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Hi,

Does anyone know how long Davis Polk averagely takes to reply back post application submission?

@Andrei Radu if you specifically have any timeframe in mind, please let me know.

Thanks

Hi,

I'm starting this to increase my resilience and hopefully my chances of success. I'm currently doing a law conversion and this is my first proper cycle (I did maybe 3 random applications last year though). I'm starting this to hopefully see my progress!!

I'm motivated to secure a vacation scheme this cycle, and eventually to secure a TC. Documenting the journey will hopefully allow me to see where I'm going wrong and motivate me.

Here's where I'm at as of 16th December 2025:

• Hogan Lovells - rejection post-Job Simulation/VI in Nov
• Taylor Wessing - rejection post-initial assessment (today!)
• Ashurst - rejection post-initial assessment (Oct)
• Mayer Brown - rejection post-VI (Dec)
• HSFK - rejection post-initial assessment (Nov)
• Bird & Bird - rejection (Nov)
• Simmons & Simmons post-initial assessment (Nov)

More recent & pending:

• Stephenson Harwood - app done
• Cleary - app & WG done
• Pennington Manches Cooper- app done
• Charles Russell Speechlys - app done
• Osborne Clarke - app & WG/SJT done
• DLA Piper (Dublin) - app&WG/SJT done
• White & Case - App & SJT done
• Eversheds - App & WG done
• Norton Rose Fulbright - App & assessment done
• Addleshaw - app & assessment done
• Dentons -app & assessment done
• Skadden - app done

Intending to apply for Mills & Reeve, potentially Paul, Weiss this week.

Also made it to the Skadden written exercise on Thursday!

Also... the TCLA courses have already helped me improve my applications & confidence in WG etc so much, definitely noticing big big improvements so thank you very much!!!

onwards & upwards !

Hi all! I posted this in the general Vac Scheme discussion thread for visibility, but am setting up this separate thread just in case. I applied for Skadden's VC / TC this winter, but got rejected. The below was my answer to "What are your reasons for applying to Skadden?" I never seem to get anywhere with my applications, so would be grateful for any feedback / tips on what I could improve. Many thanks!

***

There are two main reasons I am applying to Skadden.

First, despite its status as a leading full-service firm, Skadden has retained the mentality of a determined newcomer who continuously strives to prove themselves. Speaking with [Skadden Associate] at a [University] alumni event confirmed that this drive defines the firm that surpassed £1tn in deal value in 2015 and then became a top-two global dealmaker in 2024.

Having moved to the UK at 14, I know that success takes precisely that — proving yourself over and over again. To get accepted into a top university, I stayed up most Friday nights mastering an unfamiliar education system. Later, when qualifying as a commercial solicitor became my goal, I took on trainee-level work at [Law firm I worked at] to demonstrate my capabilities. For example, I built Excel models used by an international wholesaler in settlement negotiations to assess the commercial feasibility of offers. Although this required analysing granular data and conducting extensive legal research, showing myself I could do this was worth it. I want to work at a firm that shares this approach to work.

The second reason is Skadden's recent active growth in FinTech M&A set against its broad transactional practice. Taking financing, private equity and M&A modules at [University], I realised I would enjoy transactional work. Deals are firmly grounded in the present, something that the influential yet decades-old competition disputes I administered at [Law firm I worked at] could not offer. Through my dissertation on barriers to FinTech growth I became particularly interested in innovation and its future. I want to train in an environment where I can explore diverse transactions while focusing on how innovation scales. Skadden offers both. Alongside a wide choice of transactional training seats, the firm supported several major crypto- and stablecoin companies with entering US capital markets, where innovation accelerates. Together, these factors make Skadden the ideal environment for me to develop.

Hi guys,

So I have been working on my Simmons & Simmons vac scheme app for ages but, for various reasons, couldn't submit sooner. I finally clicked submit exactly at 23:59 on the deadline night (15-Dec-2025), but the submission receipt I received indicates that it was submitted at 00:00 of 16-Dec-2025. I am confident in the quality of the app, and I didn't rush it through.

Has anyone been in a similar situation, and did you then get invited for an interview or the next stage?

I've made my peace with this and written this firm off in my mind for this year but would massively appreciate if someone has good news for me! :-{

Thanks!

Dear All,

I have recently been shortlisted for a first round paralegal interview with a boutique dispute resolution firm in London. I have the interview in 3 days and wanted some guidance on what I should expect and prepare. They have only stated that the interview is going to have 2 associates and the HR. The duration of the interview is 30 mins on MS Teams.

Any tips will be really helpful!

Hi everyone,

I’m delighted to share that Perkins Coie has just announced its new LBA programme.

The programme is open to graduates, with applications closing on 2 January 2026. You can apply here.

To mark the launch, we’ll be featuring Perkins Coie in the forum this month. Use this thread to find out more about the firm and what sets Perkins Coie apart.

---

What Makes Perkins Coie Different from Other Law Firms?

For more than a century, Perkins Coie have ‘been along for the journey’ and has grown alongside the world’s most ambitious technology companies, moving with founders from garage to IPO and embedding itself into the heart of the US innovation economy. This culture is rooted in the firm’s Pacific Northwest heritage, home to some of the most innovative companies in the world. While other firms retrofit “innovation” into legacy City or Wall Street structures, Perkins Coie was born inside the technology ecosystem and optimised around it.

This global identity forms the narrative that the London office scales into Europe: a firm defined by Counsel to Tomorrow, built on a culture where hierarchy is thin, information flows quickly, and teams prioritise technical depth, commercial clarity, and operator-level thinking. Internally, Perkins Coie invests heavily in legal operations, AI-enabled workflows, and data-driven coordination across practices. The firm also lives by its values, embedding them into training, leadership, and day-to-day decision-making. The result is consistent Cx: client experience designed for companies who expect counsel to move as fast, or even faster, than they do.

The London office mirrors the firm’s US strengths: deep exposure to high-growth tech, private capital, and institutional technology mandates. The office advises clients who scale aggressively, face complex regulatory change, and require counsel who reduce friction, not add to it. Its teams operate across borders without the inefficiency of mega-firm politics, giving clients fast, integrated, conflict-light solutions.

London takes that global DNA and sharpens it. From day one, London adopted a startup culture: a flat hierarchy, agile roles, and a refusal to replicate the slow, layered structures that dominate Big Law. Every person operates with ownership. Partners collaborate without silos. Associates are trained to become ‘partners in disguise’ early. And uniquely, London built the Legal Business Analyst Programme, which has now become the core expression of London’s differentiation and the most authentic embodiment of its Tx: talent experience.

The LBA Programme offers holistic training across business professional and legal professional seats and looks to shorten the traditional trainee pathway by blending full-time work and continuous learning, allowing second year LBAs to study for the SQE and avoid the need to take out additional debt during their study period.

LBAs are commercially aware, tech-enabled, and embedded in the business from day one. Training goes beyond legal skills: LBAs receive structured development across EQ, SQ, and IQ, producing lawyers who can operate with emotional intelligence, strategic capability, and analytical depth.

LBAs rotate across legal, finance, BD, marketing, regulatory, and operations, giving them a birds-eye view of how a high-growth office actually runs. The programme has a strong social-mobility focus, supported by initiatives such as the Welcome to London grant and the partnership with Zero Gravity. They work and earn while studying, avoiding the debt and disconnect of the legacy trainee model. By qualification, they have already spent years delivering value directly to partners and clients. These future associates are what the office describes as triple-threats; well-networked, fast-moving and fluent in the business of law. Perkins Coie London is like the firm’s innovation lab, with innovative winning outcomes are backed by a simple formula ‘Tx + Cx = a winning culture that sustains profitability’, a place that nurtures the Counsel to Tomorrow.

---

If you’d like to see more posts about Perkins Coie like this, be sure to check this thread throughout the week!

Hi everyone,

This summer, I graduated from university; I did well academically, but I didn't have a training contract lined up, so I decided that I'd look for paralegal roles (or anything adjacent to this; basically, anything that would be useful legal work experience) post-graduation, whilst applying to vac schemes. I've only just got round to starting to look for paralegal work (yes - I don't blame anyone reading this for thinking I've left it very late), and I was wondering how people went about finding it!

In particular, I'd be really interested to hear about whether there are any paralegal recruitment agencies that people would recommend for roles in London and/or the South East. (especially London if possible!)
Also, I remember when talking to Jessica Booker (who used to be on this forum) that she talked about how it could be useful to send speculative emails to people (with CVs attached) to "lateral hire recruiters". With this in mind, would it be a logical step to email people specialising in lateral recruitment at firms, to ask them if they've got any paralegal roles?

If anyone has any ideas, I'd be hugely grateful! Apologies if my questions are a bit stupid; I feel a bit directionless post-university, and I don't really know what questions are best to ask for someone in my situation.

As deadlines for many firms are fast approaching and we are entering in the busiest time for applications in the year, a question many candidates ask around this point in the application cycle is: it is worth investing time and effort to complete a last-minute application for a firm recruiting on a rolling basis?

This is an issue I used to worry about a lot - and for good reasons: I would find myself in the unfortunate (although very common) situation where I had intended to apply to a given firm a long time ago but had procrastinated on it, only to now have only a few days left to try to research the firm in depth and try to write high-quality answers. The matter was stressful enough simply given how pressed for time I would be with other applications, but when this was a firm recruiting on a rolling basis, I would then have the additional anxiety and worry that all of my efforts would be in vain - for I (wrongly) assumed my chances of progressing would be minimal given how last-minute I had left things. As such, I would end up doubting whether it is even worth submitting the application and whether it would be better to abandon it and move on to another firm.

Fortunately, in my second application cycle, I ended up taking the advice of some seniors and still went through with these last-minute applications at rolling firms. I was therefore progressed past the applications stage in more than by more than a couple of these firms, and ended up even invited to the AC by one. Taking a broader view, my progression/rejection rate was not substantially worse in these last-minute applications for rolling firms than in my normal applications for non-rolling firms. As such, my general advice for people who are facing the same issue is the same one I have received before: unless this is a firm that is known to place a very heavy emphasis on early submissions, you should try to complete and submit even a last-minute applications for rolling firms - provided that you estimate you will still have enough time to write objectively high-quality applications.

There are a number of reasons why I think this makes sense and why most last-minute submissions are not just doomed to fail:

1. According to many recruiters I have spoken to, even firms recruiting on a rolling deadline receive the vast majority of their applications the last 48 hours before the deadline. As such, if they do not want to automatically take out a huge pool of talent, recruiters simply cannot afford to not give application sent around that time proper consideration.
2. For the same reason, even if you only manage to submit an application to a rolling firm 1-2 days before the deadline, chances are you will still have submitted earlier than most other candidates. As such, this is not a factor that would likely be held very strongly against you.
3. Finally, most recruiters I have talked to embrace a holistic approach to assessment of candidates and decision-making, with their aim simply being to identify the best potential future lawyers. While early submission can be indicative to good planning and a stronger interest in the firm, this is but one factor among many that a graduate recruiter will consider when deciding the outcome of your application. As such, if everything otherwise is really strong, you should still have a good chance of being progressed.

Hello, as I know this platform is home to advice guiding students to apply for first-year open days and insight schemes in London Law firms. I was wondering if there is any specific way to begin the application process. Although I am aware of the general idea that one should use the specific firm's values, practice and core principles to relate to my own academic, work or legal experience, I wonder how exactly the application should be formatted. I understand that the application should showcase my willingness to learn rather then act as a CV application by promoting my experiences, but if there are any tips on how to start writing it, it would be very helpful!

Thank you!

Well, that wraps-up my open day programme for 2025.

Thank you very much to everyone from the TCLA forum who said hello at one of the following events. It was great to meet you offline!

Charles Russell Speechlys, Guildford
LawCareersNet LIVE, London
Cooley, London
Simmons & Simmons, Oxford
Simmons & Simmons, London
Lewis Silkin, London
Skadden, London
Willkie, London
Kennedys, Sheffield

If we didn't get a chance to connect on LinkedIn at the time, please feel free: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-kitchen-63997a23a/

Best of luck with your applications!

Hi all,

Long-time lurker. I'd really appreciate some candid advice.

I'm a 29 year old diplomat looking to transition into law with a long-term ambition to work in international arbitration.
I have 7 years experience in the public sector including 1 year in the Government Legal Department (non legal role), 6 years at the Foreign Office, with a few months in Rwanda and 18 months in Somalia as a political officer as the highlights. I currently work in a sanctions role.

I'm aware of all of the potential difficulties as a career changer but I actually have concerns over my transcript. I got a 2.1 from UCL in History and Politics (67) but got a couple of sub 2:1 modules in first and second year (2 in each). These were largely econ modules. 1st year was due to me being a lazy dumb student and second year was genuine extenuating circumstances for my final couple exams. The final year was all solid first except a couple 2.1. I'm looking to apply this cycle, targeting mainly firms with end of Dec/Jan deadlines. Got dinged by Clifford Chance (already).

I'd be keen to get a sense from the community here on whether I have a chance at a TC with these academics. I imagine some firms will be particularly hesitant, Magic Circle, US firms? I do have (in my opinion) interesting work experience though which I'd hope would go some way to counter balance.

Separately, I'm aware that I might not get a TC this cycle, but at my big age I don't want to be wasting time. As such, I was debating applying for a Jan 26 part time PGDL alongside my full time work. This would put me on the same timeline as the Sep 28 TC start dates i'm targeting (and I could stomach the costs) but I am unclear if firms will be recruiting for a Sep 28 start date beyond this cycle (i.e. - would my plan to not waste time fail).

Thanks in advance.

Hello everyone,
I am sure that this is an oft discussed topic but I just wanted to get a specific answer. From 2019-2024, I was dealing with complicated health issues resulting in only predicted A-Levels (A*s and As) and a barely gotten 2:1. I have one condoned fail module and the rest of the results range from 2:2 to high 2:1 - so not great.

I did my PGDL and got a distinction overall and in almost all modules.

Now, with my applications I am just adding mitigating circumstances - although not in too graphic detail and hoping for the best. For Weil, however, they look at academics to see if you are even suitable - any point in applying.

And also how much detail is should I go into for mitigating circumstances. I hate to make it seem like I am whining but also till this day I am dealing with medications, wait lists etc. and doctors still don't know exactly what was wrong so I just say 'chronic illness' and 'hospital stays'.

Any help/advice would be much appreciated! Thank you.

Heya!
I've started my internship at a boutique law firm and it has been a really good learning experience and I would like to journal them here!

Please feel free to DM me if you wanna know anything in detail about the things I share here, happy to have discuss.

It's just a one month internship with the potential for extension. Let's see how it goes.

Currently writing a covering letter. I find myself every few sentences saying something like '...and I want to explore this during the scheme' or 'this is why I want to do the scheme'... Feels like I am repeating myself and wasting words but if I don't say it I feel a bit like I'm just listing a bunch of facts that don't really have a clear relevance to the application (even though it should be fairly easy to infer). Does anyone have any advice here? Should you keep linking back to the scheme? If so, is there a less boring way to do it? Thanks so much!

Hi everyone,

This is my first cycle applying to law firms and I am interested in medical negligence and personal injury law, family law and sports law.
I'm still doing my research, and wanted to ask if there are any law firms which spring to mind that practice in these areas which I should not miss out applying for?

I'm also really interested in one day specialising in public inquiries, as I've always been so interested in high-profile government investigations (e.g., Grenfell, Covid-19 Inquiry, Manchester Arena). Although I don't know if this is an area of law specifically or how to get into this?

I've already applied to Irwin Mitchell so far and waiting to hear back from my online test/VI.

Thanks for your help!

I’m looking forward to attending LawCareersNet Live in London today (Jones Day & RPC sessions). If you’re here too, do say hello!

Hi everyone, it's my 5th cycle with only 1 AC to show for all 5 years and I was wondering when it would be time to give up? Surely firms will think there's something wrong with me if they realise I've submitted failed applications to them for the last 4 years in a row, or that my profile shows I've obviously been aiming for TCs for years without succeeding?

Hi! I’m applying for vacation schemes and training contracts, and I have a question regarding academic disclosure. During the first year of my engineering degree, I failed two modules (Mathematical Analysis and Engineering something). However, after changing my major to law from my second year onwards, I graduated with an average score of 89 in my LLB degree (in another country). I then completed an LLM in the UK and obtained a Distinction.

I’m wondering whether I need to disclose those failed modules (I have done so) and whether they are likely to significantly affect my chances, for example, by leading to an automatic filter.

Thanks! I'd really appreciate any input.

Hi! I’m applying for vacation schemes and training contracts, and I have a question regarding academic disclosure. During the first year of my engineering degree, I failed two modules (Mathematical Analysis and Engineering something). However, after changing my major to law from my second year onwards, I graduated with an average score of 89 in my LLB degree (in another country). I then completed an LLM in the UK and obtained a Distinction.

I’m wondering whether I need to disclose those failed modules (I have done so) and whether they are likely to significantly affect my chances, for example, by leading to an automatic filter.

Thanks! I'd really appreciate any input.

For anyone who has taken the ULaw SQE1 internal assessments, did you need to download Respondus in advance?

Hi All! I’m an international candidate and have ACs with two law firms in the UK, one of them with a MC which does not have A Level requirements. My school transcripts are in the native language while university ones are in English and translation services are steep here. Just wanted to know if firms during academic verification ask for school transcripts as well, so I can arrange for timely translations. Would be grateful for any advice, thanks! @Ram Sabaratnam @Andrei Radu @Amma Usman

A recurrent question a number of firms have been asking this cycle which applicants have struggled with is: how have you used generative AI when preparing your application to the firm?

To help you write a good answer here, I think it is firstly important to clarify that the "How did you use AI" question does not have a clear right and wrong answer. Instead, it appears the point of the question is for the firm to test your commercial awareness regarding AI tech and to see if you can come up with a well-considered explanation as to what particular usage of AI best fits your working style, goals, and skillset when making your application. Thus, a multitude of different substantive answers could be well-received by a graduate recruiter here, and you should not worry too much if you think you have used AI more restrictively or more expansively than most other applicants.

To give some examples of how different uses of AI could be described well, from least to most expansive:

1. Not using generative AI at all: While many candidates shy away from saying this so as not to appear to have an excessively conservative attitude towards new technology, this is not an unacceptable answer to give if the candidate explains their reasoning and attitude well. To illustrate the lines of thinking the candidate may use, consider: "While I consider generative AI tools to have huge potential benefits in cost-savings and improving the efficiency of work product, and while I would embrace the opportunity to use such tools as a trainee solicitor, I have decided not to use generative AI in the process of applying to commercial law firms. Firstly, this is because going through the process myself develops valuable skills: drafting skills when writing and re-writing answers myself, critical analysis and attention to detail skills when reviewing these answers, and researching skills when trying to understand the firm's work and practices. Secondly, I have chosen this because I believe that expansive use of generative AI could lead to my application losing its personal touch, which would make it more difficult for the firm to truly assess my candidacy. While I appreciate that using generative AI could have enabled me to finish this work quicker, I consider that, overall, the benefits of developing the aforementioned skills and of submitting a tailored application are greater."
2. Using AI tech (such as Grammarly) only to check spelling and grammar: An answer along the same lines could work very well here vis-a-vis why you chose not to use AI for the purposes bellow; but here, you could explain that checking spelling and grammar by using an AI tool first, and only then checking it yourself, enables you to both decrease chances of any errors remaining (as two review tools are better than one) and to decrease the amount of time this task takes you.
3. Using AI tech to find better ways to structure content or to cut word count form your lengthier sections: The same applies here, only you would explain that AI tools are very good at offering suggestions for a clear writing structure and for helping you express your points in a more concise manner. You could add that while you would have perhaps developed these writing skills by struggling with the content on your own, AI accelerates your learning: instead of having to re-invent the wheel, AI can quickly show you patterns of what works and what doesn't, which you then internalise and naturally begin integrating when writing on your own.
4. Using AI for firm research, or for understanding commercial topics: Here, you could again explain that although researching the firm and commercial topics on your own is useful and develops valuable skills, you believe AI enables you to (i) develop the same skills and commercial understanding in a more efficient manner, (ii) allows you to cover a way wider breadth of material in your research, and (iii) by saving you more time, gives you an opportunity to deepen your understanding to a level of detail you would have been unable to otherwise (e.g. you can give examples of discussions with an AI tool about complex financial concepts and structures that would have taken you way too long to research manually).
5. Using AI tech to scrutinise and improve your substantive writing by redrafting your work: Here, you could explain that just as AI can make for a great teaching tool in terms of the structure of your writing and to help with your understanding of commercial topics, it can also help you learn how to improve the substance of your writing. By asking a chatbot to scrutinise your answers, you could quickly learn about problematic patters in parts of your answers such as insufficient specificity or a lack of contextualised evidence to support your claims. Understanding these mistakes early improves your ability to write well thought out answers without having to go through a lengthy trial and error process, which increases your chances of success and also improves the firm's ability to assess your candidacy on its true merits.

As you can see, a wide variety of different substantive answers about use of AI can work - the only potentially straight-up "wrong" answer here would be if one said they had an AI bot write their entire application and/or come up with most of their core substantive points, as firms are interested to see how you generally write and what you think about the topics they are asking about. Save for that, you do not need to construct an answers based on what you would perceive to be an "objectively optimal" response rather than an honest one. Instead, what is key and what I would highly encourage you to do is to be very specific about how exactly you used AI. Beyond explaining your reasoning for a specific usage, as shown, you should try to elaborate on how you have used it; and, the more granular you can be, the better! For example, rather than saying 'I used AI to brainstorm ideas', it would be better to say, 'I used ChatGPT to help me to understand how X's sponsor-led practice would differentiate the firm from a commercial perspective and why this is a factor worth considering when choosing a firm to apply to. This helped me to further confirm my interest in the firm and to better communicate a point I had been thinking about in relation to why X would be different to their competitors.'

Has anybody already done the Kirkland London video interview? If so any tips or what to expect?

Any help would be appreciated

Hi I've been invited to the second stage online assessment at Macfarlanes. Does anyone have any pointers on how to prepare and perform well on the assessment?