TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Chris Brown]

Anyone else waiting for that Paul, Weiss rejection? My amberjack was not good

Yeah I’m still waiting for my Paul, Weiss PFO. I want it to be over and done with asap the anxiety is too much for me. That Amberjack test was horrid. 🥲🥲​

 

[kelisi88]

Guys, this cycle has been worse than terrible. Now I'm clueless as to what to do this summer! Does anyone have any ideas for non-commercial law or non-law work experience that could benefit next year's apps? I don't want to have nothing on my CV this year. @Jessica Booker any advice..?

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi, I have an AC coming up next week. I wanted to get some thoughts on how to prepare for a CV-blind and application-blind interview. In such a case, can I recycle my answers from my applications, or is it unwise to do that? Similarly, how much in-depth research should I do into the firm? It's my first AC, and I'm really keen to get the VS. @Andrei Radu @Amma Usman any tips would be appreciated!

I generally think there is nothing wrong with using answers you formulated in your applications as well, although for some reason it seems many people initially assume that this is the case. Of course you can and should polish and tailor the answers for the purposes of the interview, perhaps by adding deeper insights and changing the phrasing for a more suitable one. However, I do not think any interviewers have an expectation for your answers to differ much in substance from your answers in the application form. In fact, it would be more concerning if your answers were radically different, as it would show either dishonesty or an instability in your fundamental motivations.

Regarding on your question as to how to prepare, I think mostly the same as you would for a normal competency interview:

1. Build up the most extended and comprehensive question bank you can and find ideas to answer those question;
2. Practice by recording yourself and then reviewing your performance;
3. Do mock interview;
4. Deepen your research into the firm and brush up on your commercial awareness.

On the last point, I think your research should be as extensive as it can be and I would definitely take at least half a day for it. Among the aspects that you should know, I would list the following:

• Basic firm facts: number of offices, financial figures, firm history
• Practice area/sector strengths and the firm's market position compared to competitors
• Recent big deals cases
• Recent awards and other forms of market recognition
• A few core clients
• Firm's business strategy and any recent developments (new offices, lateral hires etc)
• Training philosophy and details of the offering

 

[NJS]

Paul, Weiss theory:

They may be looking for applicants who also have a good amount of legal experience too, kinda like a direct TC applicant would. Would you think considering its their first ever cohort, they would want students fresh out of uni with no experience? Just a thought I might be wrong

 

[jta227]

Paul, Weiss theory:

They may be looking for applicants who also have a good amount of legal experience too, kinda like a direct TC applicant would. Would you think considering its their first ever cohort, they would want students fresh out of uni with no experience? Just a thought I might be wrong

I feel like if this was the case they should've just said so instead of leading on hundreds (thousands?) of people at their Open Days as surely they would have known that was their strategy at that stage. Though we haven't seen the resumé of anyone who has progressed so I wouldn't assume this yet!

 

[sapphireoreos]

I generally think there is nothing wrong with using answers you formulated in your applications as well, although for some reason it seems many people initially assume that this is the case. Of course you can and should polish and tailor the answers for the purposes of the interview, perhaps by adding deeper insights and changing the phrasing for a more suitable one. However, I do not think any interviewers have an expectation for your answers to differ much in substance from your answers in the application form. In fact, it would be more concerning if your answers were radically different, as it would show either dishonesty or an instability in your fundamental motivations.

Regarding on your question as to how to prepare, I think mostly the same as you would for a normal competency interview:

1. Build up the most extended and comprehensive question bank you can and find ideas to answer those question;
2. Practice by recording yourself and then reviewing your performance;
3. Do mock interview;
4. Deepen your research into the firm and brush up on your commercial awareness.

On the last point, I think your research should be as extensive as it can be and I would definitely take at least half a day for it. Among the aspects that you should know, I would list the following:

• Basic firm facts: number of offices, financial figures, firm history
• Practice area/sector strengths and the firm's market position compared to competitors
• Recent big deals cases
• Recent awards and other forms of market recognition
• A few core clients
• Firm's business strategy and any recent developments (new offices, lateral hires etc)
• Training philosophy and details of the offering

Thank you so much, this is so helpful! I’m just wondering how I can prepare on the commercial awareness front, as I’ve completely slacked on that. Thanks again!

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi @Andrei Radu, how do you recommend preparing for an hour long analytical interview where I will be given an article to read for 30 minutes and after that two interviewers will ask me questions for an hour?
The article may be fictious and unrelated to current commercial issues and I will have to take business considerations into account and wider implications.

Interview is on Thursday so will be really grateful if you could share your thoughts at your earliest convenience.

Hi @pleasepleaseplease as I have never been assessed under this particular format I will not be able to speak from experience, but as I see it this exercise is set out to test mainly two things:

1. Firstly, your commercial awareness. More specifically, since you mention it could be unrelated to current issues, it will likely test you ability for commercial analysis. That is, can you identify the most relevant business considerations that arise from any particular issue? Can you explain how exactly they matter for a business' operation? Can you identify the different stakeholders and identify their positions? Can you then point out the possible courses of action and then make an argument in favour of one? For this, I think the best you can do is to read widely about commerce and to try to engage critically with the materials. However, in these last few days in the buildup to the AC, you could focus a bit more on materials giving an overviews about how businesses work - a great resource I recommend here is Investopedia.
2. Secondly, your ability maintain composure under pressure, to think on your feet, and to defend your views. For this, I think the best practice is to simply simulate the assessment condition. If you can, get a friend to select a longer business article and then have them question you on it. While the questions will likely differ from what you get in the actual interview, if properly set up this will give you useful experience with this type of assessment and should make you feel more at ease on the day.

Best of luck !

 

[Andrei Radu]

Thank you so much, this is so helpful! I’m just wondering how I can prepare on the commercial awareness front, as I’ve completely slacked on that. Thanks again!

To improve commercial awareness as much as you can over a short period, I advise you to do the following:

• Try to understand well the basics of how businesses and investments work. On the business side, look up how businesses generate revenue and grow, but also what are the main risks they face and costs they incur. Also, try to get a basic understanding of the differences between the main economic sectors. On the investment side, research the types of investments strategies, the key types of financial institutions in the market and their roles (investment banks, PE funds, hedge funds, asset managers etc), and the core concepts in capital markets (debt vs equity, bonds, IPOs etc). Investopedia has a number of great articles on these, but you can also just browse the internet and you will find many good resources.
• Learn the basics of the different practices areas in commercial law: what do they do, how does their work differ, why do the clients need those services? In particular, try to get a good grasp of M&A and PE, as those come up most often in interviews. Here, I would recommend the great courses offered by TCLA.
• Read a few recent articles on the most major current issues so that you have an idea about them if they come up. I would list, in no particular order: AI and the stock market rally, inflation and monetary policy, geopolitical tensions, the US elections and threats of tariffs, and changes in energy policy.
• Listen to as many episodes of commercial awareness podcasts as you can (and make use of moments like commuting to do that). In particular, I recommend: the FT News Briefing, BBC Business News, Watson's Daily, Goldman Sachs Exchanges, The Lawyer Podcast, Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg News.

 

[Someoneinlaw]

Does anyone have a discount or free log in for assessment day(the preparation website) please ?🥺