TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[tomsmitg]

Hey Tom - I think the answer depends on how much emphasis the firm places on early applications and how much emphasis it places on attending events, how much you think attending that event might improve the quality of your application, and level of interest you have in this particular firm. I've recently answered a very similar query (someone asked whether they should wait for an open day taking place only two weeks before the deadline of a rolling application) where I explained in more detail how I think you should consider these different factors. I've quoted it bellow as I believe this is the same problem you are interested in, but do let me know if you have a different question.

thanks

Hey Tom - I think the answer depends on how much emphasis the firm places on early applications and how much emphasis it places on attending events, how much you think attending that event might improve the quality of your application, and level of interest you have in this particular firm. I've recently answered a very similar query (someone asked whether they should wait for an open day taking place only two weeks before the deadline of a rolling application) where I explained in more detail how I think you should consider these different factors. I've quoted it bellow as I believe this is the same problem you are interested in, but do let me know if you have a different question.

Thanks Andrei - super helpful as always !

 

[Andrei Radu]

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, I've listed bellow some of the USPs identified by TCLA's writers in HL's profile:

• Formed of a highly successful US-UK merger: here you could discuss this USP in the context of the recent merger of A&O and Sherman Sterling, where it is unclear whether the newly formed A&O Sherman will be quite as successful. In terms of your motivations, you could discuss the benefit of having both US and UK cultural elements in the firm, or the benefit of a transatlantic client base.
• Sector-focused growth strategy: as opposed to dividing its teams solely across practice areas (as most firms do), HL has a more client-friendly split which accounts for sector expertise. This USP could be attractive if you have a specific interest in any of the sectors HL focuses on, or if you are interested to become more of a specialist rather than a generalist practitioner.
• Pursuit of alternative revenue streams and legal innovation: this USP could be of interest if you are interested in legal tech or in joining a firm with a more entrepreneurial strategy in a traditionally conservative legal industry.
• Strong regulatory and advisory work: as opposed to some US/MC rivals whose main focus is on a split of highly profitable transactional and disputes departments, HL also has very strong advisory teams. If you are interested in working in a more black-letter law focused practice area but in a non-contentious context, this could be highly attractive for you.

All of these headline USPs and more are explained a lot more thoroughly (also, with sources cited to enable you to further research them on your own) in TCLA's HL profile, which you can access here.

 

[BonanzaBih_]

Got a holding email from Ashurst saying they would get back no later than Nov 8 for the winter vac scheme

 

[Izzy1026]

Unless Dechert makes a clear distinction between an academic referee and a company/organisation referee, I would guess your university counts as an 'organisation'. Every law firm I applied for which asked for references primarily wanted an academic reference. Some also gave the option to put down referees from work experiences, but this was not a mandatory field.

Regarding your question (whether it is ok to put down your internship supervisor), I would say yes, provided you obtain their consent first. The general practice is first speak with any person you want to put down as a referee - whether it is an academic or professional one. You do not want a referee to be caught by surprise when called by a potential employer and take on the risk that on the spot they may not remember you/not have anything positive to say about you. So I advise you to send an email/LinkedIn message to your ex supervisor asking them to be your referee, they are unlikely to reject you. However, in the off case that this happens, I would go ahead and put down someone from your university as an organisation referee.

Thanks Andrei, very helpful!

 

[Andrei Radu]

Does anyone have advice on applying to Convington? I'm really struggling to communicate my genuine interest as they're really niche- my experiences don't match anything they're really good at; how do I go about this? This is for the first question:

• Why would you like to pursue a career as a solicitor at Covington, and how do you see yourself contributing to the firm's success? Word Count (Max 300 words)

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.

 

[Hana ♥]

just received an email from NRF subjected 'next steps' inviting me to their online test, however, I have already completed the firm's online test for their winter VS and received confirmation of completion. What should I do? and has anyone else had this? is it just a workdayjobs error? Thanks

Got this too!

 

[lawyersum]

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...

 

[OrangeCherry1800]

How do you know if you passed or failed A&O SJT?

 

[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.

 

[Mentally and Physically Exhausted Applicant]

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.