TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Tom smith]

Is it okay to add context to your module results in the additional information boxes in the undergraduate degree section? For example, if a 1st was achieved by only 5% of candidates is that something you should put in?

 

[aether]

Anyone's heard for Jones Day Summer VS?

 

[lolololol]

Yes, and yes, but don't do it. How far did you get last time?

i got a pfo post vi

 

[Apple]

Does anybody know how long Ashurst takes after the test to let you know if you've progressed or not?

I dont believe they have a "passing score" benchmark, rather they view your test results alongside your application and make a decision. So you will find out just on the basis of AC invite or rejection (I think), which they said will likely be late October/early November

 

[lawyerdreams]

Does anybody know how long Ashurst takes after the test to let you know if you've progressed or not?

Last year, I recieved a PFO a month after taking the tests

 

[VacSchemer]

Sorry when did you apply?

Around the 12th of September!

 

[billyonthespeeddial]

Other than Slaughter and May, what are some firms that really value a High 2:1/First (even though obviously it is not formally necessary)? I vaguely recall Jones Day and Norton Rose Fulbright being in this category, but if anyone has other information please let me know!

(And I know that this shouldn't be taken as "don't apply if you don't have x grades", I'm just thinking it may be good to know)

 

[RonRod13]

How did you manage to see your feedback report?

Just go on the assessment platform and click on "My Report"

 

[sammm10101]

Other than Slaughter and May, what are some firms that really value a High 2:1/First (even though obviously it is not formally necessary)? I vaguely recall Jones Day and Norton Rose Fulbright being in this category, but if anyone has other information please let me know!

(And I know that this shouldn't be taken as "don't apply if you don't have x grades", I'm just thinking it may be good to know)

Yeah Jones Day definitely is one, one of the partners stressed it at the open day and the graduate recruitment person said that it’s the first part of the application she looks at.

 

[sammm10101]

Yeah Jones Day definitely is one, one of the partners stressed it at the open day and the graduate recruitment person said that it’s the first part of the application she looks at.

Also Jones Day recruits more non-law than law graduates which i thought was interesting, at roughly 60:40

 

[Andrei Radu]

Thank you so much, this is super helpful!

The context I am looking at is for a firm that has many technology clients. I am suggesting that technology M&A deals could see a rise, and that a challenge here are valuation gaps between buyers and sellers. I mentioned earn-out provisions as a way which these could be solved so I am guessing this might just about be general enough? Thanks again.

This sounds great if you ask me. Your answer finds a nice balance between demonstrating specific knowledge of a market sector (which can set you apart from other applicants) and keeping the subject matter accessible enough for the well-informed reader. I would therefore not worry about it being overly technical.

The only thing I will add is that, besides in choice of subject-matter, you should try to avoid being overly technical in your writing. The simpler and easier to understand your sentences, the better. You can assume certain levels of familiarity from your reader with concepts like earn-out provisions, but it will be very helpful if you are also able to provide short explanations of what they mean (of course, word-count permitting) or write in such a way that the reader might grasp the full meaning from the context. This is because this manner of writing demonstrates more than an ability to summarize points from articles thought of by others - it shows you have gained a deeper understanding of the subject, which enables you to analyse it independently.

 

[legallady123]

Hello 😊 how many applications are people doing? This is my first round of London applications and I’m nervous about how competitive they are.

Another query I have is whether law firms will care that I do not have commercial experience? I do have a First in Law from a RG university and 3 years of legal experience post-graduation, but hardly any of it is within commercial law. Slightly concerned that having a fair amount of experience in non-commercial areas (medical law and regulatory work) may not work in my favour.

 

[Andrei Radu]

I think I made a silly mistake. The application question for White & Case 'Please use the space below to provide details of any careers events you have attended e.g. insight days, workshops, presentations etc. These do not need to be White & Case specific.' I answered by just giving bullet points of which events I have attended. Since submitting my application, I realise they probably wanted me to highlight what I learned from each event. I worked so hard on the cover letter and other application question. Have I just sabotaged myself and blown any chance I had? @Jessica Booker @Andrei Radu Guessing I can't just email grad rec to ask this either as looks kinda bad?

While I think it would have been ideal to also provide a short narrative with an explanation as to what you learnt from some of these events, I definitely agree with @Jessica Booker that this is not really an issue, as the firm does not ask for it directly. At most, if you had done a great job in describing what you learnt in those events and how it motivated your choice to pursue a career in commercial law at White & Case, you could have scored a couple of brownie points. Nonetheless, it is very unlikely that this will have ever been a deciding factor regarding the progression of your application. A great 'firm events' section answer will never make up for a poor cover letter/other application for answers. However, if you've written great cover letter/application form answers, it is highly unlikely any firm will care about the firm events section. I would say this is especially the case for White & Case, as the firm gives you a lot of space (both in the cover letter and in the other questions) to discuss you journey, motivations, and competencies. If you have done a sufficiently good job writing about them there, it is very unlikely the firm will take issue with the fact that you didn't further discuss the same things in the 'firm events' section.

Long story short, I think the impact of this (if there is to be any) will be minimal and that you should therefore try not to worry about it too much !

 

[Zi48]

Other than Slaughter and May, what are some firms that really value a High 2:1/First (even though obviously it is not formally necessary)? I vaguely recall Jones Day and Norton Rose Fulbright being in this category, but if anyone has other information please let me know!

(And I know that this shouldn't be taken as "don't apply if you don't have x grades", I'm just thinking it may be good to know)

I don’t think Norton Rose Fulbright is one, they just require a 2.1 (they don’t mention high 2.1 anywhere) and they take mitigating circumstances into account

 

[seaweed.bond]

I don’t think Norton Rose Fulbright is one, they just require a 2.1 (they don’t mention high 2.1 anywhere) and they take mitigating circumstances into account

Interestingly, I also believe that at one point (not this cycle) they required a 2.1 minimum in Tort and Contract (if you are/were a Law student). But I can't seem to find it on their website anywhere, so they must have removed it from their eligibility criteria (but if I missed it could someone let me know lol 💀)

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hello 😊 how many applications are people doing? This is my first round of London applications and I’m nervous about how competitive they are.

Another query I have is whether law firms will care that I do not have commercial experience? I do have a First in Law from a RG university and 3 years of legal experience post-graduation, but hardly any of it is within commercial law. Slightly concerned that having a fair amount of experience in non-commercial areas (medical law and regulatory work) may not work in my favour.

Hi there, it's nice to meet you and have you on our forums ! I completely understand how anxiety-inducing it is when you are just starting your first applications at commercial law firms - it was the same for me and almost everybody else I know who ended up securing a TC. Just try to keep in mind that what you are feeling is normal and if anything it can be a tool you use to keep yourself motivated throughout the application cycle. Above all else, know that howsoever competitive the process seems, you have everything you need to succeed. The vast majority of applicants face multiple rejections when starting out. The biggest trap is to start thinking that you are just not good enough for it. This is something I had trouble with in my first application cycle, when I was rejected at first stage in all my applications. However, I kept at it and I became more successful than I ever though I would in my second cycle. There are many other stories like this - so despite how difficult it might be, my advice is to never doubt that you can and will succeed.

For your first question: how many applications are people doing - and how many should you be doing? There is no definitive answer for this question. Some applicants focus on submitting exceptionally high-quality applications to 6-8 firms they really like, while other people send more than 50. The strategy you want to employ highly depends on your application research/writing speed, general availability and time you can invest in applications for the next few months, and your specific interests and preferences for commercial law firms. My general advice is that you should aim to submit as many high-quality applications as possible. There's not much point in submitting sub-par applications, as they will have virtually no chance of progressing. At the same time, even the best applicants get rejected more often than not, so to maximize your odds you want to submit as many good applications as you can. Supposing you are very committed in obtaining a TC and supposing you can invest a significant amount of time in this pursuit over the next few months, my personal recommendation is to aim for at least 15-20 applications. However, this is once again highly dependent on your specific circumstances. For a more in-depth exploration of this question (and for a general overview as to how to construct a plan for your applications), you can find here our Guide to Building a Winning Applications Strategy.

As for your second question, I think the view law firms take of your non-commercial past work experience depends on how well you can leverage it. You will need to provide convincing explanations as to how (1) these experiences equip you with the skills to do well in commercial law; and (2) as to why initially you did not pursue commercial law and why you have now changed your mind. Provided you can do that, I don't expect it to be an issue. For point (2), while you may not be able to demonstrate an interest in commercial law via an internship, I would still advise you to try to show as much of an interest as possible by attending firm events and completing virtual work experiences on Forage.

 

[legallady123]

Hi there, it's nice to meet you and have you on our forums ! I completely understand how anxiety-inducing it is when you are just starting your first applications at commercial law firms - it was the same for me and almost everybody else I know who ended up securing a TC. Just try to keep in mind that what you are feeling is normal and if anything it can be a tool you use to keep yourself motivated throughout the application cycle. Above all else, know that howsoever competitive the process seems, you have everything you need to succeed. The vast majority of applicants face multiple rejections when starting out. The biggest trap is to start thinking that you are just not good enough for it. This is something I had trouble with in my first application cycle, when I was rejected at first stage in all my applications. However, I kept at it and I became more successful than I ever though I would in my second cycle. There are many other stories like this - so despite how difficult it might be, my advice is to never doubt that you can and will succeed.

For your first question: how many applications are people doing - and how many should you be doing? There is no definitive answer for this question. Some applicants focus on submitting exceptionally high-quality applications to 6-8 firms they really like, while other people send more than 50. The strategy you want to employ highly depends on your application research/writing speed, general availability and time you can invest in applications for the next few months, and your specific interests and preferences for commercial law firms. My general advice is that you should aim to submit as many high-quality applications as possible. There's not much point in submitting sub-par applications, as they will have virtually no chance of progressing. At the same time, even the best applicants get rejected more often than not, so to maximize your odds you want to submit as many good applications as you can. Supposing you are very committed in obtaining a TC and supposing you can invest a significant amount of time in this pursuit over the next few months, my personal recommendation is to aim for at least 15-20 applications. However, this is once again highly dependent on your specific circumstances. For a more in-depth exploration of this question (and for a general overview as to how to construct a plan for your applications), you can find here our Guide to Building a Winning Applications Strategy.

As for your second question, I think the view law firms take of your non-commercial past work experience depends on how well you can leverage it. You will need to provide convincing explanations as to how (1) these experiences equip you with the skills to do well in commercial law; and (2) as to why initially you did not pursue commercial law and why you have now changed your mind. Provided you can do that, I don't expect it to be an issue. For point (2), while you may not be able to demonstrate an interest in commercial law via an internship, I would still advise you to try to show as much of an interest as possible by attending firm events and completing virtual work experiences on Forage.

Hello thank you very much for your helpful response. I have started applying already and do believe that 15-20 applications is a realistic target within this cycle. It is true that rejection is part of the process and that even great applications don’t always succeed. I do believe a lot of the process is luck and often firms will have to make a difficult choice between applicants who are equally as impressive.

The only commercial experience I have is a 2 week Vacation Scheme which did lead to a TC offer and also a 2 week internship I did 7 years ago. I am aware that this 2 week experience looks very little in comparison to the rest of my career so far which has not been in commercial areas. I guess the best thing for me to do is go into as much detail about those two commercial experiences as possible on applications, and to be prepared for questions should I receive any interviews. I do work full time at the moment but I will try to make time for the virtual commercial experience.

Thank you kindly for your response!

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hello thank you very much for your helpful response. I have started applying already and do believe that 15-20 applications is a realistic target within this cycle. It is true that rejection is part of the process and that even great applications don’t always succeed. I do believe a lot of the process is luck and often firms will have to make a difficult choice between applicants who are equally as impressive.

The only commercial experience I have is a 2 week Vacation Scheme which did lead to a TC offer and also a 2 week internship I did 7 years ago. I am aware that this 2 week experience looks very little in comparison to the rest of my career so far which has not been in commercial areas. I guess the best thing for me to do is go into as much detail about those two commercial experiences as possible on applications, and to be prepared for questions should I receive any interviews. I do work full time at the moment but I will try to make time for the virtual commercial experience.

Thank you kindly for your response!

I'm very glad to hear the response was helpful! I agree that you should try to expand on your previous commercial experiences as much as possible. While it will be helpful to show your renewed interest in commercial law by doing some virtual work experiences, I don't think that should be your priority. Since you will have limited time because of your full-time job, I think your focus should be on researching firms and writing great applications. If you can also complete 1-2 virtual internships and attend a few firm events, that's great - but I would not prioritize that more than the applications themselves.

Also, while your internship and vacation scheme experience might pale in comparison to your extended work experience in other fields, they will still set you apart from the majority of other candidates. Having a previous VS and a TC offer will definitely make any recruiter take your application a lot more seriously, as it demonstrates that you were good enough to pass through all the stages of a very competitive process.

A final point in terms of interview preparation: if I were in your place, I would focus a lot on finding a very convincing answer as to why you didn't accept the TC offer after that vac scheme experience and why you are once again pursuing a commercial law career now.

 

[AGRACHEL]

I dont believe they have a "passing score" benchmark, rather they view your test results alongside your application and make a decision. So you will find out just on the basis of AC invite or rejection (I think), which they said will likely be late October/early November

Thank you!

 

[AGRACHEL]

On the website it says interviews are scheduled for Oct/Nov so we should probably hear at some point this week or next.

Ahh! Thank you!