TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2021-22 (#1)

[ssolicitorz]

Mayer Brown VAC SCHEME!!! MY FIRST EVER

 

[Penelope]

Does anybody know which law firms offer alternative fee arrangements already?

BLM does

 

[PirateShip]

i mean, i have no insight whatsoever. there was a conversation a couple of pages back where someone who does have better insight said it is not uncommon. does this info rattle you? or is it only problematic if someone personally states it happens to apply in their case?

I think it's a bit like talking about how much money you earn. Acceptable and encouraged in certain situations, but considered a bit unclassy in others.

I would say a public forum is one of those situations where it's acceptable and encouraged for the reasons you already mentioned.

I definitely wouldn't talk about how many vac schemes I received if I was meeting some people in real life for the first time though.

 

[Jessica444]

Irwin Mitchell AC for London 😊

 

[unserious candidate]

I think it's a bit like talking about how much money you earn. Acceptable and encouraged in certain situations, but considered a bit unclassy in others.

I would say a public forum is one of those situations where it's acceptable and encouraged for the reasons you already mentioned.

I definitely wouldn't talk about how many vac schemes I received if I was meeting some people in real life for the first time though.

I completely agree with you e.g. I wouldn’t make a LinkedIn post about it, but felt like this was a safe space 😂 partly because it’s anon and everyone just shares their experiences on here.

 

[Scandi]

Orrick WG 😭 honestly forgot I even applied

Same!

 

[Hope4aVS]

Has anyone received a PFO from Penningtons Manches Cooper post-AC yet?

 

[AlRJ]

I can't quite believe this... (after being rejected from them twice already), but I got the call today from Travers Smith for an interview!!

I applied on the 15th Jan for those wondering!

 

[WeRegretToInformYou]

does anyone know how Linklaters view people re applying for direct training contract after vac scheme rejection following AC ?

 

[John Travoni]

Has anyone completed a Fox Williams VI before? If you have, pls PM me.

 

[YJ]

If anyone is going to be in London the first two weeks of April and is looking to split accommodation message me! I'm planning on being there from 4/4 until 16/4 for HSF VS and I'm really struggling to find somewhere too stay!

 

[deckoking123]

Hi! If asked at interview "why law and why not consulting?" What would you recommend saying?

I currently work in consulting and the biggest difference is situating business knowledge within the legal arguments. As a consultant you’ll make recommendations based entirely on market projections/industry insights. But with commercial law business underpins your legal solutions/ options.

 

[PastaPointOfNoReturn]

I applied for Mishcon quite close to the deadline in January, got the holding email (saying they'd let us know either way by the 11th of March), then last Monday (7th) got an invitation to a video interview. I was absolutely convinced it was going to be a PFO at that point so don't worry if they're taking their time! Submitted the VI at the weekend and now we go back to waiting again

 

[Aga123+]

Question somewhat related to vacation schemes but not really:

Does anyone know why banking internships pay significantly more than vacation schemes? I understand that usually, banking internships are longer, but still...

Would you say this is this indicative of the general salary of a graduate investment or commercial banker compared to a trainee or just because of the workload during the internship?

Also, why do vacation schemes pay only £350 - £500? Is it because it is expensive to run a vac scheme or just the way law firms prefer it?

 

[Crystal86]

Hi! I am trying to find HSF values on the website but cannot find them. Does anyone know where to find them?

 

[NikkiT]

Does anyone have any advice/happy to share an example answer for: Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult person? How do you resolve conflicts?

 

[AP2000]

Question somewhat related to vacation schemes but not really:

Does anyone know why banking internships pay significantly more than vacation schemes? I understand that usually, banking internships are longer, but still...

Would you say this is this indicative of the general salary of a graduate investment or commercial banker compared to a trainee or just because of the workload during the internship?

Also, why do vacation schemes pay only £350 - £500? Is it because it is expensive to run a vac scheme or just the way law firms prefer it?

That's a good question. I can't explain why vacation schemes pay the amount they do, but I have a banking internship lined up for the summer so I can maybe provide a bit of insight onto that. From my experience (obviously can't speak for all banks), the salary you get for the summer internship is what you'd get as a new graduate (or very close to that). Added to that is also a generous allowance at the start of the internship to cover accommodation costs (again- not sure if standard practice, but my experience). Paired with the fact that, as you rightly mentioned, the internship is longer, the whole experience places you in a position much more comparable to someone starting on their graduate schemes. Someone like Jessica would be in a better position to explain why law firms follow a different approach- could it be that vac schemes are seen as closer to a 2 week interview whereas banking internships are seen more as an early start to the graduate schemes? No clue about general salary however or salary progression so would love to hear other people's experiences and insight.

 

[JSM123]

I realise I may not have helped with my earlier posts on this conversation earlier.

I'd encourage everyone to normalise every outcome of how many vacation scheme offers someone gets.

We are talking about a process with so many variables, that the one thing that is really tricky to do is to say what an "average" is. We aren't taking anything into account as to why that average number might be what it is either.

None of that is helpful in my opinion.

From doing this for nearly 18 years, my experience is:

• Many people get 0 vacation schemes, even across multiple cycles.
• Many people get 1-2 offers, whether it be across one or multiple cycles
• Many people get a lot of offers, sometimes in a really short period or time, in others other multiple years

All of those outcomes are normal in my opinion.

Completely agree with this - some people are just naturally great and get many offers in their first cycle but I have to say from my experience this isn’t the norm. In my personal very linear case (which I think goes to show for a lot of people you just improve with each cycle / practice):

1st cycle - 1 offer
2nd cycle - 2 offers
3rd cycle (now) - 3 offers

 

[Jessica Booker]

Question somewhat related to vacation schemes but not really:

Does anyone know why banking internships pay significantly more than vacation schemes? I understand that usually, banking internships are longer, but still...

Would you say this is this indicative of the general salary of a graduate investment or commercial banker compared to a trainee or just because of the workload during the internship?

Also, why do vacation schemes pay only £350 - £500? Is it because it is expensive to run a vac scheme or just the way law firms prefer it?

It is just market trends - I don't think it really reflects too much on the difference in graduate salaries.

Finance has always paid much closer to the graduate salary (typically somewhere between 70-90%) while law hasn't. Banks don't have to schmooze people in the same way law firms do though, as they pretty much convert who they want and are less likely to lose those interns to competitors. So they don't spend stupid amounts of money on glamorous socials or day trips to Europe.

However, to ensure the candidates choose your summer scheme over other offers, salary can often be a major factor for a bank, so you keep salaries high as you want them to join you rather than turn you down for a competitor's internship. With law, you know it's much more likely a student will do your scheme and one with your competitor, and therefore it is less likely that you need to factor in salary to persuade someone to join you.

Law is the anomaly from my experience though - most industries I worked in paid their interns 70-90% of their graduate starting salaries. I never understood why legal internships were such a low proportion of the graduate salaries, especially now when the starting salaries for trainees are so high.

However, given how much investment then goes into training a trainee versus an investment graduate, maybe it is just seen that the money is spent elsewhere (e.g. LPC/SQE etc). Banks/Investment firms aren't paying out thousands of pounds in maintenance grants and course fees in the same way law firms do.

 

[Deobicaratexol0804]

Has anybody been rejected from HSF? I know I didn't get the VC ( as I didn't get a call a few hours after my AC, which is usually what happens) but they still have not formally rejected me yet. Need them to email me my rejection so I can finally deal with it lmaooo ... its been 3 weeks. pls give me a break HSFFFFFF