TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[NJS]

Hi all Anyone heard back from Paul,Weiss Dec open day?
I understand they just closed but was wondering anyone had any experience with the previous open days.
Would help me plan my travel. Thanks

when did they close?

 

[futuretrainee2503]

when did they close?

dec 1 but the open day is on the 18th

 

[g.cl.2020344]

akin test invite

congrats!! when did u apply?

 

[Deleted member 37508]

congrats!! when did u apply?

Early october

 

[Deleted member 37508]

Forgot to say Dechert post interview for winter moved to spring consideration not sure of the outcome.

 

[helloj]

Weil VI!!

 

[Deleted member 37508]

Weil VI!!

Was the turn around long. I plan to apply

 

[lawyersum]

Mishcon are taking their TIME for the Spring vs lol….

 

[Arbiter141]

Anyone received any word on Paul, Weiss' last Open Day?

 

[helloj]

Was the turn around long. I plan to apply

I applied on the 20th September so very very long! But it should be quicker now as I am assuming people are starting to hear back!

 

[M_m]

I applied to Bird & Bird on Nov 20th, which in hindsight seems too late given they recruit on a rolling basis. Should I just assume a PFO by now? Does anyone know how long it usually takes for them to send out WG invites?

 

[Deleted member 37508]

I applied on the 20th September so very very long! But it should be quicker now as I am assuming people are starting to hear back!

Thank you for the response. good luck for the video interview.

 

[futuretrainee2503]

Anyone received any word on Paul, Weiss' last Open Day?

Nope, I am waiting too.. when did you apply only two weeks left and i hope they let us know by friday

 

[hfbjsdhfbhf]

A bit random but does anyone know if there's a thread for SQE related questions? I'm currently applying and am not sure whether to go with BPP or ULaw and for which course. Thanks

 

[RSK]

Hey, does anyone know if the SJT + VI needs to be completed by the 8th for Latham, or do we have until the 11th?

 

[Amma Usman]

Hi guys I have 2 random questions-
Would it be particularly bad to reuse part of your 'Why commercial law' answer in your 'Why this firm in particular' answer?

When answering why firm x in particular, could you draw comparisons between firms you've attended an open day for and why you're drawn to this form more.. or something like that?

Hey @jojo23 , these are really good questions that often came up for me as well, when I was applying. I don‘t have too much to add to @Ram Sabaratnam ’s wonderful response, but these are a few things I found helpful as well;

I believe it’s totally fine to reuse an answer for both questions, however, do so sparingly and in a way which brings out different variations of the same experience. For example, if I included that working in-house insurance sparked my passion for commercial law due to being able to see things from the clients perspective, my answer to why X firm would be different. For example, I would then cement it with how working in-house insurance and delivering a training on competition law to all personnel at the firm sparked my passion for exploring X firm‘s renowned competition law practice. So you see, I’ve used two different arms of the same experience to solidify both answers in a way which adequately shows demonstrated interest.

In relation to the second part of your question, I believe this is fine as well, depending on how you phrase this. For example, a lot of responses I have read from candidates which implement this approach, often leads to an indirect slandering of the other firms which they attended open days at. Thus, the way in which you tackle this is by referencing the difference in the scope of their work. For example, say you attended open days at X and Y. If firm X is largely transactional and firm Y is more disputes-focused, then when applying to firm Z who is also disputes focused, you will reference the differences in both areas and why the latter appealed more.

Another thing I did often was to include how attending X open day sparked my passion for commercial law, and repeating the contents of the day in more detail when discussing my motivations for that specific firm (or again, a firm which has a strong expertise in its line of work). By expanding on the contents of the day, such as presentations by trainees, the firm’s trainee offering, or even mock case study workshops, I trust that you will be able to approach both questions in a different light and show this breadth of exposure that is needed.

 

[hanz123]

Any advice on how to answer why should we hire you as a trainee for a VI?

 

[legal_student2024]

hi everyone! i got my macfarlanes cappfinity report back - and my low scoring areas was analysis. obvs know it’s hard to draw any definitive conclusions, but do you think this means will likely result in pfo? can’t see myself progressing beyond test stage given how central a trait “analysis” is

 

[yasmars]

hi everyone! i got my macfarlanes cappfinity report back - and my low scoring areas was analysis. obvs know it’s hard to draw any definitive conclusions, but do you think this means will likely result in pfo? can’t see myself progressing beyond test stage given how central a trait “analysis” is

I once emailed GR about a technical difficulty I faced during the online assessment, and they said they would never disregard an application due to a low test score, so I wouldn't worry!

 

[jta227]

Literally same. I was really surprised and somewhat disappointed. Tempted to email their Graduate Recruitment team and ask but I don't want to appear as if I'm on a high horse or anything D:

If you do can you let me know what they say? I would but I'd rather just focus on my other apps at this point haha