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Hi,

Are there any law students studying outside the UK who got a Training Contract/Vacation scheme offer in their penultimate/final year of study?

I am a law student from India and I am considering applying for direct training contracts to law firms which sponsor visas during the TC. I would have considered vacation schemes as well- however, I doubt that any firm would sponsor visa for a vacation scheme for an international applicant; and I did not find any such information online. Nevertheless, if there are any firms that you know sponsor visas for international vacation scheme applicants, please let me know! Also, I am aware of the India Internships that Linklaters/A&O and HSF offer. Unfortunately, I could not apply for these ones and am looking for alternate routes now.

It would be very helpful to talk to international applicants who received a direct Training Contract in their penultimate/final year of law school. Also, if there are any Indian students/graduates who have gone through this route (without the specific India Internships), it'll be very helpful to connect with you.

Thank you so much!

Currently trying to apply for Bird & Bird's open day, but struggling to meet the word count for the application question (why do you want to attend this open day, what will you gain?). They want 400 words and I've only got just over 200. I've mentioned things like networking, getting a real insight into the firm and life as a trainee, a practice area I'm particularly interested in - does anyone have any advice as to how to bulk it up?

I have an interview on Thursday and I'm struggling to flesh out my answer about a recent deal they've worked on. My interest in it largely stems from the companies involved and the wider topics which this touches up.

Can I talk about this in interview? I get stuck on how to go beyond the deal and how I should do that

Hi

I am pretty worried about this and would really value any help. I have a TC offer from a law firm which I am due to begin next year. I have completed the LPC whilst being funded (including a grant), but over the past year or so following the death of a close relative my mental health has severely deteriorated. Being honest with myself, the thought of training to be a solicitor gives me anxiety, and I cannot bear the thought of it anymore. After weeks of consideration, I have decided that it'd be in my best interest to withdraw my offer.

Of course upon withdrawing my offer I'll need to pay back what I owe the firm. This balance is currently over £20,000. I do not come from a wealthy family and would be funding this purely off my own back (I plan on finding a full time job straight after withdrawing my offer). Do firms generally give a reasonable amount of time to pay this money back?

I'm really worried that I'm in serious trouble whichever way I look - please help!!

Hi everyone,

This might seems obvious for some of you, but i struggle to understand what are suppose to answer when law firms ask the question "how would you apply your skills to a trainee role in order to be successful".

If for instance, i am talking about communication skills, am i suppose to say the role of a trainee in the firm and a specific example of when "communication skills" can be essential?

Thanks

Just applied to large firm's TC without having any VS experience (what was I thinking?!). Even though I got a 95% percentile on the Watson Glaser test for this application and have done law internships outside of the UK, I feel that my lack of VS experience in this particular firm will put me at a disadvantage. It is possible to be redirected to the VS track automatically by graduate recruitment or should I ask to be put there? Should I not bother and just try for the TC? Thanks!

Hi everyone!


Has anyone here interviewed with Accutrainee before? I have an assessment centre coming up with them, but have no idea what to expect? The structure of the AC is: a commercial awareness exercise, competency based interview and a presentation on a commercial/legal topic.

Any tips in general to prepare for an assessment centre would also be very helpful.

Thanks a lot!

Interview next week! My first one and I just wondered if anyone could explain what the written exercise will entail and what the key things to focus on here.

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Hi everyone!

I'm a career-changer, currently studying for my GDL while working. I'm fortunate to have a training contract lined up for 2023, and found reading some of the advice here incredibly valuable. I hope I can give back and share some of my own experiences with people.

Have an A&O interview in 2 weeks. I know the GR interview is largely scenario based, like their SJT. Is there a specific structure to follow when giving answers? Or is it all about showing your working.

For example: A scenario where you are moved suddenly from a project and you don't know why. And now have to work with an unknown team.'

I really don't know how to begin approaching answering that, its hard to structure!

Hi am applying for a training contract and l came across a question asking that :what contribution would l make to the firm if given the position .In your response please consider potential business generation ,innovation and entrepreneurship input.

Can you please help me in how l can approach this question

Any assistance in relation to preparing for the Assumptions and Inferences parts of the test would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, I'm a final-year law student currently applying for TCs. I stumbled upon an application where the only real 'application question' concerned me as a person and what I have achieved in 600 words. Nothing implied of writing about why I want to work with them specifically, why I want to become a lawyer or how good my commercial awareness is. This is one of the biggest firms as well so I'm quite surprised this is how they phrased it. My question is if this can be considered to be a form of a 'cover letter' where I can freely write what I want or should I just focus on my own achievements? I hope any of this makes sense, I'm trying my best to navigate myself! Any form of tip is appreciated. Thanks.

I am preparing VS applications and my undergraduate degree is from a US University. This is proving to present some issues when I go to write my 'module grades'. On my transcript, I have 36 different classes listed, each with its own letter grade. Each of these classes was weighted more or less equally to calculate my overall GPA, for which there are a few different tables floating around for converting it the UK degree classification system.

I reached out to one firm and they said "it would be best to just include your final grades for each of the 3 years" — but that's just not how it works in the US. I did not receive a 'final grade' each year. It's also unclear to me if whether I should list an 'A' grade class as a 70 or a 100, or somewhere in-between.

I thought perhaps I could just list 5-10 of my classes from including a few from my 'concentration', and a few from each year, but I'm not sure if this is the right approach.

Do you think I should reach out to every individual firm I apply to?

Would be grateful if anyone has any intel/experience/common sense

Thanks!

EDIT: Follow up thought. I have an official university approved transcript that lists all my classes and grades. What do you think if I put it on Dropbox and share a link in the 'further information' section that usually accompanies the module sections? It doesn't include my overall GPA because my former university doesn't do that, but I could share an excel sheet that shows how I calculated my degree grade and the conversion system?

Hi guys,

I find myself in a very awkward position and I'm not entirely sure who to turn to.

I have had a really difficult academic journey.

When initially applying to university, my sister got raped and both of my grandparents died right around A-levels. This affected my mental healthy massively. I came out with AAB. I chose to resit to get A*AA, because I had an offer from LSE. However, my exam was then canceled because of Covid. The exam results fiasco resulted in my grade from the government being a B. I lost both my firm and insurance, and found a place at Birmingham via clearing for AAB. The government then gave allocated grades; I ended with AAA in the end.

I hated Birmingham. I never saw myself there; I tried to make the most of bad luck. I chose to stay the year because I’m from a small town, and there are no job opportunities nearby. I couldn’t take a second gap year. However, after a year at Birmingham, I felt entirely out of place. In the first few modules I worked my socks off; I did well. The second semester not so much. I felt incredibly depressed because I hated the city and my heart was never in it. In February, my brother then died of an overdose. I couldn’t find the motivation to study whatsoever, and my second-semester term results were pretty abysmal.

For the first semester:
Criminal law - 76%
Legal skills and methods - 77%
Law in action - 62%

Second semester:
Public law - 49%
Contract law - 47%
Decolonising legal concepts - 67%

I was aiming for a strong 1st. My aspiration has always been to become a barrister at a top set. I realise you need a strong first for this. Alternatively, I thought that I'd apply for a US/Magic Circle. With the grades I got, and the total dislike of Birmingham, I decided to move to Manchester University - my original insurance choice. My thought process was that by repeating the first year, I can get the first-class degree that I wanted. However, I am now sat in a lecture doing the same modules that I’ve already studied. I feel like I’m going backwards. As much as I hated Birmingham, and as much as I love Manchester, I don’t know whether I should move back and just continue with the second and third year. Will my nodules from first year hold me back, or am I doing the right thing in moving? I worry that being back in Birmingham would probably make me sad, but also being here makes me sad because I'm doing it all over again. I don't know how much my results would hold me back, also. Contract law and public law are both important modules, and if I'm trying to get a strong 1st overall, I don't think it's too great with a low 2:1 average of 63%.

What do you guys think? I realise this is lengthy but I have no one to turn to.

Hello,

I am currently studying the LPC without having secured a TC. I am seeing that most firms recruit for TCs starting 2024.

Considering that I will finish the LPC in 2022, is there anything I can do to start training quicker so that I don't waste 2 years?

Hi, I am taking the SQE1 exam in November this year and wondered if anyone else was taking the exam too?
I chose QLTS as my prep provider - if anyone has any questions please feel free to ask.

I am messaging with an enquiry really, I thought it might be best to seek your opinion or advice on this matter. I am a recent graduate of the University of Birmingham and I have recently left a job as a trainee accountant to pursue a career in commercial law, as such I was planning on starting the GDL in January. However, I am aware that the process through which one becomes a solicitor has markedly changed. What would be the best route in your opinion, to still enrol for the GDL with BPP and then progress on to the SQE 1 + 2 courses or to enrol on the LLM Legal Practice (SQE1+2) with the University of Law, as I understand that BPP are not offering a course like that of the University of Law yet. Are there any other alternatives that are available, that I haven't mentioned, as an alternative to the GDL and LPC route that once was?

Which would you advise as the best route to take in todays situation?