TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Newport@2008]

Sidley interview! Applied on 9th Jan. It's my first ever AC so if anyone has any insight would love to hear

Congratulations! Out of curiosity, when is your AC scheduled for?

 

[fcac98]

I have a Gateley Video Interview to do. Does anyone know if once you've received the questions its timed, or is it just when you answer the question that its timed (ie, a 2 minute limit).

 

[camrxc]

Morgan Lewis telephone interview invite; does anyone have any insights? I never had a telephone interview; only the classic video ones...

Hi, congrats! When did you get the invite ?

 

[pleasepleaseplease]

How to answer 'tell us about a time you worked in a team'. Any tips would be much appreciated. Is it necessary that I mention a challenge or is it okay to simply state my role and how I communicated with the team?

 

[Jessica Booker]

How to answer 'tell us about a time you worked in a team'. Any tips would be much appreciated. Is it necessary that I mention a challenge or is it okay to simply state my role and how I communicated with the team?

There doesn’t need to be a challenge as such but I do think you need to show the following:

- the team’s achievement/success
- what made the team work well together (even if that wasn’t from the start, what changed to make it successful)
- your individual contribution to that team’s achievement
- what you learned about successful team working

 

[latome19]

How to answer 'tell us about a time you worked in a team'. Any tips would be much appreciated. Is it necessary that I mention a challenge or is it okay to simply state my role and how I communicated with the team?

I received feedback from grad rec for my answer to this question during an AC, and it conveyed that you need to walk them through either 1) a time you contributed to one bigger project, and how you essentially were a team player 2) a time you successfully acted on a superior’s instructions and, you know, were responsive to ongoing feedback etc. Maybe you also communicated with different stakeholders etc.

Basically you can’t really answer this question by referencing a major leadership role, or where you actively led a team—that’s a different question. Or at least that approach cost me a Latham VS. You need to show them that if you get an email at 1am asking you to ‘fix something’, you will deliver a perfect specimen of work by the morning, being thankful and taking it as a learning opportunity.

 

[trainee4u]

I have a Gateley Video Interview to do. Does anyone know if once you've received the questions its timed, or is it just when you answer the question that its timed (ie, a 2 minute limit).

you have 3 minutes to prepare than 2 minutes to answer.

 

[Lawtofinancetolaw]

Has anyone got any tips for Simmons virtual AC? Feeling nervous!

 

[trainee4u]

I received feedback from grad rec for my answer to this question during an AC, and it conveyed that you need to walk them through either 1) a time you contributed to one bigger project, and how you essentially were a team player 2) a time you successfully acted on a superior’s instructions and, you know, were responsive to ongoing feedback etc. Maybe you also communicated with different stakeholders etc.

Basically you can’t really answer this question by referencing a major leadership role, or where you actively led a team—that’s a different question. Or at least that approach cost me a Latham VS. You need to show them that if you get an email at 1am asking you to ‘fix something’, you will deliver a perfect specimen of work by the morning, being thankful and taking it as a learning opportunity.

That's interesting feedback. My answer to this question goes something along the lines of: "I started a project which then expanded to a team with me leading the team, and I encouraged team members to work together; I also worked with other members of the business to improve the project"

But maybe it makes sense to rephrase it a little to remove the leadership element, considering that it's a junior role we're applying for, and talk about all the times I helped other team members solve problems unprompted

 

[pleasepleaseplease]

There doesn’t need to be a challenge as such but I do think you need to show the following:

- the team’s achievement/success
- what made the team work well together (even if that wasn’t from the start, what changed to make it successful)
- your individual contribution to that team’s achievement
- what you learned about successful team working

I received feedback from grad rec for my answer to this question during an AC, and it conveyed that you need to walk them through either 1) a time you contributed to one bigger project, and how you essentially were a team player 2) a time you successfully acted on a superior’s instructions and, you know, were responsive to ongoing feedback etc. Maybe you also communicated with different stakeholders etc.

Basically you can’t really answer this question by referencing a major leadership role, or where you actively led a team—that’s a different question. Or at least that approach cost me a Latham VS. You need to show them that if you get an email at 1am asking you to ‘fix something’, you will deliver a perfect specimen of work by the morning, being thankful and taking it as a learning opportunity.

Thank you both, that is really insightful!

 

[jacksollaf]

Has anyone got any tips for Simmons virtual AC? Feeling nervous!

congrats! is that for the summer vs??

 

[jacksollaf]

Hi, congrats! When did you get the invite ?

hey, thanks!! i got it this morning

 

[simplyfaith]

Morgan Lewis telephone interview invite; does anyone have any insights? I never had a telephone interview; only the classic video ones...

Congrats! It was my first TI as well, last cycle after the initial application when applying for a direct TC, though I wasn't put forward.

If it was anything like then, it was very straightforward. Standard motivational, competency, and situational questions, etc. Essentially a VI in telephone form. Pretty short and to the point, no longer than 25 minutes, and not much back and forth dialogue. I tried making a conversation out of it, though I'm not sure how well that went down 😂

Given the similarity, and how you have VI experience, it shouldn't be too alien to you. You just need to focus on coming across as confident through your voice alone. I'd recommend having a strong understanding of their unique selling points such as employment and pro bono work, as you might be asked about them.

I hope that's somewhat helpful!

 

[Jessica Booker]

That's interesting feedback. My answer to this question goes something along the lines of: "I started a project which then expanded to a team with me leading the team, and I encouraged team members to work together; I also worked with other members of the business to improve the project"

But maybe it makes sense to rephrase it a little to remove the leadership element, considering that it's a junior role we're applying for, and talk about all the times I helped other team members solve problems unprompted

Leadership references are fine for team working examples. I would just recommend being specific. For instance, how specifically did you encourage team members to work together, how did the team respond.

 

[londonlawyer]

Has anyone received a reply from Adeline after sending their preferred dates for Debevoise?

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi team (@Andrei Radu, @Amma Usman and @Ram Sabaratnam)

I hope you had a good weekend.

I have an AC, and the written task requires me to answer a client's question and analyse several articles.
Do you have any tips on how to approach both parts of the task?
Thank you in advance for your help.

Hi @AS24 I hope you have enjoyed your weekend as well ! For the first part of the task, I would focus on making the practical answer the client is seeking very clear. If possible, provide actionable steps that the client can take relating to the issue at hand. Furthermore, if you have the opportunity, try to connect the reasoning in your answer with the underlying business rationales driving your client's decision-making, even if those are not explicitly stated in the question itself.

The one thing you should avoid is getting bogged down in legal jargon and technicality. Every lawyer I have spoken to has told me clients hate this. They need to be able to understand the advice you are giving them, and for that you must speak their language. If your answer does require more substantial technical analysis and you have to show how you have reached your conclusions, split it between an "Executive Summary" section, where you simply state the practical conclusions and the steps to be taken/decision options the client has, and a "Legal/Commercial Analysis" section, where you go on to substantiate exactly why that is the case.

For your second part, I think you could once again benefit from splitting your answer into two. I used to have a "Summary" section, where I briefly laid out the uncontroversial facts, and an "Analysis" section. You should avoid spending too much time in the former by including unnecessary detail - simply write a one or two paragraphs or a few bullet points immediately after you are down reading. In my experience, you will automatically remember everything important enough to include in the Summary section, so I would not waste time on going back and checking the articles for more information to add; the majority of your time should be invested in providing the best analysis you can. Depending on the context, I would potentially use further subheadings for the different types of considerations you will be looking at. Finally, to provide a persuasive argument for your view, I think you should make an explicit case as to which of the relevant factors should be weighed the most.

 

[BillSikes]

Anyone who has already completed RPC AC - do you know about any upcoming AC's?

 

[hfbjsdhfbhf]

@Jessica Booker Hi! Would it reflect badly on me if I emailed grad rec asking for an update post-AC? For reference, I had my AC about a week and a half ago and I've heard that some people have had rejections since.

 

[latome19]

That's interesting feedback. My answer to this question goes something along the lines of: "I started a project which then expanded to a team with me leading the team, and I encouraged team members to work together; I also worked with other members of the business to improve the project"

But maybe it makes sense to rephrase it a little to remove the leadership element, considering that it's a junior role we're applying for, and talk about all the times I helped other team members solve problems unprompted

I mean as long as you frame it in a collaborative light, some leadership role should be fine. Like a society committee member: you still worked as part of a team. The problem I referred to, I guess, would arise if you were to state that as chairman/president of that society, I contributed to my team’s success by doing Z … and achieved X. Jessica’s template above is really helpful—you can avoid this problem by simply starting your answer with describing the achievement of a team where you didn’t have the most important role.

 

[latome19]

@Jessica Booker Hi! Would it reflect badly on me if I emailed grad rec asking for an update post-AC? For reference, I had my AC about a week and a half ago and I've heard that some people have had rejections since.

I wouldn’t do that because the fact that you’ve heard nothing while others received rejections is a good sign.