New Threads

Hi everyone,

I've applied for a couple of firms each of the last couple of years. Part of me knows that I've not done my best in my applications partly because I feel someone defeated before starting (not got the usual background but I slip through the net of the diversity schemes I have seen so far, know that it'll be hard to stand out, yada yada).

This year I want to change that and smash my applications, but I don't have friends or family who can help and, quite honestly, I don't know that I can afford to pay for people to review my applications - just one more hurdle in the old social mobility problem. Does anyone have any advice on how to find support?

I was just wondering does it make more sense to focus on First Year Scheme and Open Day applications this year and then Vac Scheme applications next year as a 2nd year non-law student? It seems like most firms are looking to recruit 2 years in advance, which wouldn't give me enough time to complete my final year, GDL and LPC.

Hi,

Can anyone who applied to Clyde & Co and completed their online video assessment share their experience? I found the tips and practice assessment provided by Clyde & Co to be less challenging than expected. Could you please provide details on the types of questions asked and the overall number of questions asked in the video interview? Your insights would be greatly appreciated!

I submitted my L&W vac scheme form a few days ago and I finished the SJT. Apparently the online assessment isn't timed but they recommend finishing in one sitting. It directed me to another start page for a 5 minute video assessment. I accidentally closed the tab and when I tried to open the test again it opened to the start page again. Could I take a break for the night and finish the video part of the assessment tomorrow?

Hi all,
Apologies if this out of scope for the forum. I have three questions:

1/ I was wondering does anyone know how the PGDL/SQE grants are treated for tax purposes - are they considered regular income? I know the barristers chambers have some tax-efficient way of allocating pupillage 'awards' and was wondering if this is similar.

2/ In a similar vein, how do people typically fund living costs during the PGDL/SQE? I am not in a position where I will get any sizeable family support and I have some modest savings (although certainly not enough to live in London for 2 years). Are there any specialist finance options that allow you to only make repayments upon beginning work?

3/ Also, related to above, if I have never completed third level education in the UK, I believe the only way my law education can qualify for Student Finance is if I do an LLM - some providers like BPP offer an SQE1/2 LLM course to facilitate this. If this is not standard for law firms, can I persuade them to offer me this for financing reasons?

Thanks!

Hello, I would like to know whether there is a resource aside from WestLaw that can be used to discover recently passed legislation in the UK?

TIA

Hello all,

I'm fortunate enough to have been offered a training contract with an MC firm. With the GDL not starting until September, is there anything I could start doing soonish to familiarise myself with the teaching style/content or more generally some relaxed prep in advance of embarking upon my career in law?

Also if you have any questions that might help with your apps I'm happy to answer.

Thanks!

Hi everyone! I'm an international law student from Brazil, in the third year of my five-year degree. I am currently seeking information about vacation schemes, but unfortunately I do not know anyone who has applied. Since my second year of university, I have gained internship experience in the field of commercial law, specifically capital markets and reestructuring. I competed in the 2022 Foreign Direct Investment Moot, which was held at Kings College, and my team is currently preparing for the 31st Vis Moot. I am also an assistant to a commercial law professor at my college.
I am seeking your help since I do not know anyone who has applied for vacation schemes. I would be grateful if you could provide me with some guidance, since I don´t know what my real chances are. Thank you in advance!

@axelbeugre

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Hello,

I applied for the BBC solicitor apprenticeship a week ago and received an email from the BBC about progressing to the next stage. Does anyone know what the recruitment process is like? In regard to the interview questions I cannot find anything online, can someone who has previously applied to the process generalise the questions they were asked?

Thanks!

I have applied to Linklaters Tax assistant role and have a 2nd round interview coming up. I come from a non-law, non-accounting background and have also never done case studies before. I was wondering if anyone have any tips on the case study for the tax role? Because everyone is discussing their law applications and I can't seem to find any guidance on Tax case study. Please help, Thank you

Hi All, I have found out I am through to the Grand Final of the CAC. If anyone has made it to the final and has any tips please feel free to share. Further, any current finalists feel free to connect with me.

Hello!

I am an international graduate who did not study in the UK, and I therefore do not have Tier 4 visa which can be extended on the Graduate Route. The firm would have to separately assist me with a Skilled Worker visa just to attend the Vacation Scheme first. Does anyone have experience with this, with Jones Day in particular? Experience with other firms also welcome!

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to know if anyone could give me some tips on how to gain commercial awareness? I have a subscription to Watson's Daily Newsletter and I read it every day, but I don't think I'm actually gaining anything from it other than just the basic knowledge.

Would really appreciate some advice!!

I've got an Open Evening tomorrow but, alas, tragedy has struck as I have realised I've hit the weights a bit too hard this year and my suit no longer fits me (obviously I'm an idiot and should've tried it on sooner). Will I will be able to get away with a shirt, nice quarter zip, smart trousers + shoes or am I doomed?

Hi everyone!

As you might already know, being commercially aware is a crucial part of the application process: from drafting written applications to performance in ACs, having a strong, commercial awareness goes a long way in demonstrating one's interest in commercial law.

To further develop this skill, @JasmineM9 and I have created this thread which we will use to post weekly analysis of commercial news that we find particularly interesting. We intend to update this thread every Thursday, so feel free to have a skim if you feel it will help with improving your commercial awareness as well! <3

Hello everyone. Has anyone received an update from Allen & Overy London Office regarding their Summer Vacation Scheme 2024 application?

has anyone applied to the bbc graduate solicitor apprenticeship or is planning to?

I graduated in 2020 on the LL.M QLD (full time) whilst working full time as a paralegal. Midway through my studies, I was made homeless and disowned my own family. Needless to say, this affected my grades and my self esteem when it comes to training contract applications. I have spent the better part of 3 years, building up experience but also exploring opinions as per my situation - what chances I have and so on. As the title suggests, I have been recommended everything from taking the SQE to doing Cilex. This is despite there being others in a similar situation being given encouragement when it comes to the LPC and securing a training contract.

I do not understand why I am not a good candidate for TCs, why there are not suitable routes to becoming a solicitor that do not involve saving up lots of money (surviving being homeless does not serve as a good basis for this, neither does the damage to one's mental health). I need someone to go through it with me and give me a definitive answer, because I do not intend to give despite the disparaging and superficial attitude take towards my circumstances in paqrticular. If anyone would be willing to offer any advice on advancing my applications I would appreciate it a lot.

Hello all!

First of all, I'd like to clarify this is my first year applying for training contracts after having different plans for my career, so my commercial awareness and applications knowledge is not as advanced as one would expect (I appreciate feedback, given this is my first rodeo applying to London firms, but keep in mind that my questions might be a bit naïve and basic - for that, I apologise in advance).

I recently turned 24, and I am an LLB grad (2020, LSE) who achieved a 2.1 by the skin of their teeth - my least strong subjects were law of obligations and property law so I expect this will be a minus in my application. I was always more academically inclined towards different subjects (international law, arbitration... sociology of law), fields which were the focus of my LLM (completed 2023, in overseas but reputable european uni, very difficult programme, my final overall grade was mediocre because of personal issues affecting me during the assessment of an important final subject). I mainly made it through higher education due to combos of scholarships from home country + bursary + loan + full-time work, at the same time of full-time study. My secondary/years 11&12 education in private schools was also owed to scholarships.

I thought I would be pursuing a PhD by now, but I was rejected by two dream programmes of mine due to specific professors not being able to supervise someone at the moment, even though I got very good feedback.

Between my LLB and LLM, I had to return to my home country to support my family financially doing work in an irrelevant field, mostly left me with skills in editing and admin. I have, however, completed a lot of volunteer legal work and served as assistant editor and researcher in academic publications. Qualifying in my home country is a bit play-to-play, and as I am again sucked into work that is financially practical for me and my family right now, I am once again not working in a legal field.

I am now realising that my PhD topic would benefit from me gaining experience in a firm (I do not wish to specify the epistemological reasons but it would definitely help me gain perspective and network better for the kind of research I want to do). I could envision working for 5+ years as a solicitor and then either taking a break to do a full-time PhD or do an executive-track (part-time) one. Currently, I am trying to broaden my knowledge on IP, capital markets, and environmental law while applying to MC, SC, and other London firms - this is the first time I'm ever applying.

1. So, if anyone is still reading... I know that 24 is not too old an age to be applying for training contracts, but how should I address my 2 (between LLB and LLM) + 1 (current) years not in legal work?
2. Also, I understand that a question could arise regarding my LLB choice of optional modules (not very commercial choices I must say) and the fact that I could have applied for VCs and TCs since last year, while I was in my LLM - as in, my current VC and TC applications could be perceived as desperation or me being too indecisive while in undergrad. These modules did help me gain analytical skills and tools useful to academia, but I doubt they will seem too attractive to commercial firm recruitment. How do I... explain myself? Or, is this something (in combination to my work experience so far) that could be perceived as more relevant to my socio-economic background (I also belong to an underrepresented ethnic group) and is therefore, okay to be explained by me in that context - as in, "this is the work I had to do for a while, my plans where different, now after gaining more experience I have gained a better insight in what is best suited to me/what I want to do"?
3. Also, I will need a Skilled Worker Visa to work in the UK. How will that affect my SQE/should I have an answer prepared for that, in case they decide to ask me in interviews (if I get any interviews, of course)? Or is this something that firm recruitment sorts out easily?

Of course I am being hopeful and applying to MC and SC firms, but I am kind of sinking in self-doubt right now. Any advice?

I am looking to apply for vacation schemes after receiving my first-year results yesterday (January Start). Due to my mindset of first-year results don't add up to final year grade...
I didn't do good at all in my modules. I also have poorer A-level results than most (A*BB).
My only redeeming factor is that I've been doing Pro-Bono. I've done some insight days and law events with Clifford Chance and other firms. I have been going through virtual vacation schemes via Legal Cheek.
I've got until January 2024 before I start my second year. So I've got 4 questions:

1. How do I make up for lost time and bad grades?
2. A lot of vacation schemes for Spring have a deadline of 1st of Dec
3. What should I do to make up for bad grades and make my application stand out?
4. Is applying to high-street firms for shadowing or even applying to be a paralegal good? Some people I've talked to said it might be detrimental.

Thank you

Hi,

Does anyone know how to answer questions like "how do we differentiate ourselves from our competitors?" / "how do we maintain a competitive advantage?" / "who are our competitors, and how do we differentiate ourselves from them?"

I've seen some responses on here offering some guidance, but I'm still really unsure on what to actually compare.


Thanks.

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone who has applied for the A&O summer vacation scheme has heard anything back yet? I believe responses are meant to be rolling out this week (w/c 13th November). Thanks

Hi guys,

Just a bit of a self-pitying mind dump lol.

I got pretty mediocre A-Level results, BBD, and I'm worried that these will hinder me with applications. It is a dream, of course, to work at a magic circle firm but are these grades going to prevent me from getting TC offers? Additionally, I want to get as much experience and build up a strong application so that I can have a chance, but I don't know where to even start or what I should do that would make me a well-rounded candidate. Even open days have questions that require substance (obviously), but I don't feel qualified enough to apply to them. Don't really know what to do or where to start.

Hi everyone, I hope you're all having a lovely week so far.

I've had a lot of questions from the community over the last week, asking for advice on how to prepare for a video interview. I wanted to jump into the forum today to share with you our best advice on how to prepare for at video interview at home. Our best advice to prepare for any interview is to simulate the real thing as closely as possible, and practice in this simulated environment as many times as you can. The phrase 'practice makes perfect' really does apply here!

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to simulate a video interview:​

1. Prepare:
   
   ️ Find a time and place where you can complete your video interview free from distraction. Turn off any phone or computer notifications, let your family/housemates know not to disturb you, and find a comfortable spot.
   
   ️Create a list of possible interview questions that you haven't prepared for. You are likely already prepared to answer a range of common interview questions, so simulating answering these won't really challenge you here, and this needs to be challenging in order for you to improve! Need inspiration? Try taking a few from this list.
   
   ️Once you've compiled your questions, give yourself 30 seconds to 1 minute to prepare your answers. Try to stick to this time limit to ensure it's as a close to the real interview as possible.
   
   
2. Record:
   
   ️Record yourself answering each question. Use your computer, phone or digital camera (people still use those, right?) and record yourself giving your answer to each question.
   
   ️Set a strict time limit. This part is key, as the trickiest part of a video interview is answering under time constraints. Set a timer for 1-2 minutes and give it your best shot. Try to avoid going over time here, as you won't get those extra seconds during the real interview!
   
   
3. Review:
   
   ️Watch your recording back and ask yourself, am I projecting my voice? Am I gesturing? Am I varying my tone? Am I maintaining eye contact? If I was the interviewer, would I find my answers convincing? No one enjoys watching themselves back on video, but this is a vital step for you to see how your answers are coming across to the interviewer, and to identify any points for improvement.
   
   
4. Repeat:
   
   ️Repeat this process as many times as you can until you feel confident in answering any question within a time limit. You'll never know exactly what questions will be asked, so the aim here is to get better at answering on-the-spot questions, whilst staying composed and finishing within the time limit.
   

I hope you find this useful! Feel free to share any of your own tips and advice for how to prepare for a video interview in this thread.

Hi, has anyone heard back for the winter Vacation Scheme for 2023? Getting concerned since it is starting soon.