TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Amma Usman]

PFO after PFO despite having 2 vac and working in a firm for the past year, and decent extra curricular, I had good success last year so I'm not sure what's happening at this point now, this whole process has killed me tbh so I think I'm done with it now... In a bit TCLA ✌️

Hey @NJS ,

I’m so sorry to hear that you’re feeling this way, it’s completely understandable. First, I want to acknowledge how much you’ve already achieved: securing two vac schemes, working at a firm for the past year, and building impressive extracurriculars are no small feats. These accomplishments highlight your resilience and capability.

It’s okay to take a step back and focus on yourself. Prioritising your well-being is vital, and stepping away temporarily doesn’t diminish your potential. The legal profession is tough, but you’ve already proven that you have what it takes to succeed in different ways.

Please don’t hesitate to lean on your network for support, we’re all rooting for you. Take care of yourself, and remember you’re not alone in this.

 

[FutureTraineeMaybe]

grad rec told me that they always keep a few spots open in case they get any good apps come through last minute, they deffo look at all apps

Thank you!

 

[Amma Usman]

Thanks Amma, super helpful! Would you recommend adding a summary of points at the start and if so, how much detail would you put into this generally?

Hey @tomsmitg ,

I believe the summary isn’t nescessary as it eats up the word count and space on the page. Preferably, a sentence or two stating what you will cover in the memo/written exercise is sufficient. Sometimes, headings could even make this clearer.

Hope this helps

 

[Amma Usman]

Hey all! I hope you’re all having a fantastic mid-week! I’ve included below 10 sources to help solidify that commercial awareness! Let’s keep going and building up on that skill everyday…!!!

Pro-tip: Take building commercial awareness as a lego exercise - building little blocks everyday before cementing it into a full blown toy machine! It shouldn’t feel like a chore, rather it should feel like an exciting opportunity to learn more about the financial/legal worlds. It’s a habit that certainly takes time to build, so please be patient with your commercial awareness journey!

10 Sources:

1. Financial Times (FT)

2. The Economist

3. Bloomberg

4.The Lawyer

5. Investopedia

6. The Wall Street Journal

7. The Daily Upside

8. LittleLaw

9. Finimize

10. Forbes

Thank you very much, your advice was very insightful! Another point is how much in-depth industry knowledge should I know regarding their work since it is for a training contract I assume they want to be training the person they have?

Hi @zeydi ,

Yes, you are right in suggesting that candidates don’t need to have all the answers, considering it’s a development programme. However, sufficient knowldge on practice areas, current affairs, the financial world and the consequent impact these global changes have on law firms/their clients is quite advantageous and important. The way in which you will be able to streamline how to approach this and not overwhelm yourself with so much data is by choosing areas that interest you, and learning more about them. For example, if it‘s energy and private equity, you should keep up with news on these. If it’s policy or disputes, what are the hot topics on right now? The way I see it, a single news headline can have impacts on so many businesses and law firm practice areas alike. These are things you can touch on in interviews from so many angles.

I’ve quoted a post above with some sources to help build this.

 

[Amma Usman]

@Andrei Radu @Jessica Booker @Amma Usman @Ram Sabaratnam Hi guys, I just wanted some advice on the 'why this firm' element of a question. Do you think it is acceptable to talk just about for example training or do you think it could be quite generic. Would you suggest for the 'why this firm' aspect to link it back to a practice area or deal

Hey @Unknowncabbage ,

If you’re mentioning a training point, you need to be unequivocally clear why it appeals, largely because any candidate can mention this. The way you create a solid answer on this is by providing examples from your life/professional experiences. For example, if a firm has a small intake and you want to touch on that, ask yourself why it does? With little words per application question, every sentence needs to be one of high value. Thus, you can provide an example of how you thrived in a similar environment. Any feedback you received? Did it give you higher responsibility early on? What did you take away from the experience and why is that the type of training culture you want. Therefore, training is generic only depending on how you explain it and link it back to yourself.

Secondly, I always personally mention practice areas first since at the end of the day, the work should be the primary drawing factor. Again, many firms have similar practices, so you will need to touch on why that appeals. If you’re to mention a deal, also ensure to not just drop it, but answer why it specifically draws you the the firm - since again, many deals will be similar across firms. Focusing on a niche or a breakout deal within a sector could be a good starting point if you can softly differentiate it from the work seen at other firms, and why that’ll be the ideal place to train.

A training point should complement a pre-existing strong response to your practice area interests.

 

[mariistm]

Hey there @mariistm

I have quoted a similar post above to help.

For strength based AC tips specifically, my main tip is to know your competencies in and out. This way, you can answer any question that comes up, no matter how challenging it seems. For example, you should naturally have examples that showcase the main competencies law firms look for, such as proactivity, organisational management, and the likes. You will find that you do not need to overwhelm yourself with this, because multiple competencies are shown per experience you have. You just have to explicitly point this out in an interview, because otherwise an interviewer may not necessarily be able to deduce this.

Thank you so much, that’s super helpful!

 

[Monopolyman]

DLA PFO

 

[The-PFO-Collector]

DLA PFO

Same
After WGT
London Office

Applied end of Oct
Passed online assessment end of Oct
Was not given a VI

 

[RSK]

Same
After WGT
London Office

hey, sorry to hear that - when did you apply?

 

[Monopolyman]

Same
After WGT
London Office

Applied end of Oct
Passed online assessment end of Oct
Was not given a VI

I was the exact same

 

[Legalstalker]

I don’t normally post on the forum as much but I am absolutely fuming. I thought that friday would be the last day before Christmas that we’d be hearing back from firms it was nice to not constantly be on my emails checking. I’ve received 3 rejections in 1 hour. What the hell. Rejections are nothing to me but when I sit there for days researching and writing your application, getting on trains and tubes to attend open days missing classes/income as well as sitting and watching online webinars for 1 firm it really boils my blood.

DLA Piper rejection after passing the WG why give it on the 23rd December?? They already knew we were not good enough so why wait 2 days before Christmas I passed the beginging of October. They already gave VS offers very very cruel.​

Dechert rejection, I went to the open day, met them at a law fair and kept in contact after said open day. I was invited to an event from one of their trainees via LinkedIn as I built such good relationships with them all. I put this all in my application. I made a very good application not to sound cocky. I SPOKE to grad rec last week!! And they reject me today like wtf. Fair enough reject me but why on the 23rd? Why 2 days prior to Christmas next thing you know I’ll be getting rejections on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day. Why said your last day is the 20th then continue to send communications after? Day is ruined.​

 

[confusedbird]

Eversheds AC for manchester, any tips would be appreciated as it’s my first ever AC!

Hi, sorry I know this is unrelated to what you asked but given you received an AC invite, do you have any tips for the Eversheds VI?

 

[helloj]

Anyone still waiting to hear from DLA post VI London?

 

[Legalstalker]

Can imagine how frustrating these would be
Ngl, wondering if sending a Dechert application at this point would just be a waste of time. I too attended the open day (where they said to apply end of Nov/early Dec) but then got COVID right after which put me out of action for a long while. I'll probably just focus on non-rolling deadlines after reading what you've written

When I was at the open day they said submit in November and do not apply to winter, do spring or summer. Most of the trainees I spoke to did their summer vs. I then spoke to one of them individually and they asked which intake I planned to submit for as they‘d “keep a look out“ yeah keep a look out to bloody reject me 😐😂 you may as well apply nothing to lose really. They have given some written exercises already. Maybe email them as it seems they’re still working and explaining your situation x​

 

[MT1]

Anyone still waiting to hear from DLA post VI London?

yep, i've been waiting for a while now

 

[corporatelore]

Question - why is that some firms choose to have smaller teams when they could afford to expand?

 

[helloj]

Anyone waiting for DLA just heard back with them saying all spaces for London office ACs are now filled

 

[corporatelore]

Same
After WGT
London Office

Applied end of Oct
Passed online assessment end of Oct
Was not given a VI

Same, and I scored highly on WG . Tbf, I can see a lot of room for improvement in my written application so fair play to them.

That said, I've had the most success with firms where I've attended their events in person. I feel that this has been the most significant factor in whether my application succeeds or not.

 

[futuretrainee!]

I don’t normally post on the forum as much but I am absolutely fuming. I thought that friday would be the last day before Christmas that we’d be hearing back from firms it was nice to not constantly be on my emails checking. I’ve received 3 rejections in 1 hour. What the hell. Rejections are nothing to me but when I sit there for days researching and writing your application, getting on trains and tubes to attend open days missing classes/income as well as sitting and watching online webinars for 1 firm it really boils my blood.

DLA Piper rejection after passing the WG why give it on the 23rd December?? They already knew we were not good enough so why wait 2 days before Christmas I passed the beginging of October. They already gave VS offers very very cruel.

Dechert rejection, I went to the open day, met them at a law fair and kept in contact after said open day. I was invited to an event from one of their trainees via LinkedIn as I built such good relationships with them all. I put this all in my application. I made a very good application not to sound cocky. I SPOKE to grad rec last week!! And they reject me today like wtf. Fair enough reject me but why on the 23rd? Why 2 days prior to Christmas next thing you know I’ll be getting rejections on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day. Why said your last day is the 20th then continue to send communications after? Day is ruined.​

Honestly! I applied to Dechert on the 21st Dec (yup two days ago on a Saturday) AND chose the firm for my AS commercial awareness competition AND spoke to grad rec, MET with all their trainees and associates AND the team sent an email asking me to apply after the AS competition... and I still got rejected - I have a feeling that my application was not read because they already accommodated assessments for their previous applicants which again really unfair since the application was still sent within the deadline...

 

[BonanzaBih_]

if a question asks to talk about an issue a client is 'currently facing' how current is current? can I talk about an issue that began earlier this year say April-July? or does it have to be around now in December, thank you! @Jessica Booker @Andrei Radu @Amma Usman