TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[fingersarecrossed]

I think this depends on your motivations. Are you choosing the location because of a general interest in that country and its sectors, or are you choosing the location because of its strength in a particular practice area? For instance, someone who has done a year abroad in France may choose the Paris office because of their language skills and connection to the country, while someone else may choose Paris because the secondment opportunity would give them exposure to international arbitration work, which is something they have an interest in exploring during their TC.

thank you so much jessica!!!

 

[User5678]

@Jessica Booker do you recommend uploading references, scholarship certificates in the DLA Piper additional documents uploading area of the application. If not, please can you confirm what this area is for? They don’t require grades so I’m assuming it’s not for that or mitigating circumstances proof. Many thanks

 

[Filia]

Does anyone know what sort of things I should include in my cover letter for a TC app at Curtis? Is it motivational or experience or both?

 

[legally.brown]

Hi guys! Can you please advise me on how to approach this question

“Please use this space to explain your interest in pursuing a legal career at a city law firm, and your interest in X firm.”

How do I answer the city law firm part along with why law? Any advice on how to manage the word count?
Would appreciate yours thoughts too @Jessica Booker 😀

 

[Jessica Booker]

@Jessica Booker do you recommend uploading references, scholarship certificates in the DLA Piper additional documents uploading area of the application. If not, please can you confirm what this area is for? They don’t require grades so I’m assuming it’s not for that or mitigating circumstances proof. Many thanks

You don’t need to include references or scholarship certificates. These would only be required at the point of onboarding if you received an offer.

You don’t necessarily need to attach anything. I suspect it is just an optional default option where they use the application system for other types of vacancies.

 

[pb15]

Does anyone know whether the Paul Weiss open days are in person or online? And also, do they recruit on a rolling basis?

 

[sammm10101]

Does anyone know whether the Paul Weiss open days are in person or online? And also, do they recruit on a rolling basis?

They are not-rolling for vac schemes, but not sure about open days

 

[l789]

They are not-rolling for vac schemes, but not sure about open days

Which open day will you be applying to ?

 

[AlegalA]

Hi, could anyone give me insights about Covington's work life balance? They don't have a Legal Cheek page, so I'm not too sure what it looks like. I know they are an American firm and generally those are quite bad so just double checking before I continue my app

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi, could anyone give me insights about Covington's work life balance? They don't have a Legal Cheek page, so I'm not too sure what it looks like. I know they are an American firm and generally those are quite bad so just double checking before I continue my app

There are some comments on Glassdoor about this - https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Reviews...fe-balance-Reviews-EI_IE3136.0,21_KH22,39.htm

 

[bangarangbass39]

Hi, could anyone give me insights about Covington's work life balance? They don't have a Legal Cheek page, so I'm not too sure what it looks like. I know they are an American firm and generally those are quite bad so just double checking before I continue my app

How reliable are the reported times?

I’m seeing Large international/national firms with decent/very good work life balance but then glass door contradicts that.

For example, one firm finishes at 6:30 on average but then on glassdoor many ppl from the London office complain about hours. I imagine the finish time is skewed by the reports from their other offices outside of London. I also recognise this doesn’t show each departments finish time either.

 

[AlegalA]

There are some comments on Glassdoor about this - https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Reviews...fe-balance-Reviews-EI_IE3136.0,21_KH22,39.htm

Thank you!

 

[AlegalA]

How reliable are the reported times?

I’m seeing Large international/national firms with decent/very good work life balance but then glass door contradicts that.

For example, one firm finishes at 6:30 on average but then on glassdoor many ppl from the London office complain about hours. I imagine the finish time is skewed by the reports from their other offices outside of London. I also recognise this doesn’t show each departments finish time either.

That is true, I'm not too picky with it, and obviously I know that law is long hours on average anyway, but I have made a cross on category D work life balance on Legal Cheek just because I do think that even if THEY state it, it must be pretty bad 😂

 

[Andrei Radu]

I'm planning to apply for some firms which recruit on a rolling basis, like White & Case. A number of them offer open days but these occur closer to the Vacation Scheme deadline. Should I delay my application until/if attending the Open Day or should my priority be to apply to the Vacation Scheme ASAP?

Unfortunately, I do not think there is an answer to your question that applies across all law firms. Among the firms that recruit on a rolling basis, there are still significant differences in their approach. Some of them, like Jones Day, can sometimes reply to your application in a matter of one or two weeks, whereas others will take a lot longer and reply to most applications only well after the deadline. For the firms in the former category, I would 100% emphasize getting the VS/TC application does as early as possible. For the firms in the latter category, provided that I would still subsequently have sufficient time to write a great VS/TC application, I would consider waiting to attend the open day first. The caveat to that is that I don't think you can do this with a lot of firms, as most of them have deadlines around end of November and December - and you do not want to find yourself in a position where you have to do 10 applications in two weeks just so that you can attend an open days for all. Therefore, I would only take this 'open-day first' approach with a select number of firms I am most interested in (no more than 3-4). I believe this is the only way to avoid making your application schedule administratively unworkable.

Regarding how to go about finding out which firms emphasize the rolling application element more, you search for posts made on this form last year by people who applied for that firm. If you click on their profiles and see posts discussing the response time, but also sometimes the date at which they posted about having submitted the application and then the date at which they received an outcome, you should be able to gauge how important it is to send the application as early as possible. This can take you a bit of time, but I can't think of another method. For White & Case, from anecdotal experience, it seemed to me that the firm does not emphasize the rolling element that much - I know people who got a vac scheme despite applying in the last few days.

 

[Andrei Radu]

How are you able to write all these applications I’m impressed or maybe I just work like a snail
Ashurst application ✅ now the psychometric test

I wouldn't worry too much on the pace at which you are completing applications early in the cycle. For me, the first two applications took me around 2-3 weeks each, and then for about a month I started doing around one per week. Finally, come end of December/January, I could research and write 2/3 applications per week. I think the more you research and write applications, the more you form your own method and start learning the right patters. As such, as you progress through the cycle, it's likely that the pace at which you can complete an application will increase significantly. Right now, I think you should just focus on writing the highest quality answers you can.

Also, congrats on completing your Ashurst application! This already puts you in a better positions than many other applicants - myself included! Last year, I only submitted my first application at the end of September.

 

[jasonbourne]

"Have you have chosen to use AI tools (such as ChatGPT) in your application?"

Hey guys for a question like this, is it okay for me to put that I use chat GPT to help improve the grammar and vocab of my application?

 

[jasonbourne]

Holding myself accountable (again)

Applications 2024/25

Sidley ✅
Willkie ✅
Covington ✅
Skadden ✅
Gibson ✅
HSF ✅
A&O ✅
NRF ✅
LL ✅
W&C ✅

Willkie VI invite Tuesday (completed yesterday). HSF rejected me.

I though HSF's vac schemes are non-rolling??

 

[Jessica Booker]

"Have you have chosen to use AI tools (such as ChatGPT) in your application?"

Hey guys for a question like this, is it okay for me to put that I use chat GPT to help improve the grammar and vocab of my application?

Yes - generally it is fine to say you are using it for these purposes, but I would make it read that you used it to complement your own spelling/grammatical error checks rather than it reads like you relied on ChatGPT

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi everyone!

There are no DLA Piper events this recruitment cycle for grads so I've had to resort to this forum.

Does anyone or @Jessica Booker have tips for how to approach this question, 'If successful in securing a training contract after the Summer Internship, what do you anticipate will be the key challenges of the International Training Programme for you? How would you approach these challenges, and what resources or support do you believe you would need to overcome them?'

Also, does anyone know where I can find information about the the key practise areas that each of DLA Piper's UK offices specialise in (I've checked the website)? Finding it difficult to apply when there are very limited resources outside of the Discovery Days which I can't apply for as a grad

Thank you in advance!

Hi there! For the first question, I think the two things the firm is trying to test you on is (1) your understanding of the role of a trainee - and specifically, your knowledge of the the less appealing parts of the job; (2) your understanding of the specific internal resources and support offered by DLA. You could structure the answer as:

• Start by pointing out one aspect of the TC that could challenging; then explain why it could be particularly difficult; then explain what specific resources the firm offers to deal with the issue; then explain how you would make use of them, and if you would take any further steps. Finally, if you have examples form past experiences when you have navigated similar challenges, you could mention that as well.
• Then repeat once or twice, depending on word count. Should it be helpful as an example, I've copied bellow my answer to to this question last year (as I ended up being progressed to the AC):

The first challenge I anticipate is delivering high-quality work even when I must simultaneously manage multiple workstreams with tight deadlines. Firstly, to prioritise effectively I would ask the assignor of any work how long it should take me to finish it and how strict the deadline is. Secondly, I would ask for the support of my trainee buddy to learn how to complete routine tasks more efficiently. In my summer internship I finished my Legislative Update email quicker by using (lawyer's name)’s tips, which enabled me to focus on research for a presentation I delivered in front of the entire firm. Consequently, I received positive feedback from my supervisor for the many cases and academic sources I cited.

The second challenge I envisage is starting from the beginning with each rotational cycle, which can be difficult after finally gaining some experience in the previous seat. I would attempt to make the transition easier by anticipating and preparing for the usual trainee work in that practice area, using resources like the Internal Knowledge Hub. I would also invite trainees from that seat for a coffee, where they can share advice and experiences in adapting to the style of the supervisors.

For your second question, unfortunately I do not know that much about the firm's other UK offices. However, I think a useful resource besides the firm's website is its profile in the Chambers UK 2024 Rankings - it should show some practice area rankings by region as well, which will enable you learn about at least some of the work done by the other offices.

Good luck with your application!

 

[legal18]

Does Paul Weiss have current trainees?