TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[Andrei Radu]

@Andrei Radu Hi

Please could I quickly check something with you. Firstly, firms that are currently advertising for a TC commencing September 2027, will they want trainees to start SQE studies in 2026 or 2025? Secondly, do you know how likely it is that despite advertising for a 2027 intake, they may consider 2026 intake? Thank you so much!!

If they advertise a TC commencing in 2027, they likely want you to start the SQE in 2026, so as to study together with your trainee cohort and to be able to start the job immediately afterwards. For the second questions, they may be able to consider switching you to the 2026 cohort; but from my experience they will likely prefer not to and I would not raise my hopes too high in that regard. This is a situation firms often find themselves in when recruiting from different year groups and they know most people do not want any breaks between university, SQE, and the start of the actual TC. As such, to avoid "opening up the floodgates" of earlier start requests, they might have quite a strict policy in this regard.

That said, I know of multiple cases where people managed to successfully negotiate this. Factors that can help for that purpose are holding another TC offer (as this will give you significant bargaining power) or there being dropouts from the 2026 cohort. However, there is no harm in asking (so long as you do it in an appropriate manner) even in absence of that. Worse case scenario, if there is no possibility to start earlier, you will have a good chance of perhaps securing a paralegal opportunity for the free year.

 

[User5678]

if anyone has been successful with the withers test, please please can you pm me or reply to this thread with what strengths and weakness did you receive in your feedback report! many thanks

 

[3000to1shoteverytime]

If they advertise a TC commencing in 2027, they likely want you to start the SQE in 2025, so as to study together with your trainee cohort and to be able to start the job immediately afterwards. For the second questions, they may be able to consider switching you to the 2026 cohort; but from my experience they will likely prefer not to and I would not raise my hopes too high in that regard. This is a situation firms often find themselves in when recruiting from different year groups and they know most people do not want any breaks between university, SQE, and the start of the actual TC. As such, to avoid "opening up the floodgates" of earlier start requests, they might have quite a strict policy in this regard.

That said, I know of multiple cases where people managed to successfully negotiate this. Factors that can help for that purpose are holding another TC offer (as this will give you significant bargaining power) or there being dropouts from the 2026 cohort. However, there is no harm in asking (so long as you do it in an appropriate manner) even in absence of that. Worse case scenario, if there is no possibility to start earlier, you will have a good chance of perhaps securing a paralegal opportunity for the free year.

I assume for non-law grads the 2 years is to allow PGDL in year 1 and SQE year 2. So I always thought the law student might do their SQE in the second gap year so the trainees all starting together in 2027 would be studying SQE all together from September 2026?

 

[A worried graduate]

Crazy, compared to the forum from last year some ppl got their VS offers for SPB from 15th March onwards

I applied for a work experience program for February and they never even bothered to reject me

 

[ironspears45]

Does anyone have any tips on how to go about reneging on a VS offer? Please private message me.

 

[Runsim]

Has anyone received an update from WFW post AC?

 

[adrian_nlh]

Travers PFO about an hour ago

 

[TCLA0322]

I think some people heard back last week. I haven't heard back yet, not sure if that means I should be expecting a pfo lol.

Three weeks post my open day lol, feel like a decade.

 

[ChloeC]

hi! I haven't heard back from CRS post VI, but I saw that VS offers have already been given out. Is it safe to assume that this would be a PFO

 

[billyonthespeeddial]

Travers Smith PFO, Debevoise vac scheme offer 🕺🏽

 

[Andrei Radu]

Thanks Andrei. Would you recommend including upcoming vacation schemes on your direct TC applications to try and boost your ‘legal experience’ element?

I would. Besides this definitely being valuable legal work experience, having a VS offer is a very impressive achievement that will immediately distinguish you from the majority of other applicants. Essentially, I believe it has the effect of instantly communicating to graduate recruitment that you were deemed to be a top 98-99% percentile candidate by a peer firm. This will invariably have an important impact in both (i) boosting up your candidate profile; and (ii) making graduate recruiters look at your application through different eyes, and thus making it more likely they will rate other aspects of it higher as well.

Even if they wanted to assess the rest of it independently and objectively, there is a lot of research in social psychology indicating that knowledge of peer opinions has a prevailing impact on one's evaluative judgements. This is particularly impactful in situations presenting a high degree of ambiguity and discretion, and I would argue the decision of whether to classify an application as a whole (so, one involving the multi-faceted assessment of a lot of factors) as "good, but not quite impressive enough" or "great, impressive enough to progress" has exactly those features.

As such, my view is that you would be doing yourself a disservice in not including the upcoming scheme. However, you can try to reduce the risk of it seeming like you put it there merely for purposes of impressing by adding in the description section (i) a short summary as to why you had applied for this firm and what your general applications strategy has been; and/or (ii) the seats you will do in the scheme and the work you expect to complete; and how that will be relevant for the development of your skills.

 

[Andrei Radu]

I assume for non-law grads the 2 years is to allow PGDL in year 1 and SQE year 2. So I always thought the law student might do their SQE in the second gap year so the trainees all starting together in 2027 would be studying SQE all together from September 2026?

You are completely right, just realised I wrote 2025 instead of 2026 by mistake in my other post, corrected it now 😅. Also, besides this, since a substantial number of the law undergrads who applied will have been penultimate years, they will also have the final year to finish in 2025 and thus will only be able to start the SQE in 2026.

 

[ironspears45]

Does anyone know a rough percentage for the VS to TC conversion rate for RPC? Can't find a percentage online, only information is that they recruit the 'majority of trainees from their summer scheme'.

 

[milawalton]

anyone else heard/not heard from debevoise. If you have heard from them which open day did you attend? And has anyone got any PFOs yet?

 

[elena11]

anyone else heard or not heard back from debevoise? - if you have heard back which open day did you attend? also any PFOs?

I haven’t heard back and was at the first open day - kind of freaking out as I didn’t think I performed badly.

 

[austinfriar]

anyone else heard/not heard from debevoise. If you have heard from them which open day did you attend? And has anyone got any PFOs yet?

Last open day and I am also insanely nervous!

 

[lt481]

Just got a PFO from Travers despite emailing them over a week ago to withdraw my application. They ignored my email just for the pleasure of rejecting me 😭

 

[theruleofno]

Has anyone received an update from WFW post AC?

Got a VS offer about 3 weeks ago

 

[c3alg]

hi! I haven't heard back from CRS post VI, but I saw that VS offers have already been given out. Is it safe to assume that this would be a PFO

I think different offices release results at diff times

 

[knight1999]

anyone else heard/not heard from debevoise. If you have heard from them which open day did you attend? And has anyone got any PFOs yet?

not heard anything and attended the first open day - I think its game over lol XD