TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Chris Brown]

To me it’s impressive when Gemma is managing that entire process on her own!

Gemma (Willkie) is the graduate recruitment GOAT. 🐐​

 

[NJS]

The basic distinction is that with debt financing a company will borrow money from a lender and will in return make a promise to return the initial borrowed sum + an agreed upon interest. With equity financing, the company gets money from an investor but never has to pay the investor back in return. Instead, in exchange for the money the investor gets equity in the company, which is just another term for shares in the company/a percentage of the ownership of the company. Equity financing always takes place when a private company goes public, in that the company issues shares to the public through an IPO and in exchange gets capital which can be used for further growth. However, equity company can also be used by a private company in a private transaction, when existing shareholders agree to sell a part of their shares or issue new shares to a particular investor/group of investors.

To look in more detail at debt financing, the main two methods to obtain it are loans (normally taken from a bank) and bonds (which can be issued to any investors). The difference is that loans normally have to be repaid on a monthly period (the borrower pays a proportional part of the total borrowed sum + interest) while with bonds, the issuer (ie the company that borrowed the money) only has to make the interest payments on a regular basis - the initial borrowed sum (or "the principal") is paid all at once at the end of the agreed upon repayment period (the "maturity date"). While there are a number of other differences that are relevant in assessing the pros/cons of using loans or bonds, for the sake of comparison with equity financing I will look at only advantages and disadvantages that equally apply to both. It should be noted however that in PE generally and for buyouts in particular PE firms normally use highly leveraged loans. Essentially, to minimize the amount of investor capital spent on any transaction (and thus to maximize the total number of profitable transactions a given fund can enter into), a PE firm will normally finance around 75-80% of the cost of a buyout by getting a loan from a bank and then offering as security the assets of the target company itself.

Now, to list some of the main advantages of debt financing I can think of:

• Allows the company (and the controlling PE firm) to keep compete control of the target company. This is particularly important for the PE firm to be able to implement its growth/efficiency improvement plans and its desired exit strategy.
• Allows the PE firm to keep all the dividends and profits from selling the company later on.
• It is often makes for a simpler and more standard negotiation process both for the financing deal and for the actual buyout. For an industry like PE where deals tend to be very fast paced and where targets normally have a number of suitors, this is also a benefit that should not be understated.
• Interest payments are tax-deductible.

Whereas the main advantages of equity financing are:

• It does not add any financial burdens on the target company. This means it should have more capital which can go towards investments in growth rather than repayment of debt. It also decreases risks of insolvency.
• It often means working with institutional investors or huge corporates with significant resources and expertise, which can make them invaluable partners for growing a business. A very successful example of such a relationship is that between Open AI and Microsoft.

what resources do you need to know this? @Andrei Radu , I just had an interview where this would've been super useful, but just my luck I didnt read the forum this morning so i f*cked that lol

 

[KBanana]

@Jessica Booker @Amma Usman
Is the TCLA academy a separate subscription to TCLA premium?

Thanks!

 

[legaleagle11]

I got asked a similar question at my V&E interview on Monday - how would I feel about being on the VS or a trainee with people straight from uni given that I have lots of paralegal etc experience.

Hi! Sorry but can I ask if this is for spring/summer? I completed the VI but haven't heard back

 

[James Wakefield]

To me it’s impressive when Gemma is managing that entire process on her own!

A possible alternative to getting a training contract might be a job application to graduate recruitment at Willkie. They must be thinking of employing a team to help Gemma surely!

 

[xxx]

Hi @Ram Sabaratnam @Amma Usman @Andrei Radu ,

If asked in an AC interview:

Why linklaters (both in the middle east and the UK)?
How does linklaters stand out from other firms (or magic circle firms)?

How should I answer it? I got feedback from an AC that my biggest let down was the fact that my reasons for why the firm were not strong. Thank you!

 

[desperateTCseeker1998]

PW interview this morning!

Congrats! Definitely staggered then!

 

[ashwright]

In my experience, it was strange when there was a second year uni student. Most of the people there were either 3rd year law students or graduates

Rude! Your age is none of their business.

I recently went to an AC that was actually quite eye opening because of the mix of people. There were 2nd year undergrads, graduates and some people who had been paralegals for 5+ years and worked in other industries. I actually found the latter most intimidating! So it didn't feel strange at all to be a few years post graduation. Depending on the firm, its your experience that allows you to do better at AC, and degree of maturity.

This is a them problem not a you problem. They are going to have a bit of a wake up call when they have to start working with people of all ages in a law firm, including trainees and junior qualified lawyer.

This just shows a lot of naivety and immaturity in them in my opinion!

I have a friend who qualified last year at Macfarlanes. Though she had secured the TC via VS in her second year, she was one of the youngest in her cohort. The majority of trainees were graduates who had been working for a couple of years prior to the TC. Of course, this is not the case for all cohorts or for all firms, but you should never think you're too old!

I just find it bizarre how (some) younger students act like it’s the strangest thing in the world to find people older than them applying to the same roles they’re applying for. And to make matters worse, they seem to have some innate urge to actively share with you their ‘wonder’ 😭

Thank you all for the reassurance - it honestly means a lot. The experience happened a few months ago, right at the beginning of this app cycle but the feelings stayed with me since. having received yet another batch of PFOs means that they resurfaced. I am wholeheartedly so grateful to you guys - your support has put to bed that lingering feeling of self-doubt.
Looking forward to improving for next cycle. Onwards + upwards.

 

[sapphireoreos]

Question for anyone who has been to an AC/VS who is not a second year uni student:
Have you ever been questioned by fellow applicants about your age/the fact that you're 'older'/'later in progress' than they are?
My reason for asking is that I had an experience where my peers (all in their second year of uni + i was passed that) were bewildered by my age etc. It was quite tricky fending off questions about why I was 'still' applying/hadn't had any success. It was obviously quite demoralising for myself to handle but I pulled through.
Perhaps it was just that they happened to be young and innocent - unaware of the reality that many people don't get VS/TCs in their second year. However, I'm worried that since I'll be adding yet another year on by next cycle, such experiences will only get worse.
Hoping for some reassurance/anecdotes about how my bad experience was an anomaly 😅
Thanks guys

I went to an AC recently and I think I only met one person who was in their second year of uni. Everyone else were final years, grads, postgrads, career changers or working, so don't worry! I think this also depends on what type of firm you apply to. From what I've heard, AC candidates at MC firms typically tend to skew younger (especially something like Clifford Chance and its SPARK scheme)

 

[sibs23]

I have a friend who qualified last year at Macfarlanes. Though she had secured the TC via VS in her second year, she was one of the youngest in her cohort. The majority of trainees were graduates who had been working for a couple of years prior to the TC. Of course, this is not the case for all cohorts or for all firms, but you should never think you're too old!

I have been applying for quite a lot of cycles now. I am starting to worry whether some firms would completely rule me out now after several years of applying to them, even though I have changed up my application and gained new experiences over the years. I have also noticed that my successful applications this year have been with firms I have never applied to before. In a more positive view, maybe this means that I am getting closer to finding the "right" firm for me ...

 

[floral.tcla]

Hi @Ram Sabaratnam @Amma Usman @Andrei Radu ,

If asked in an AC interview:

Why linklaters (both in the middle east and the UK)?
How does linklaters stand out from other firms (or magic circle firms)?

How should I answer it? I got feedback from an AC that my biggest let down was the fact that my reasons for why the firm were not strong. Thank you!

hi, idk this sorry but were you also rejected from Links post-AC?

 

[floral.tcla]

LL SVS post-AC rejection (which they tell over the phone). their phone is weird because I can't call so I have to wait until tomorrow for feedback. trying not to think about it too much otherwise ill literally break down hahahahah

ffs my lack of confidence let me down this is so annoying

 

[pepsicola96]

Question for anyone who has been to an AC/VS who is not a second year uni student:
Have you ever been questioned by fellow applicants about your age/the fact that you're 'older'/'later in progress' than they are?
My reason for asking is that I had an experience where my peers (all in their second year of uni + i was passed that) were bewildered by my age etc. It was quite tricky fending off questions about why I was 'still' applying/hadn't had any success. It was obviously quite demoralising for myself to handle but I pulled through.
Perhaps it was just that they happened to be young and innocent - unaware of the reality that many people don't get VS/TCs in their second year. However, I'm worried that since I'll be adding yet another year on by next cycle, such experiences will only get worse.
Hoping for some reassurance/anecdotes about how my bad experience was an anomaly 😅
Thanks guys

Sorry you had to deal with that. It's quite surprising to me though. I've only had 1 AC, but I was the only 2nd year uni student. There was one third year, 2 recent post grads, who'd graduated last summer, and then there were 3 older applicants who were in other established jobs.

It's rude none the less, but I think it is just naivety. When i began this process, I was certainly under the impression most people got something in second year. I kept seeing tiktoks of "How i got 4 VS offers on my first attempt" etc so figured of course I'd get at least one or two. In reality it's very common to apply for years without getting anything, not to mention SO many career changers. Keep on doing you! If anything, those kinda questions can sometimes reflect quite badly on the person asking, and grad recruitment is always watching.

 

[VMS]

LL SVS post-AC rejection (which they tell over the phone). their phone is weird because I can't call so I have to wait until tomorrow for feedback. trying not to think about it too much otherwise ill literally break down hahahahah

ffs my lack of confidence let me down this is so annoying

The fact that you got that far with LL is amazing!! I was in a similar boat last year, being rejected from A&O post-AC. Don't let it get you down, just take your feedback and move forward

 

[tomsmitg]

Does anyone by any chance have insight into Taylor Wessing‘s AC?

 

[floral.tcla]

Hi, no i have links AC tomorrow. But, I just got an offer from another firm where they said my weakest performance was on motivation for the firm part, and I don't want to repeat it for Links. 😥

gl. if you have a vs offer at another firm then you're fine either way

 

[floral.tcla]

The fact that you got that far with LL is amazing!! I was in a similar boat last year, being rejected from A&O post-AC. Don't let it get you down, just take your feedback and move forward

thank you gl going forward

im actually thinking of applying to a&o in the next cycle - could I message you?

 

[g.cl.2020344]

any1 else feel like hearing back from firms has slowed down this week? feel like I was so busy hearing back 3 weeks ago and then this week is so slow lol

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

thank you gl going forward

im actually thinking of applying to a&o in the next cycle - could I message you?

hello, could you pls check your DMs. thanks

 

[wqueens8]

Has anyone heard back from Clifford Chance for SPARK yet? They said we'd hear back about VIs this week. Of course it is only half way through the week and there is still time.