TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[fxy]

Has anyone heard from Macfarlanes yet? I scored lowest in credibility - don't know if anyone else also had this?

haven't heard back either

 

[Legalgirl]

Is it safe to assume Davis Polk PFO? Crying in the club rn...

 

[Arbiter141]

Has anyone received word on Latham for the summer vac scheme post app?

 

[Chris Brown]

Does anyone know any firms that are still open for Vac scheme applications and are not rolling?

I think some US firms are e.g., Orrick and Ropes and Gray. Their deadline is 31st Jan and they’re non-rolling.

Stephenson Harwood is open but not sure if they are rolling or non-rolling. This deadline is 28th of Feb for both Spring and Summer VS.

Spring VS starts in April so not sure if they meant 28th Jan. 🤷🏾‍♂️

I’d say it worth double checking if you are going for the Spring VS. 🙂

 

[Chris Brown]

haven't heard back either

Same here I applied and took the test before the final deadline.

I imagine we will hear back by the end of Jan or early Feb.

 

[MissAnnaliseKeating]

Was this after VI?

Post application haha. To be fair, I left it much too late to apply.

 

[Jessica Booker]

guys am i cooked if i mentioned one sentence about an international secondment opportunity to a certain office in a 'why this firm' question. I did still manage to mention two other points about the firm and my interaction with the London office.

This won’t be an issue

 

[theruleofno]

Is it safe to assume Davis Polk PFO? Crying in the club rn...

Spring or Summer?

 

[Jessica Booker]

sorry just to clear it up - i saw an earlier post on the forum from Jessica mentioning that we should focus on work the London does in our answers, so I just wondered whether that sentence would make my commitment to the London office of this firm seem a bit shaky/unserious - but I’m hoping like you said that the other parts of my answer make up for it.

The secondment opportunity is part of the London office offering - this won’t be an issue.

 

[kelisi88]

Anyone heard back from Dentons for AC?

 

[studentdelaw786]

Is Winston & Strawn rolling or non-rolling?

 

[plshireme]

can i abbreviate squire patton boggs to squire or SPB? the word count is tight so want to save as much space as possible

 

[Chris Brown]

can i abbreviate squire patton boggs to squire or SPB? the word count is tight so want to save as much space as possible

Yeah this is fine but just write it in full the first time and then put the abbreviation in brackets. 🙂

Squire Patton Boggs (‘SPB’) would be fine I think. After this, you can just refer to the firm as SPB. 🙂

I did this for HSF and BCLP by writing the full name first and then abbreviating to save space. 🫡

 

[mulan0]

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.

Thank you so much!!

 

[Laylaaa]

They gave me mine today and I applied around mid December

Well done! Do you know if their applications are rolling?

 

[Anonymousxyz]

freshfields WG 🥳

 

[Chris Brown]

freshfields WG 🥳

Congrats 🥳

 

[Chill_solicitor]

does anyone know what Freshfields benchmark is for their WG test?

 

[Amma Usman]

Hi @Amma Usman , just bouncing off this thread- is there a similar thread on TCLA elsewhere that talks about emails and memos? Thank you very much!

Hey @hfbjsdhfbhf ,

With regards emails and memos for written exercises in ACs, I found it helpful also applying those same tips. Overall, you want to ensure you’re adhering to the right structure and formalities, whilst also answering the specific question and not going off tangents.

From my experience, emails tend to be more straight to the point, than memos. With memos, you need to go into detail on a specific topic, sometimes including your own advice and recommendations to the client (where prompted). That said, this does not mean that you may not need to expand in as much detail on an email response - it depends on the needs of the task/questions.

Knowing your recipient is also key. For example, if it’s a piece of info to a client, you will need to avoid legal jargon or explaining obvious things they already know about their industry. For example, there is no need putting return on investment (ROI) in that exact same format, within an email drafted for an investment banking client CEO. Similarly, you do not need to define warranties or indemnities or explain other little legal stuff when addressing your supervisor, for example. Again, all this depends on the needs of the question and whether you are asked to do the counter as I know this also does happen.

Another thing worth mentioning, albeit a granular point, is SPAG. In such short time contraints, you still need to make out time to cross-check your work. Are the commas and dashes in the right place? Have you appropriately used something like its instead of it’s?

There are also different formats to use for both memos and emails, although they are largely similar.

Lastly, headings do help structure out your answer! This is especially helpful when you’re asked multiple questions to respond to within the same email/memo.

 

[Amma Usman]

Anyone have insights regarding reed smith vi?

Hi there @WiddyJ , I’ve linked Andrei’s wonderful thread here to help with your VI prep - https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....de-for-competency-interview-preparation.9380/