TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[lolasparks]

Does Latham give a feedback report after doing the test and video interview I have completed it no feedback report as of yet.

Hey was it just one question for the video interview?

 

[IneedaTCASAP]

I got Linklater feedback report. Strengths Working with others & Excellence.

Scored lower in resource and work management - ‘prefer to not take ownership of tasks’

I know I can’t change the outcome but I feel like I’ve really messed this up. Ownership of work is a huge thing in law. Am I overthinking this?

 

[Andrei Radu]

No worries! Happy to continue here.

So, I was hoping to understand the sources of the research that you did for DPW’s profile. I have used Chambers Student and Legal Cheek so far, but I am looking for more detailed sources to get a comprehensive outlook.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts!

I have quoted bellow here some posts I wrote detailing both (i) my further research sources beyond the ones you mentioned; and (ii) my thinking process in determining what to look out for when trying to analyse a firm's practice areas beyond Chambers/Legal 500 rankings. I think you may find them quite useful. In conjunction, I feel they encapsulate the basic research "theory" I relied on when working as a Law Firm Profile Writer for TCLA, and which enabled me to write profiles like the Davis Polk one. However, please do let me know if you have any other questions about researching firms in general, or researching DPW in particular.

Hi @tarty23! I think this depends on the practice area in question, but my main sources for in-depth research would be:

• The general legal press: The Lawyer (I found it particularly useful), Law.com, Legal Business, The Global Legal Post, Bloomberg Law, Vault etc. My method would be to just type in the name of the firm in the publication's search bar and then skim/read all the articles that came up. You can also add filters with key words such as the name of the practice area. You will find many interesting analyses comparing the features and relative strengths of firms' practices. However, some of these resources are only available with a subscription. Make sure to check if your university/workplace has a subscription, as in my case it did.
• Practice area/industry-specific publications and organizations: you will find organizations publishing statistics and articles on law firm's performances. This is highly-depended on the practice area and sectors you are researching, but for instance in the M&A context Mergermarket and LSE publishes data as to deal volume and deal value of firms worldwide and in different regions.
• Awards: you can also assess the firm's practice area further by seeing what awards relating to it they have recently won - if they do better than other firms in a similar band ranking, you could infer from a superior quality from that.
• Lateral moves and notable practitioners: by searching on google/legal publications you can analyze the practice area more in depth by looking at any notable recent hires or recent losses. Also, take a look at their leading individual practitioners, as some will also have individual chambers rankings and profile. For instance, by knowing that Paul, Weiss managed to hire Neel Sachdev (who many commentators think is the best leverage finance lawyer in the City), you can infer they will have superior expertise to other leverage finance practices.
• Firm interactions: One of the best ways of learning more about a firm's practice area in the context of its competitors is by discussing this topic with a more senior lawyer in that practice area at the firm. They will know a lot more about it and this could save you a lot of research time.

However, I will add that although general reputation/market recognition is an important feature in assessing a firm's practice area, it does not necessarily tell the full story. Other aspects you may consider include: what is the size of the practice area within the firm, and how important of a revenue generator is it? how many practitioners and partners does it have, and does it punch above its weight in terms of impact when compared to the sizes of similarly ranked firms? what is the history of the practice area within the firm - has it seen a lot of recent growth, or has it always been a core part of the firm's practice? and what are the firm's plans in the future for it? does the firm have a very strong reputation only in the UK, or also in other important jurisdictions and globally? are there any specific features of the practice's client base as compared to that of its rivals'? are there any particular sectors that the practice has particular expertise in? how is the practice areas subdivided between different teams? are there any specific high-end mandates that the firm has recently won - and what might you infer from that regarding the market position of the firm's practice area as compared to that of its rivals'? are there any more specific awards and recognitions for the relevant practice area, besides the usual Chambers/Legal 500 rankings? when taken together with other strong practice areas of the firm, are there significant cross-selling opportunities? When you start researching all of these questions, you will find that although initially two practices might have looked very similar because they had the same Chambers band ranking, they have many features that can differentiate them. Once you identify those, you can consider why those more specific features could be of benefit you/be of interest. This way, you can eventually end up with a truly unique practice-area based USP.

To give you a more concrete example - when I was applying to Davis Polk, I saw they had a band 5 Chambers UK corporate M&A ranking. Initially, I thought it would be difficult to write a persuasive USP based on that, as there were other firms with higher corporate M&A Chambers UK rankings. However, upon further research, I found out that (i) Davis Polk had s significantly smaller corporate M&A practice than any of the other ranked firms - with less than 1/3 of the total number of practitioners than similarly ranked firms; (ii) Davis Polk was ranked as the most efficient corporate practice in the UK, with the highest Revenue Per Lawyer (RPL) and Revenue Per Partner (RPP) of any firm; (iii) Davis Polk globally had the highest average corporate deal value of any firm - suggesting a low volume/high value model; (iv) Davis Polk had won various corporate/PE deal of the year or team of the year awards. When taking all these factors together, it was easy to think of an USP in terms of Davis Polk a small but extremely high quality practice, which I could then connect to my motivations to be a become a great corporate lawyer and to work in small teams.

 

[legally.brown]

If a test is not timed and I took an hour and 30 minutes to complete it, would that be an issue? Not sure if grad rec can see how long I took?

I had technical difficulties.. Any insights would be appreciated

 

[vstchunter]

Anyone heard about linklaters winter vac scheme?

 

[legally.brown]

If a test is not timed and I took an hour and 30 minutes to complete it, would that be an issue? Not sure if grad rec can see how long I took?

I had technical difficulties.. Any insights would be appreciated

@Jessica Booker @Andrei Radu do you have any thoughts?

 

[Jessica Booker]

@Jessica Booker @Andrei Radu do you have any thoughts?

I would check the language used to describe the test when it was sent to you.

If it says unlimited time, then the test could still be assessing a time to complete element on some level.

If it says the test is untimed, then there should be no reference to time in how the assessment is assessed/valued.

 

[legally.brown]

I would check the language used to describe the test when it was sent to you.

If it says unlimited time, then the test could still be assessing a time to complete element on some level.

If it says the test is untimed, then there should be no reference to time in how the assessment is assessed/valued.

It says, "The test is not timed,but we suggest setting aside 45 minutes to complete it."

 

[Jessica Booker]

It says, "The test is not timed,but we suggest setting aside 45 minutes to complete it."

I wouldn't worry about it then as it is not a timed assessment. If it was, they would have to say that you have an unlimited amount of time.

They just give you the 45 minutes suggestion to ensure people don't under estimate how long it would typically take.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hey guys, I wanted to ask how I should go about answering a 'Tell me about yourself' question.

I'm not sure if there is a specific format for answering this when it comes to legal applications, or how else I should go about it

Think of it like an elevator pitch - its around 60 second for you to present who you are. You want to focus on no more than three themes and to ensure what you connect to those themes are the most interesting/memorable aspects of you.

Try not to describe your whole journey or everything you do - focus on the most interesting aspects that fewer people would say. For instance rather than saying "I am a law student" you can reference law but be more unique/specific "I have really enjoyed my tort module in my law degree"

 

[KBanana]

@Andrei Radu @Jessica Booker
Hello! I am writing my answer to a 'why do you want to train at this firm' question. One of the things I discuss is the firm's strength in banking and finance, and to show why this is important to me, I want to discuss my experience sitting in this practice area during a VS I completed last year. Do you recommend that I write which law firm it was or not? Thank you!

 

[Jessica Booker]

@Andrei Radu @Jessica Booker
Hello! I am writing my answer to a 'why do you want to train at this firm' question. One of the things I discuss is the firm's strength in banking and finance, and to show why this is important to me, I want to discuss my experience sitting in this practice area during a VS I completed last year. Do you recommend that I write which law firm it was or not? Thank you!

Yes - it is fine to reference other firm's names when detailing work experience. Sometimes avoiding naming them can look a little odd and the lack of specific detail can be a little frustrating for your reader as they then have to look at your work experience entries and try to work out which firm you are alluding to.

 

[legally.brown]

I wouldn't worry about it then as it is not a timed assessment. If it was, they would have to say that you have an unlimited amount of time.

They just give you the 45 minutes suggestion to ensure people don't under estimate how long it would typically take.

Thanks Jessica

 

[Lastseasonwonder]

Can someone please confirm the below:

(1) Is the test for Addleshaw Goddard automatic?

(2) What is the test? WG?

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[Lastseasonwonder]

Does anyone have any insight please into the application process for a TC at Pinsent Masons? In particular, regarding the online blended assessment. Is it timed etc?

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[lookingforaTC]

just wanted to really echo this, been to HSF a couple of times and they have a similar question. And the answers that seemed to make most of an impression on the grad rec were the ones that people were just very clearly passionate about. They mentioned a couple of times that one of their trainees wrote about Taylor Swift.

Of course writing about Taylor Swift got them through with the demographic that make up HR departments lol.

 

[Tintin06]

Hi everyone, just a quick question about 'best friends' network. Say, for example, Macfarlanes regularly collaborates with Latham in the US. Is it that Macfarlanes is limited to working with Latham in the US or can they chose any firm they want to partner with based on the type of work?

It's a 'good friends' network with Macfarlanes, 'best friends' is Slaughter and May. They can choose any firm they want - this is the advantage over having an office there. Plus it's an acknowledgement, I think, of the other firms' expertise e.g. Slaughter and May has worked with Paul, Weiss. Source: I tried saying 'best friends' network to a Macfarlanes Partner.

 

[EK_27]

NRF PFO post Artic Shores

 

[LawyerUpPal]

Hey was it just one question for the video interview?

Yes.

 

[SamiyaJ]

NRF PFO too. The PFO says:

“We are sorry to inform you that after successfully completing our Arctic Shores assessment, we have carefully reviewed your application and will not be progressing you to a video interview.”

Probably overthinking it but what does it mean? Is it likely that I did well in the assessment but bombed the application?!

I applied to NRF before and the rejection was worded differently.