TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[murm]

Damn, also disappointed to hear about the SJT... do u mind me asking if the assessment is timed? Thank you

They say no but I never trust that always do SJTs in their recommended time

 

[Chill_solicitor]

Anyone know what time Ropes & Gray is due?

 

[ysr567]

random but for cover letters is there a general font and size that's expected when submitting it.

 

[👩🎓]

Honestly, I think this is a very weird question. It says AI will be a factor in boosting efficiency and that client relationships are important, and then suggests that these two things are somehow opposites by saying that a balance needs to be struck (without giving you the reason or context as to how they reached that conclusion). Efficiency and relationships are different things but not really opposites. Simplifying it a little here but if you're more efficient, then your clients get better value for money. I might be reading it wrong, who knows 🤷‍♂️

I guess you could talk about the potential danger of over dependence on AI: It can boost efficiency but it is not without its faults, and the last thing you want is to give clients bad advice because you didn't bother to fact-check the AI's answer (also terribly from a repetitional and financial standpoint, especially for your PII policy). One thing it can do is shorten the time it takes for admin work (summarising your emails for you, making to-do lists, image generation, etc) which can boost your workflow, and as above more efficient = happier client. Guess you could also speak on confidentiality.

Thank you so much for your input. I found it quite a difficult question to get started with, so this really helps.

 

[👩🎓]

To that I will just add that apparently clients (and particularly large corporates/financial institutions) are very conservative when it comes to legal services. A number of lawyers told me some are quite reluctant to allow the use of new legal tech on their matters. Although it would come with a potential discount, as automatization and increased efficiency will mean a lower number of billables, it seems in many cases they are reticent to accept any level of AI-related legal risk. As such, firms can find themselves in the difficult position of wanting to innovate and use AI but also needing to keep clients happy and untroubled by it.

@Andrei Radu thank you so much - I will definitely consider this in the question.

 

[latome19]

Hey, did anyone hear from Sullivan & Cromwell this week? A PFO or an invite (just trying to understand their timeline)

 

[Chris Brown]

Anyone know what time Ropes & Gray is due?

23:59 today. Best of luck! 🙂

 

[legallady123]

@Jessica Booker Hi Jessica, I have sent you a DM about a question I have relating to personal circumstances. I’m sure you will get lots of messages, so I just wanted to flag it here. I’d be grateful for a response when you have a moment.

 

[emmaemma02]

Does anyone know how many people are generally at each Burges Salmon vac scheme assessment centre? Thanks!

 

[Chris Brown]

Hi @Chris Brown and thanks a lot !

If I were to name the most important difference at a high level of generality, it was being significantly more organized and consistent with my efforts. Firstly, I started the cycle a lot earlier and took the time at the beginning to make a list of all the firms I was interested in, to note down their deadlines, and then to allocate timeslots for completing them in every week from September to February. Simultaneously, I began to attend lots of firm events (most of them online or organized by my university) and started investing at least 30 mins to one hour per day in improving my commercial awareness (mostly by listening to podcasts while commuting or running errands). This quickly improved my understanding of the world of business and the role of law firms, which led to me discovering a interests in M&A, restructuring, and capital markets. This enabled me to write significantly more persuasive 'Why law?' and 'Why the firm?' answers and was extremely helpful later on when I started doing ACs and interviews.

Secondly, in my second cycle I stopped trying to do everything on my own. I applied for and joined the careers mentorship scheme at my university and had the incredible luck to be allocated an amazing mentor. Getting thorough reviews on my drafts and redrafts of my first few applications was beyond helpful, as I understood for the first time what great application writing looked like and was then able to model all my subsequent work on that. At the same time, I constantly worked together with friends, and we would take a look and give our thoughts on the each others' applications. This was both great both for improving the quality of our writing and spotting mistakes and for making the entire process a lot more enjoyable.

Finally, in my second cycle I invested a lot more of my time in applications: taking everything into account (research, writing, commercial awareness, events, interviews etc) I think I used to spend between 30 and 40 hours per week on it. Together with the other factors I mentioned, this meant I could write a significantly higher number of high quality applications. This is the number one factor that drastically improved my AC progression rate, which is ultimately what enabled me to get VS and TC offers.

Thank you so much @Andrei Radu. This was incredibly insightful! 🙂

As a follow up, how did you navigate choosing which TC offer to accept between DPW, Willkie and Milbank?

What did you base your decision off of? Did you have a particular strategy for this as well? 🐐