TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Laur2cj]

has anyone heard back from SPB AC regarding providing more information of the 3 tasks?

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Hi, does anyone have any advice for how to stand out in a cover letter (this is for a DTC app)? I've never had to do one for a law firm before. They've given a few pointers i.e. why this firm/office/why a career in law, but I'm struggling with sounding quite generic (I feel!)

Hiya @bluescarf

If you could let us know which firm you're applying to, we could give more specific advice. Some firms have certain requirements or things they particularly look for in an applicant's cover letter.

More generally, I think you should try to ensure the cover letter fundamentally addresses (1) why you're interested in commercial law; (2) why you're particularly interested in joining the firm in question; and (3) what experience/skill you can bring to the role. Although you don't necessarily have to do so, I've generally found that grad rec appreciates how straightforward it is when you address issues in this specific order.

When answering (2), you'll want to ensure that your motivations are as tailored to the firm as possible. I've generally found such tailoring to be especially important in the case of direct training contract applications, where firms may expect you to demonstrate a strong understanding of what they do and where they sit in the overall market in London. To ensure this section of the cover letter is tailored to the firm, you'll want to focus on the main practice areas and/or sectors the firm is known for advising on in London (or wherever you're applying to). You'll also want to convincingly explain why such areas of work speak to you and your motivations. I'd also encourage you to focus on matters that the particular office you're applying to has advised on, rather than focussing on transactions/cases that other offices have been involved with.

Again, if you have more specific information about the particular firm, @Andrei Radu @Amma Usman and I can offer more specific suggestions. But hopefully this gets you started.

 

[trainee4u]

Thank you for your answer and advice. I do graduate this year but unfortunately my university's term dates extend until the 15th of September (it is an LLM). They basically told me that unless I can prove the scheme falls outside my term date they can't accept me

Universities generally don't care at all about this issue.
Unfortunately it's difficult to work around this; a friend did 20 hours a week until the end of term (weeks after the course actually ended), but in the context of a vacation scheme it's likely that asking to work only 20 hours would be excessively disruptive. You also can't legally get around it by working for free.

 

[legallycurly]

RWK Goodman VI . Any insights would be appreciated!

 

[User5678]

RWK Goodman video interview invite! Does anyone know if this is automatic?

 

[chapmanh]

has anyone gotten Bristows first round but is unable to book a slot?

I was in this position last week (last week of Feb) and I think it was on Wednesday (i.e. today) that they release the next week's batch of interview slots. Can always e-mail the Early Recruitment team to make sure they have more.

 

[chlawstudent]

Addleshaw Goddard VS offer!!

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Addleshaw Goddard VS offer!!

Amazing job! Such a great firm! Hope the scheme goes fabulously well!

 

[member7830]

any advice on what to think about when putting down seat preferences for a vac scheme

 

[NJS]

has anyone heard back from SPB AC regarding providing more information of the 3 tasks?

I dont think they actually give anything, I just got an email with 'extra info' but it was just to book a mock interview with AS, but all the dates before my AC was filled

 

[Andrei Radu]

Burges Salmon pfo post-AC, but the email says I have been put on the reserve list for the vacation scheme. Are my chances near zero or is there still hope?

It's difficult to say how high your chances are but I would say they are not as low to be near zero. The significant majority of the rejected candidates are not placed on the reserve list, but from what I know generally there are more people on the reserve list who end up not being invited to the VS than ones that are. Whether you actually end up being invited will depend on (i) how high on the reserve list you have been placed; and (ii) how many people end up not attending the VS anymore. It is difficult to say anything with more certainty about the first factor, although you could perhaps try to make a guess based on any feedback you have received. For the second factor, I can tell you that for my summer vacation schemes around 15%-25% of the people who initially accepted the offer ended up not coming.

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

question for assessment centres- I know in a case study you are meant to use SWOT, but when would you use PESTOL?

Hiya @Kakaboo

Just wanted to add to what's already been said, particularly to what @Jessica Booker and @broalabear have mentioned.

I don't think there’s a hard and fast rule, but in my experience, SWOT analysis tends to work best in well-defined scenarios (e.g. in case studies where you’re advising a hypothetical client on the risks and benefits of an investment, merger, or acquisition). It’s particularly useful when there’s a clear decision to be made, as strengths and weaknesses are easier to identify in those contexts. I tend to think of SWOT analysis as a kind of quasi cost-benefit analysis; the sort of analysis which is particularly useful when you're presented with a well-defined scenario in which a decision must be made.

On the other hand, PESTLE analysis is particularly helpful when analysing external factors influencing a business, but where there's no clear decision that you're being asked to make. For example, at my Freshfields and Akin ACs, we were given news stories about the rise of online retail clothing stores and changes to tax policy respectively. These case studies didn't present a specific decision in relation to which I was expected to advise a client, but rather they were case studies about broader industry trends or regulatory changes. These naturally lent themselves to PESTLE, as it helped structure our thinking around political, economic, social, and technological influences, rather than just internal strengths and weaknesses.

That said, you might sometimes be asked to consider the strengths and weaknesses of a scenario in an article-based case study. If, for instance, the case study asks what the impact of X or Y happening would be. But in general, if you’re dealing with an article that discusses wider market trends or external pressures, PESTLE is likely the more useful framework.

If you’re preparing for an AC, it might help to practise recognising when each framework would be most effective based on the type of material you’re given. Hope that helps!

 

[broalabear]

Anybody heard back from Winston and Strawn yet?

 

[Laur2cj]

I dont think they actually give anything, I just got an email with 'extra info' but it was just to book a mock interview with AS, but all the dates before my AC was filled

ah fair enough, I tried to do the same but no slots

 

[g.cl.2020344]

any1 done the SPB AC and can offer any advice, v. nervous as I've never done an in person AC before only online

 

[Andrei Radu]

any advice on what to think about when putting down seat preferences for a vac scheme

I would focus on the following three criteria when making my decision:

1. What practice areas am I most interested in: this is firstly relevant because you want to have a good vacation scheme experience, and if you are working on and learning about that which interests you, it substantially increases the chances of that happening. This translates to your conversion chances in that (i) if you are more interested in something it is likely you will be concentrated more on it and thus produce better work; (ii) the firm is looking to ascertain a real 'fit' (since they will want to keep you after qualification to get a real return on their investment), so if it observes you are genuinely enjoying your time there this will clearly be a factor in favour of making you an offer; and (iii) if you have any final interviews/partner chats, it will be a lot easier to link your VS experience with your initial 'why the firm' reasons.
2. What practice areas do I have the best understanding of: hopefully this area will have a lot of overlap with the former, but it is relevant to consider on its own since for many firms one of the key assessment criteria is the quality of your work. Evidently, the more you understand the basic tasks you could be asked to do, the better will you be able to perform. As such, I would advise you to have a quick look over the Practical Law Introductory Guides for the practices you are interested in and consider how easily you are understanding the materials.
3. Which practice areas are most central to the firm's core business and/or offer most qualification seats: from the point of the view of the firm (as once again, this is a two way view analysis of 'fit'), an ideal candidate is one that is clearly interested in its biggest practices. For instance, if you were going at Kirkland or Weil, you should clearly be choosing a PE seat. This is because firms will be looking to retain trainees, and may only be able to allow a very small number to qualify in its smaller practices. Since it will be expecting to make most offers to people wanting to qualify in a few big teams, that is where (all other things being equal) you should try to showcase an interest.

 

[Jessica Booker]

any advice on what to think about when putting down seat preferences for a vac scheme

Consider this as a good "try before you buy" type opportunity. It is a good opportunity to explore a practice area to work out whether you may (or may not) want to do a seat in that area as a trainee.

If you do enjoy it, having experience in that area could then help with future trainee seat allocations, especially if it is with the same firm and if you made a favourable impression with the team. If you end up not enjoying it, you know you may not want to put it down as a future seat choice.

I don't think it needs to be any more complicated than that. A lot of people try to really "gamify" their choices for vacation scheme seats, but I don't think this really works like people think it might.

Just go with what you think you might enjoy/find interesting but something you may want to test out. I generally recommend not replicating departments/practice areas you already have significant experience in already as this will help you when it comes to future seat choices anyway.

 

[ChloeC]

hi hi has anyone heard from Forsters yet. I've been so nervous all day and I genuinely cant get my mind off it

 

[Olivialee15]

Anyone heard from Goodwin post zoom interview?

 

[PFOenthusiast]

It's difficult to say how high your chances are but I would say they are not as low to be near zero. The significant majority of the rejected candidates are not placed on the reserve list, but from what I know generally there are more people on the reserve list who end up not being invited to the VS than ones that are. Whether you actually end up being invited will depend on (i) how high on the reserve list you have been placed; and (ii) how many people end up not attending the VS anymore. It is difficult to say anything with more certainty about the first factor, although you could perhaps try to make a guess based on any feedback you have received. For the second factor, I can tell you that for my summer vacation schemes around 15%-25% of the people who initially accepted the offer ended up not coming.

Thank you very much - I haven't been given any feedback yet unfortunately, but hopefully they will offer some insights soon. I guess I won't get my hopes up, but I won't give up all hope either for the time being!