TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[asplawyer100]

How long after taking the test did you get the feedback report?

I took the test a couple of days ago and just got the report.

 

[Unknowncabbage]

I took the test a couple of days ago and just got the report.

Ok thank you

 

[Amma Usman]

Hi! I just got an AC for A&O Shearman’s direct tc! Any insights? Literally begging 🙏

Yay! Great news! I’ve included a few tips below. It’s a mix of technical and soft tips, and I believe both are equally important for success;

• Relax the night before. I don’t recommend preparing hefty content the day before as it tends to stir one‘s nerves up before the assessment.
• Research on how to ace the key components of the AC. Usually, this tends to be motivational, competency, and situational interviews, as well as commercial awareness interviews (CA). CA should be weaved in at any of the other interview types I mentioned, as it‘s a skill that should be highlighted naturally. Law firms value this heavily, as you can imagine. Lawyers in the commercial world are business advisors as well as legal advisors. Notice how the commerce part comes first in the term ‘commercial lawyer’ ?
• As a transactional focused law firm, I suspect the case study to be a corporate one. I also know this has been the case at A&O in the past. However, I am not completely certain about this. On tips to prepare for corporate case studies, see the two links below;

(NEW) Corporate Case Study Analysis

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all having a wonderful Sunday. As we get closer to more interviews and assessment centres (AC’s) I thought it would be helpful to include a new fictitious Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) case study analysis. Hope you enjoy the read, and feel free to pop any questions...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

Mock M&A Case Study: Analysis

Hello everyone! I hope you’re all having a fantastic day. We’re entering the season of assessment centres (ACs) at law firms, and a hot topic for many of these ACs is Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)! So, in this thread, I’ll be guiding you through a short fictitious M&A case study and highlighting...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

• Confidence. I appreciate this may sound a bit flowery, but if you’re confident on your abilities to excel at the AC, it will reflect in the responses you give. You didn’t get the AC by chance, they saw potential in you. All that’s left to do now is to calm yourself and showcase those abilities.
• Know your motivations. When I was applying, I fell into the trap of only knowing what I put in my application form. As you can imagine, this is very bad as your motivations for why law, or why X firm, shouldn’t be solely contained in 300 words or less. I took time out to understand what was driving me and why. This solid understanding made communicating those passions at length in an interview very easy. So, understand these drivers of yours. On this, avoid talking about personal experiences too much. By personal, I mean attributing your passion for Big Law to rather generic things like a person, or the international reach, etc. Focus on being specific to your experiences. For example, started a business or worked in one? Done legal work experience? Why the business side of law, and not family or immigration? Literally differentiating between the various forms of law in the interview to say ‘I liked this cause.. I didn’t like this cause..’, helps craft a solid answer. Basically.. show your journey. Nobody woke up one day and decided to go into the profession - there would be drivers. Some will be more specific and professional than others, so focus on those.
• Presentation. This is a given, but coming in professionally dressed in a smart suit goes a long way. At the end of the day, it’s a clientele role.

Again, very well done on getting to this stage. I’m sure you’ll ace it!

 

[Amma Usman]

Thank you so much, Amma! Thinking of it as enjoyable learning experience (even regardless of the outcome) is a really lovely positive spin on things. I will definitely be using this to re-frame any nerves. I remember listening to a science podcast some years ago which talked about how it's sometimes helpful to reframe adrenaline from fear as adrenaline from excitement! I will definitely being re-framing the situation as an exciting one going forward - thank you so, so much for sharing that perspective! 😊

@ashwright , wow - I must say, that is certainly another great way to look at it. I think you’ve shared a really important life lesson to everyone in this forum by saying that - it certainly touched me. Let’s all look at adrenaline from an EXCITEMENT perspective, and not from an anxious one…

 

[studentdelaw786]

Has anyone else just received a feedback report for the Mayer Brown online assessments (situational strengths and verbal reasoning)? I just received mine and in terms of verbal reasoning, I scored either 'average' or 'above average' on all 5 of the elements they tested. I can't tell if this is a good result or not? Did anyone get below average on anything? Is 'above average' the best score you can get, or is there something above this? Also, what is your 'peer group' - other people who took the Mayer Brown assessment?

i did this and got the same result. those same rankings progressed me to the Job Simulation earlier this year for the Direct TC, so i hope it’s a similar result for you this time.

As for the grading of the same, I would love to understand this too.

 

[Amma Usman]

Hi - I had a question in regards to talking about deals on applications. If the firm is international, is it okay to mention cases from another country, especially if the firm has a one global firm approach? Or is it better to focus on a deal that involves the office you are applying to? Thank you so much.

Hi @Star Light , @Jessica Booker had already perfectly explained this so I don’t have anything to add.

I have some tips from a more general perspective on deal dropping. It’s important to be mindful on how you include deals in your applications. I’d be weary of falling into the trap of dropping deals in applications just for the sake of them, unless they specifically relate to, or back up a strong interest in the firm’s work. Many firm’s would have worked on similar deals, so ensure that the deals relate to something of specific importance to you as an individual. For example, was it a landmark deal? What was so ‘landmark’ about it in the industry that resonated with you? If the deal is not typical to what’s seen in other firms, is it in a niche? Why does that niche appeal to you? Why would working on similar deals appeal to you?

Here are two examples from my own experience - they are fictitious, but the overall concepts remain when naming deals.

Ex. 1: ABC Law working on the acquisition of GHY by YUP really appealed to me. This represents the high calibre of deals I would love to get involved in whilst training. This again, is solidified by the firm‘s Band 1 Chambers ranking in Corporate M&A and Private Equity.

Ex. 2: ABC Law working on the energy transition in Africa really appealed to me. Particularly, the firm‘s work on the development of the central power frames in the Somalian region stood out, having been named the largest project financing deal in Africa then. As a Somalian, where inconsistent power supply was one of the bane‘s to my existence growing up, I am keen to support Africa’s energy development as a UK-qualified lawyer.

As you can see, the second example is backed up by specific interest. Similarly, when talking about the international reach of the deal, talk about the London office‘s involvement and why that specific deal appealed.

 

[axele]

Is there no application guide for Goodwin? @Amma Usman

 

[Amma Usman]

Is there no application guide for Goodwin? @Amma Usman

Hey @axele , the law firm profile for Goodwin is contained as part of the Law Firm Profiles course - I’ve linked this here; https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/tcla-premium/ . With regards applications, there would also be more information on Goodwin‘s process as part of the premium database.

 

[Amma Usman]

is it too late to apply to HSF's spring vac scheme scheme? should I apply for summer?

@TrainingContract2024 , I know some firms have a silent rule where if you apply two weeks before the deadline if rolling, then that should be fine. However, differs between firms. If you feel unsure about your chances of being allocated to spring due to the proximity of the closing date, then summer is a sensible option to take.

 

[Amma Usman]

This is off topic but has anyone been allocated to CMS via 10,000 black interns or been through the process?

Hey @Zaraa.x , I am unsure about CMS specifically, but I know of people who have been allocated via 10KBI and the processes remain largely similar across firms - application form, Watson glaser, etc.

 

[001hussa]

Did you seek assistance from ChatGPT when completing this application? (Please note that there is not a right or wrong answer to this question, we are focusing on your integrity to this process).

Please provide details on your decision and elaborate on the reasons behind your choice. {Provide answer of 2500 characters}

Does anyone have advice on how to approach this question pls?

 

[Amma Usman]

Hey everyone,

I had recently posted a Private Equity case study. I’ve left the floor open for discussions, so feel free to share your thoughts. I’ll be posting my thoughts on it by next Friday. Hope you find it useful…

Private Equity Case Study - OPEN ENGAGEMENT ENCOURAGED ;)

Hey TCLA Community! We’re back again with the mock case studies ;) This time around, I decided to take a different approach. I’ve included the case study below, and will leave the floor open for a couple of days so you can all provide your thoughts and ideas on the commercial and legal issues...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

 

[axele]

Hey @axele , the law firm profile for Goodwin is contained as part of the Law Firm Profiles course - I’ve linked this here; https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/tcla-premium/ . With regards applications, there would also be more information on Goodwin‘s process as part of the premium database.

I have gold but there is no application guide for Goodwin, only the law firm profile

 

[CarolineC]

Hey! Does anyone have any advice for Bird and CMS VIs? Many thanks

 

[Amma Usman]

Hey! Does anyone have any advice for Bird and CMS VIs? Many thanks

Hey @CarolineC ,

For VI’s generally, I’d say it’s worth preparing for the general questions. For example, some firms tend to sway towards the common ‘why us..why you.. why commercial law.. recent commercial issue that’s interested you that’ll affect our work/clients’. So, it’s worth having answers prepped for that. However, avoid memorising things as this could make one tense and may sound too unnatural.

As 2Birds is tech/IP focused and CMS is tax/real estate focused, I also recommend having a dabble on any recent developments in those industries and find a way to weave those in. Also, if the firm has been making any interesting moves in those industries that resonate with you, it‘s definitely worth weaving in too.

In terms of soft preparation, I recommend coming to the VI in a formal suit - just as you would in an in-person interview. This adds to the clientele nature of the role.

Finally, I can‘t go without referencing @Andrei Radu ’s beautiful guide to interviews ; https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....de-for-competency-interview-preparation.9380/

 

[marisachr]

@TrainingContract2024 , I know some firms have a silent rule where if you apply two weeks before the deadline if rolling, then that should be fine. However, differs between firms. If you feel unsure about your chances of being allocated to spring due to the proximity of the closing date, then summer is a sensible option to take.

I thought the HSF vac scheme was non-rolling? Both summer and spring have the same closing date as well.

 

[Amma Usman]

I thought the HSF vac scheme was non-rolling? Both summer and spring have the same closing date as well.

Hey @marisachr , yes it’s non-rolling for HSF. Apologies for not clarifying - this is a strategy I apply to firms that are rolling. As HSF is non-rolling, I see no harm in applying for either spring/summer, since the deadline date is the same.

 

[Tom smith]

Hi, just wondering how long we should be speaking for in an interview when answering just one question e.g. why this firm? or why commercial law?

 

[affidavid]

Do law firms look unfavourably on non-law GRADUATES who apply, as opposed to final year non-law students? I was rejected from Bird and Bird post application questions but before the WG test or VI. I got to the K&E AC last year with less experience but slightly better answers to their commercial awareness/ firm specific qs. I'm quite surprised I was so flat out rejected by BB is this likely down to
- being a graduated non-law student currently doing a mix of random shift work and a full-time but non-law related short course currently?
- slightly worse answers to their questions?
- applying mid november to a rolling recruitment system which began in septmber?
- not having gone to a BB open/insight day (I went to a KE one before applying)

 

[billyonthespeeddial]

How long did they take to tell you after the interview?

One day