Vac Scheme tips for Non-UK Law students.

[abdul T]

Hello there,
I am a law student from India and I'am in my third year and have two years to complete it. I want to get know what I need to work on to get the Vac Schemes. As there are firms who offer Vac Scheme to international Students during their Penultimate Year.

 

[George Maxwell]

Hi @abdul T,

It is great to have you on the forum! Welcome to TCLA.

Unfortunately I am not an international student. However, @AvniD and @Dheepa might be able to provide you specific information about applying as an international student!

What sort of advice are you looking for in terms of obtaining a vacation scheme? It might help the team to find a little more about your application journey up to this point. It would be great to find out what areas of you are looking to improve (e.g., approaching and writing applications, interviews etc.).

Incidentally, whereabouts in India are you from? I actually spent a bit of time there a few years ago, so would be interested to know where you are based!

Looking forward to hearing from you 🚀

 

[Deleted member 11671]

Hello there,
I am a law student from India and I'am in my third year and have two years to complete it. I want to get know what I need to work on to get the Vac Schemes. As there are firms who offer Vac Scheme to international Students during their Penultimate Year.

Hi Abdul, I'm from India but moved to UK many years ago. Happy to answer any questions you might have. The main things law firms look for in applications tend to be the following: academic excellence, a demonstration to a commitment in commercial law (this is is about why this particularly and not other types of law/investment banking/consulting), some legal work experience (this is not compulsory, but good to have), research about the firm you're applying to and some evidence of team working/leadership.

The main obstacle is the visa as most firms will not want to sponsor a work visa due to the short duration of the vacation scheme. However there is a temporary work visa which the Law Society provides (https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/en/topics/firm-accreditations/tier-5-gae-scheme) that the firm can sign up to. You will need to explain this to the HR/graduate recruiter when you apply as I'm sure they would not be aware of it.

If you have any questions regarding specific law firms, do let me know. Feel free to message me

 

[Deleted member 11671]

I also wanted to add that you can apply for direct training contract positions which will not have the same issues with regard to visas since most firms sponsor skilled worker visas.

 

[abdul T]

Hi @abdul T,

It is great to have you on the forum! Welcome to TCLA.

Unfortunately I am not an international student. However, @AvniD and @Dheepa might be able to provide you specific information about applying as an international student!

What sort of advice are you looking for in terms of obtaining a vacation scheme? It might help the team to find a little more about your application journey up to this point. It would be great to find out what areas of you are looking to improve (e.g., approaching and writing applications, interviews etc.).

Incidentally, whereabouts in India are you from? I actually spent a bit of time there a few years ago, so would be interested to know where you are based!

Looking forward to hearing from you 🚀

Hello George,
Thank you for your response,
I need advise in general like how should I approach it, what I meant by this is regarding the preparations I need to do secure a vac scheme. For example like doing more legal internships in India(currently I have done 3 and secured 1 internship at a tier 1 corporate firm in India), participate in International Moots( currently i'am doing Nuremberg Moot Court Competition), publish blogs and articles in Journals as such. Regarding the commercial awareness, as someone who is not from UK can you suggest me which websites I could use for increasing my awareness.
Right now i'am in my third year and I'll be in my penultimate year soon so, I would look at stage of writing application little later as it would mostly be by the end of this year. Interviews would depend if they accept my application.

I'am from Bangalore its a city in India particularly known for fin tech startups and Information technology hub in India. Glad to know that you have spent time here, I hope you had a great time in India.

Thank you so much for showing interest in this appreciate it a lot!!!

 

[abdul T]

Hi Abdul, I'm from India but moved to UK many years ago. Happy to answer any questions you might have. The main things law firms look for in applications tend to be the following: academic excellence, a demonstration to a commitment in commercial law (this is is about why this particularly and not other types of law/investment banking/consulting), some legal work experience (this is not compulsory, but good to have), research about the firm you're applying to and some evidence of team working/leadership.

The main obstacle is the visa as most firms will not want to sponsor a work visa due to the short duration of the vacation scheme. However there is a temporary work visa which the Law Society provides (https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/en/topics/firm-accreditations/tier-5-gae-scheme) that the firm can sign up to. You will need to explain this to the HR/graduate recruiter when you apply as I'm sure they would not be aware of it.

If you have any questions regarding specific law firms, do let me know. Feel free to message me

Hello @curious_cat ,
As you are from India you'll be aware of the NLUs and Non NlU biases right. I'am from a law school(non NLU) which is ranked among top 20 but all of the people I've seen on LinkedIn and generally are NLU who obtained Vac Schemes and went on to secure a TC. One of my senior told that they generally don't accept application for Vac schemes from Non NLU law schools, is this true?
I would like to know how were able to get your vac scheme like your preparations which I can adopt to secure one.
Thank you such for giving your valuable time to reply to my queries.

 

[Deleted member 11671]

Hello @curious_cat ,
As you are from India you'll be aware of the NLUs and Non NlU biases right. I'am from a law school(non NLU) which is ranked among top 20 but all of the people I've seen on LinkedIn and generally are NLU who obtained Vac Schemes and went on to secure a TC. One of my senior told that they generally don't accept application for Vac schemes from Non NLU law schools, is this true?
I would like to know how were able to get your vac scheme like your preparations which I can adopt to secure one.
Thank you such for giving your valuable time to reply to my queries.

It's probably easiest to discuss via DM 🙂