TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Jessica Booker]

My current commute time is around 1 hour 20 minutes so was just wondering if that would be considered above the normal commutable distance range?

Yes - that would be considered normal.

 

[👩🎓]

Hiya!

I think @Jessica Booker and @Amma Usman would have more to say, but hoping this helps before they come back to you.

I think it's difficult to say exactly how you should change your application without seeing it, but it might help to take a step back and critically assess a few key areas. Ask yourself whether your answers to the application questions were effectively tailored to the firm. If not, I'd recommend having a think about how you can make them more specific. If the questions are motivational, I'd have a think about whether your motivations have been clearly articulated and how well you've aligned your experiences with the firm's major practice areas. Another section you should comb through is your work experience section. Have you clearly highlighted the tasks you handled, any achievements, and the skills you relied on? Sometimes, small tweaks in how you present your experience can help get the application through the initial stage.

Since you have time before the deadline, I'd encourage you to find someone who could possibly offer you a second opinion. Someone from your university’s careers service or even a fellow applicant here at TCLA could provide some insight. There's also TCLA's application review service, if you feel like you need someone to really carefully review what can be done to improve. Given that you feel your answers are strong but aren't sure what to change, I think this sort of external feedback could help you identify areas for improvement (particularly in ways that that aren’t immediately obvious to you). Best of luck with the application!

Hi @Ram Sabaratnam

Thank you so much, this is really helpful!

 

[abbiewhitlock03]

Ofc. Nice! Congrats! I did a scheme last year with them. If u want any advice shoot me a pm.

That would be great, thank you!! I’ll send you a PM

 

[👩🎓]

I thought SH hasn't sent out tests yet for summer, and they had only just sent out spring VS offers

I was rejected yesterday for the summer scheme at SH - hopefully there is still hope if you haven't heard back yet

 

[elsx]

Hi has anyone heard back recently about Teacher Stern ?

 

[toad92]

I did offer to do a call but never heard back from u.

omg apologies my notifs are so messed up will reply now

 

[BobThebIlly]

Damn I haven't heard anything from Paul Hastings nor SH for their summer vs. They were the only two schemes left too lol

 

[NJS]

Hi @Jessica Booker I'm looking to move roles from my current legal administrator role to paralegal, I currently work at an international firm, but I have an interview with a regional firm for a paralegal role, I'm only really wanting to move because there does not seem to be any opportunities to move up here and the travel to London is starting to really impact my finances as the pay is not good.

My question is: do you thinking moving from an international firm to a regional firm will impact my chances of securing a TC at an international firm, or am I "moving down" with a regional paralegal job? I've have secured 8 ACs over two cycles (all with international firms) with this current job, and I think having that "international" experience helped. Alternatively, I would hopefully be moving to a paralegal role, so my quality of work would ultimately improve which may make me more competitive? It's just very hard to secure a city paralegal job without real "paralegal" experience.

Hi @Jessica Booker just following up on this if its not too much trouble? Thank you!

 

[g.cl.2020344]

Damn I haven't heard anything from Paul Hastings nor SH for their summer vs. They were the only two schemes left too lol

idk if they have got back to many people. I'm still waiting post app- what's the next stage?

 

[BobThebIlly]

idk if they have got back to many people. I'm still waiting post app- what's the next stage?

I'm waiting post-app too. Next stage is a SJT and VI. Not holding out too much hope if some summer vs applicants received the test 2 weeks ago though

 

[student353]

Ofc. Nice! Congrats! I did a scheme last year with them. If u want any advice shoot me a pm.

Would you mind if I could ask for some advice as I have a scheme with them?

 

[Chris Brown]

Damn I haven't heard anything from Paul Hastings nor SH for their summer vs. They were the only two schemes left too lol

I don’t think anyone has heard back from Paul Hastings yet tbf. It has been a while since their deadline as well. I haven’t heard back at all from them post application lmao. 🥲​

 

[l789]

Elena Jalali - 7252033

Control of non-qualified staff (section 43/99 order)

www.sra.org.uk

Interesting.
LLB (first class) from KCL
A*A*A* from elite London private school

Macfarlanes paralegal. Went to AC for TC in 2023. "repeatedly accessed information that was confidential and which she knew or ought to have known she was not entitled to access, namely documents including a Business Case Study Exercise, model answers and the mark scheme, for a training contract assessment day she attended in August 2023."

I can only assume this was accessible on the intranet/network. Lied about having done this (which is really dumb, because IT knows EVERYTHING).

Subject to a S43 order meaning that she cannot work for any regulated legal business without prior permission from SRA.

Careful not to doxx myself here! I started reading this article and then saw the name and thought, gosh- that does ring a few bells!

I went to the same uni as her and same intake (although a different degree course so law with x law)

Didn’t have any tutorials with her (because I much preferred my sleep) and saw her in lectures maybe once or twice.

I’m absolutely shell shocked to see this. All my peers at kings were exceptionally talented, hardworking and brilliant, I have so much respect for those I’m still close with today. A lot of them came from privilege but they were extremely hard working and committed. I would never expect to see this from someone from my cohort and with those credentials. I just never expected this behaviour at all, it does make me think what other things has she done.

she’s now working in a finance role. If that was me, it would be back to my minimum wage supermarket job and a kiss goodbye to even the thought of a legal career.

 

[YS391]

Hey guys, Farrer & Co's graduate rec page says that in the work experience section, we should 'describe the skills acquired and explain how they could transfer into a career in law.'

Does that mean they're expecting us to include lines like, "I will apply my attention to detail to identify errors or potentially harmful clauses in contracts, safeguarding clients' interests"? after each skill we demonstrate?

Any support would be amazing!

 

[student353]

Hey guys, Farrer & Co's graduate rec page says that in the work experience section, we should 'describe the skills acquired and explain how they could transfer into a career in law.'

Does that mean they're expecting us to include lines like, "I will apply my attention to detail to identify errors or potentially harmful clauses in contracts, safeguarding clients' interests"? after each skill we demonstrate?

Any support would be amazing!

In this type of question, I always first considered what skills I thought were required in law (start mind mapping them and think about WHY they are important). With this consider your own experiences, what you gained from them and how they will support you in a career in law (correlating this with skills you think are relevant)...

for example " working within a pharmacy for example, there were many occasions in which being adaptable and resilient within a collaborative workspace was necessary to ensure efficient processing of prescriptions. This reinforced the importance of both teamwork and accountability in a working environment, as taking ownership of one’s own work and that of other members of the team allowed the practise to run effectively and ensured that whilst working at pace, the standards were always maintained through the coordinated efforts of the staff." link this back to why this experience would support you. This is what I have done and its ended with a successful vs application, PW partner interview and a careers commitment scholarship

 

[YS391]

In this type of question, I always first considered what skills I thought were required in law (start mind mapping them and think about WHY they are important). With this consider your own experiences, what you gained from them and how they will support you in a career in law (correlating this with skills you think are relevant)...

for example " working within a pharmacy for example, there were many occasions in which being adaptable and resilient within a collaborative workspace was necessary to ensure efficient processing of prescriptions. This reinforced the importance of both teamwork and accountability in a working environment, as taking ownership of one’s own work and that of other members of the team allowed the practise to run effectively and ensured that whilst working at pace, the standards were always maintained through the coordinated efforts of the staff." link this back to why this experience would support you. This is what I have done and its ended with a successful vs application, PW partner interview and a careers commitment scholarship

Ahh okay so we should link it back to how it will support us as a lawyer.

Thanks so much, really appreciate it!

 

[aphelion]

Can't believe it will take Mishcon 6 weeks to come back with AC results 😭😭😭

 

[trainee4u]

she’s now working in a finance role. If that was me, it would be back to my minimum wage supermarket job and a kiss goodbye to even the thought of a legal career.

she's taken down her linkedin, which was up when I checked earlier.

it appeared that she was out of work for a few months. in this kind of scenario she might well not have disclosed the circumstances of her departure to her new employers, who might not be too impressed!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Please can I remind people to keep things civil and avoid speculation, especially in conversations regarding a named individual.

Just as we wouldn’t expect judgement and negative comments within our community, it is not appropriate to direct the same behaviours to someone just because they are in the legal press.

 

[Miss Chocolate]

Can't believe it will take Mishcon 6 weeks to come back with AC results 😭😭😭

When you were choosing your AC date, what was the last date available?