TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

Andrei Radu

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Sep 9, 2024
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Hi, I have an AC coming up and one of the exercises requires an in-depth knowledge of the firm, understanding how it works etc. This may be a dumb question, but I was wondering if anyone could tell me how to research the firm. I’ve gone through the website and found a few deals, but I’ve not really been able to gain an understanding of the firm’s operations. Any insights will be greatly appreciated. For context, it’s a US-headquartered international law firm @Ram Sabaratnam @Andrei Radu
Hi @Lizzy that is a great question and I do not think I have tackled this topic in depth before! People have different research methods which can yield equally good results. But if I were to explain my research philosophy, the starting point would be to "split" the law firm up between a number of different categories, which I would then represent as subheadings in my Firm Research document. Among the categories I used I included: Firm Basics, Financial Results, Business Strategy and Outlook, Main Practice Areas, Deals/Cases, Client Base, Awards & Recognition, Training Programme Details, Lateral Hires and Other News, Culture, DEI, and Pro Bono. This helped me immensely not just in better organizing the information I found, but in knowing what to look for.

In terms of the steps I took and the resources I used, I followed the approach bellow:
  1. First, get the 'Firm Basics' right: what is its size, what countries does it have offices in, what work is it known for, what does its history look like and in particular what does its history in London look like etc.
  2. Then, using a combination of searches using key terms on Google, the firm's own website and their LinkedIn account, try to fill as much information under those headings as you can.
  3. Thirdly, use Chambers Student Guide, Chambers UK 2025 and Chambers Global; but also Legal 500 and for US firms Vault 2025 to get (i) a good firm overview; and (ii) a deeper analysis of practice area/sector expertise.
  4. Fourthly, use the wider legal press to find out more insights on all of the previous points, but in particular for practice area expertise and business performance compared to competitors. Here I advise you to simply type the name of the firm in the search bar of the following publications: The Lawyer, Law.com, Bloomberg Law, The Global Legal Post, Business Law, and sometimes even Legal Cheeck. Some require a subscription but you may be able to access without paying using your university account.
  5. Fifth, if the time allows for it look if there are any further resources you can use, such as podcasts and youtube channels - some done by the firm itself, and some run by the legal press (see The Lawyer's, Bloomberg Law, and Law, Disrupted).
 
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jacksollaf

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Dec 17, 2024
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Well, a PFO seems to be close by for me personally; I just saw on LinkedIn that two people have received offers for Linklaters' summer vs...


 
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Chris Brown

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Jul 4, 2024
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Well, a PFO seems to be close by for me personally; I just saw on LinkedIn that two people have received offers for Linklaters' summer vs...


Damn so Linklaters has been alive and active this whole time that’s crazy! I thought they’d disappeared off the face of the earth 🌍 after seeing how many people on this forum have been waiting for an application update from them. 🥲

Best of luck to everyone who applied to Linklaters for either SVS or DTC. 🙂​
 

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