are:

• Are there any types of cases or other mandates that the firm advises on more often than others? Are they in any particular sector of the economy?
• Has the firm had a particularly long history in the practice area, which gives it a superior reputation?
• Has the firm advised on any particularly important matters?
• Can the main client base of the firm's practice be distinguished from that of other firms? Does SPB target a particular segment of the market?
• Are there any awards/other recognition from the legal press showcasing the quality of its practice or top practitioners? Has the firm recently hired any top practitioners in the field?
• Has the headcount or revenue generated by a given practice area significantly increased?

Among others, I think you might find the Legal 500 rankings as particularly useful when researching sector expertise instead of just practice area expertise.

Thirdly, you can look beyond pure practice area/sector expertise. Essentially, the question asked in the SPB application could be interpreted as 'What are positive features of our firm from a client's perspective when they compare us to other firm?s'. From a client's perspective, a strength can consist of a feature of a firm which is not that closely related to expertise. Essentially, you should look at the firm on the whole, and from the perspective of a client rather than an applicant ask yourself what might attract you to it. For instance, a firm might be a market leader in legal tech, which maybe can automate many of the tasks that other firms staff their trainees/associates on. This can save a client lots of money and can therefore be highly attractive.

Finally, remember that this question is not a 'Why the firm' question and therefore you do not need to individuate your answer to a level of specificity that no other law firm would qualify for. It simply asks you to pace SPB in the context of its competitors in the market . As such, the firm will not expect you to find further specificity where there simply isn't from a client's perspective. As such, if you have narrowed it down to a point where the strengths you mention only apply to a very few other number of firms, you do not necessarily have to go a lot deeper.

Thank you so much for this! I feel so much more prepared to tackle this question

 

[member7830]

hiya! if I have received an interview for a winter vac scheme, but post-application have realised I can't make the dates, should I ask grad rec now if its possible to switch to spring/summer, or wait and see if I receive an offer first?

 

[Donuttime]

hiya! if I have received an interview for a winter vac scheme, but post-application have realised I can't make the dates, should I ask grad rec now if its possible to switch to spring/summer, or wait and see if I receive an offer first?

Hiya what firm has responded yet

 

[RonRod13]

hiya! if I have received an interview for a winter vac scheme, but post-application have realised I can't make the dates, should I ask grad rec now if its possible to switch to spring/summer, or wait and see if I receive an offer first?

Which firm is this for?

 

[Trying4aJob]

So if people are hearing back from NRF does that mean that they actually are rolling?

 

[Hana ♥]

So if people are hearing back from NRF does that mean that they actually are rolling?

They could be 'semi rolling', ie they could look at some applications as they come in, but still consider all of them until the deadline rather than meeting a quota

 

[unknownnn7372]

Hi does anyone have any tips for the Jones Day AC? Also, how does one improve their commercial awareness per se? Would it just be keeping up to date with market trends, reading the FT, and the like?

 

[Tsitsipas10S]

I tried to submit my application for Simmons & Simmons winter vacation scheme, but am met with the error message "Service Difficulty".

Has anyone else encountered this?

 

[s9111]

I tried to submit my application for Simmons & Simmons winter vacation scheme, but am met with the error message "Service Difficulty".

Has anyone else encountered this?

I got this too, but then immediately got an email saying it has been received.

 

[danielles]

Has anyone done the NRF job simulation/virtual work experience programme?

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Hi does anyone have any tips for the Jones Day AC? Also, how does one improve their commercial awareness per se? Would it just be keeping up to date with market trends, reading the FT, and the like?

Hi @unknownnn7372

Well done on getting to the AC! The Jones Day AC has changed a bit since I went through it in 2022, but you may be asked questions about areas of law or business that you’ve expressed interest in at the application stage. For example, I was asked several questions about the National Security and Investment Act, which made sense since I had mentioned my interest in the defence sector in my application. Keeping on top of current developments in areas you're passionate about will help demonstrate genuine interest and thought.

Also, as with any other AC, it’s critical to reflect on why you want to join Jones Day specifically. Besides the non-rotational training system, think about the firm’s global structure (the “one firm worldwide” approach), the practice areas it’s strong in, and its top-tier reputation for client service—Jones Day consistently ranks highly in surveys on client satisfaction. Being able to articulate why these aspects matter to you will help you stand out.

In terms of commercial awareness, reading the FT and keeping up with market trends is a great starting point. When applying to firms, I also found it helpful to practice analysing news stories myself. One thing that worked for me was actively analysing why specific events and trends were relevant to law firms and their clients. Every month or so, I would try to do the following:

• Choose one business story – This can be about anything you find interesting in the last day or two.
• Ask yourself key questions:
  • How might this impact a firm’s clients?
  • What practice areas could be affected? (e.g., corporate, litigation, regulatory)
  • Could it lead to new opportunities or risks for the business or industry involved?
  • How would you advise a client on this issue?
• Take notes in bullet points – I’d jot down why it mattered from both a business and legal perspective, thinking about how the story could drive client needs or affect firm strategy. This was also an opportunity for me to practice Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis.
• Apply your insights – This approach really helped later on during ACs and written exercises. I was able to refer back to these stories and show a deeper understanding of commercial issues when asked about recent developments.

It's also worth looking beyond the FT. For instance, I also found firm websites and industry reports (particularly from groups such as Deloitte or McKinsey) really useful in learning about recent financial and commercial trends that would inevitably impact law firms.

Hope that helps, and best of luck with your AC

 

[crt1s]

Can I use NRF for North Rose Fulbright? Provided I write it out in full once and then abbreviation in brackets?

 

[ayiiii05]

Can I use NRF for North Rose Fulbright? Provided I write it out in full once and then abbreviation in brackets?

I did this. Hoping other people say this is okay!

 

[ayiiii05]

Can anyone who applied to CRS last cycle send me last year's questions please?

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Can I use NRF for North Rose Fulbright? Provided I write it out in full once and then abbreviation in brackets?

Hi friends! Happy to report that it's completely fine to use 'NRF'. I did so in previous applications and was able to get through the initial stage. Best of luck with the application!

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Can anyone who applied to CRS last cycle send me last year's questions please?

Hi @ayiiii05

You'll find the questions for last year's recruitment cycle below. Hope this helps:

Q1 Please use the space below to describe the reasons you want to be a solicitor. Consider what first prompted your interest in the profession, your research on the profession, and particular areas of law that interest you. Max 300 words.


Q2 Please outline the reasons you have chosen to apply to Charles Russell Speechlys. We're interested to understand: your research on the firm, how our work has captured your interest, what excites you about working for an international law firm, and the reason for choosing your preferred office location. Max 400 words.


Q3 Describe the achievement or accomplishment you are most proud of and why? Use the space below to explain how you challenged yourself in the process, if you have to overcome any setbacks, and the skills you used to achieve this. Max 300 words.


Q4 The Firm's values are: Authentic, Collaborative, Committed and Forward Looking. Choose one and explain what makes it important to you. Use the space below to showcase why it resonates with you, an example of where you've demonstrated this value, and reflect on how you'll bring this to the firm. Please see our website for more information on our values. Max 300 words.


Best of luck with the application!

 

[nliro85]

Sorry to hear this, did you apply for tc or vac scheme?

vs as don't think tc is open.