Hey everyone,
As we move closer to the new application cycle, we have added a mission statement to the TCLA forum and revised our terms and rules. We will also shortly send an alert requiring everyone to review the updated terms and rules before carrying on in the forum.
Why are we doing this?
We have an incredible community here where members are kind to each other and support one another in their journeys. Many of you bond because you have faced challenges in your journey so far and yet you still strive to succeed. As we grow,
our mission statement underlines the vision we have for the TCLA forum and the values we aim to uphold. I will repost this below and would recommend reading this first.
Our updated
terms and rules are in place to help us to uphold the values in our mission statement. It's also there to ensure the TCLA forum remains a safe and supportive environment for aspiring lawyers. Where disagreements arise, we want to make sure that members can concentrate on the content, rather than the individuals. We also want to make sure our members don't have to face trolling, spam, self-promotional content, harassment, and much more.
The TCLA forum is an actively managed forum. Whether it's removing spam, deleting inappropriate content or stepping in to guide disputes, our Community Managers are active day-to-day to make sure you can focus on receiving useful advice and reassurance in your journey to becoming commercial lawyers. We know that sometimes members may disagree with decisions being made (particularly when disputes do arise), and we only ask that you respect that we have forum rules in place for a reason.
If anyone has any questions about this, please feel free to drop me a PM. Otherwise, thank you to all of you for helping to make the TCLA forum so special.
Thank you also to
@Alice G,
@Jessica Booker,
@Jacob Miller and
@Dheepa for your work throughout the forum and for assisting with these rules.
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The TCLA Forum Mission Statement
TCLA is the largest dedicated forum for aspiring lawyers. Our mission is to help aspiring lawyers, from students to trainees, become the best version of themselves.
As we grow, we want to support every aspiring lawyer interested in a career in the City, while staying true to our values.
Those values are:
- Kindness
- Exceptional quality
- Authenticity
- Curiosity
- Original thinking
1. Kindness
The journey to becoming a commercial lawyer can be exceedingly tough. For many, it means overcoming rejection and self-doubt, and entering a world that many won’t have prior experience with.
The goal of TCLA here is to serve as a place of refuge. We want our members to feel exceptionally welcomed and supported. If you’re new to the process and ask an obvious question, we’re not going to tell you it’s silly – we’re going to appreciate that everyone started somewhere.
To be kind also means to be strict with anyone who is unkind. In the TCLA forum, we don’t tolerate overt rudeness, putting people down, or attacks on personal character. We won’t hesitate to warn and ban anyone who falls foul of these rules because they breach our most fundamental value and harm the community as a whole. Equally, this applies to us. We strive to show kindness in all of our interactions.
To be kind also means we have to provide tough advice at times. We strive to do so delicately when we know it is in the best interests of our members.
2. Exceptional quality
We strive to make TCLA a source of exceptional advice. This means that no matter where a member is located - or their education, background, connections or circumstances - they have access to the best information in the legal market through the TCLA forum. Our advice never rests on helping you to become ‘good enough’, we focus on helping our members to become exceptional.
3. Authenticity
We value truth. TCLA is a place for aspiring lawyers to find out about what being a commercial lawyer and the legal profession is truly like. This means we don’t shy away from talking about the good stuff and the bad stuff.
TCLA is also a place where you can be vulnerable. We want our members to know they are not alone if they are struggling with mental health issues, struggling with the training contract process, or having doubts about their own suitability for commercial law. Equally, we are here to celebrate the success of our members when they have done extremely well.
Ultimately, we know the process is competitive, but we also know that this is not a zero-sum game. We want all of our members to work towards becoming the best version of themselves, and we strive to upskill and support everyone, no matter who you are, or the stage of your journey.
4. Curiosity
At its core, the TCLA is about learning. Our community is bonded by a desire for personal and professional self-improvement.
The reason our motto is ‘helping aspiring lawyers become the best version of themselves’ is because we are not here just to help aspiring lawyers secure training contracts. We are here to help you become exceptionally talented people, with confidence in your abilities, so you can succeed in whatever you want to do. We want you to leave feeling inspired.
5. Original thinking
We will always strive to give you the best resources we can, but this never trumps original thinking. We want all our members to think for themselves, to know that there are different ways to achieve a goal, to realise that just because things were always done a certain way, it doesn’t mean that’s the right way.
