TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Andrei Radu]

Any tips on AC group exercise would be greatly appreciated please!!

Hi @member3804 I think to have a great AC group exercise performance, you need (1) to ensure you show the desired interpersonal traits like collaboration and leadership; and (2) you want to ensure you showcase the desired substantial commercial/legal analysis and negotiation skills, which necessitates taking up a sufficient portion of the airtime. Since everyone will want to speak enough to impress, there is a natural tension between the friendly and group-outcome oriented attitude required to excel at (1) and the individual performance focus in a competitive environment required to excel at (2). You will therefore need to walk a fine line to have an overall great performance.

While the way you should go about it will heavily depend on the format of the assessment, details of the exercise, and the strategies of the other participants, I have a few tips based on my own experience:

• Offer to keep the time: this shows a proactive attitude while not being very demanding as to your mental focus. It also enables you to (i) avoid taking the responsibility of any required writing, which is more demanding; and (ii) naturally intervene at certain points in the discussion to mention time considerations, which is also an opportunity for you to add substantive points.
• Try to introduce structure and organization: instead of simply throwing yourself in discussing substantive points, try to introduce a framework: what points will you discuss, in what order, how much time will you spend on each, and what relevant assessment criteria should you keep in mind when analyzing the points?
• Focus on finding more niche/less-obvious analysis points: as you are given a brief for the group exercise task, you will normally have a bit of preparation time during which you can think what points to bring up. You will find some points that are really intuitive which you will know the others likely also thought of. Instead of focusing on those and fighting with everyone to get to express those obvious points, I would use that time (and the extra thinking time in the initial discussion phase when everyone is fighting to say the obvious points) to find relevant ideas that others may have missed. The, as the discussion is winding down on that subpart of the task, I would mention these more niche points. This will avoid making you seem competitive and also showcase ability for more nuanced analysis.
• Focus on synthesis and weighing: another similar strategy for impressive contribution which may not require too much fighting over airtime is to once again seek to contribute as the discussion on the substantive points is winding down. What you can do here is intervene to summarize what everyone has contributed, weigh their points, and then make an informed argument as to what the decision should be.

 

[Jessica Booker]

i wanted to ask how regulated this site was, i am new to it all so not familiar with who the staff are only Jessica. are we not allowed to make jokes or speak about other things i noticed all the funny messages yesterday were deleted which i found light hearted and was nice to make others laugh during a stressful period. we are all adults some older than others are we not allowed to make jokes. I want to be respectful of the environment already created so I’m not upsetting others. thank you

No messages have been deleted in the last week by the TCLA team. Posts can be easily deleted by the person who posted them though, and the TCLA team have no control over someone editing or deleting their previous posts.

The last posts that were deleted by the TCLA team were in relation to a conversation from last Saturday afternoon that resulted in a permanent ban of one member and any posts related to that conversation were deleted after a certain point where the conversation derailed the thread.

The forums are monitored by over 6 team members regularly and any content breaking the TCLA rules will be edited or removed. You can find the rules here: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/help/terms/

You are welcome to make jokes within the boundaries of the TCLA rules. However, I think you are highly mistaken if you think jokes have been removed from forum posts in the last 48 hours. As mentioned earlier, it maybe that others have chosen to remove their own content though.

I am happy to follow up if you want to direct me to any conversations you think have been removed though.

I’d also stress that someone being older than other people on this forum does not have any correlation to their ability to make jokes or be willing to be on the receiving end of them. In fact, it’s been an exceptionally small minority of forum members who have proclaimed maturity that have been our frequent rule breakers and yet seem to also be the most sensitive when it comes to reporting others.

 

[happdyln]

Anyone still not heard back from DLA? was told I passed the VI over two weeks ago now, but no ac invite / rejection?

 

[Andrei Radu]

HL Lift Off PFO. feels extremely disheartening, but i keep going.

could anyone advice, in their opinion, whether it is worth applying for the VS route? i remain passionate about the firm.

First off, I can completely empathize with how disappointing it can feel to be rejected from a firm you really like and after putting a lot of effort in the application. However, remember that this is no indication as to your worth - even the very best candidates have to face so many more rejections than acceptances. The cycle before last I was rejected at first stage in every single application. The way I eventually turned the situation around was by refusing to give up, always coming back more committed to doing better and to keep moving forward. I think this is the only way to succeed and this is the attitude I would advise you to try to embrace.

Secondly, it is not that uncommon for people to be rejected in one competitive application and be accepted in another in the same application cycle and at the same firm - I remember @Ram Sabaratnam wrote about being rejected for an open day at Cooley and still getting a VS and TC offer afterwards. Since applications are so competitive, progression is a game of small margins as recruiters have to make judgement calls in deciding between multiple strong candidates. I think a combinations of potential improvements in your application (even if you think your Lift Off applications were really good, trust me that there is always room for improvement) and the factor of luck (as different recruiters on different days will emphasize different criteria when making those difficult judgement calls) could definitely lead to VS progression, so I think it is worth a shot.

 

[emma.d]

Any examples of Willkie PE deals/ where to find info on this?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Any examples of Willkie PE deals/ where to find info on this?

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Private Equity | Chambers UK Profile

Gain insights on the legal knowledge of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in the practice area of Private Equity department and discover their rankings.

chambers.com

Private Equity | Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Willkie is one of the industry’s preeminent advisors to private equity funds, having counseled sponsors, targets and portfolio companies for more than 50 years. Our team handles transactions wor

www.willkie.com

 

[NJS]

Unfortunately it looks like you need to currently be studying.

This is from their website:

View attachment 6515

Why do firms have these policies? Surely they are missing out on good candidates with decent experience this way?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Why do firms have these policies? Surely they are missing out on good candidates with decent experience this way?

There could be a few reasons (none of which I agree with).

1) helps to manage application numbers by restricting it to a certain group of people.

2) there is less risk of people reneging an offer where they cannot start another TC earlier than the offer the firm will give

3) there is less risk of people needing conflict checks / approval from other employers as they are less likely to be working elsewhere where they are in full time education

4) there is less risk of someone qualifying earlier with previous work experience and therefore not completing the training contract

They will definitely be missing out on good candidates but their theory will be that there are enough good candidates for them to find in the smaller pool of candidates that are eligible. For firms with small intakes, they only have to worry about finding a small number of good people and they can take that risk with a smaller pool of eligible candidates.

 

[Ricky]

Unfortunately it looks like you need to currently be studying.

This is from their website:

View attachment 6515

It also says this on the Trainee Solicitors Programme page, although that might just be for direct applications. I will email and ask for clarification as I plan to apply for their vac scheme.

 

[Jessica Booker]

It also says this on the Trainee Solicitors Programme page, although that might just be for direct applications. I will email and ask for clarification as I plan to apply for their vac scheme.

View attachment 6516

It says vacation schemes though at the start of the paragraph - so it is not clear/is inaccurate if they actually do allow grads to apply.

 

[legal18]

When I'm talking about current trainees in an interview setting would it be ok to just mention their first name?

 

[carys09]

Hiya! I was wondering if anyone could help clarify what counts as an 'extracurricular activities'? e.g. when a firm asks 'Please give details of any interests and extra-curricular activities, including any positions of responsibility or achievements. Tell us what skills and competencies you have developed in the activities you have undertaken and how you developed these' would positions on may ball/law ball committees, student unions, law society committee etc count as extracurricular or should I only include that as work experience? Could mooting also fall under extracurriculars? As most of my hobbies aren't group-based (e.g. knitting, reading) I have not been involved in any sport/hobby societies at uni. I know firms like people to be well-rounded and have interests outside of work/study but at the same time my hobbies/interests aren't those which you can use to demonstrate achievements or positions of responsibility so I'm not sure how to approach this question

 

[Toenails]

does sully crom place great emphasis on grades?

 

[AlegalA]

Hey guys! I need advice for DAC Beachcroft application. I'm really confused about the layout.

On the first page, they have three boxes fill in.
The first on is called "personal summary" and is described as "your personal summary is your opportunity to summarise your key skills and achievements and include positive words that describe you as a person. Highlight the roles you have held and your key achievements to date. Avoid anything that narrows down your options too much unless you are only applying to very specific roles".
The second is "interest and hobbies", described as "We understand people have a range of hobbies outside their working lives - let us know what you do in your spare time".
And the third is to do with personal and professional referees.

None of these have a word count.

On the second page, we are requested to upload our CV.

The "instructions" on their website only say:

• The application window closes on 31st January 2025 – to apply you will need to upload a current CV

I'm confused mostly about the first question to be honest. I can obviously take out my interest and hobbies from my CV and expand on them in the text box, given they're not a huge part of it, but isn't the first question asking about what I've written in my CV?
Also, given there's no word count what would you recommend I aim for?

Any advice would be amazing @Jessica Booker @Ram Sabaratnam , or if anyone's gone through their app process and has any insight, that would be super helpful!

Thanks guys

 

[Tcvspfo]

When I'm talking about current trainees in an interview setting would it be ok to just mention their first name?

I say trainee Alex Malcolm or sometimes say trainee David. I think if you attended an event you can just say listening to or speaking to Rahul at event X as firms know which trainees volunteered for which of their events.

 

[Jessica Booker]

When I'm talking about current trainees in an interview setting would it be ok to just mention their first name?

I’d generally try to use full names unless the name is quite unique.

 

[AS24]

Yes - your agency could be a good alternative. If you are through your own limited company and have an accountant, your accountant may also be a good referee (this is what I have had to do in my line of work before).

Thank you @Jessica Booker

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hiya! I was wondering if anyone could help clarify what counts as an 'extracurricular activities'? e.g. when a firm asks 'Please give details of any interests and extra-curricular activities, including any positions of responsibility or achievements. Tell us what skills and competencies you have developed in the activities you have undertaken and how you developed these' would positions on may ball/law ball committees, student unions, law society committee etc count as extracurricular or should I only include that as work experience? Could mooting also fall under extracurriculars? As most of my hobbies aren't group-based (e.g. knitting, reading) I have not been involved in any sport/hobby societies at uni. I know firms like people to be well-rounded and have interests outside of work/study but at the same time my hobbies/interests aren't those which you can use to demonstrate achievements or positions of responsibility so I'm not sure how to approach this question

The examples are all extracurriculars and in my view should not be in work experience sections.

The general rule is that extracurriculars / positions of responsibility should be the things you choose to do, while work experience should be the things you are contractually committed to.

The exceptions to work experience are volunteer roles where you are delivering a service, and things like open days, virtual work experience programmes.

 

[Rus]

Ashurst's test is unironically the worst

 

[helloj]

Anyone have any insights into the Mayer Brown job sim? Are the video interviews competency, behavioural or motivation based? Unsure on how to prepare