I have seen so many former classmates/friends go from having strong preferences for transactional/litigation work and completely flipping their preferences on qualification. I'm also anticipating it in myself (if I ever get a TC that is). 😆I would think it depends on the size of the firm and in relation to its graduate recruitment, how many trainees the firm takes on. For example, a firm like Debevoise & Plimpton takes on around 10 trainees. For a firm like this, I would imagine it’s less competitive to enter international arbitration than say Freshfields, which recruits 90-100 trainees annually, all of whom might be super interested in international arbitration as a training contract seat and an area they’d like to qualify into.
I think for firms that are prioritising the growth of their transactional practices, this might also reduce the competition around international arbitration. For example, private equity is now increasingly popular and is a known strength of US firms. I imagine this is a very competitive area to enter and qualify into now compared to international arbitration. However, I don’t know for sure. 🤷🏾♂️
I think ultimately it would come down to luck, in that it depends on the interests of the trainees and NQ’s at the time. I imagine these vary every year. For example, one year competition law might be super popular and then the next year it isn’t, and instead intellectual property is the most competitive area to enter. I am very interested in dispute resolution, but I could start a TC or near becoming an NQ and decide I want to become a tax associate (very unlikely for me but never say never). 😂
I can’t really talk on the employment side of taking a break between SQE & your TC, however, I have been on a gap year for the past 2 years travelling and something I will say is if you have enough money to even spend a small amount of time travelling do it.@Jessica Booker Hi Jessica, just wanted some advice if possible. Do law firms care at all about what you do prior to starting the SQE/TC? I am scheduled to do the SQE February 2026 and start the TC the February after. Now I just have this massive year long gap between now and studying the SQE. Many people have advised that I should travel/enjoy this amount of time since I'll never have this much free time again and I'll be stuck in an office doing silly hours for my legal career, but travelling for that long period of time is not feasible for me. I've currently been working in an admin role unrelated to law since October, but it is stressful and uninteresting. I would like to leave to improve my mental health, and I'm fortunate enough to not have to rely on this role. If I do this, and if I don't go in any sort of employment between now and next Feb, would this be detrimental going forward in your experience?
Thank you!! I selected both spring and summer as I couldn't decide xDCongratulations!!
Did you apply for spring or summer?
I'm not sure if this is really accurate. Most firms will have certain number of NQ position openings in certain departments. While I don't think Freshfields will have ten times the IA places Debevoise will have, they'll also have so many other contentious options that people will gravitate towards.
I can’t really talk on the employment side of taking a break between SQE & your TC, however, I have been on a gap year for the past 2 years travelling and something I will say is if you have enough money to even spend a small amount of time travelling do it.
The experiences I have gained whilst being away honestly cannot compare to what I would have in an office - not just fun travel stuff but also cultural awareness which if you’re going into an international firm or have international clients would be so important.
From a financial perspective, we have worked at the same time so we don’t really have savings per se that we are dipping into, however, I’ve been back in the UK for a fortnight so far and the prices are insane. We were literally booking beachfront accommodation in Sri Lanka for £15 per night.
So basically, from a career perspective I don’t think it’s hindered me in anyway, if anything I think it has gave me invaluable insights into different cultures & working life around the world that you can bring to your new role.
I have seen this many 100s of times over. Sometimes people with the strongest preferences can be those to change their mind to something they really thought they would hate.I have seen so many former classmates/friends go from having strong preferences for transactional/litigation work and completely flipping their preferences on qualification. I'm also anticipating it in myself (if I ever get a TC that is). 😆
congrats, when did you hear from them?Hi everyone,
I have an AC coming up with Fladgate, and this will be my first ever AC.
If anyone previously did the AC with Fladgate, I would be grateful for any and every advice!
You're right, that is on the expensive side! Generally speaking, most Logitech USB webcams and mics should be miles better than integrated laptop parts. Things like the C920 or Yeti Orb. I'd definitely check raw footage on youtube to make sure you'd be happy with the product, though. Either way, I'm pretty sure law firms are used to questionable hardware.Thanks. Not too pricey! I looked at a video yesterday and they were saying entry-level webcam is Insta360 2C (£130!)
Honestly I'm partly wondering about doing it on my phone; only problem is my phone also sucks, so maybe I need to buy a new phone (had it for almost 3 years now, Redmi)!!!
No literally, Sri Lanka was so cheap that we ended up staying for a month. Now we’re in the UK we are literally counting pennies it’s mad!!!£15 a night for beachfront accommodation in Sri Lanka is crazy good! In the UK, £15 would barely get someone a Nando’s these days lmao. 😂
Is this post-AC?Just received a TLT PFO… 😂😂 tbh I thought I’d at least get through the first stage, since I attended their first-year insight scheme…
There wouldn't be 100 trainees at Freshfields wanting to qualify into IA - the firm wouldn't recruit that way.I guess I was looking at it from the perspective of international arbitration specifically. If there were 100 Freshfields trainees who were all seeking to qualify into international arbitration only, it would be more competitive than 5-10 trainees at Debevoise & Plimpton looking to qualify into the same practice area in their firm (since there is less people to begin with). I think it could also depend on business needs as well. If a firm like Freshfields only needed 1-2 international arbitration NQ’s from a pool of almost 100 that expressed interest, then I imagine it would be tougher competition.
I think it also depends on whether a firm is full service or specialist. Freshfields offers almost every practice area imaginable, so I think it’s likely they’d want an even spread of NQ’s across their transactional and contentious practices (I don’t know this for sure I’ve never been to or worked at Freshfields). To my understanding, I think Debevoise & Plimpton is more focused on certain practice areas, one of them being their international arbitration practice. I imagine they have a few NQ positions for this area as it’s one of their main practices (alongside public international law). To be fair though, I don’t know an awful amount about Debevoise & Plimpton. 🥲🥲
Massive congrats! Did you apply to spring or summer?PW interview this morning!