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TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25
- Thread starter Jessica Booker
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- vacation scheme
Thank you!!
Basically, I made for myself a little list of firms I actually truly care about and love, which I wrote with the utmost level of care and effort (including HFW, which I am so happy about); and then other firms which I wouldn't mind working there, but aren't my favourite, which I took a fair amount of time, but not as much honestly as the ones I truly want.
My top 5 choices besides HFW:
1) Baker McKenzie (rejected though) 2) W&C (rejected though) 3) HSF (rejected though) 4) Debevoise 5) King & Spalding
Hmm, interesting. I haven’t heard yet and I was meant to be fast-tracked from going to their open day
Has anyone had experience with Vinson & Elkin's Winter Vacation Scheme? It says on their website that applications are open for about three months, but the scheme will only go ahead if they do not fill up all their TC places after the Summer Vac Scheme? From personal experience does the Winter vacation scheme usually go ahead then? Would love any insights, thank you!!
- Sep 9, 2024
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At least initially I did not really have a particular strategy in mind, as I never imagined I would be in a position to choose between different TCs; and because regardless I would have been very happy with any of the three. My main course of action was to try to talk to as many people as possible at different seniority levels within the firms and get their perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of each firm when compared to the others. At the same time, I would ask them what they thought should be the key considerations I focus on when making my decision. As I was going through this process and also conducting further research on my own (particularly to compare prior mandates in the areas I was interested in) I started putting down the relevant considerations on paper, comparing the pros and cons of each option. As this went on, it became to me clearer and clearer that Davis Polk was the right choice for me for a number of different reasons such as:
- Client relationships and quality of work: the firm's US reputation, and especially its long standing institutional relationships in Wall Street, was an important consideration. For US firms in London a big part of their work will originate from clients in the US, so their renown there is a crucial (though often overlooked) factor to consider if you want top of the market work.
- Small but extremely efficient corporate practice in London: Davis Polk's London corporate team is very lean compared to most rivals, with competitors with the same Chambers M&A and equity capital markets rankings having teams from double to 4/5 times the headcount. That suggests that the firm's individual practitioners are extremely efficient, which is further evidenced by the rankings in The Lawyer's Corporate Efficiency report. In 2023 Davis Polk was first by a significant margin and in 2024 it came second only after Paul, Weiss, and had the best/second best revenue per corporate lawyer and revenue per corporate partner figures in both years. This quality-focused approach is illustrated in the firm's average deal value figures as well: while Davis Polk works on a significantly lower number of transactions than a Latham or Kirkland, the average value of a mandate the firm works on is around three times higher - in fact, in 2023 it was the highest in the world. As at this point I knew I wanted to be a corporate lawyer and to work in a lean team, this very quality-focused strategy was attractive to me.
- Seat rotation structure: Davis Polk's pinpointed corporate-finance focus and small size means that the firm foes not operate the usual strict 4 seats rotation structure. Instead, the process is a lot more "conversational" and it is not uncommon to do even 3 seats in corporate if you want to. Since I know this is the area I likely want to work in, this system was a lot more attractive to me than a more conventional and broader training experience.
- Strong financials and growth plan: Davis Polk has historically been leading global average PEP rankings, in the last 10 years having the 3rd average PEP per year in the world (only behind Wachtell and Kirkland). This signals a very successful business model, which allows the firm to make substantial investments when appropriate. This enabled Davis Polk to begin a period of expansion in London while keeping a very high quality-focused approach - its recent lateral hires only include Chambers-ranked star partners, poached from Paul Hastings, Sidley, and A&O Shearman; something that rival firms with a weaker financial position might not have been capable of.
Perhaps, you might not have to go through the video interview stage and instead get fast forwarded to the step after that? I did not attend their open day but I am assuming they are sending them out in blocks. From the open day did they inform you how the structure of applications is meant to go? i.e. first stage test Arctic shores, recruitment interview - what's after that? thanks also good luck!
- Sep 9, 2024
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I have linked here the Complete Competency Interview Guide I have recently written. Take a look particularly at section 1 and 2 as they contain my most useful tips for VI preparation.
- Sep 9, 2024
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I have written a post with my thoughts on this issue, I will quote it bellow:
Open day attendees only bypass the arctic shores and go straight to application screening stage. I guess we just have to be patient!
Congrats and well deserved 🎉🎉🎉
- Sep 9, 2024
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I think how much information you give for each experience is highly depended on the context. For instance, if it is an internship or a paralegal work experience, which will have involved a variety of different responsibilities over an extended period of time, it is perfectly acceptable to have multiple bullet points. For my most substantive experience I actually had 3 bullet points for each of the two seats I did. However, if this were a Forage Virtual Internship, it would not have made sense to have more than two bullet points.General question about CVs. I have received different advice on how many bullet points/information to include under each experience. Some have recommended to include no more than 2 bullet points and others have said that I am not stelling myself enough. What do you all think?
Could I please have your opinion? @Jessica Booker @Andrei Radu Thank you
While in my view there is no "rule" for how many bullet points or how much word count you can have per experience, you need to exercise your judgement in terms of how much value adding extra information provides, keeping in mind that you want to make the CV as easy to read as possible.
Does anyone have any insights for Akin AC? First time having to do a group exercise and proofreading so I'm not sure how exactly to prepare. Any tips would really help!!
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