TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[x_law2004]

Anyone hear back from Perkins coie post interview? I know offers are out but really thought I would’ve at least received a rejection

 

[BobThebIlly]

As someone who has done a winter and a summer scheme this year: No difference in terms of competition or chances of converting as a general rule. Grad rec is very experienced in balancing these. Sometimes it happens that there's fewer or more people converting one or the other. But that's more about the individuals in the schemes.

Thanks for your reply — definitely reassuring. If you don’t mind my asking, how many winter vs summer VS did you apply to?

 

[billyonthespeeddial]

Thanks for your reply — definitely reassuring. If you don’t mind my asking, how many winter vs summer VS did you apply to?

I applied to around 10 Winter and 10 Summer, and 5 or so direct TC

 

[helloj]

Is there a list for winter vac schemes opening in August - I am struggling to find it?!

 

[Chris Brown]

Is there a list for winter vac schemes opening in August - I am struggling to find it?!

The majority of Winter VS applications open in mid Sept. I think A&O Shearman, Ashurst, NRF, Freshfields, Jones Day and Sidley Austin open in August or early September. Best of luck with all your applications in the upcoming cycle! 🙂​

 

[Jessica Pearson]

Hey guys, two questions here. Has anyone heard back from the DAC Beachcroft Vac Scheme? They said they'd get back to successful candidates by early August, but their applications were rolling so just curious if anyone has heard back yet.
Secondly, and I know this has probably been asked to death but slightly worried about my first year grades (bit of a unique situation): I did far better than I thought I did in first year, coming near the top of my cohort and getting four Firsts out of six. However, I did get a 58 in Tort. My average is still obviously high 2:1. No mitigating circumstances, just a bad day at the office. Was wondering what the approach is now? I have really good grades that aside (all the way back to GCSEs and A-Levels) and obviously very high grades in uni other than Tort so was wondering if the move is to bother applying for the Slaughters, Jones Days of the industry? And also generally, how screwed am I for next year lol

I haven't heard back but I think it was labelled rolling because it seemed like they initially didn't have a deadline. Also for your second question, you should be fine. Most firms are looking for a 2:1 overall and some don't even have a minimum requirement.

 

[llblawstudent]

I haven't heard back but I think it was labelled rolling because it seemed like they initially didn't have a deadline. Also for your second question, you should be fine. Most firms are looking for a 2:1 overall and some don't even have a minimum requirement.

Thanks for the response: I think they do have a deadline, I saw July 21 on their LinkedIn and IG pages. About the grades, most of my worries are because firms sometimes say CONSISTENTLY exceptional too- a high 2:1 with one anomalous 2:2 surely undermines the consistent part of it no? Would you personally go for the likes of Slaughters and Jones Day? The fact they care about grades could help me, as besides that grade my profile is very strong but that one grade undermines it

 

[User5678]

Thanks for the response: I think they do have a deadline, I saw July 21 on their LinkedIn and IG pages. About the grades, most of my worries are because firms sometimes say CONSISTENTLY exceptional too- a high 2:1 with one anomalous 2:2 surely undermines the consistent part of it no? Would you personally go for the likes of Slaughters and Jones Day? The fact they care about grades could help me, as besides that grade my profile is very strong but that one grade undermines it

Top US and some magic circle firms can be strict but not this strict that one module 2:2 will affect your chances. I believe many of the candidates who have a high 2:1 or 1 in their degree may also have a 2:2 module but still progress. On that note, I know someone who had a few 2:2’s and an overall mid 2:1 but progressed with a magic circle firm to an AC. Don’t worry too much and apply anyways

 

[AS24]

Has anyone heard back from WFW after the VI?

 

[Jaysen]

Is there a list for winter vac schemes opening in August - I am struggling to find it?!

We will be posting this week

 

[Alturistic whale]

Hiya @Alturistic whale! Absolutely

Thank you! I just sent a follow up

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Is there a list for winter vac schemes opening in August - I am struggling to find it?!

Hiya @helloj

We're in the midst of preparing a vacation scheme tracker list, which will go live this week. Currently, I can confirm that Sidley Austin will be opening for winter vacation scheme applications on 1 August. We should have more details for other firms as they update their vacation scheme pages. Hope that's helpful

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Thanks for the response: I think they do have a deadline, I saw July 21 on their LinkedIn and IG pages. About the grades, most of my worries are because firms sometimes say CONSISTENTLY exceptional too- a high 2:1 with one anomalous 2:2 surely undermines the consistent part of it no? Would you personally go for the likes of Slaughters and Jones Day? The fact they care about grades could help me, as besides that grade my profile is very strong but that one grade undermines it

Hiya @llblawstudent

Just to bounce off of the excellent advice you've received from @User5678, I'd say that it's still worth applying. One anomalous 2:2 doesn’t automatically disqualify you, especially if your overall profile is strong. At firms like Slaughters or Jones Day, yes, academics do matter. But it’s hard to overstate how much weight a well-written, sharply researched application can carry, particularly one that clearly shows why you want to work at that firm, and how your experience, interests, and skills align with its work. I've met many candidates who simply assume they’re getting rejected purely because of their grades, when in reality and on closer inspection, it’s often their application writing, firm research, and commercial awareness that need more work.

Most firms will overlook one or two weaker grades if the application shows real thought, insight, and motivation. And on the flip side, even excellent grades won’t make up for average or generic application. I’ve seen candidates with consistent 2:2s from non-Russell Group universities get through at top UK and US firms because they put in the time to understand what the firm does, how it operates in the wider legal and commercial landscape, and why that interests them. That’s the real differentiator. While there might be little you can do about one or two grades now, I'd say focus on the parts of your application you can control.

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Hi @Ram Sabaratnam @Amma Usman , hope you are well. Could you please share any compilation of the best tips that ensure how to convert your VS to a TC? (in case something of this sort exists on the forum?) Thanks in advance

Hiya @futuretraineesolicitor

I found the following threads quite useful when I was completing my vacation schemes. I'd say give them a proper read through to get a sense of what may come up and how to deal with certain challenges that vac schemers often face. You'll want to have a look through this thread and this course is also great. I also particularly liked the following post by @Andrei Radu. Hope these are helpful to you! Let me know if you have any specific questions

Hi @Lalis, to list a few of my top VS conversion tips:

• Speak with people at the firm (particularly graduate recruitment, recruitment partners, and trainees) to find out what are the most important assessment criteria for conversion. Different firms have different policies - for instance, in my case conversion at Slaughter and May was 100% determined by the final TC interview and written task, at Willkie it was mostly determined by the quality of your work and your integration in the firm's culture, at Milbank it was a combination of the final assessment and the impression you left on people on your team. To maximize conversion chances, you should modify your approach to match the factors emphasized by each firm.
• Take notes: as you go through the vacation scheme, at the end of each day, write down a short summary of what you did: who did you meet and what did you learn from them, what tasks did you work on, what sessions did you attend etc. As you approach the final interview, this will help you with being reflecting about the experience and showing that you have taken all the opportunities the firm offered.
• Try to meet as many people as possible, particularly in your department, but do not overdo it. Of course, it is great to integrate yourself as much as you can and to make as many people as possible notice you. However, you should not be spending every second of the day inviting people for coffee chats. Firstly, there are many other things you should be doing, like getting involved in different workstreams, attending sessions, and deepening your relationship with people you have already met, such as your supervisor. Secondly, as you will know, lawyers are often very stressed and have very little free time on their hands. Most will accept coffee chat requests, but they will appreciate if you do not waste their time by asking to meet only with a view of getting them to potentially put in a good word for you. Thus, I would advise you to always have a genuine reason for meeting someone. That does not need to necessarily be work-related - you can simply ask for a coffee chat because you want to introduce yourself and get to know people in the firm - but you should be upfront about it. Furthermore, try to get an idea from your supervisor as to who is more and less busy at the moment and avoid targeting the former.
• Mirror the attitude of those around you, and know when to be more relaxed: a crucial element of succeeding in many vacation schemes is to be able to build rapport with a few important people - particularly your supervisor, one or two lawyers you will get to work more with, and the recruitment partners. Try to read the attitude and expectations of those people and do not always attempt to impress them. In my experience, the people who ended up not converting tended to be the slightly overbearing ones who wanted to be constantly seen. Sometimes, such as at an event over drinks or at a lunch, people will want to simply relax a bit and forget about work. Other times, they may be too busy and stressed to want to engage with you about something serious. They could and also many times do want to take a slightly more lighthearted approach when talking about their work, so try not to seem like you are taking yourself too seriously. From what I have seen, people more often fail in adapting to these circumstances rather that when adapting to more formal dynamics.

 

[futuretraineesolicitor]

Hiya @futuretraineesolicitor

I found the following threads quite useful when I was completing my vacation schemes. I'd say give them a proper read through to get a sense of what may come up and how to deal with certain challenges that vac schemers often face. You'll want to have a look through this thread and this course is also great. I also particularly liked the following post by @Andrei Radu. Hope these are helpful to you! Let me know if you have any specific questions

thank you, ram!!

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Quick question about commercial awareness!

Even though I regularly read the FT + listen to FT adjacent podcasts, I still find myself lacking a lot of the foundations of commercial awareness. I read most of 'All You Need to Know about the City' a couple of years ago and made loads of flashcards - I found this super helpful in learning the basic ideas of profit, debt, shares, M&A etc.

I wanted to check if you guys have any recommendations for similar resources which help build the foundations? I'd appreciate anything with a 1.) similar general finance theme and/or 2.) a similar beginner's guide more geared towards law + practice areas. A more 'law-specific' resource would be nice because I'm not super familiar with practice areas etc. Reading law firms' website descriptions of practice areas is a bit more ambiguous than I'd like.

Investopedia is great but a more structured resource (e.g., course, book) would be preferred! I know the TCLA offers courses but I'm not too sure which would be best for my very basic needs. Thank you in advance!

Hiya @ashwright

Wanted to send this EXCELLENT post by legendary user @RANDOTRON. When I was applying, I found these suggestions so incredibly useful in getting comfortable with discussing commercial topics. Let me know if there's anything else I can send your way or any other topics in particular that you may want to think about.

Hi, I'm not sure if anyone has started a thread on this before (if so, sorry!). One of the main difficulties when I first started developing my commercial awareness was figuring out what sources I could use, where I should start, or even what news I should even be reading. So I want to make a thread where we can all share our commercial awareness sources. There's a wealth of information out there presented in various formats, and I figured it might be useful to have a place that everyone can refer to for sources to develop their commercial awareness.

So to kick this off, here's my list of sources with a note on if they are paid or free:

• Newsletter
  • FT Unhedged (paid): Critical analysis of market data and trends, and its wider implications.
  • FT Due Diligence (paid): More related to corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions, and private equity.
  • FT Asset Management (paid): Looks at news relating to asset management industry (eg, BlackRock).
  • FT Lex (paid): Each newspiece is written by a group of columnists, explains why the news is happening.
  • Bloomberg Opinion: Money Stuff (free): Analytical commentary on interesting (at times bizarre/obscure) finance stuff.
  • The Daily Upside (free): Offers a summary of three key news event with a brief analysis on its macro impact.
  • Finimize (paid): Similar to The Daily Upside.
  • Morning Brew (free): Similar to The Daily Upside.
  • The Economist Weekly Briefing (paid): Nice roundup of important news event in the previous week – good for catching up or refreshing.
• Youtube
  • Patrick Boyle (free): Analysis on major news event explaining what, how and why – usually a long video.
  • Wharton School (free): Guest lecturers offer insight into various industries (eg, considerations of private equity firm acquisitions) – useful for getting an understanding of how business people think (hint: look at their popular videos section).
    • Pro tip: other universities/companies offer similar guests lecturers (eg, check out this one from UoV School of Law); have a scan of the suggested videos in the right hand side column in these videos and you will in no time build a collection.
  • The Plain Bagel (free): Great for visualising how commercial terms work in practice (like short selling), also has videos like Boyle's and more leisurely videos like the ones critiquing TikTok finance videos.
  • Khan Academy (free): Another great source for learning how economics work (like bond yields and its relative movement to price/interest rate).
• Podcast
  • Numbers by Barron (free): Breaks down stories by three numbers.
  • FT News Briefing (free): Sums up important news stories for each day.
  • Goldman Sachs Exchanges (free): Commentary by people working at GS on a market trend.
  • Morgan Stanley Thoughts on the Market (free): Similar to GS Exchanges.
  • WSJ What's News (free): Basically FT News Briefing but they deliver it twice a day (US time) – once in the morning, once in the evening.
• Website
  • Investopedia (free): Great for learning about commercial terms, and they also sometimes have videos to visualise the terms.

Quick note: I mainly use the FT Newsletters now because I prefer getting my commercial awareness this way, but I did use all these source before to varying degrees.

Feel free to expand on this thread by adding your own personal favourites!

Edit: I thought it might be more helpful to add a brief description of each source so you have a better idea of what it is; further added more to the Wharton School YouTube section with tip on exploring further sources.

 

[28july2025]

Hi everyone,

I've created a new account because I don’t want to be linked to my previous posts, but I wanted to share my journey.

Yesterday, I got the call that I’ve been offered a TC at a top international firm. I still can’t believe I’ve made it this far, and I probably won’t fully believe it until I start working.

For context, I’m an international student who studied at a non-Russell Group university. I failed a module in my first year, achieved the equivalent of ABB at A-level, and had no contacts in the legal field. I graduated in 2021 and gave up on commercial law for a few years after facing rejections in 2020 and 2021, and I genuinely thought I wouldn’t make it.

But I gave it one last shot around this time last year, and it paid off. I applied to just five law firms, but I knew which one I wanted, and that’s the one I got.
What helped me this time was being clear about which firm I was targeting, and making the most of my skills and work experience (none of which were at law firms, by the way).

The same firm that rejected me in 2020 accepted me yesterday.

I’m so grateful to this forum and to everyone who’s contributed. Thank you.

 

[V2002]

Hello has anyone done a Morgan Lewis AC ? any tips and advice would be much appreciated.

 

[rapunzel]

Hi everyone,

I've created a new account because I don’t want to be linked to my previous posts, but I wanted to share my journey.

Yesterday, I got the call that I’ve been offered a TC at a top international firm. I still can’t believe I’ve made it this far, and I probably won’t fully believe it until I start working.

For context, I’m an international student who studied at a non-Russell Group university. I failed a module in my first year, achieved the equivalent of ABB at A-level, and had no contacts in the legal field. I graduated in 2021 and gave up on commercial law for a few years after facing rejections in 2020 and 2021, and I genuinely thought I wouldn’t make it.

But I gave it one last shot around this time last year, and it paid off. I applied to just five law firms, but I knew which one I wanted, and that’s the one I got.
What helped me this time was being clear about which firm I was targeting, and making the most of my skills and work experience (none of which were at law firms, by the way).

The same firm that rejected me in 2020 accepted me yesterday.

I’m so grateful to this forum and to everyone who’s contributed. Thank you.

Congratulations! 🥳

That is amazing news. Glad to see your journey and hard work has paid off. 😊

 

[studenttolawyer]

Hi everyone,

I've created a new account because I don’t want to be linked to my previous posts, but I wanted to share my journey.

Yesterday, I got the call that I’ve been offered a TC at a top international firm. I still can’t believe I’ve made it this far, and I probably won’t fully believe it until I start working.

For context, I’m an international student who studied at a non-Russell Group university. I failed a module in my first year, achieved the equivalent of ABB at A-level, and had no contacts in the legal field. I graduated in 2021 and gave up on commercial law for a few years after facing rejections in 2020 and 2021, and I genuinely thought I wouldn’t make it.

But I gave it one last shot around this time last year, and it paid off. I applied to just five law firms, but I knew which one I wanted, and that’s the one I got.
What helped me this time was being clear about which firm I was targeting, and making the most of my skills and work experience (none of which were at law firms, by the way).

The same firm that rejected me in 2020 accepted me yesterday.

I’m so grateful to this forum and to everyone who’s contributed. Thank you.

Huge huge congratulations! What an amazing journey.