New Threads

Hi!

Hope everyone is progressing well with their TC applications.

I am wondering if anyone know roughly when V&E generally get back to applicants for the direct TC ? And did anyone hear back from them at any point ?

thanks!

I have a TC offer from a city law firm and I am considering withdrawing from the process before the SQE begins this September.

From my experience working at city law firms as a paralegal and also in-house, the job of a solicitor does appeal. The long hours, stress, non-existent work-life balance, and culture of law firms have put me off the career. The thought of going back to university to study the SQE full-time after graduating from the LLB nearly 10 years ago now does not appeal either. I have a job working in ops within investment banking which surpasses the salary of most city law firm NQs (including the firm I have the TC with), however, it is just a job without real routes for progression. The role provides me with a good work-life balance, mostly no stress, the ability to work mostly remotely, good working culture etc. However, I am finding it difficult to let the TC go due to how hard I had to work for it, also knowing that long-term being a qualified lawyer could open many doors.

Thoughts welcomed.

Hi

I have just received my LLB first year grades (am at a London based Russell group uni) and it is stressing me out. Only 2 subjects out of 4 have been graded (thankfully I got first class in 1 and 2:1 in the other) but 2 subjects have been marked "MX" - the uni says that they have NOT been graded yet (teacher strike??) and that firms are understanding and supporting of this situation and that I can be promoted to second year . I am truly confused. Are others in this situation too ? As an international student having paid a lot of fees , I feel strange that after a stressful first year in which lots of classes were cancelled, we now have to deal with this situation and the possible uncertainty and disadvantage for VS applications. At the least, I thought the uni owes us the marked grades after making us sit for those exams. Can someone demystify the situation please ? Will I ever get grades for those 2 subjects or will they remain "MX" for ever ? What are its implications for VS/TC and further employment ?
Thanks.

Hi all,

I am going to be applying for the LLM (legal practice SQE) course soon. I am fortunate enough to have a firms backing so they are paying the fees and also offering a maintenance grant. I was wondering If I will still be eligible for a post graduate loan from the Government to further assist as I will be doing it in London and while the firms grant is good, its not likely to be enough after accommodation is paid for etc.

Hey everyone! I will be doing my first TI with NRF and would love to get some insight on the types of questions they might ask, as well as any tips for the telephone interview!

I am feeling very nervous and any insight would help thank you!!

Hi, is anyone in my position or can you direct me to the best option? I was a covid student so my A-level grades were cancelled so when I got BCC I was just happy with not sitting the exam not realising the impact it could make in the future. Then I went to uni to do LLB Law and really struggled with family issues in 2nd year and landed with a 57% 2:2. I got a first-class in my dissertation and I would really love to aspire to a career as a corporate solicitor. Any tips or advice on what I can do to stand out in applications, which firms I should consider applying and anyone in a similar position?

I’m Tigmika (and I’m struggling to say anything more about myself! Clearly not a good sign as a TC applicant!)
I am Indian qualified with an LLM in international arbitration and have recently moved to London to pursue an arbitration internship at Linklaters.
I very recently discovered the concept of a TC and have put out a few applications - already having gotten 2 rejections! Woohoo! And taken the Freshfields WG and the WFW VI. I’m waiting to hear from the others and see if I progress further with any other firms.
I would love to be a part of such a supportive community in a time of such stress and uncertainty!
Looking forward to speaking to people and hoping for success all round

Hi guys,

I was wondering if anyone knows more about the structure of the Macfarlanes Assessment Centre and has any tips on how to prepare for it. It's an application interview, a written exercise, and a business case-study interview. I saw that the structure was different a couple of years ago so I would appreciate any recent insights on the process.

Thank you so much

Hi,
I am thinking of doing SQE 1 and 2 however I am unclear on how much it will cost if I self fund it.
I have seen on the SRA site that the assessment cost for both exams totals to 4k. I have also seen distant learning courses costing 5k. Would this include the assessment cost or would I have to pay 9k in total for the distant learning and assessment?

Thanks

Edit: Removing the practice questions for guideline purposes

Hi everyone, it's Erin here!

You may recognise my name from our weekly newsletters, but if not, hello! It's lovely to virtually meet you.

I wanted to jump into the forum and check in - how are you feeling ahead of this cycle?

With firms beginning to open their applications for their winter vacation schemes this week, I know a lot of you will be starting to draft your first applications of the year. With so many different firms out there, all with different cultures and values, it can be difficult to know where to start.

To give you a starting point, I wanted to share some of the most useful resources that we have available on the TCLA Premium platform, taking you right through from deciding which firms to apply for, to providing you with feedback once you have finished your application.

First up, we have one of our most popular courses:

"Write Law Firm Applications that Lead to Interviews"​

We'll help you make a start, with:

️An explanation of the application cycle timeline itself; and

️Guidance on how to choose the right firm for you.

Take a deep dive into:

️How best to tackle motivational, competency and commercial-based questions.

️Advice on how to sell your experiences, and present the best version of yourself through your writing.

️How to draft your work experience section, as well as the ‘other section’ information effectively.

Further your knowledge through:

️An examination of real application questions for the top City law firms, dissecting ‘good’ and ‘bad’ application answers.

️An in-depth look at the most common mistakes candidates make when writing applications.

Alongside the written resources, here's a teaser of the hours of informative videos within the course:



By the end of this course, our aim is for you to come away with the tools to write in the top 1% of applications.

Looking for inspiration? We've got you.​

As part of our TCLA Premium Membership, you have access to our Application Database:



You may have seen this on the left hand side of the forum before and wondered what it is...

Here, you can find hundreds of successful applications and cover letters, submitted by our community members, to help you draw inspiration for when you are writing your own applications to law firms.

These are organised by firm, date of submission and the position applied for, so that you can find examples from your favourite firms with ease.

Finished writing and seeking feedback? We can help.​

Once you have written your application, send it over to us and we will provide you with detailed, line-by-line comments, and feedback on areas for improvement.

TCLA Premium Gold Members receive one, free application review per month.

Rather than me explaining how this will improve your writing skills, I will let our testimonials speak for themselves:

​

To gain access to all of the above resources, sign up to TCLA Premium Gold today via this link for 15% off your first month.​

I hope you have found this useful!

If you have any questions, or thoughts on something that we don't currently have on the platform that would be valuable to you for your application writing, feel free to let me know in this thread!

Best of luck this cycle!

Erin ️

Interested to see how anyone else found the LPC blp exam at ulaw for august sitting

Dear member, I came across a technical issue whilst completing a WG test. Basically, the page refreshed when there are 7 mins left and all my answers were gone. I reached out to the test provider to ask help, they were kind to help me reset the test. I completed it again the night itself. I reached out to the firm's grad recruitment team to raise this issue, but they have not replied. Has anyone experienced this before, will the firm withdraw your application or perceive it negatively? THANKS

Hi guys,

I received a 2:1 on my undergrad and recently completed the LPC with a Pass. While going through the program, I discovered that I excelled during seminars and managed to complete tasks ahead of their deadlines, all while working part-time. It was a proud moment for me, as I strived to give my best in every aspect of my studies.

However, I must admit that my performance in the exams did not mirror my efforts. I received grades in the range of 50s and 60s on my core modules and electives, although fortunately, I did not fail any of them. On the other hand, I did achieve higher scores of 80 in SAC and 70 in Wills, despite the fact that they do not carry as much weight in the overall evaluation.

To be completely honest, I am currently disappointed in myself. I wanted to reach out and ask for your guidance regarding a matter that concerns me. I have already secured a TC, which only requires the completion of my LPC. However, I will soon need to submit my final transcript to the firm.

In light of my exam results, I am apprehensive that my TC offer may be reconsidered, given that my grades do not fully reflect my true potential and dedication. I believe that academic performance is only one aspect of an individual's abilities, and I am willing to invest my time and effort into proving myself as a hardworking and committed professional.
I would truly appreciate any advice you may have on how to effectively communicate to the HR team that my grades do not define me as a whole and that I am enthusiastic about making a positive impact within the firm.

Thank you so much!

Hi everyone. This is quite nerve-wracking for me to post, but I genuinely feel like I am out of options and would love to hear if other people have been in similar positions/can empathize and give me advice.

Long story short, I've been fortunate to have quite a few successes legal-wise in the past few years. I attended a Russell Group university for both my undergraduate and graduate degrees in law. Despite being diagnosed with a mental disability in my final year of my LLB, I graduated with a high 2:1 (69 average). I am expected to graduate from my LLM with a Distinction. I attended a lot of Open Days in my first year and in the past two years I was able to secure 4 vacation schemes (one of which I had to turn down due to scheduling conflicts, but still).

However, I am feeling extremely worried about the future and insecure in myself as I just found out that I've failed to convert my latest VS into a TC offer. It's dawned on me that all of my friends from university have succeeded to get a TC offer/pupillage at this point and I'm finding it really difficult to see a future for myself as my LLM graduation is in two months (alongside my student visa expiration). I did fill out some direct TC applications to a handful of firms prior to the end of July, but realistically I won't hear back for another few weeks and I'm less confident about how far I'll progress with direct TC applications given I assume they are more competitive than applications for vacation schemes.

I know I'd like to stay in London post-graduation for numerous personal reasons, so as an international student, I suppose a graduation visa is next. But assuming I'm unsuccessful with my direct TC applications as well, what is the best course of action? Do I self-fund the SQE? Do I try applying for legal interning or paralegal roles? I'm starting to think that maybe I'm just not the 'type of person' London law firms would like to hire as the Watson Glaser isn't my strong suit and I've noticed that there is a certain kind of 'personality' the firms I've worked at prefer (which I am the total opposite of as a chatty extrovert). Should I cut my losses now and try and switch into an alternative industry (I wonder if there's anyone on here who worked at a separate industry before i.e. banking or consulting)?

I don't know, I'm really embarrassed to be the only one of my friends and LinkedIn network to have failed to get a TC offer and I feel like a total idiot for getting my hopes up this year with a masters degree and a few more vacation schemes under my belt. My declining mental health and personal life hasn't really helped lol. I'm really sorry in advance if this comes off as overblown/overreacting, this has all been weighong on me heavily and I feel like I can't talk about this with anyone in my close circle (friends and family) as I don't want to show how much of a failure I've been. So I'd really appreciate it if anyone has some insight and advice to give.

Thank you for reading this far if you have
Summer x

Hi everybody, I'm Hubert, an LLB grad from KCL. I've been working as a paralegal for over half a year now, and I'm hoping to secure a Training Contract soon. I'd appreciate any advice from interview strategies to assessment day tips!

[FOR TRAINING CONTRACT DEADLINES, CLICK HERE]

Hey everyone,

Vacation Scheme application season is here! To make things easier for those of us preparing to apply, I have put together a list to track all the applications and their due dates for the Winter, Spring and Summer Vacation Schemes. I will keep this list updated! Please feel free to drop any suggestions to better utilise this thread.

Thank you and all the best!


Here are the firms that have announced their application opening and closing dates for Winter, Spring and Summer Vacation Schemes 2023/24 so far:

(This list is dynamic and will be updated as firms release their application windows)

Winter Vacation Scheme Deadlines 2023/24:​

August 2023​

​

September 2023​

October 2023​

​

---

Spring Vacation Scheme Deadlines 2023/24:​

September 2023​

​

October 2023​

---

Summer Vacation Scheme Deadlines 2023/24:​

September 2023​

​

October 2023​

​

Have any of you already applied to Peters & Peters for the Work Experience Scheme and/or the Training Contract? If so, could you please share your thoughts on the respective application processes?

Thank you.

Hi guys,

I’m fortunate enough to be starting my SQE in September sponsored by a firm. I’m pretty stressed in advance because I can see that a lot of the course is self study. It’s been years since I did my law degree and I honestly couldn’t really recite much from what I studied. This coupled with being out of education and worrying that I don’t know how to study anymore means I’m becoming increasingly concerned about starting. Since I’ve got a month before I start can anyone provide some advice?

Hi guys,

I wanted to get your thoughts regarding working part times whilst doing full-time SQE. I have a few bills to pay and want to remain financially independent and would be grateful if someone could share their experience or tips in relation to this.

Even if you have done a LPC instead of the SQE, I would be grateful if you can share your experiences and tips please?

Many thanks

Apply here.

Find out more here.

---
I encourage you to use this thread to discuss your applications to this position:

️Have you heard back from the firm yet?
️What response did you receive?
️How far did you get in the application process?

Let the community know below.

Apply here.

Find out more here.

---
I encourage you to use this thread to discuss your applications to this position:

️Have you heard back from the firm yet?
️What response did you receive?
️How far did you get in the application process?

Let the community know below.

Find out more here.

Apply here.

---
I encourage you to use this thread to discuss your applications to this position:

️Have you heard back from the firm yet?
️What response did you receive?
️How far did you get in the application process?

Let the community know below.

To Apply: Email Gemma Freeman at [email protected], Gemma will then send you the application form and details of completion deadlines.

Find out more here.

Good luck!

---

I encourage you to use this thread to discuss your applications to this position:

️Have you heard back from the firm yet?
️What response did you receive?
️How far did you get in the application process?

Let the community know below.