TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Jo05]

Anyone with insights into the Dechert written exercise? Would really appreciate it!

Is this for spring/ summer Vac?

 

[addy2004]

Roughly how long have people waited post-AC for a phone call offer? I heard it can sometimes be the same day, just wondering if there's any chance of me getting an offer 4 days after the interview...

 

[addy2004]

Roughly how long have people waited post-AC for a phone call offer? I heard it can sometimes be the same day, just wondering if there's any chance of me getting an offer 4 days after the interview...

Never mind, just heard back

 

[Izzy1026]

Re: Mishcon open day on 22 Oct, has anyone heard back since getting the invitation? I have yet to receive the schedule :0

Bumping this. Will be grateful for any info! I emailed grad rec but they haven’t replied yet zzz

 

[IneedaTCASAP]

Never mind, just heard back

offer?

 

[SamiyaJ]

Hi, I used this link someone posted last year.

Critical Thinking Tests - How to Become More Critical | How2become

Take a look at How2Become's expert guide for passing critical thinking tests. Complete with explanations, sample questions, and practice tests, this guide has everything you need to improve your chances of passing your critical thinking tests.

www.how2become.com

I used this guide and found it helped me look at the test more holistically. It’s also helped with my critical thinking more broadly. I hope this helps. Otherwise loads of practise with Assessment Day or JobTestPrep.

Good luck!

Thank you so much!

 

[SamiyaJ]

Hi @SamiyaJ

Sorry to hear about the rejection – it's definitely frustrating, especially when you’ve been putting in a lot of effort to master this aspect of the application process. The Watson Glaser test is tricky for many, but I think with the right approach, you can definitely improve your performance on these.

Understand the style of reasoning required for each section: As I'm sure you already know, the Watson Glaser test covers five areas: inferences, recognising assumptions, deduction, interpretation, and evaluation of arguments. While doing practice tests is a great start, it's far more important to fully understand the subtle differences between these question types. One thing I've noticed is that many applicants often struggle to understand the difference, for instance, between deductions and inferences. Doing successive practice tests without understanding the type of reasoning required of each section could ultimately frustrate your efforts. So the first thing I'd suggest is really taking time to think about what the section is asking for and why certain answers are correct or incorrect.

Identifying Premises and Conclusions: A particularly helpful strategy is learning how to break down passages into premises and conclusions. This skill is crucial because once you’ve identified the premises (the supporting facts or evidence) and the conclusion (the main point the premises are trying to establish), you can then better identify the assumptions, deductions, or inferences that relate to the passage. Many questions in the Watson Glaser test revolve around how the conclusion is derived from the premises, and spotting this relationship will put you in a much stronger position to answer correctly. I would REALLY REALLY encourage getting into the habit of breaking down anything you read into premises and conclusions. That way, if the question asks about assumptions, you can think more clearly about what's missing between the premises and the conclusion. If it’s about inferences, you’ll need to assess whether a conclusion strongly follows from the premises. For deductions, the conclusion must be an inevitable result of the premises.

Learning Resources: There are great short textbooks that can help clarify the underlying logical concepts and styles of reasoning, and I'd be happy to share some with you. Do let me know. For a more affordable approach, though, you can just use ChatGPT. For instance, you could ask it to provide more examples of each type of question, explaining why a particular answer is a deduction, inference, or assumption. ChatGPT can also help break down the difference between styles of reasoning, helping you understand the difference between, say, a deduction and more probabilistic forms of reasoning. This makes it a useful tool for both learning and practising critical thinking in a more interactive way.

Practicing Under Timed Conditions: Finally, once you feel more comfortable with the test, start practising under timed conditions. Some Watson Glaser tests are timed, so developing both accuracy and speed can be important. But don’t worry about speed in the beginning – focus on getting the logic right first. For some firms, speed will play an important role in determining your percentile score, while others may weigh certain sections or types of questions more heavily.

Overall, it's important to remember that logical reasoning is a skill that we develop, much like any other skill. It will take time, but I've got faith you can do it! Let me know if you have any other questions, and I'd be happy to assist!

Thank you Ram for taking the time to explain! It’s super helpful. You’re absolutely right, I think it’s the inferences and deductions that throw me off.

On to the next one!!!

 

[addy2004]

offer?

unfortunately not - seeing it as redirection and the feedback report was useful at least. Best of luck to anyone else with their AC's!

 

[yeezyee]

did anyone end up hearing from sidley with an interview this week?

 

[LawyerUpPal]

I made quite a few applications this cycle. Within the first week, I got a PFO from Jones Day and thought, here we go again... But then I said PFO to Jones Day and kept going. Today, I received W&C and HSF AC invites!!! Don't let the rejections get to you; feel it momentarily, but let it light that fire to do more applications. Wish me luck and good luck to all of you!

 

[HelpAStudentOut]

Lol Jones Day PFO in ~ 24 hours post AC. They really don’t mess around

 

[Brandon93]

Hi everyone, on AG's application its states solicitor apprenticeship/training contract/graduate solicitor apprenticeship. How will the firm know which vacancy you're applying for exactly?

 

[Andrei Radu]

@Andrei Radu or @Ram Sabaratnam

Can I ask if there's something similar to this but for VIs instead of AC interviews?

Hi @Aspiringsolicitor01! I do not think there is on because AC interview questions are a lot more expansive than VI questions. Since VI questions tend to be more formulaic and predictable, a question bank for AC questions will likely automatically include most questions you can expect in a VI.

From my own and others' experience, VI questions tend to fit into one of the following categories:

• The classics: Why you, Why the firm, Why commercial law - these almost always feature in one form or another.
• Further motivational questions: Why did you initially decide to study law, What other careers did you consider, What do you like and dislike about different types of work, what practice areas/sectors are you interested in etc.
• Competency questions: Tell me about a time you demonstrated teamwork skills/time-management/innovation/creative thinking/integrity etc.
• Situational judgement questions: What would you do in X scenario (eg. you have multiple competing deadline and you feel your work product will suffer as a result)
• General commercial awareness question: tell us about a news story you have been following and what are its impacts on the economy/the legal market/the firm/the firm's clients, what is a business you admire, who are the firm's competitors and how do you distinguish it? why do the firm's clients keep coming back?

Besides variations of these types of questions, the only other type of question you should prepare for is potential curveballs. However, you can't really predict a curveball, so the only thing you can do it to try to train yourself to think quickly and be flexible in how you leverage your experience. For that purpose, I think you can use the AC interview question bank.

 

[TheInevitableTCholder2024/25🙏]

Did anyone attend/write notes on Covington & Burling's Insight series- specifically the ones before today (there were two I believe). If you could share them, I would super appreciate it!

 

[tkl24]

Considering many people have got ACs for Linklaters and HSF, would you say that if I haven't got one so far. it is a rejection?

 

[bangarangbass39]

Just to clarify. After completing the CRT for the London Addleshaw office, you get progressed to the TI/VI stage or it goes straight to AC?

I ask because the CRT is not automatic and last year and before, they only did App stage, CRT, AC

 

[Aspiringsolicitor01]

Hi @Aspiringsolicitor01! I do not think there is on because AC interview questions are a lot more expansive than VI questions. Since VI questions tend to be more formulaic and predictable, a question bank for AC questions will likely automatically include most questions you can expect in a VI.

From my own and others' experience, VI questions tend to fit into one of the following categories:

• The classics: Why you, Why the firm, Why commercial law - these almost always feature in one form or another.
• Further motivational questions: Why did you initially decide to study law, What other careers did you consider, What do you like and dislike about different types of work, what practice areas/sectors are you interested in etc.
• Competency questions: Tell me about a time you demonstrated teamwork skills/time-management/innovation/creative thinking/integrity etc.
• Situational judgement questions: What would you do in X scenario (eg. you have multiple competing deadline and you feel your work product will suffer as a result)
• General commercial awareness question: tell us about a news story you have been following and what are its impacts on the economy/the legal market/the firm/the firm's clients, what is a business you admire, who are the firm's competitors and how do you distinguish it? why do the firm's clients keep coming back?

Besides variations of these types of questions, the only other type of question you should prepare for is potential curveballs. However, you can't really predict a curveball, so the only thing you can do it to try to train yourself to think quickly and be flexible in how you leverage your experience. For that purpose, I think you can use the AC interview question bank.

Thanks. It’s the situational judgement questions I struggle with. I’m good with the multiple choice questions and online tests generally on this, but when it comes to video interviews that’s a whole different thing.

I’ll just Google/chatgpt the situational questions on on the document for inspiration and go from there.

 

[B101]

Got a an AC for White & Case. Any tips would be appreciated!

 

[Andrei Radu]

Thanks. It’s the situational judgement questions I struggle with. I’m good with the multiple choice questions and online tests generally on this, but when it comes to video interviews that’s a whole different thing.

I’ll just Google/chatgpt the situational questions on on the document for inspiration and go from there.

That's not a bad idea for an initial start, but as you progress with your preparation I would try to personalize it further. If you can make connections to and reference any similar situations you've dealt with in the past, that will make your answer a lot more persuasive.

 

[tarty23]

what are the best ways of researching distinctions between firms? band rankings are fairly surface level - I can’t seem to find much specific info on a firm’s website/other internet searches on where a firm may particularly excel