TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

Jessica Booker

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For Squire Patton Boggs, the first question says “why you are motivated to pursue a career in a commercial law firm, in particular Squire Patton Boggs” but the second question says “Which of our practice areas are you most interested in, what has influenced your interest in this area” (both 200 words).

One of my reasons for why the firm is their work, but should I steer away from that and use other reasons so that my answers don’t overlap? I’m worried that will make my first answer a little vaguer and not tailored enough to the firm if I only discuss things like their initiatives. Any help is appreciated!

@Amma Usman @Andrei Radu @Jessica Booker
From the SPB applications I have seen, it is best to avoid the repetition and just focus on other aspects of the firm's opportunities outside of practice areas. This can include things like sector expertise, the structure of their training contract/trainee supervision, cultural aspects of the firm, or things like their approach to CSR/pro-bono/client relationships etc. I think you can often still find things that are very SPB specific for these and then focus on the practice areas in the other question, especially as you also have to cover "why commercial law" in this question too, which means you don't have a lot of word count to dedicate to these other factors.
 

Jessica Booker

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Hi @Jessica Booker, @Andrei Radu, @Amma Usman

I am applying to Paul Weiss and for the first question that asks "As a premier law firm, how do you think Paul, Weiss maintains its competitive advantage?", do you think I should focus just on the work of the London office or would it be good to include some of the work they do internationally and particularly in the US?
I think you can discuss the firm more broadly but I would encourage anyone to tailor it more to the London office where appropriately. For instance, you might identify a theme that is a strategy the firm takes across its network, but then find an example of how they deliver that specifically within London.
 
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