Training Contract Journey

Hello everyone,

I am interested in firms that provide international secondment opportunities. Has anyone any experience in this and willing to explain their journey and how they were successful in their application.

Thanks,

Hi,i´m an international student applying from Portugal for TCs in the UK and i find it quite hard encontering people in a similar position(being inetrnational students).Its almost impossible to not feel like you don´t stand a chance next to students already in the UK.

If you´re an international student applying for a TC please feel free to share your journey on the whole application process so far .Would love to hear!

Feel free to ask questions and if you want to connect hit me up on linked in .Just search for Andrea Martins Porto

Hi all!

I’m thinking about self funding the SQE at University of Law this year.

Just for context: I just graduated (2023) with a 2:1 in law from an RG uni and have some prior legal work experience. Unsuccessful with TCs in second year and had some difficult family issues this year which derailed my applications. Also I am in the position to self fund my SQE without going into any debt.

I’m committed to getting qualified and increasing my employability but just slightly worried about the SQE given that it is so new and the pass rate is relatively low.

I’m planning to apply for direct TCs this year and if those don’t work out I’ll apply for paralegal positions next year but I’m worried that might derail my chances of obtaining a TC given QWE. I’m wondering if it would be possible to work as a paralegal for a year without counting it towards QWE whilst trying hard to secure a TC.

My other option is to apply for paralegal positions and make TC applications this year. But I haven’t secured anything yet so worried about having gaps in my CV.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

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Hello everyone! I'm Niyati Nagda, a first-year LLB Law and Business student at Queen Mary University of London. It's a pleasure to be here and share my first post on the TCLA forum.

I'm also honoured to serve as the new product lead at TCLA, where I have the opportunity to better support individuals like us on their legal journey. I believe in leading with empathy and discipline, and I'm genuinely eager to understand how we all perceive the challenges we encounter throughout the legal application process.

Whether it's researching firms for open days or navigating the intricacies of the SQE (Solicitors Qualifying Examination) and beyond, I'm here to help TCLA provide even better support in the upcoming application cycle. I’ll also be sharing my journey to securing a Training Contract in this thread. Lets get that Training Contract!


Context about me:

I moved out of Mumbai at the age of 19 to pursue a legal education and a subsequent career in London. I approached this journey with an open mind, devoid of any preconceived notions. However, I was taken aback and humbled by the intense demands of student life in this bustling city. Balancing my academics, social life, part-time jobs, and applications for legal work experience, all without a support system, proved to be a formidable challenge. We often underestimate the immense stress aspiring lawyers face in such circumstances.

I encountered setbacks along the way. Coming from a vastly different educational background, it took me several months to grasp the expectations placed upon me as a student. Unfortunately, my lack of confidence in myself led me to miss out on incredible opportunities to apply to prestigious firms through open days and first-year schemes. I hesitated and ultimately abandoned numerous behavioural and psychometric tests after submitting written applications. I believed I had no skills or assets that these firms could possibly find useful, which left me feeling guilty for falling short of my parents' expectations, let alone my own. But you know what? Reaching rock bottom can indicate that things cannot possibly worsen further. It is at this point that a decision must be made: either remain stagnant without improvement or confront fear, push through, and strive for personal growth. It all depends on the choice we make.

The decision to be better:

I made changes because I was afraid of the process and rejection, causing me to miss out on first-year opportunities. However, I realised I could seek guidance from seniors and professionals on LinkedIn. I strived to be better, refine my schedule, and understand to deliver my expectations better. Comparing myself to others was unproductive. I'm on my own path, and my proactivity and effort matter the most.

During the summer, I looked for a part-time job. I applied to thirty-two places and got rejected by the first seventeen. It made me realise that rejections are part of the discovery process. I eliminated unsuitable opportunities and applied to niche positions. I assessed my capacities, morals, and objectives for the next five years candidly. It wasn't easy, but it left me more calm and confident when making decisions and selecting roles I applied to. I became the Vice President of the Student Advancement Society, which reinforced my confidence. However, I faced rejections for other opportunities. I saw them as learning experiences, not reflections of my self-worth. "No's" are crucial for refinement. Once I stopped taking them personally, I recognised my own strengths and areas for improvement.

A few days ago, I also secured a job at TCLA after going through three application stages. It was truly an amazing company, one that I was familiar with and had little hope of getting into when I applied a month ago. Throughout the entire process, the value of honesty to oneself and others remained crucial. Navigating the experience with honesty is essential. Only by meeting our own expectations and standards in life and finding peace in the effort we've put in can we truly be pleased and content. The journey to obtaining a training contract is demanding and challenging, requiring consistent effort and dedication. I've learned numerous lessons throughout this process, as I navigate it alongside all of you. Undertaking it with determination and optimism can be incredibly rewarding. When it comes to burdens, let's share them and make the most of this supportive and empowering community. : )

Based on my experience and the advice that has helped me over the past few months, I have compiled three key points to share:

1. Maintaining physical fitness & creating a balanced routine:

Investing in stress reduction techniques such as meditation and mindfulness can greatly benefit your overall well-being. Despite dealing with ADHD, I have found that these practices improve my focus, cognitive function, and sleep quality. They also positively impact my mood, mental health, and productivity. It's important to incorporate buffer days and socialising into your routine, allowing you to recharge and explore the country and its rich legal history.

Remember to invest in your future self by dedicating time to hobbies, passions, and interests outside of academics and applications. For example, I enjoy combat sports, so I make sure to allocate time for gym sessions or sports. Additionally, taking jogs in parks during the cold has proven to be a fantastic stress reliever for me.

2. Researching and preparing yourself:

Knowledge and confidence go hand in hand. The more prepared you are, the more faith you will have when networking with professionals at legal events or engaging in conversations with peers. Always aim to learn something new and make each interaction memorable, rather than coming across as a desperate student seeking exclusive information about a firm. Remember that conversations are an exchange of value beyond words. Strive to find the value in other people and seek mutual benefit.

While focusing on law firm applications is crucial, don't neglect your academic responsibilities. Establish a strong foundation in law and moderate your energy between assignments and applications. Take advantage of networking opportunities by attending student society events that invite law firm panels and utilising your career services to find opportunities for better networking and professional development. Networking is not just about gaining a good reputation; it's about building meaningful connections and leveraging those relationships for mutual support and growth. Exercise effective communication skills by approaching conversations with empathy and curiosity. Ask questions and get to know the individuals you interact with on a personal level. Create and follow a plan of action while networking with seniors, exploring legal opportunities at smaller solicitors in your vicinity, and investing in markets to keep up with trends in companies. Use term time strategically to schedule your applications and actively engage in LinkedIn networking. Reach out to people, ask for help, and build your own network of contacts who can assist you in refining your applications and understanding of the firms you apply to.

3. Embrace solitude:

If you have recently moved out and are living on your own for the first time, it's crucial to find comfort in your own company. Be content with who you are and avoid comparing yourself to others. Your self-worth should not be determined solely by external achievements or judgments. Take time for self-reflection and independent thinking. While friends and acquaintances are important, remember that you are the one who defines your own identity and values. If you ever need reminders or a break, reach out to those who genuinely care about you and want the best for you. This could include family, mentors, friends, seniors, or anyone who understands and supports your journey. Surrounding yourself with individuals who empower and uplift you can be incredibly valuable.

Lastly, I wanted to emphasise that I am sharing my journey and posting here to hold myself accountable and also to encourage others who are on a similar path to share their experiences. We are all in this together, and by supporting and learning from each other, we can navigate the application process more effectively. Let's create a supportive space where we can discuss and address our challenges, exchange advice, and provide encouragement to one another.

Where are you currently in your journey, and what are your biggest concerns when it comes to applications?

Hello,

Have any of you already secured a Training Contract at Peters & Peters? If so, what are your views on the training experience?

Thank you.

Hi everyone!

I have been busy updating our law firm deadlines calendar over the last few days, there are a lot of deadlines coming up tomorrow! You may have noticed that each time I add a new deadline, it creates a new thread on the forum. Lots of new deadlines = lots of new threads!

I wanted to check in with you all to see how you are finding this as forum users - are all of the new threads causing you any issues? Or perhaps they aren't impacting you at all? Ensuring that the forum is as user friendly as possible is very important to us, so I'd love to know what you think.

Please feel free to be as honest as possible, I'd look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Thanks!
Erin

Dear Reader,

I am starting this thread... primarily for myself, but if any readers want to contribute then please feel free. I have decided, at 01.30am, that it is time to hold myself accountable and channel my thoughts surrounding TC applications into a vice (so that it can finally leave my mind). I hope doing so will free up some of the negative thoughts, allow me to track my development, and perhaps one day I can look back at this and smile, knowing that I have finally made it.

Although the TC cycle is currently full steam ahead. I do not anticipate that I will send many applications this academic year. I currently have my elective exams, and amidst work and studying, there is little time left to apply myself fully to the application season. For this reason, I have narrowed my prospective application choices down to 5 firms: Kirkland & Ellis; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; White & Case; Macfarlanes; and Norton Rose Fulbright. Of course, if needs be, I will widen this again for the next cycle.

However, if I am honest with myself, or with any of you for that matter, I am worried (as you will come to learn gradually with every post). You see, I did not get the best grades, far from it. I got BCC at A-Level and a few 3rds at LLB, and although the grades are not great, I doubt I could have done any better or whether I was even willing to do any better...

*cue the mitigating circumstances*

During my studies, one of my parents was sadly diagnosed with stage-4 cancer, and I found our roles change. Following one bout of chemotherapy, I suddenly became the parent, and they became the child (the beautiful yet poignant circle of life). Of course, this meant that alongside my studies, I had also become a full-time carer. It's no excuse, I probably could have done better. However, weighing up what was more important, my parent trumped everything. So, I found myself attending less classes, doing minimal revision, and eventually sitting exams that I had no knowledge of. Truthfully, I wish I could say that I still cared about my education at the time, and I persevered, but I didn't. I did not think about my future, but rather focused on the future that was being taken from me: one where my parent would not see my graduation, one where they would not see me get married, and one where they would not be there to see their first grandchild. Instead, I wanted to make as many memories with them as possible, as these were all that would be left of them. I pretty much focused all my energy on them, and the ironic thing is, I have no regrets. Bad grades or not, I am grateful that I made that decision. Grateful that I got to spend as much time with my parent as possible.

However, my worry is that I will be unsuccessful in my endeavours. I know those firms are not exactly looking for anyone who does not meet the academic criteria and perhaps I should be applying for high street firms instead - but is it cringey to say that I know my worth? Not in the sense that high street firms are beneath me, but more in the sense that I know I am great at what I do, and if anything, I have the experience to showcase as such. Nevertheless, for some reason, every time I apply for a VS/TC - I keep getting rejected, even where my WGT scores are hitting the 90% mark (thank you v much Linklaters).

I often try convincing myself that okay maybe a lot of candidates got into the top 10% and perhaps I just missed the cut, OR maybe my applications were not written to the best quality. However, the more that time passes by, and the more that I develop my applications - the more I think that maybe it's those bloody grades that keep getting me screened out instead (I can't imagine an ATS having a filter button for whether a candidate’s mitigating circumstances are good enough and often wonder whether these are taken into account during a pre-screen at all). However, just like the rest of you, I won't give up. I know I will make it one day (and don't worry I am shaking the mix of firm choices around for the next cycle and will continue to develop my applications).


See you at the next post.


Regards,

LegallyBrown

Heya! I thought I would jump on the bandwagon as I'm looking to secure a TC by the end of my final year of university (yep - given myself an imaginary deadline haha). I just finished my first application cycle and realised that I really underestimated the value of submitting applications early to firms with rolling deadlines.

But, as the saying goes - once you've hit rock bottom, the only way left to go is up!

I am targeting firms that have direct TC vacancies in the summer; the ones on my list right now are:

• BCLP
• Slaughter & May
• AG
• Freshfields
• Hogan Lovells

Non-exhaustive, of course.

Any and all suggestions are welcome! If anyone else is trying to squeeze the life out of this application cycle too (before August - yikes!) feel free to pop up and we can keep each other motivated

TO-DO:

1. Draft answers for BCLP application form
2. Draft answers for AG application form
3. Research other firms and create a table
4. Create a repository of competencies alongside relevant experience for competency interviews

Hi everyone, I am currently a penultimate student studying law but has had an unsuccessful application cycle, and is starting a thread here to keep myself accountable and improve for next year's. I am also seeking advice on how to stay motivated throughout this summer while people around me go off on their vacation schemes.

Things to improve on:

• Applications
  • Go to more open day/insight events to get a better idea of a firm's inner workings
  • Make sure I am relating my answers back to the firm when appropriate
• Interviews
  • Be more confident! Don't feel like an imposter! You have made it this far - you are studying at a top RG university and doing okay despite a difficult year in your personal life
• AC
  • Improve your commercial awareness, read more FT articles and think about how it relates to a law firm's work
  • Practice practice practice case studies!

Additionally:

• What shall I do this summer to keep myself occupied? I would like to continue building up some soft skills which are transferable - I think it would be helpful regardless if it is non-law related just to build up my confidence
  • Part-time job? Volunteering work? Any ideas?
    

If anyone else has any advice, motivational quotes or even just to rant, feel free to reply to this thread! )

nul

Hi,

I thought I would post on here as I have seen other people do the same and it is very motivating to see people stick to their goals and update everyone as they go.

I am a current LPC student. I decided to self-fund the LPC after getting a high 2:1 from a RG university and then a master's in corporate law from another RG university. I wanted to paralegal in London after university initially but my mum needed me to stay home for a year after being away for 4 years so I decided to do the LPC remote. This is because my city does not have that many legal opportunities and I wanted to stay somewhat close to law and the career.

Throughout my studies, I never really took applying for VS' and TCs seriously as I thought this was what people did once they graduated.

However, in my second year, I sent 5 applications off but all were instantly rejected mainly for them being plagued with typos. In my third year, I did not apply at all.

During my master's, I sent off a grand total of one application which was also rejected.

However, this year during my LPC I have made a real attempt at sending off applications and attempted to learn more about the career through Aspiring Solicitors, Legal Cheek and of course TCLA.

This year I have set myself the goal of attending at least one AC which would also be my first ever!

So far I have sent off applications to:

GOWLING (REJECTED POST ONLINE TEST)
IRWIN MITCHEL (REJECTED POST ONLINE TEST)
CMS (COMPLETED WG, AWAITING RESPONSE TO SEE IF I HAVE SECURED A VI)
BRISTOWS DIRECT TC (REJECTED AFTER VI)
CLYDE & CO (COMPLETED VI, AWAITING RESPONSE TO SEE IF I HAVE SECURED THE AC)
DWF (INVITED TO COMPLETE VI)
ADDLESHAW GODDARD
WFW
TRAVERS SMITH
WHITE & CASE
BDB PITMANS
CHARLES RUSSELL SPEECHLYS DIRECT TC
PINSENT MASONS DIRECT TC

I still need to apply for:

WOMBLE BOND DICKINSON VS
BAKER MCKENZIE DIRECT TC
BCLP DIRECT TC

I have celebrated my successes so far. After feeling like I would never get past the application stage I have managed to do so on 6 occasions this cycle. This felt amazing. I then completed a few VIs which felt so hard but was also proud that I was invited to complete them. I hope they continue to come and I perform well enough in one to get that elusive AC and possibly the VS or TC.

I will use this thread as a personal journal that people are welcome to comment on. I have found reading other people's goals and progress to be very encouraging and hope I can do the same for others.

So here it is, onwards and upwards!

Hey everyone. I know I’m very late to this party. But having read the stories of so many aspiring lawyers has inspired me to write about my journey so far and take accountability for my mistakes.

Here’s my journey so far:
1) applied to and got rejected from the spring vacation schemes at Sidley Austin & Weil; (application stage)
2) awaiting the outcomes of my applications to Kirkland and Shearman for their spring/summer vac schemes

As for developing my commercial awareness, I regularly listen to the FT news briefing podcast and also read TCLA’s weekly commercial awareness newsletters. I find these sources really interesting and easy to digest. Whilst I’m able to link commercial topics to wider trends (such as economic, social & political), I’m struggling to link them back to law firms, possibly why I faced application stage rejections.

Moving forward, I am in the process of applying to the Ropes & Gray vac scheme determined to not repeat the previous mistakes. After this, I’ll be applying to direct TC applications as I feel I have a considerable amount of legal experience through previous internships and my current job as a paralegal to demonstrate my interest in commercial law. I hope to learn from members on this forum. Thanks

Hi,

I am due to start my TC in 2024, and have been paralegalling with the firm since the graduating, and receiving the offer, in 2021.

This means I will be leaving the firm this September to commence the SQE, but we haven't yet had any information re: the details of the course.

Could anyome who has already started the SQE with BPP give me some information on how intense the course is, and if working part time alongside the course is possible?

Even though I will have been working for a while, I haven't been able to save a tremendous amount and the firm I am with doesn't offer the best rate of maintenance grant so living costs are looking daunting!

Or alternatively, does anybody have information on SQE LLM top ups in order to access student finance?

Many thanks!

Hi everyone!

Upon @AvniD suggestion in the premium forum, I have (finally) started this thread to document my training contract journey. I was also really inspired by @j.s.cox' thread documenting a journey to securing the TC at his/her dream firm - and I'm crossing my fingers that by authentically documenting my growth and journey at TCLA, this application cycle would yield great results for me as well

As a disclaimer, I secured two TCs in another jurisdiction during the previous application cycle, but I made the hard decision to keep searching for a TC that best suits what I was looking for. I came to an internalised criteria through completing three legal placements and vac schemes. My main criteria now are:

• Band 1 or 2 ranking on Legal500 in the UK for international arbitration. Alternatively, a very high Global Arbitration Review ranking (top 10-15);
  
  
• Mandatory disputes seat;
  
  
• International secondment with a range of options available for Asian and/or US offices;
  
  
• Sectoral focus on projects & energy and technology disputes;
  
  
• [This one is a recent realisation] Small trainee intake that allows meaningful client contact + progressive levels of responsibility. I specifically want to look for firms that have programmes enabling trainees to have close contact with partners (i.e., sitting in the same office or similar mentee arrangements).
  
  
• [optional but highly desirable] Active pro-bono department offering public international work. I realise PIL is fairly hard to come by in private practice, and so any opportunity to work in this field is something I look for as well!

Here is what I have done since October 2022:

• October: Attended a range of virtual law fairs (AS Diversity Law Fair and Legal Cheek Virtual UK Fair) + AllAbout Law's Virtual Campus where I attended a range of workshops and had the opportunity to ask questions + independently signed up for various workshops and skills sessions by other law firms.
  
  
• November/December: Attended four open days at Herbert Smith Freehills, Freshfields, Skadden and White & Case. I was very lucky to be connected with grad rec and trainees at King & Spalding through the courtesy of TCLA (thanks @Jaysen!). Attended more law firm virtual networking/workshops/skills sessions. Submitted an app to HSF, Freshfields, A&O and Skadden. Completed psychometric tests for HSF (mandatory - passed - rejected at app review), A&O (mandatory - passed - rejected at app review) and Freshfields (selective - did not pass).
  • I had a realisation during this period that I tend to do well at SJTs but fall down on WGs. In the Jan wave of apps, I decided to focus on firms that meet bullet point 5 above AND tend to veer more towards interviews so that my chances of progressing to the next round increase.
    
    
  • Over the Christmas holidays, I also tapped into TCLA resources on how to research law firms and make more effective applications as I felt that was something I might have fallen down on in my HSF and A&O apps.
• January: Applied for Debevoise, Gibson Dunn, Latham and White & Case. Completed psychometric test for Latham. Rejected at app stage with Skadden (we move!). In the meantime, I have completed a virtual video interview through TCLA's stimulator service. I have also completed a mock interview with Chloe last week. I have. a mock assessment centre with my University's career services to further practice interview skills in a group context.

I want to make a post here to keep myself accountable for the next year, in my journey to get a TC.

Though I told myself to apply early this year, and be on top of things - I only started applying early/mid December.
I procrastinated and couldn't bring myself to start.
THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN!!!

I've let my poor A-level grades affect my confidence a lot - I need to let this go and focus on bigger and better things.

Need to keep repeating positive affirmations to myself - I am a desirable candidate!

This is my first cycle, and my goal is to make it to an AC. Even if I don't, I'm in a better place for next year.
No matter what happens, it's okay!

Hi all,

I was inspired by @j.s.cox recent success and decided to start a similar thread to track and reflect on my progress, hold myself accountable, and hopefully connect with some likeminded people.

I am an international non-law student in my third year and I realised I wanted to pursue a career in law in August 2022. This is my progress so far:

• Applied to and been rejected from Travers, Ashurst, Simmons & Simmons WVS, and CC direct TC
• Applied to and successfully attended Open Days at Baker McKenzie, Taylor Wessing, and DLA Piper
• Attended Freshfields' Non-Law Workshop after a successful application
• Attended Slaughter and May's Winter Workshop and as a result have a direct TC interview scheduled in March with the firm
• Awaiting the outcome of these applications: Freshfields' direct TC, Baker McKenzie's SVS, and Taylor Wessing SVS (post arctic shores)

I have been trying to improve my commercial awareness by listening to daily FT news briefings, reading commercial newsletters such as ziplaw and littlelaw, and reading the book 'All you need to know about the city' by Christopher Stoakes. Until now I have just been sporadically looking at and reading articles on a surface level, struggling to connect the dots on how it relates to a law firm. However, I have realised if i'm going to feel prepared at my interview in two months, I have to start actively setting goals for myself.

I want to focus on:

• Reflecting more on the role of law firms and the effect on law firm clients when reading news
• Finding a couple interesting stories to focus on and follow rather than trying to gain an insight into everything at once
• Setting weekly and daily specific goals (for example, complete chapter 4 in the book i'm reading or spend 2 hours in the library preparing for motivational interview questions)
• Seek out help and as much experience I can get - talk to my career service and see if they can do a mock interview with me or use TCLA's service

Thanks for reading and good luck to everyone

thought i absolutely flunked the partner interview bit of the AC but they called me today and a partner also called to say congratulations. literally screaming into pillow rn and doing happy kicks

Hi everyone,

My name is RJ.

This year I am trying to improve my performance at AC's because this is an area I fell down on last year, which resulted in rejections at the final stage interview.

I will achieve this by:

1. Using law blogs/websites to tailor my research to my interview firm. Littlelaw and Lawcareers.net provide great general info, but utilising Legal Cheek's "Firms Most List" will really help to tailor my preparation.
2. Increase confidence by starting to prepare early. In the past I have noticed that my performance is much better when I have given myself enough time to process the upcoming assessment centre. Also, it will expose any gaps in my knowledge during my preparation.
3. Create a flashcard question bank using the "Midterm" app based on the interview firm e.g., "Which country should the firm open a new office?" to prepare myself for the uncomfortable questions. The ugly reality is that interviewers will try to catch the interviewee out on purpose to see how they react. Furthermore, Jake Schogger's "Application, Interview & Internship" handbook will have more questions for me to incorporate into my question bank. Also, I will hold myself accountable by practicing the questions every other day and achieve spaced repetition.
4. Complete TCLA's free course on "Securing a Training Contract" paying particular attention to the interviews and AC's section to reinforce current knowledge and inspire new ideas on preparing for AC's.

If you have any further tips, I would love to hear them!

hello to you all,

I'm new here, heard about this website and specific thread from another forum member. I thought I'd try and post here when I have time each week.
two key reasons:
1. as Jaysen says, putting it in public is a form of accountability
2. I find the inevitable rejections really difficult to handle, but feel creating a list will help me keep focused. even one can rejection derail me for days - and, oddly, in a way that rejections for other jobs have never affected me as badly.

this year is also a challenge as (very happily) I'm in the grand final of one of the commercial awareness competitions - which, along with my job and applications, means I need to be even more organised

about me... I'm a candidate who got a high-result LPC from University of Law Moorgate in summer 2021. currently working as a paralegal for a big media company. whilst a lot of my day job is about contracts (especially IP) I'm trying to gain experience in other areas, such as litigation. this is partly to add more flavour to my applications, and also partly to keep me constantly learning - a key reason for wanting to become a lawyer

my goal: secure a TC or VS by summer 2023.

*open days I applied to (both of which accepted me):
Bird & Bird
Taylor Wessing

*open days I got c/o Aspiring Solicitors:
Bristows

*firms I've applied to so far:
Bird & Bird
Taylor Wessing

*firms to apply to before New Year:
Bristows
Lewis Silkin
Osborne Clarke

*firms to finish researching and apply to from January 2023:
Pinsent Masons
RPC
Simkins
TLT
Wiggin

for all the firms in that last group, I've 'front-loaded' the research (e.g. attending online events), as know these start to become less regular in the new year. I've then written notes to finish in January and start applying for TCs and VSs.

goal for week beginning December 5th: finish off my Bristows application (meaning: fill it in with my free text answers, check it, print it, check it again, come back to it, leave it a day or two, check it again, and only then: submit)

Hi everyone!

I wanted to take a moment to commend all those who have made their 'My TC Journey' threads- this is a big step in holding yourself accountable and I really hope that it's made a difference to your experience of the TC application process.

Our team at TCLA would like to award those who have particularly stood out in their effort to consistently work on their applications and update their threads by giving away a 6-month TCLA Premium (Bronze) membership every month. I am so happy to announce our inaugural winner- @j.s.cox!

Since beginning their thread a month ago, @j.s.cox has regularly updated our community with their brilliantly written commercial awareness articles, weekly reviews of goals and application submissions and candidly sharing any struggles or blockers they've faced with our community. Congratulations on a great month @j.s.cox!

Stay tuned for our post next month announcing December's winner () and until then, all the very best with your applications!

Hi all,

My accountability thread is very delayed but better late than never I guess! I am delighted to have secured the TCLA scholarship and I think it’s a really helpful idea to post regular updates about my journey to hopefully secure vacations schemes/TCs. I graduated with a Scots law degree this summer from the University of Edinburgh, and I am now starting a full time business development job next week onwards.

After my graduation in July, I had been looking for paralegal roles as well and also interviewed for one, however I was unable to secure anything and decided that for the meantime it would be a good idea to take up the business role I was offered and develop my transferable skills! Last application cycle, I was unsuccessful at 2 ACs and some video interviews which had me absolutely gutted, so I am really hoping to improve my interviewing and application writing skills in general for this cycle.

My plan for this thread is to update it every three days and track my progress. For the next couple of days, I plan on doing the following:

- Complete 2 ongoing Forage internships
- Complete TCLA's 'Write Law Firm Applications that lead to interviews' course
- Start with TCLA's 'Develop your commercial awareness: how to think commercially' course
- Start drafting VS apps for two firms

I think my goals aren't specific enough for now but I'm hoping to make them more SMART as I keep on updating this thread!

I am a final year law student who has, perhaps rather surprisingly, only just decided they want to be a commercial solicitor. Because of that, I am trying to do as much as I can to secure a TC for when I graduate.

In the past month:

• I have applied for the Taylor Wessing Summer Vacation Scheme and the Bristows IP Workshop.
• I have written 2 articles for my university's student newspaper about commercial topics.
• I have signed up for a Slaughter & May Commercial Awareness Workshop, and the Herbert Smith Freehills Digital Law Forage.

Apart from this, I am praying every night for a TC lol.

My goals for the rest of the year are:

• Apply for at least three more VSs
• Learn about a new commercial news story every two weeks, and, if I find it particularly interesting, to write an article about it for my student newspaper
• Do the TCLA M&A course

I started this thread to track my progress and hold myself accountable!

Hi All!

Unfortunately I am a bit late to the party setting up a "journey to a training contract" thread. First and foremost, thanks to the TCLA team for awarding me a scholarship - I will be taking full advantage of the services offered!

By way of background, I am currently a student studying for my LPC + LLM after completing my undergraduate degree in law a little over a year and a half ago. I took a year out in-between my undergraduate and postgraduate studies to gain some experience at a global bank based out of Canary Wharf. I thoroughly enjoyed this work, gaining exposure to different areas of banking and finance law in several jurisdictions.

I write this post to hold myself accountable in both VC + TC applications, to share my thoughts along the way and track my progress to see how I improve over the forthcoming months.

I feel it is important to share some key facts about myself, which may motivate others sharing a similar background / story:

I attended a state school;
I attended / attend a non-Russell group university;
Neither of my parents, nor do I know any family that have worked in the legal profession; and
I achieved C, D and E in my A-levels (albeit mitigating circumstances).

I know the journey ahead will be tough, but I full faith in myself that I can achieve a training contract. My applications will be tailored towards firms offering services in all financial related areas, and general corporate and commercial areas too. I will start by delving deeper into TCLA's courses content... update in due course (pun intended).

Anyone feel free to comment on this thread, or reach out to me on LinkedIn if you want to discuss your own journey / thoughts. Always open to tips, advice and feedback!

Jack

Hi Everyone! I am currently a BPC student, but I am looking towards transitioning into the solicitor route by taking the first baby step of applying for VC. A huge shoutout to TCLA, which has been a really great resource in helping me to grasp the basics of applying for VC!

With my current heavy BPC workload, I believe setting realistic and achievable goals are important in holding myself accountable. My plan is to mainly apply for international firms (a mix of UK and US firms). I'm still in the process of researching these law firms, and plan to begin drafting my application this week. In the mean time, I also try to keep myself abreast with the latest commercial news, while researching some financial jargons as well.

Will update this thread on a weekly basis pertaining my progress!