TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2024-5

[Ali2020]

Has anyone heard back from Sky after completing the MCQs...I ran out of time and missed 1 questions eurgh

 

[Ali2020]

Hi everyone,

Did anyone hear anything from Howard Kennedy after the contextual recruitment survey? Thank you so much!

Hey I completed it 24 March and haven't heard anything still either....

 

[legallyells]

For those of you lucky folk who’ve got a response from Hill Dickinson, which seat did you get put into?

For context I put mine as shipping but haven’t heard back yet!

business services in london was mine!

 

[confusedbird]

did anyone receive an email post completing the SJT for Ashurst?
Haven't received anything and wondering if it even got recorded (i went till the end and it said the assessment was over but just overthinking it)

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Thoughts on the graduate apprenticeship route? Running out of TC applications here. Are they much harder to get? Just started thinking about this option.

Also anything from Hogan Lovells today? Would also like to manage expectations. What are my chances with HL? A few VSs and work experiences. A-Level grades: AAA; GCSEs were: ABBBBCCC. Mitigating circumstances were for GCSEs. Degree: 62.5% (History and Politics - Oxford).

I often get imposter syndrome honestly. So none of this = humble brag.

To me, graduate apprenticeships are no different to training contracts - you just do your SQE training alongside working rather than ahead of the TC. Otherwise they are the same opportunity.

 

[norothrow324]

did anyone receive an email post completing the SJT for Ashurst?
Haven't received anything and wondering if it even got recorded (i went till the end and it said the assessment was over but just overthinking it)

I got my feedback report (if you can really cal it that, quite short and pretty boiler plate). Nothing else before though so you should be fine so long as you clicked submit. Took a day to get the report

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hi all, would you say it’s a good idea to train in-house at a financial/insurance firm? And there’s a chance you will undertake one seat (litigation) in private practice during your time there at a reputable commercial law firm. Could I go back to private practice? Even though I’ve only done one seat in it

I think its good if you want to work in-house long term, and especially if you have an interest in financial services or the insurance industry.

Moving to private practice is not going to be straight forward if your experience is mainly in-house, even with a six-month secondment to a private practice firm. You will be competing in a job market where people have mainly worked in private practice. Those people will have worked with a broader range of clients, have gained work experience across practice areas and got used to more private practice process knowledge like business development, time recording etc.

It is not to say it will be impossible, it just will be more difficult than if you have trained in private practice. It may be more possible for firms that have a financial services/insurance sector focus, because your sector knowledge may be in more demand.

People may think it might be easy to impress on a six month secondment to the private practice firm and potentially be hired by them, but sometimes there are terms in secondment agreements that restrict firms/in-house teams from nabbing talent from one another.

 

[Lawstudent2038]

After the initial application, is it just the AC for Howard Kennedy?

 

[yoyo33]

Does the Ashurst online assessment have a video interview at the end, or is it just a combo of case study, SJT, etc? Thanks!

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Does the Ashurst online assessment have a video interview at the end, or is it just a combo of case study, SJT, etc? Thanks!

no vi

 

[Ali2020]

After the initial application, is it just the AC for Howard Kennedy?

I think it might also be an online test...not sure still waiting to hear back

 

[User5678]

After the initial application, is it just the AC for Howard Kennedy?

I think there is a Watson Glaser test and a video interview before the AC. I saw it on the allaboutlaw website and on the forum as this was the process for 2024, maybe allaboutlaw is not updated for this year so not too sure

PS: It would be amazing if it’s just an ac after the app😭

 

[Laur2cj]

Anybody have any insight into 1-1 discussions for AC would be grateful

 

[gazdgazd11]

Hill Dickinson AC being 7.5h long and not even the Last stage is mad

 

[ilovegardening1111]

I think its good if you want to work in-house long term, and especially if you have an interest in financial services or the insurance industry.

Moving to private practice is not going to be straight forward if your experience is mainly in-house, even with a six-month secondment to a private practice firm. You will be competing in a job market where people have mainly worked in private practice. Those people will have worked with a broader range of clients, have gained work experience across practice areas and got used to more private practice process knowledge like business development, time recording etc.

It is not to say it will be impossible, it just will be more difficult than if you have trained in private practice. It may be more possible for firms that have a financial services/insurance sector focus, because your sector knowledge may be in more demand.

People may think it might be easy to impress on a six month secondment to the private practice firm and potentially be hired by them, but sometimes there are terms in secondment agreements that restrict firms/in-house teams from nabbing talent from one another.

Thank you Jessica for your response. If I were keen to qualify into litigation in private practice - would you say this would be more feasible?

 

[fairbourne]

Does anyone have any insights into the Payne Hicks Beach TC AC? Thanks very much in advance!

 

[legallyells]

Hill Dickinson AC being 7.5h long and not even the Last stage is mad

am i right in thinking it’s the assessment day 24th april, then if successful we get invited to insight day and training contract final interview mid june??? the wording of the emails is confusing me!

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Thank you Jessica for your response. If I were keen to qualify into litigation in private practice - would you say this would be more feasible?

I would say this would actually be quite difficult. In-house roles tend to be much more corporate/commercial based, with general advisory work (eg regulations) rather than having a litigation focus. There might be some in-house roles that are more litigation specific and in those cases it could be okay. But ultimately if you want to work in private practice and especially in litigation, I would recommend training in private practice rather than in-house.

 

[badmintonflyinginsect]

The tasks that I have completed in my vacations schemes I think were quite illustrative for what one may expect to find in the respective practice areas:

1. In corporate M&A/PE: reviewed contracts for chance of control clauses, reviewed and prepared a memo on a due diligence report prepared by the seller's counsel, drafted clauses for ancillary documents, took notes on meetings, researched legal uses of particular legal instruments in transactions (such as purpose of using a deeds in an M&A deal).
2. In litigation: many research-centered tasks, whether on substantive legal points pertaining to a dispute, procedural rules for submission of documents to a court, or past damages figures awarded for similar litigations.
3. In financial regulatory (although I suspect it applies more broadly to advisory practices): again research-heavy tasks, which were however more focused around regulatory frameworks and prior decisions of regulatory bodies such as the FCA and PRA.

As for the skills you can work on prior to the VS to maximize your chances of completing your tasks to a high standard, I would list the following:

1. Research skills: as you have seen legal and commercial research is a core part of work in a law firm, particularly for juniors. As such, it could be very helpful to familiarize yourself with Westlaw and LexisNexis, particularly in relation to use of short cuts and filters.
2. Drafting skills: as important as research skills is the ability to communicate legal points in a precise manner. In transactional practices this is essential, as the details of your writing will one day determine the rights and obligations of the parties, but it should not be overlooked for advisory and contentious practices either. In most cases, you will need to communicate your findings via an email or a memo and you will need to simplify your research into a shorter format whilst retaining all the relevant nuance. Moreover, more generally, a big part of the assessment of your work product will come down to how well structured and clear your writing is.
3. Planning skills: a significant part of ensuring you complete many tasks to a high standard will come down to proper planning, ensuring you (i) have enough on your plate to keep you busy but not so much that you get overwhelmed; and (ii) have received proper instructions. Both of these I think come down to asking the right set of questions when you are receiving a task and noting down answers and further instructions.

Thank you so much Andrei! I also wanted to ask what resources are usually available on the firm-provided device for such research? Is there open access to the web?

 

[badmintonflyinginsect]

Thank you so much Andrei! I also wanted to ask what resources are usually available on the firm-provided device for such research? Is there open access to the web?

Sorry for double-posting @Andrei Radu! But do you have any tips for preparing for a client pitch exercise and a negotiation exercise? How can I go about preparing for each and what can I expect?