Future Trainee Advice

Hi everyone. So I’m a recent law graduate hoping to secure a training contract at some point in the future but in the meantime I’d like to get some work experience. I recently managed to secure two job offers - one as a paralegal in the research and development department at a global pharmaceutical company, and one as a junior finance analyst at a consulting firm. To be honest I never thought I’d find myself in this position as when I was applying I was fully expected to be rejected by both! I know that the paralegal option may seem like the obvious choice, but the thing that’s making me hesitate is that the subject matter of the finance role ties in more with the sector I’d hope to specialise in as a solicitor, ie., capital markets...

Hi Everyone. i am from India, I recently graduated from a Law School. I am interested in training contract offered by Global Law firms, does anyone has any idea if the firms are open to take Indians and what are the requirements and tips any lead will be highly appreciated.

Hey everyone! I've been really lucky to land spots on both Linklaters Pathfinder and A&O First, both of which are firms and programmes that I'm really interested in. However, the dates for the two schemes clash and I'm worried that I'll only be able to do which is a real shame as I worked so hard on my application for both. If anyone has faced a similar situation or has any advice on how I can pick between the two I would really appreciate your support!

Welcome to the next article in our series of interviews with future trainee solicitors. Today we are delighted to hear from DS, who successfully secured three training contract offers as an international student. 1. Who is your training contract with? Baker McKenzie 2. Are you a law or non law candidate? Law 3. Which university did you attend? King's College London 4. Please could you tell us more about your background and current stage? I’m an international student from Malaysia. I am of a minority ethnic background, attended a state school and am from a low-income family. I graduated in the summer of 2020 and after an intense summer of vac schemes, am currently taking a much needed gap year at home before commencing my LPC in...

Welcome back everyone. In our second article today, we hear from a future trainee at Trowers & Hamlins LLP. 1. Who is your training contract with? Trowers & Hamlins LLP 2. Are you a law or non-law candidate? Law 3. Which university did you attend? University College London (UCL) 4. Please could you tell us more about your background and current stage? I am currently working as a paralegal at a public sector organisation and will start my training contract in March 2021. I completed my LPC in summer 2020. I studied a 4-year law degree with a year abroad in Spain and graduated in 2017. After my undergraduate degree I worked abroad at the European Parliament in Belgium for a year and in Manchester for a year, before starting...

Welcome back everyone! Today we have three new articles in our series of interviews with future trainee solicitors. In our first article, we hear from a future trainee at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius 1. Who is your training contract with? Morgan, Lewis & Bockius 2. Are you a law or non-law candidate? Law 3. Which university did you attend? Queen Mary University of London (LLB) / University College London (LLM) 4. Please could you tell us more about your background and current stage? I was born and for the most part raised in Italy by an Italian mother and a Belgian father. Except for a few years spent abroad, I attended Italian state school until I moved to the UK in 2016 for my LLB. I am currently completing my LLM and engaging...

Hello, am an international student with a UK law degree from the University of London international program. Am seeking for a trainee sponsorship program that will enable me qualify as a solicitor.

Welcome back everyone to our series of interviews with future trainee solicitors. Today we have a great article lined up in which we had the lovely opportunity to hear from a future trainee at Edwin Coe LLP. 1. Who is your training contract with? Edwin Coe LLP 2. Are you a law or non-law candidate? Law 3. Which university did you attend? University of Warwick 4. Please could you tell us more about your background and current stage? I am originally from Cheshire, where I attended a leading independent school. I am currently in my 4th and final year of university where I study Law and Business Studies. I will be starting the LPC in September 2021 prior to commencing my TC in September 2022. 5. When and why did you decide to...

Hi everyone, I recently spoke to a future trainee who discussed using a subject access request to request feedback from a law firm. I know this has been discussed a few times on here, and it may be unclear how this actually works, so I asked them to write a detailed account of their experiences. As you'll see, this candidate used a subject access request as a last resort, after contacting a firm multiple times over several months for feedback. I'm not expecting many TCLA members to start sending these, but I think it's useful for those who are facing an unusual situation and are undecided about whether to go ahead. If you have any thoughts, I'd love to hear them below. -- My experience of using a subject access request to obtain...

Welcome back everyone to our series of interviews with future trainee solicitors. In our final article today, we have the fantastic opportunity to hear from a future trainee at Clyde & Co. 1. Who is your training contract with? Clyde & Co 2. Are you a law or non-law candidate? Non-Law 3. Which university did you attend? University of Manchester 4. Please could you tell us more about your background and current stage? I am an international student who studied geography at university. I was convinced that I would go into academia or something “quiet” because I was always told that professions like the law were just not for people like me. I started working with the Civil Service and realised that the legal work they were doing...

Welcome back everyone to our series of interviews with future trainee solicitors. In our second article today, we have the fantastic opportunity to hear from Lucy, a future trainee at Clifford Chance. 1. Who is your training contract with? Clifford Chance 2. Are you a law or non-law candidate? Law 3. Which university did you attend? The University of Exeter 4. Please could you tell us more about your background and current stage? Currently, I am in my final year studying LLB Law. I went straight into university from sixth form and secured my training contract in my penultimate year after virtual summer vacation scheme. 5. When and why did you decide to apply to commercial law? I always thought I wanted to be a family...

Welcome back everyone! Continuing with our series of interviews with future trainee solicitors, today we have two fantastic articles lined up. In our first article today, we hear from a future trainee at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP 1. Who is your training contract with? Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP 2. Are you a law or non-law candidate? Non-Law 3. Which university did you attend? The University of York 4. Please could you tell us more about your background and current stage? I am state school educated and the first generation of my family to go to university. I had no contacts in the legal profession during my application process. I self-funded the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) and completed it the year after I graduated. I am...

Welcome back everyone! Next up in our series of interviews with future trainee solicitors, we had the fantastic opportunity to hear from a future trainee at DAC Beachcroft. 1. Who is your training contract with? DAC Beachcroft 2. Are you a law or non-law candidate? Law 3. Which university did you attend? University of Leeds 4. Please could you tell us more about your background and current stage? I was born and raised in Nigeria and moved to the UK in 2014. 5. When and why did you decide to apply to commercial law? Growing up, my mum was a lawyer and I spent a lot of time taking interest in her work. I was convinced then I wanted to be a lawyer. However, all the experience and information I had was about the law in...

Welcome back everyone to the next article in our series of interviews with future trainee solicitors. In this article, we are delighted to have heard from Natasha, a future trainee at DLA Piper. 1. Who is your training contract with? DLA Piper 2. Are you a law or non-law candidate? Law 3. Which university did you attend? The University of Birmingham 4. Please could you tell us more about your background and current stage? I am an ethic female, born and raised in UK. I am the first generation in my family to attend university and I am currently studying on the LPC. 5. When and why did you decide to apply to commercial law? I applied a couple of years after graduating after spending some time at one of the big four...

Welcome to the second post in our series of interviews with future trainee solicitors! Today, we are delighted to hear from Rosie Coles, who is a future trainee at CMS. 1. Who is your training contract with? CMS 2. Are you a law or non law candidate? Non-law 3. Which university did you attend? Exeter 4. Please could you tell us more about your background and current stage? I have just started the GDL at the University of Law, Bristol, after graduating from Exeter with a degree in History in July 2020. 5. When and why did you decide to apply to commercial law? When I was sixteen, I did work experience at a commercial firm, which actually wasn’t the moment that I realised I wanted to become a lawyer (ironic now!). I think this...

Welcome to the first in our series of interviews with future trainee solicitors. Today we delighted to hear from Patricia K, TCLA's project manager, who successfully secured four training contract offers. 1. Who is your training contract with? Allen & Overy 2. Are you a law or non law candidate? Law 3. Which university did you attend? University of Cambridge 4. Please could you tell us more about your background and current stage? I’m an Indonesian national born and raised in the Philippines. Currently, I’m about to start my final year at university and I’m due to begin studying my LPC in July 2021. 5. When and why did you decide to apply to commercial law? My interest in commercial law began in my final year of A-Levels after...