TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[i-want-a-tc]

Nrf post VI PFO

 

[lolololol]

Hiya @lolololol

Well done on getting to the WFW AC! I did their AC in early 2023, and have set out some my thoughts below. Please do keep in mind that things might have changed since 2023. The day itself was quite long. It ran from 9-5:30 PM with a trainee Q&A session at the end. It consisted of a mixture of different exercises, including two group exercises, a written task, and a proofreading exercise. All of these are designed to assess commercial awareness. Graduate recruitment (GR) will be observing you throughout (sometimes with their cameras off), so it’s worth keeping that in mind while you're interacting with the other attendees.

1. Group Exercise 1: The first group exercise involves reviewing different business opportunities. When discussing these options/opportunities with your team, you should try to propose clear evaluation criteria and compare your options in a structured way. One thing that's particularly important is ensuring that everyone is brought into the discussion. Our team was actually pulled up on this, because we had failed to adequately bring a team member back into the discussion after she lost internet connection and only rejoined with about 15 minutes minutes left on the clock. For group exercises in general, it's always important to remember that GR is looking for collaboration as much as analysis, and balancing the two is crucial.
   
   
2. Written Exercise: The written exercise builds on the group exercise discussion. It requires you to make a final recommendation on the best business opportunity in question. I’d really recommend spending a decent amount of time planning before writing, since structure is just as important as commercial analysis. The best approach is to break down the positives and negatives of each option available to the client before reaching a conclusion. When I did this task, I made the mistake of focusing too much on a single option, so please do avoid this. Just try to show that you've considered them all to some degree. This is also a great chance to bring in any research you've done on WFW, which helps demonstrate an understanding of the firm’s expertise in a way that's relevant to the scenario.
   
   
3. Proofreading Exercise: I found the proofreading task to be quite fast-paced and time-pressured. I initially tried correcting sentence structure, but was later encouraged to focus purely on spelling, grammar, and punctuation. For these sort of exercises, I generally find it useful to spend five minutes reading the full passage first, then going through it again line by line. I found that nearly every line had at least one mistake, so working at a steady pace will help you.
   
   
4. Group Exercise 2: There’s a second group exercise later in the day. This is similar to the first but with an added presentation element. I found this to be the best place to showcase my commercial awareness and all the research I'd done earlier on WFW. Again, time management is key here, so I’d recommend deciding early on who will say what (I found this helped me feel more comfortable with the presentation, since I knew precisely what I needed to cover and was able to do so within my allocated time). After presenting, the assessors will ask follow-up questions. Even if I wasn’t completely sure of an answer, I made sure to engage with these questions (particularly when there were any awkward pauses lolol).

At the end of the day, there’s a reflective exercise on how each task went. GR says it’s not formally assessed, but they do read it, so it’s worth taking seriously. I made a point to acknowledge areas for improvement while also giving credit to others (e.g. saying things like "X was great at including me when I wasn’t as comfortable," or "Y’s approach made the presentation clearer"). Having a good balance of self-awareness and appreciation for others' contributions is always a strong look.

Overall, I found it to be relatively enjoyable and also found GR to be really helpful. I hope you have a similar experience yourself

Best of luck and I hope this helps!

thank you so much!

 

[gazdgazd11]

Hiya @gazdgazd11

Tariffs can definitely have broad implications, so I think the best way to structure your answer will depend on how the question is framed. Are you able to share the exact wording of the question? That way, I can suggest an approach that ensures you're addressing it as effectively as possible. Also, are you focusing on a particular industry or region, or is it more of a general discussion on how tariffs impact commercial law and law firms? Happy to help once I have a bit more detail

Hi Ram,

Thank you so much for your quick reply and help! Sorry, I should've put more detail. It is for King & Spalding's question: Please describe a current news story that is of interest to you and why (300 words). Their main sectors are energy and construction. I would really appreciate your guidance on how I can make this topic more concise and relevant. I am happy to speak about how I am interested in how the USA's policies disrupt global economies, but it is just very broad. Thank you! Your help is invaluable.

 

[bangarangbass39]

Surely you can’t go wrong with a suit and tie?

This is what I thought. But a recent AC I did, only one other person wore a tie - and they looked great. Everyone else was button down. All of my previous ACs I’ve always been the one guy wearing a tie😭I’m scared of being that guy

 

[berocca567]

May I ask what year most people are in on this forum? I am a graduate and have not secured anything this cycle... should I be giving up?

 

[theruleofno]

This is what I thought. But a recent AC I did, only one other person wore a tie - and they looked great. Everyone else was button down. All of my previous ACs I’ve always been the one guy wearing a tie😭I’m scared of being that guy

Don’t be nervous. A partner can (and will) hold it against you for not wearing a tie, they will never hold anything against you for wearing one. Far better to be overdressed than under for an interview. Law is a customer (client) focused business and first impressions matter. It’s a minute difference but having a tie, or an ironed shirt can be all the difference.

 

[desperateTCseeker1998]

Anyone had good news ML? Have an email waiting for me that I’m sure is a PFO and I think I’m done if it is. Not that I know what I’ll do if it is, I would be a good lawyer and it’s all I want to do. I’ve had too many post interview rejections now even though I always progress post interview on standard job applications and negotiate opposite top firms on a daily basis in my job: I don’t know what I can do at this point, feels like there’s something wrong with me on a personal level.

 

[theruleofno]

May I ask what year most people are in on this forum? I am a graduate and have not secured anything this cycle... should I be giving up?

Absolutely not. I have attended 5 ACs this cycle (all for elite U.S firms) and the vast majority of candidates with me were graduates, masters students or career changers. Only a handful were still in uni and those tended to be those at upper echelon unis (Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, Durham and Bristol).

 

[Chris Brown]

May I ask what year most people are in on this forum? I am a graduate and have not secured anything this cycle... should I be giving up?

I graduated last year (July 2024) and this is my first application cycle. As a result, I also haven’t secured anything yet (VS/TC). 🥲

There is absolutely no reason why you should give up man! Keep it pushing! The average age of an NQ is 30 in the UK, meaning on average most people aren’t starting their TC until they are 28! 🙂​

 

[simplyfaith]

This is definitely not a meaningless question at all. I also need to figure out what is appropriate for an interview. Does anyone have any thoughts? Please help. 🥲🥲​

It's time for another data analytics session! This data was collected from Paul, Weiss people index photos, London location.

Out of 175 listed lawyers, 57% are male. Of them:

60 are associates. 87% wore ties.
12 are counsel. 92% wore ties.
28 are partners. 50% wore ties.

Notably, no one wore a tie in the London early careers promotional material, aside one associate in a blog post. However, nearly all of them did for their index photo, aside partner Neel Sachdev. Culture and fashion shifts have led to an increased popularity in dropping the tie at opportune moments. However, the tie still retains its reputation as a statement piece and mark of professionalism.

This is what I thought. But a recent AC I did, only one other person wore a tie - and they looked great. Everyone else was button down. All of my previous ACs I’ve always been the one guy wearing a tie😭I’m scared of being that guy

Everyone else must have missed my data analytics session 🧐

 

[berocca567]

I graduated last year (July 2024) and this is my first application cycle. As a result, I also haven’t secured anything yet (VS/TC). 🥲

There is absolutely no reason why you should give up man! Keep it pushing! The average age of an NQ is 30 in the UK, meaning on average most people aren’t starting their TC until they are 28! 🙂​

Thanks, me too! Do you plan on working somewhere else and reapplying next year?

 

[bangarangbass39]

Absolutely not. I have attended 5 ACs this cycle (all for elite U.S firms) and the vast majority of candidates with me were graduates, masters students or career changers. Only a handful were still in uni and those tended to be those at upper echelon unis (Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, Durham and Bristol).

Agreed. My recent AC, non US/MC/SC, of our group of 5, 4 had graduated. The previous group of 5 a similar amount had also graduated.

The spread was mostly across Warwick, Bristol, Exeter, Kings, etc.

 

[Chris Brown]

It's time for another data analytics session! This data was collected from Paul, Weiss people index photos, London location.

Out of 175 listed lawyers, 57% are male. Of them:

60 are associates. 87% wore ties.
12 are counsel. 92% wore ties.
28 are partners. 50% wore ties.

Notably, no one wore a tie in the London early careers promotional material, aside one associate in a blog post. However, nearly all of them did for their index photo, aside partner Neel Sachdev. Culture and fashion shifts have led to an increased popularity in dropping the tie at opportune moments. However, the tie still retains its reputation as a statement piece and mark of professionalism.

Everyone else must have missed my data analytics session 🧐

You are actually the GOAT frfr! This is very informative. 10/10 for outstanding research and data analytics skills, plus extra bonus points for extensive knowledge of Paul, Weiss’ lawyers in London. 🤞🐐​

 

[bangarangbass39]

It's time for another data analytics session! This data was collected from Paul, Weiss people index photos, London location.

Out of 175 listed lawyers, 57% are male. Of them:

60 are associates. 87% wore ties.
12 are counsel. 92% wore ties.
28 are partners. 50% wore ties.

Notably, no one wore a tie in the London early careers promotional material, aside one associate in a blog post. However, nearly all of them did for their index photo, aside partner Neel Sachdev. Culture and fashion shifts have led to an increased popularity in dropping the tie at opportune moments. However, the tie still retains its reputation as a statement piece and mark of professionalism.

Everyone else must have missed my data analytics session 🧐

Crucial demographic missing, trainees.

 

[wanttosolicit]

Hi everyone! I’m moving abroad soon so just wanted to ask if no news from the following firms at this stage is likely a rejection (Summer vacation scheme):

White & Case (VI)
Latham & Watkins
Hogan Lovells
Linklaters
Sidley Austin

Would be very grateful for any insights!

 

[NJS]

May I ask what year most people are in on this forum? I am a graduate and have not secured anything this cycle... should I be giving up?

Graduate and have also secured f*ck all

 

[VacSchemer]

Literally shaking but got an NRF AC😭

 

[Chris Brown]

Hi everyone! I’m moving abroad soon so just wanted to ask if no news from the following firms at this stage is likely a rejection (Summer vacation scheme):

White & Case (VI)
Latham & Watkins
Hogan Lovells
Linklaters
Sidley Austin

Would be very grateful for any insights!

I can’t speak for the other firms but I did my White & Case VI towards the end of Jan and got a PFO on Monday. I applied for Spring and Summer. 🥲🥲​

 

[Katie_aveline]

Literally shaking but got an NRF AC😭

Congratulations. Same here!!

 

[VacSchemer]

Congratulations. Same here!!

Huge congratulations🩵