TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[helloj]

What is the Ropes & Gray question looking for as there is only one question and I dont think there is an option for inputting work experience:

Describe three characteristics that you believe make an outstanding Ropes & Gray lawyer and how that lawyer would drive our business. 500 words

 

[Ricky]

Hello! Hope everyone is well! For the Latham application, do they review the application SJT and VI holistically or do they put more emphasis on a specific part for example VI or SJT? (Hope it makes sense haha)

You need to meet the minimum SJT benchmark for your app to get reviewed. The VI is then looked at after.

 

[Gday33]

I just did a SJT, and I got within the highest bracket for "applied verbal intellect" and in the lowest bracket for "numerical" should I assume a PFO?

I thought it was the unofficial rule that people choose law because they can’t do maths? 😂 I’m sure they wouldn’t discount you on that alone 👍🏻 good luck!

 

[sooae]

You need to meet the minimum SJT benchmark for your app to get reviewed. The VI is then looked at after.

Hello! Just want to confirm if the VI is integrated into the SJT? or is there a link separately sent after completion of SJT? Thank you.

 

[member3804]

Do u have any last min tips to prep for it? I have no clue what to expect !

I don’t think you can prepare at all, it’s untimed but it’s just really silly and I honestly don’t know what sort of answers they are looking for…

 

[Tintin06]

I am applying for a Direct TC for a firm that I had an AC with last year. How do I leverage this in my application?

I think focus on progress since. How have you developed since then? I’m not sure how to leverage. It might be worth checking. Do they re-interview people there? It can vary by firms.

 

[Tintin06]

Does anyone have any tips for the DLA VI?

Find the questions on Glassdoor. Plan how you’d answer. This helped me for one form. They might have changed - check dates. Glassdoor tells you when interviews happened.

 

[Tintin06]

What is the Ropes & Gray question looking for as there is only one question and I dont think there is an option for inputting work experience:

Describe three characteristics that you believe make an outstanding Ropes & Gray lawyer and how that lawyer would drive our business. 500 words

Well they are in growth mode. What skills can help that? Understanding the commercial world. Call it entrepreneurial mindset or whatever. Being resourceful helps. It’s a small trainee intake. That plus early responsibility. Resourcefulness helps the firm drive efficiency. Then they help keep costs down. No need for loads of trainees. Commercial awareness can mean seeing opportunities. How have you shown that?

 

[Audric_T]

Generally prefer the US firms. Learning by doing. Early responsibility etc. Have had more success with them. Not sure about your second question. I got three ACs last cycle. Not sure how typical that is. I'm also a career changer. What are you doing currently? I don't know about qualification yet. I enjoyed doing tax.

Thank you for taking the time to explain - its lovely to hear about other pathways and experiences so I appreciate it No you have answered my question beautifully, congratulations on securing three A/Cs regardless that is impressive and something to aspire to - Personally I think that is amazing. Currently - I work in finance - ICB - LLM SQE 1/2 - nice regarding tax - I thought about it but I think I'm drawn to M&A or IP at the moment - hoping my vac scheme will help with insight

 

[Audric_T]

Can you be a career changer if you’ve been chasing a career but doing another whilst chasing. Surely you left university and since then have been applying to law ever since I’m not sure that’s a career changer. But nonetheless I’m sure the experience you’ve gained working alongside applying has been ever so useful for transferable skills.

This seems unnecessary and I'm not quite sure what you have gained from posting this to be honest. Any experience gained is useful with many transferable skills - I got my Vac scheme because I am a career changer with over a decade of experience in a different field - everyone has their own reasons for either pursuing law initially or pursuing it later in life - that doesn't make anyone's path lesser or worthy of derision. This is extremely disrespectful.

 

[TCchaser24]

Has anybody else been invited to Gibson Dunn's final stage AC for the VS? Heard back about 1/2 weeks ago

 

[Audric_T]

Does anyone have any tips for the DLA VI?

Hi Hanna, I'm happy to provide insight on the DLA VI - I recently did the A/C successfully. Following the rules of this thread I won't share the questions - apologies, I think they may have changed them so I may do more harm than good by sharing but I'm happy to provide general tips if that would help?

 

[Amma Usman]

What is the Ropes & Gray question looking for as there is only one question and I dont think there is an option for inputting work experience:

Describe three characteristics that you believe make an outstanding Ropes & Gray lawyer and how that lawyer would drive our business. 500 words

Hey there @helloj ,

This is a really interestingly worded question. I find the ’how that lawyer would drive our business’ part really cute. Essentially, it is asking ’ why you ‘.

In answering why you, I feel it is particularly important to note that there is no work experience section. This means that you will need to choose the most relevant parts of your life/work experiences to show demonstrated interest. I would also like to add that 500 words is a really demure enough word count to get you to write a really cutesy answer!

Another pro tip is that you don’t have to exactly partition the word count into three to write a good answer. You will find that some characteristics may take longer to touch on than others, but each of the three should be adequately explored. Aim for 120-170 words for each characteristic.

Here’s how I would structure my response for each quality:

1. Name the quality.
2. Why you feel it’s important for an outstanding lawyer.
3. Why an outstanding lawyer at Ropes specifically. Since it‘s the only question, you may want to find a way to tie commercial awareness as a characteristic. Perhaps from this, you could then link with how this would enable you to excel in one of their core practice areas - say..their.. finance or private equity practice.
4. How you would drive the business of the law firm using that quality. You may find it helpful to look at the firm‘s long term growth strategy, or how they’ve been expanding/ their position in the market, to gauge some market sentiment. Then, using this trend, explain how you could add value to the firm using that competency. The reason I feel this is useful is that it shows you did your research into the firm’s actual business, and have had a thorough look at your skills to see where and how you can bring this value.

Before all these, I recommend including an introductory sentence stating the three characteristics you will cover. This will provide a clear and easy structure for the recruiter to follow.

Hope this helps!

 

[Amma Usman]

Does anyone have any tips for the DLA VI?

Hiya @Hana ♥ , I am unsure about the specifics of DLAs VI, but for general VI prep, I recommend taking a look at @Andrei Radu ’s wonderful guide:

A complete guide for competency interview preparation

This is a guide for the purposes of preparing for competency interviews, be they in a VI, another intermediary step or an AC/final stage interview. The advice here is based on my personal approach, as I received VS offers from top US/MC firms 4/4 times I implemented it. This will include: A...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

 

[Amma Usman]

I'm applying to an open day and vac scheme where there is a question for each on the application.
Open day: Describe why a legal career at Shoosmiths appeals to you.
Vac scheme: Describe why you want to be a solicitor at Shoosmiths.

Obviously, one mentions the solicitor role, and the other is a legal role in general, but how do I differentiate between my two answers to these questions? Do I need to differentiate a lot or will these be viewed as separate applications? @Jessica Booker @Andrei Radu @Ram Sabaratnam @Amma Usman

Hey @Aspiringsolicitor01 ,

Good question.

Both questions are indeed very similar. For the open day app, you will need to show more of what you will gain, rather than what you know. The latter is reserved for the vacation scheme app, where you will need to touch on the skills, qualities, and demonstrated examples of how you will add value as a solicitor at their firm. You will also find it helpful to include in the VS application points to solidify why Shoosmiths. This will become more fluid if you had attended the open day and can touch on any unique facts from it - relating to the work, interesting interactions, culture, and so on. If you have attended any other open days, completed virtual work experiences on the forage, online webinars, etc - feel free to also include them to show an awareness of the work and industry at large.

For the second question, I advise touching well on why commercial law and why Shoosmiths in an adequate capacity. If there is no second question asking for skills or competencies, you will find it beneficial weaving them into ‘why commercial law’. This can be done, for example, by stating how “receiving feedback from your manager on your ability to juggle multiple commitments and point out the legal/ commercial issues from a lease agreement solidified your passion for the profession“. Reading between the lines, you can see that I have weaved in two key competencies; (1) balancing multiple tasks and delivering them to a high standard, (2) being open to feedback - which is key for a development programme like a training contract.

Best of luck !!!

 

[Amma Usman]

Hi I wanted to ask if it is normal for Ropes & Gray vacation scheme application to not have a work experience section. I can only see 1 commercial question. It seems very hard to make a decision based solely on that?

Hi ! I’ve made a post on this which I’ve quoted below;

Hey there @helloj ,

This is a really interestingly worded question. I find the ’how that lawyer would drive our business’ part really cute. Essentially, it is asking ’ why you ‘.

In answering why you, I feel it is particularly important to note that there is no work experience section. This means that you will need to choose the most relevant parts of your life/work experiences to show demonstrated interest. I would also like to add that 500 words is a really demure enough word count to get you to write a really cutesy answer!

Another pro tip is that you don’t have to exactly partition the word count into three to write a good answer. You will find that some characteristics may take longer to touch on than others, but each of the three should be adequately explored. Aim for 120-170 words for each characteristic.

Here’s how I would structure my response for each quality:

1. Name the quality.
2. Why you feel it’s important for an outstanding lawyer.
3. Why an outstanding lawyer at Ropes specifically. Since it‘s the only question, you may want to find a way to tie commercial awareness as a characteristic. Perhaps from this, you could then link with how this would enable you to excel in one of their core practice areas - say..their.. finance or private equity practice.
4. How you would drive the business of the law firm using that quality. You may find it helpful to look at the firm‘s long term growth strategy, or how they’ve been expanding/ their position in the market, to gauge some market sentiment. Then, using this trend, explain how you could add value to the firm using that competency. The reason I feel this is useful is that it shows you did your research into the firm’s actual business, and have had a thorough look at your skills to see where and how you can bring this value.

Before all these, I recommend including an introductory sentence stating the three characteristics you will cover. This will provide a clear and easy structure for the recruiter to follow.

Hope this helps!

 

[Amma Usman]

any advice on how to answer this latham question: 'Please give details of your extra-curricular activities, and any prizes, scholarships, positions of responsibility, or noteworthy achievements that will support your application. (300 words)'

Hey @hazanelson , I recall answering questions like this just as the question presents itself. For example, you will need to touch on one of these listed details first (extra-curriculars, prizes, etc), and then link it to the firm (its trainee qualities, and so on). The latter is very important as the question states “that will support your application”, so the tailored approach is very much needed. I know that Latham prides itself on its one-firm culture, and entrepreneurial spirit, among other values. Thus, it’s worth tailoring those fine details to these.

 

[Andrei Radu]

I am applying for a Direct TC for a firm that I had an AC with last year. How do I leverage this in my application?

I think the best way is to leverage interactions you have had during the AC. Just as you might mention a conversation with a trainee at an open day to support one of your points, you can mention a conversation with a partner/associate in an interview. This might be especially valuable if they gave you some deeper insight when you asked questions around your main points of interest in the firm - it will neatly fit in with your 'why the firm' reasons and will demonstrate your desire to continuously learn about it.

 

[Andrei Radu]

any advice on how to answer this latham question: 'Please give details of your extra-curricular activities, and any prizes, scholarships, positions of responsibility, or noteworthy achievements that will support your application. (300 words)'

Just to add to @Amma Usman's great response, I think you should aim to write 2-3 paragraphs using this easy to follow structure:

1. Explain the story of a selected extracurricular/prize/achievement/etc using the usual STAR structure. To the extent possible, quantify your achievement at the 'Results' stage.
2. Explain how the selected extracurricular/prize/achievement/etc demonstrates a skill/attribute/etc.
3. Explain how that skill/attribute is relevant for the work of a trainee in commercial law, and if you can make particular reference to the tasks and responsibilities trainees are usually working on.
4. To the extent possible, explain how that skill is particularly useful at a firm like Latham. Try to make links to any of the firm's unique selling points and main practice area strengths (PE, banking & finance, capital markets, corporate M&A).

 

[Andrei Radu]

If your application and tests etc get you to latter stages of an application are they looked at again or if you have gotten to AC at that stage is it merely performance there that counts.

The main reason I am asking is that I see the depth and length at some of the admin suggested answers which simply do not fit in to 300 or 250 or similar word answers especially if you add in how it relates to you. If you discuss at length one area is it not to the detriment of your application to show you are well rounded?

I am having a good hit rate at getting to AC (but haven't converted to a VS yet). So are my application form answers good enough or just good enough to progress but if looked at again later not good enough? (If that makes sense).

Hey @3000to1shoteverytime that's a great question. For almost every firm I know (with the exception of a very select few that really emphasize grades or WG results), once you got to the AC stage progression is 99% down to AC performance. I have not heard of any firm that still considers application form answers at this stage. At most, a partner or graduate recruiter could skim through them before an interview, but that would be just to get a glimpse into your motivations and experiences, and even that is quite rare. As such, while I still encourage you to make sure your written applications are of a very high quality, you shouldn't worry about any influence to your post-AC progression chances.