TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Andrei Radu]

@Andrei Radu Hey Could I please get your advice on something really quickly. I am writing a cover letter for Travers (1000 words max). I was wondering if you had any resources in mind that would be useful and in general if you had any advice. That would be really useful, thank you

For research, some sources for a quick overview would be the firm's Chambers UK 2025 Profile, the Chambers Student Profile, and TCLA Law Firm Profile. Try to identify two or three unique selling points of the firm that you can connect to your motivations and experiences. Besides this, for writing, I recently compiled a list of questions to ask yourself as you are writing/reviewing an application - they implicitly showcase what I think is most important for obtaining a high quality application.

In terms of generally applicable questions, a few I would list are:

1. Am I answering every question in such a complete, persuasive and clear manner that I would find no issues with it, even if I reviewed it with a purpose of finding as many inadequacies as possible?
2. Is my style of writing formal enough that it could be published in a Reuters or Financial Times article?
3. Is my structure and writing clear enough that a normal person would get every point I am making on a quick read/skim?
4. Is my use of language so concise that there is no possibility of expressing my ideas with a better word per added value ratio? Am I sure there aren't any phrases and words that I could cut while keeping the essential information there?
5. Am I linking my main motivations with examples of experiences?
6. Am I being very specific when describing the nature of my motivations and the activities in my experiences?
7. Am I using a STAR structure when describing my main experiences?
8. Am I demonstrating the relevance of my experiences and skills by making plausible connections to the role and responsibilities of a trainee at the firm I am applying at?

 

[Jessica Booker]

When an application asks: is this law-related work experience, does this just mean professional law roles like interning in a legal department or completing a vac scheme? That was my initial interpretation but I am now wondering about roles I have taken within law societies and tutoring law modules - it seems counterintuitive to say these roles are not law related? Please could somebody help, thanks!

I would not include society roles.

The law tutoring is a bit of a grey area, but I suspect they mean providing legal advice in any capacity rather than topic.

 

[Tiffanychan4]

I’m scared 😭 how are you feeling ?

im so scared too!!! my first VI and i feel like im prepping for ages and still not got enough, i'm not too sure what questions they will ask hhaaha

 

[VacSchemer]

Eversheds AC! My first AC of the cycle, so would appreciate any advice and tips to do well! Please do PM me if anyone has been successful to secure a vac scheme at the firm!

 

[Andrei Radu]

@Andrei Radu Hi Andrei! Are interview invites for DPW sent in a single batch or over a few days?

Unfortunately I do not know, I am not involved in the firm's recruitment department. That said, considering the application deadline was only on the 19th of December, the recent interview invites have come quite early, so I would not be surprised if the firm had still not finished sending all of them.

 

[CG_101]

Last question from me i promise guys 😭 you're all so helpful

I'm still filling in the freshfields app. It only seems to be possible to add one degree. I changed my course after a few months of first year, so I usually Add it as a second degree, and put details in mitigating circumstances sections.

Should I a) add it as a year of my second degree, e.g 1) Politics 1st Year grades: xxxxx( even though this is my last course) 1) Politics 2nd Year grades: xxxxx (these would be first year grades of my politics course). And then detail the situation in mitigating circumstances.

Or should I b) just explain the situation in the mitigating circumstances box.

Don't want to mislead or leave out any information and have it come back to bite me, but also feels equally odd to put the grades for a different degree under my current degree.

I'm in this exact situation. With Freshfields we have the CV, so I made sure to detail both degrees on the CV and didn't worry too much past that because we simply couldn't't fit it in. I usually put all my modules in from both degrees and just label which university they came from. I did that for Slaughters and just had my interview so I think it's fine as long as they can figure it out. most app forms aren't designed for this situation.

 

[Chill_solicitor]

Last question from me i promise guys 😭 you're all so helpful

I'm still filling in the freshfields app. It only seems to be possible to add one degree. I changed my course after a few months of first year, so I usually Add it as a second degree, and put details in mitigating circumstances sections.

Should I a) add it as a year of my second degree, e.g 1) Politics 1st Year grades: xxxxx( even though this is my last course) 1) Politics 2nd Year grades: xxxxx (these would be first year grades of my politics course). And then detail the situation in mitigating circumstances.

Or should I b) just explain the situation in the mitigating circumstances box.

Don't want to mislead or leave out any information and have it come back to bite me, but also feels equally odd to put the grades for a different degree under my current degree.

I think just put the grades for your current degree now. Unless you have a formal qualification from your 1st one - I wouldn’t say it’s mitigating circumstances as you’re doing a new degree

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi @Andrei Radu and all,

I have a pre recorded VI with a US firm. I'm not too worried about the questions themselves but I have a tendency to speak in a monotone voice when I am nervous during video interviews. For some this may be perceived as a lack of enthusiasm and confidence.

Will this be marked against me if my answers are still clear, concise and well structured? Basically I'm trying to find out what the criteria is for a video interview? If anyone has any insights I would appreciate it.

Thanks

It’s difficult to know as law firms will all have different criteria. However, if you are aware of it, I would just try to consciously make an effort to create more engagement in your tone.

It sounds crazy, but one thing I encourage people to do is have a picture/image of something you like near your laptop (or split screen on your laptop). It could be a picture of you/friends/family that envokrs a happy memory or a picture of a holiday destination:your favourite sports team. Having it nearby gives you something to visually focus on that’s positive. And if you look at it, you are more likely to 1) smile more (or at least look less nervous) and 2) if you do smile, your tone naturally lifts and will sound less monotone.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Last question from me i promise guys 😭 you're all so helpful

I'm still filling in the freshfields app. It only seems to be possible to add one degree. I changed my course after a few months of first year, so I usually Add it as a second degree, and put details in mitigating circumstances sections.

Should I a) add it as a year of my second degree, e.g 1) Politics 1st Year grades: xxxxx( even though this is my last course) 1) Politics 2nd Year grades: xxxxx (these would be first year grades of my politics course). And then detail the situation in mitigating circumstances.

Or should I b) just explain the situation in the mitigating circumstances box.

Don't want to mislead or leave out any information and have it come back to bite me, but also feels equally odd to put the grades for a different degree under my current degree.

I’d just explain it in the mitigating circumstances or additional information section rather than adding it to the other degree. I strongly suspect you can add more than one degree though.

 

[Zaraa.x]

Hmm,
Gowling told me

Assessment length
5 tasks, ~5-10 mins each

NRF have told me

Assessment length
4 tasks, ~5-10 mins each

AIR for Gowling I got:
* curve/straight + odd/even reaction time game
* arrows reaction time game
* place and rotate the shapes so that they resemble the previous shape rotated 90 degrees
* fit the tetris pieces
* face recognition
* safe cracking
* maths reactions: pop the bubbles that sum to -42, etc.

that seems to be more than 5 tasks, but IDK.

I’ve done the NRF test and it was 8 games and the email from arctic shores says 8 tasks 5-10mins each. The report focuses on 4 main qualities with individual qualities under the 4 main ones.

I’ve never done the Gowling one before however, based on what the tasks you mentioned. The NRF test also has face recognition, arrows reaction and safe cracking game.

 

[Jessica Booker]

@Jessica Booker Hi Jess, hope you're well. Just wondering, I've been in talks regarding starting an admin role part-time at a high street law firm. Is this something that would have much sway in the application process or would you advise going for something more engaging?

I wouldn’t say any job has sway in an application form on its own, but it will be a good role to have on your application form/CV and will show a lot of transferable skills.

 

[Jessica Booker]

A bit of a sneaky question, but does anyone think it is worth withdrawing their linklaters application if still on hold/ 66% and applying for the TC instead? That way at least we have a shot.

I am pretty sure the firm would still count your first application, especially if you have completed their assessments.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Question on repeating information!!

So Travers has the following questions on their application form:
"Please provide details of your main extra-curricular activities and leisure interests.
Please provide details of any positions of responsibility that you have held and your key achievements."

Is it OK to repeat the things I talk about here in the general 'work experience' section? @Andrei Radu (sorry for tagging you for the millionth time 😭😭)

I personally wouldn’t repeat information and instead strategically choose what to include in each section.

 

[Jessica Booker]

reed smith vi said there's unlimited prep time before answering each question, but all questions must be completed in one sitting once the vi process is started? does it mean i can take a break between each question if i don't close the window? appreciate any insights on what it's really like. tia!

I definitely wouldn’t close the window. You can take time between questions though if there is unlimited time to prepare, I would just keep the window open and the platform running.

 

[Jessica Booker]

quick q, does anyone know how many offices/in how many countries freshfields has? I've briefly mentioned it as 33 because that's what legal cheek says, but now i've seen 28 reported on a different website, and i checked FF website, and counted their offices and got 30, but that included Manchester, which Idk if it counts as an office, or if there's others like that etc 😭

it's not that important so I might just remove it, unless anyone knows for sure.

I would challenge whether the number is relevant or important to the point you are making in your application. You don’t have to tell the firm how many offices they have and i think it’s hard for anyone to explain what that specific number of offices is important to their motivations/reasons for applying.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Anyone done the NRF Arctic Shores? Same as Gowling's?
My feedback from Gowling was:

"How you understand others": 4/4 - I always do well on emotion recognition games
"How you respond to change" 1/4 - I'm sure this is from reacting too slowly or wrongly in the press x/y type games
"How you attend to tasks & decisions" 1/4 - I'm not sure what this relates to specifically
"How you approach challenges" 3/4 - I think this is spending too long on the game at the end.
"How you identify patterns & rules" 4/4 - I will have performed very well on the maths stuff

So my concern is that research proves that reaction times decline with age and I'm 40+.

NRF have asked "If you have require any reasonable adjustments please do let us know as soon as possible and we can look at what adjustments cant be made."

I'm slightly confused by this because they say on their form that "We’re positive about employing disabled people and are an accredited Disability Confident Employer. As a Disability Confident organisation we offer interviews to disabled people that meet the minimum criteria for our roles."

On that basis I therefore disclosed that I have ASD (although I don't have a formal diagnosis, I would likely get one), so I'm a bit confused now about this, in that I've already disclosed a disability so there's some second-guessing perhaps on whether I should request an adjustment. In addition, I don't think that the people at Arctic Shores have considered that their games are age discriminatory specifically, and it says on the Arctic Shores page only that any of the following may warrant an adjustment and/or additional time:

"▶ ADHD ▶ Autism ▶ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ▶ Dyscalculia ▶ Dysgraphia ▶ Dyslexia ▶ Dyspraxia ▶ Epilepsy ▶ Mental Health Issue ▶ Multiple Sclerosis ▶ Physical Disability"

but age is not listed there.

I'm very much in doubt that it would be a good idea to email NRF and say "hey, your testing discriminates on the basis of age, which is illegal", even though it's obvious that it does. So maybe I just email and say "I'd like more time for the split-second games on the basis of ASD meaning I have slower reactions" [even though this is probably scientifically much less certain than the age issue, lol]? Anyone with experience dealing with this?!

it is best to ask for adjustments ahead of these assessments rather than after they have been completed. It maybe that you will need to do the assessment again of you do request the adjustment. Some firms may choose to ignore your results completely and effectively create the adjustment by allowing you to skip this stage.

What I do know from my knowledge of these assessments, is that age would not impact your ability to do these assessments though as speed of response is not a “quickest wins” measurement.

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi @Andrei Radu and all,

I have a pre recorded VI with a US firm. I'm not too worried about the questions themselves but I have a tendency to speak in a monotone voice when I am nervous during video interviews. For some this may be perceived as a lack of enthusiasm and confidence.

Will this be marked against me if my answers are still clear, concise and well structured? Basically I'm trying to find out what the criteria is for a video interview? If anyone has any insights I would appreciate it.

Thanks

Just to add to @Jessica Booker's and @jta227's great advice, one thing I did to improve my style of speaking has been to pay a lot more attention and to try to consciously control the pace of and the breaks in my speech. Simply including two or three well-placed pauses between points and by slowing your normal pace when articulating more complicated ideas will make you sound a lot more impactful - take a look at this short clip of Jim Donovan (one of the leading executives at Goldman Sachs) explaining and simultaneously illustrating the effectiveness of pauses. If you have the time, I would also advise you to watch his longer recorded lectures such as 'Are you destined to deal?', it is an amazing example of what a less-flashy but extremely effective oral communication style looks like.

Finally, to build up on one of Jessica's pointers, I have a friend who dealt with a similar issue, but he found that if I sat on the other side of the table while he was recording himself he would be able to act as if he was speaking to me and thus perform a lot better. It may sound unorthodox, but I would give it a try !

 

[Andrei Radu]

Question on repeating information!!

So Travers has the following questions on their application form:
"Please provide details of your main extra-curricular activities and leisure interests.
Please provide details of any positions of responsibility that you have held and your key achievements."

Is it OK to repeat the things I talk about here in the general 'work experience' section? @Andrei Radu (sorry for tagging you for the millionth time 😭😭)

I think it is fine to repeat in the sense of using examples which consist of experiences listed in the work experience section as well - I did this in almost all of my applications. However, you should avoid repeating the descriptions of those experiences. To the extent possible, try to have a different content and substantive points made in the application form and in the work experience section. Regardless, make sure that at least the wording is quite different, as you should definitely not have identical paragraphs and sentences.

 

[dm_corporate]

Just to add to @Jessica Booker's and @jta227's great advice, one thing I did to improve my style of speaking has been to pay a lot more attention and to try to consciously control the pace of and the breaks in my speech. Simply including two or three well-placed pauses between points and by slowing your normal pace when articulating more complicated ideas will make you sound a lot more impactful - take a look at this short clip of Jim Donovan (one of the leading executives at Goldman Sachs) explaining and simultaneously illustrating the effectiveness of pauses. If you have the time, I would also advise you to watch his longer recorded lectures such as 'Are you destined to deal?', it is an amazing example of what a less-flashy but extremely effective oral communication style looks like.

Finally, to build up on one of Jessica's pointers, I have a friend who dealt with a similar issue, but he found that if I sat on the other side of the table while he was recording himself he would be able to act as if he was speaking to me and thus perform a lot better. It may sound unorthodox, but I would give it a try !

Thanks all!
What a coincidence - I watched this video earlier today so hopefully these tips will help me going forward.

 

[Andrei Radu]

When an application asks: is this law-related work experience, does this just mean professional law roles like interning in a legal department or completing a vac scheme? That was my initial interpretation but I am now wondering about roles I have taken within law societies and tutoring law modules - it seems counterintuitive to say these roles are not law related? Please could somebody help, thanks!

I do not think there is a determinate meaning for 'law-related work experience', most likely it differs depending on how individual departments/recruiters choose to interpret it. Regardless of the interpretation however I believe it is quite unlikely any of them would take issue with you classifying the aforementioned experiences as law-related. I did the same thing in my applications for law society roles and it did not seem to impact me.