TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[gazdgazd11]

@Ram Sabaratnam @Jessica Booker @Amma Usman @Andrei Radu

Hi all, I have 3 ACs (one next week) and I’ve never done one. I’ve been preparing but I’m particularly stressed about written exercises. I won’t have time to do a mock one before next week.

I would like to ask what documents could be required as a written exercise. I know there’s a client letter, memo, but could you please tell me what else there could be? I need to prepare structure wise.

Additionally, I would like to confirm whether all written exercises must include an executive summary.

Thank you so much in advance. You guys are saving me this cycle!

 

[gazdgazd11]

Hey all! I would like to ask for some advice.
This week I got two post AC rejections- White & Case and Fieldfisher. I feel pretty terrible. I have one final AC to go before I am out of options, but needless to say, my confidence is rocked.
This is my first(ish) cycle of applications, but I am graduating and unsure of what I will be able to do afterwards, which is where my question comes in: I fully intend to try another cycle, but what should I do in the meantime? I am graduating from a really top uni and am worried it will look bad if I keep working in hospitality (and maybe even travel for a bit), so I am uncertain.
Any help appreciated! xx

Im sorry about the rejections. You’ve reached so many final stages at some of the most competitive firms, which is great. I’m not a professional but personally, I graduated in 2022, and I’ve not had a good job until last year (law but in my country, not UK) and Ive managed to secure 3 ACs now. I think many people work in hospitality before their TC. I really doubt it could be an issue as there are many transferable skills. I would obviously try to apply for paralegal roles, but I know these are hard to get too (as someone who’s been trying). But imo hospitality isn’t bad. Just my impression of the process btw.

 

[knight1999]

Hey all! I would like to ask for some advice.
This week I got two post AC rejections- White & Case and Fieldfisher. I feel pretty terrible. I have one final AC to go before I am out of options, but needless to say, my confidence is rocked.
This is my first(ish) cycle of applications, but I am graduating and unsure of what I will be able to do afterwards, which is where my question comes in: I fully intend to try another cycle, but what should I do in the meantime? I am graduating from a really top uni and am worried it will look bad if I keep working in hospitality (and maybe even travel for a bit), so I am uncertain.
Any help appreciated! xx

I‘m kind of in the same boat - I was thinking about volunteering abroad (in Africa or SEA) this would give you the time to travel and discover things while you will also gain a unique selling point for law firms (at least the ones that actually care about you as a person and don’t just treat u like a machine😅)
Also, I don’t thinks it’s bad at all to just leave the “career hunt“ for a bit and do smth fun like going abroad - the SQE and Trainee years are known to be hard and maybe you will be able to handle it better than others by being more relaxed !

 

[VMS]

Hey all! I would like to ask for some advice.
This week I got two post AC rejections- White & Case and Fieldfisher. I feel pretty terrible. I have one final AC to go before I am out of options, but needless to say, my confidence is rocked.
This is my first(ish) cycle of applications, but I am graduating and unsure of what I will be able to do afterwards, which is where my question comes in: I fully intend to try another cycle, but what should I do in the meantime? I am graduating from a really top uni and am worried it will look bad if I keep working in hospitality (and maybe even travel for a bit), so I am uncertain.
Any help appreciated! xx

First off, that much success on your first cycle is really impressive. So, be proud of that.

Secondly, I have worked in the hospitality sector on and off from 14-20, and I have two VS’ (so far ) for this year. It will not make you look bad at all, if anything it’s more to talk about, but i did also make sure to have some legal experience on there - I contacted local high street firms and one of them (out of the twelve or so I contacted, lmao) answered and invited me to shadow one of their department heads for a few weeks. There’s also Citizens Advice or getting involved in your uni’s pro bono work, etc.

So, don’t sweat it. You can build up your CV in other ways and, imo, hospitality helps Shows people skills, which some people (from my experience) sorely lack and is imperative to solicitors.

EDIT: I’m on my third cycle for context. I only had a failed A&O AC to show for my second cycle, and I only had one AC in my first cycle (after the success of which, I didn’t manage to convert a VS). So, you’re doing really well to get all of those ACs!!

 

[slot123]

Hey all! I would like to ask for some advice.
This week I got two post AC rejections- White & Case and Fieldfisher. I feel pretty terrible. I have one final AC to go before I am out of options, but needless to say, my confidence is rocked.
This is my first(ish) cycle of applications, but I am graduating and unsure of what I will be able to do afterwards, which is where my question comes in: I fully intend to try another cycle, but what should I do in the meantime? I am graduating from a really top uni and am worried it will look bad if I keep working in hospitality (and maybe even travel for a bit), so I am uncertain.
Any help appreciated! xx

I graduated from a RG in 2024 and have been working in hospitality full time this year (and went travelling in the first part of the year and even did some initial applications abroad!) Although I haven't secured a TC this cycle yet, I have attended // got in the future multiple ACs which means the hospitality working does not seem to impact negatively!

 

[EA95]

Happy Birthday TCLA 🎉🎉🎉🥳🥳🥳

 

[TCLA0322]

Happy Birthday TCLA!

 

[Chris Brown]

Hey all! I would like to ask for some advice.
This week I got two post AC rejections- White & Case and Fieldfisher. I feel pretty terrible. I have one final AC to go before I am out of options, but needless to say, my confidence is rocked.
This is my first(ish) cycle of applications, but I am graduating and unsure of what I will be able to do afterwards, which is where my question comes in: I fully intend to try another cycle, but what should I do in the meantime? I am graduating from a really top uni and am worried it will look bad if I keep working in hospitality (and maybe even travel for a bit), so I am uncertain.
Any help appreciated! xx

I graduated from a RG in 2024 and have been working in hospitality full time this year (and went travelling in the first part of the year and even did some initial applications abroad!) Although I haven't secured a TC this cycle yet, I have attended // got in the future multiple ACs which means the hospitality working does not seem to impact negatively!

I am in a similar position in that I graduated last year (July 2024) from a semi-top RG. Almost all of my work experience has been non-legal. Although I haven’t secured a TC this cycle (yet), I have been able to progress with multiple firms and been invited to partner interviews for Paul, Weiss and Willkie. I guess based on this, and as @slot123 said, working in hospitality or retail does not seem to have had a negative impact on my chances of success with city law firms either! I think travelling is a great addition to an application tbh, especially if you volunteer abroad as well! 🙂​

 

[Miss Chocolate]

Do you guys think we will hear back from Mishcon first/second week of March for VI outcome? I mean if their ACs are in April...

 

[klax]

has anyone heard from Bates Wells direct TC?

 

[c3alg]

I have an AC with AG coming up. Any advice/tips or general knowledge about AC's or more specifically the AG one would be support helpful (even what to wear), as this is my first AC and don't know really what to expect!

 

[User123654]

Has anyone got a Gateley PFO post VI?

 

[lawyersum]

EXCLUSIVE Gen Z lawyers require ‘more handholding’, says firm

Quiet part out loud

www.rollonfriday.com

Top US firm says GenZ lawyers require 'more handholding' at work - Legal Cheek

Suggestion appeared in a job ad for Gibson Dunn

www.legalcheek.com

Guys, what are your thoughts on this? (Not trying to stir things up here, I genuinely want to hear thoughts from everyone with a current or future stake in these firms so please keep it friendly hehe)

 

[1234578]

I had a final round with a firm last Friday. They said they would get back to me in 1-2 weeks. is it okay to email today and ask if there's any update or should I wait until next week?

 

[Anon Lawyer]

Trowers SVS🥳

 

[Chris Brown]

EXCLUSIVE Gen Z lawyers require ‘more handholding’, says firm

Quiet part out loud

www.rollonfriday.com

Top US firm says GenZ lawyers require 'more handholding' at work - Legal Cheek

Suggestion appeared in a job ad for Gibson Dunn

www.legalcheek.com

Guys, what are your thoughts on this? (Not trying to stir things up here, I genuinely want to hear thoughts from the lawyers of the future at these firms so please keep it friendly hehe)

My controversial opinion which I hope doesn’t lead to me getting cancelled on the forum, is that the purpose of a ‘training contract’ is to ‘train’ trainees and get them to a place of being considered competent and capable enough to become NQ junior associates. That is solely the responsibility of the partners and senior associates of a firm like Gibson Dunn. 🥲

If a firm feels that its Gen-Z trainees and junior associates ‘require more handholding’, perhaps that’s an indication of poor training on their end. Are these firms expecting people to know it all and get things done perfectly the first time around? For most people, their training contract is their first time working in a law firm and working in the city. 🥲​

 

[Jaysen]

EXCLUSIVE Gen Z lawyers require ‘more handholding’, says firm

Quiet part out loud

www.rollonfriday.com

Top US firm says GenZ lawyers require 'more handholding' at work - Legal Cheek

Suggestion appeared in a job ad for Gibson Dunn

www.legalcheek.com

Guys, what are your thoughts on this? (Not trying to stir things up here, I genuinely want to hear thoughts from the lawyers of the future at these firms so please keep it friendly hehe)

I thought it was a very backwards way to look at things. A better phrasing would be: 'we've realised that we need to do better to train junior lawyers.'

 

[Andrei Radu]

@Ram Sabaratnam @Jessica Booker @Amma Usman @Andrei Radu

Hi all, I have 3 ACs (one next week) and I’ve never done one. I’ve been preparing but I’m particularly stressed about written exercises. I won’t have time to do a mock one before next week.

I would like to ask what documents could be required as a written exercise. I know there’s a client letter, memo, but could you please tell me what else there could be? I need to prepare structure wise.

Additionally, I would like to confirm whether all written exercises must include an executive summary.

Thank you so much in advance. You guys are saving me this cycle!

Hi @gazdgazd11 I completely empathize with being stressed about written exercises, as I also did not get to do a mock one before my ACs last year. However, I have found that in practice, as long as I could keep myself focused on being very-time efficient, they were not as challenging as I thought.

As for your question about types of written exercises, firstly, there's a variety of different 'email-based' formats - mostly in which a partner/associate asks you to complete a task and you need to respond and complete it on an email. Those include in many cases client letters/memos, but can also include some substantive legal analysis tasks (but where you are given all the legal resources you need) and administrative tasks such as proofreadings and scheduling tasks. Besides these, I have also seen article-based written tasks, which tend to be longer and be more argumentative (and in many ways more alike a university essay).

I do not think you always need an executive summary, and particularly if the answer is quite short or not overly complex. The point of the executive summary is to make your answer more readable by summarizing it at the very beginning. I think you should simply make a judgement call on the day on whether that is necessary or beneficial to include.

 

[gazdgazd11]

Hi @gazdgazd11 I completely empathize with being stressed about written exercises, as I also did not get to do a mock one before my ACs last year. However, I have found that in practice, as long as I could keep myself focused on being very-time efficient, they were not as challenging as I thought.

As for your question about types of written exercises, firstly, there's a variety of different 'email-based' formats - mostly in which a partner/associate asks you to complete a task and you need to respond and complete it on an email. Those include in many cases client letters/memos, but can also include some substantive legal analysis tasks (but where you are given all the legal resources you need) and administrative tasks such as proofreadings and scheduling tasks. Besides these, I have also seen article-based written tasks, which tend to be longer and be more argumentative (and in many ways more alike a university essay).

I do not think you always need an executive summary, and particularly if the answer is quite short or not overly complex. The point of the executive summary is to make your answer more readable by summarizing it at the very beginning. I think you should simply make a judgement call on the day on whether that is necessary or beneficial to include.

Thank you very much! That’s very helpful

 

[APGCA]

Trowers SVS🥳

Congratulations🎉! Which office?