TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Hi @Ram Sabaratnam, I hope you are well.

I do not know if you have specific experience with V&E VI, but could you offer any advice on how to best approach my preparation?
I am a bit desperate as I keep failing VIs.
Thank you in advance.

Hiya @AS24

Well done on getting to the VI stage! While the questions may have changed, when I did the V&E VI, we were given 1 minute to think of our answers and 1 minute and 30 seconds to respond. There was one motivational question, and the rest focused on personality and past experiences. Overall, I’d encourage you to really think about your interest in both V&E and commercial law, making sure your answer is specific and structured clearly. I'd also encourage you to have a think about your own skills and unique experiences to date.

More generally, I really think the key to a strong video interview is staying calm, directly answering the question asked, and structuring your response in a way that makes it easy for the viewer to follow. You definitely don't want to pack everything you know about the firm into your response; just the stuff that's most important, relevant, and compelling. I also firmly believe that practising out loud and even recording yourself will help you refine your delivery over time and sound more natural. Try to avoid sounding overly rehearsed (no reading from scripts!), and just have some bullet points ready during your 1 minute preparation time to help you sound slightly more natural.

Good luck!

 

[Chris Brown]

Does anyone know if HL send their PFOs in one batch? I've seen a few people receiving PFOs this morning but have yet to hear from them

It will probably be multiple batches because they do get over 4,000 applications (half of which is for the VS) and invite 200 to VS AC - the rest of the applicants will get a PFO. 😕

If you haven’t heard back yet assume you are still being considered for the AC/VS. Best of luck for HL! 🙂​

 

[yasmars]

Hi @Ram Sabaratnam, I hope you are well.

I do not know if you have specific experience with V&E VI, but could you offer any advice on how to best approach my preparation?
I am a bit desperate as I keep failing VIs.
Thank you in advance.

I think V&E allows you to re-record your answer once if I remember correctly from last cycle!

 

[ashwright]

Just my luck honestly haha. But it was one of my weaker applications and I am an eternal pessimist. Some firms I did VIs with never even got back to me, so I have become very used to failure... especially when I don't hear back. Also there have been quite a few HL invites. They have run 2/3 ACs already I believe.

I completely get what you mean but...still have faith in yourself! It's probably a cliché at this point but remember you just need one offer. there have been so many success stories (even just from today) where people get good news even when they think their app wasn't good.

From what i understand from a person's post on attending an AC a few weeks ago, 2/3 ACs just means 12 people have been invited so far! According to Chambers Student, the scheme has places for 25 people! My numbers/info might be off but hopefully not🤣

 

[ssszzg]

Haven't got a reply from Mishcon spring after the VI or Cooley WG...should I assume a PFO lol

 

[jacksollaf]

Anyone heard from Debevoise? Last year they sent them end of Jan/begining of Feb

 

[floral.tcla]

Does anyone know how many HL SVS applicants pass the WG?

 

[BillSikes]

Does anyone know how many HL SVS applicants pass the WG?

Isn’t it Hogan the one with a really low pass benchmark?

Not to be bitter or anything, but with how good my WG scores are (and they really are brilliant), they clearly don’t place much emphasis on WG percentile.

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

hey guys - when a firm is running two separate vacation scheme dates - ie a June and July scheme - would picking the later one affect my chances of securing the TC in anyway?

Heya @TCseeker17

I'm sure that the very wise @Jessica Booker would have much more to say here, but I wanted to chime in about my experience.

I think this will ultimately depend on the firm, but in general, I've found that where firms host two vacation schemes over the summer, they generally wait until both schemes have finished before making final training contract decisions. This was certainly the case at Cooley, but also at several other firms that I'd received offers from. I think choosing the later scheme shouldn’t put you at a disadvantage in most cases.

The only time timing might make a difference is if a firm runs a winter or spring scheme followed by summer schemes, as some offers may already have been made by the time the later schemes take place. That said, even in these cases, firms usually reserve enough spaces for strong candidates across all schemes. If you’re concerned, it’s worth checking whether the firm has a history of making offers after each scheme or if they assess all candidates together at the end. But overall, I'd suggest focus on performing well during your scheme and choosing a period that's really convenient for you.

 

[studenttolawyer]

hi all! i need some advice about staying in contact with partners.

i had a meeting with a partner from one of the firms i'm interested in several months ago. i got this opportunity through a mutual contact. we had a great chat, he was very friendly, and i learned a lot about the firm and decided to apply there. i got rejected post-app (was sad at first but it's okay).

i would like to send an email to the partner, updating him on the progress of my application. i also would like to express my interest in a paralegal position at the firm after my graduation, and ask who can i talk to regarding this to understand whether i'd be suitable for them.

i am not sure how to approach this as i have never had a partner contact before. i would like to maintain this connection as he was extremely friendly, and i feel like i can learn a lot from him in general.

any advice on how to approach it would be appreciated!

 

[Chris Brown]

Isn’t it Hogan the one with a really low pass benchmark?

Not to be bitter or anything, but with how good my WG scores are (and they really are brilliant), they clearly don’t place much emphasis on WG percentile.

I think they do it on a percentile basis and at one of their events they mentioned it was 37th percentile - not sure what that means as a % or score out of 40. 🥲

They also said they only review applications from all the people who passed the WGT. I think once you pass the WGT, they probably won’t place too much emphasis on it and focus more on the application itself. 🥲

Getting to AC would depend on your overall application; academics, work experience and answers to application questions would carry more weight.​

 

[Apple]

Isn’t it Hogan the one with a really low pass benchmark?

Not to be bitter or anything, but with how good my WG scores are (and they really are brilliant), they clearly don’t place much emphasis on WG percentile.

Even if you scored 40/40 on the WG, if your application answers, grades, work experience, or any other aspect wasn't considered sufficient, you could still be rejected. So you can't conclude they don't care past the benchmark.

 

[studenttolawyer]

HL PFO this morning. this marks the last PFO of this application cycle! if we're talking stats, i got rejected from 100% of the firms i applied to. this is my second application cycle. i thought i'd feel extremely sad, but i guess i've built resilience over time (or it just hasn't hit me yet). i am actually looking forward to the unknown, exploring life after graduation and trying different things... i hope everyone is well, don't get discouraged by rejections, life is so much more than applying for VSs / TCs!

 

[Bread]

Isn’t it Hogan the one with a really low pass benchmark?

Not to be bitter or anything, but with how good my WG scores are (and they really are brilliant), they clearly don’t place much emphasis on WG percentile.

I think they mentioned the pass is 37th percentile or something like that

 

[seaweed.bond]

anyone heard from spb, they said they will let us know by end of this week

When/where did they say this?

 

[yasmars]

A monkey could get 37%

This is very undermining to those who struggle to pass WG’s like myself. I don’t think I’ve ever scored above 28th percentile

 

[SoonToBeTrainee]

This is very undermining to those who struggle to pass WG’s like myself. I don’t think I’ve ever scored above 28th percentile

Second this

 

[Wannabe_Lawyer]

A monkey could get 37%

I think it's 37th percentile, as in how you rank against the other candidates taking the test. I remember doing Addleshaw Goddard's practice tests and scoring in the 30th percentile in a particular section, but I actually correctly answered 80% of the questions in that section. So the 37th percentile could actually translate into a fairly high raw score.

It doesn't help that we don't know what the raw scores are unfortunately.

 

[Bread]

A monkey could get 37%

Percentile means you still have to do better than 36% of people taking the test x

 

[BillSikes]

Second this

My post was not too offend - but to emphasise my opinion in a tongue in cheek manner regarding the pointless nature of them having a WG, if their ’pass rate’ is gonna be so low.