TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[berocca567]

I find all the tests rather than anywhere being read by a human quite depressing. I know obviously AI has made it difficult, but a multi-step process that takes hours before your work might be read makes applications draining and pointless

 

[Andrei Radu]

Does anyone have any tips on writing an Open Day application for Davis Polk?
I normally wouldn't ask but this question has tripped me up a bit as I'm not 100% sure if I can really find 500 words for an Open Day application without waffling.

My interests are very much in finding out about deal origination (US-sourced vs Europe-sourced), proportion of work in certain practice areas (I've seen a video where the previous Training Principal and current Head of Europe talked about their laser focus on corporate finance), exploring the culture in-person, the ratio of on-the-job vs formal training, and how all of these things intertwine. Not sure if I can/should try and personalise every point for an Open Day application either.

Hi @DavidJC I think what you should do in general for an Open Day application is to:

1. Identify a Unique Selling Point of the firm (USP) you are interested in
2. Explain why you are interested in the firm's USP, making reference and describing any relevant experiences and achievements
3. Analyse the USP more in depth based on your research and then express a desire to learn more about said USP at the open day

For instance, say you express an interest in the firm's leading M&A practice. Firstly, you would want to explain why you are interested in this type of work by picking out which features of it attract you more than the features of other practices. At this stage, you should also describe (using a STAR structure) any relevant experience (and relevant need not mean solely an M&A-related role; it could be a negotiations competition, a prior firm event, a Forage Experience etc.).

Then, you should go on and explain the firm's USP in more detail based on your research. You could thus firstly discuss Davis Polk's global M&A practice, which consistently ranks in the top 10 firms by total M&A deal value it advises on and which has one of the highest average deal values in the world, suggesting the firm has a high deal value-lower deal volume model; you could then express an interest in learning more about how this model functions. Then, you could analyse Davis Polk's London practice in more detail, focusing on how it has a small headcount compared to similarly ranked rivals (it has a Chambers 4 ranking, similar to White & Case, a firm with a headcount roughly 6 times higher), suggesting it punches significantly above its weight in terms of high-end M&A work - and then, on this point you could look at some of the notable mandates the firm recently worked on. Next, you could mention how the firm is particularly active in the TMT and life sciences sectors and how its client base tends to be formed of institutional relationships rather than individual partner relationships. Further, you could go on to look at how efficient the firm's corporate practice is, as it has consistently boasted of some of the highest revenue per corporate partner and revenue per corporate lawyer figures in London, and then explore how this ties into the firm's general sky-high profitability (Davis Polk has the third highest PEP in London, only behind Kirkland and Quinn Emanuel).

All of these are just features that I think you can mention and elaborate on in your analysis to make it more persuasive and to also fill the word count - but none needs to necessarily be featured; this is simply something you should choose depending on how your answer shapes up. You should think about exploring similarly very specific features and sub features of the firm's other USPs, be they related to strategy and growth, other practices, or trainee programme. To get the relevant information, I would highly recommend you read the firm's TCLA Law Firm Profile here, which I have recently updated for the 2025/2026 application cycle.

 

[aspiringsolicitor2027]

Having spoken to recruiters about this, by "work" they generally understand a role involving a contract and payment, so I think internships and vacation schemes would be excluded from the experiences you can base your answer on here. That said, I do not think it would be an issue if you mentioned such experiences so long as this is a mere tangential mention that reinforces a broader point which is based on a non-work/study experience.

I see, thank you!

 

[TC seeker]

is DLA‘s WG automatically?

 

[Kakaboo]

Any Ashurst ACs yet?

I believe they said November 7th they will get back to us

 

[ldjdhgdcsd]

Has anyone completed the psychometric test for BCLP and would be willing to share some insights?

 

[yasmars]

I believe they said November 7th they will get back to us

November 7th is rejection day. So you’ll hear back before if you’ve successfully made it to the AC

 

[londonlawyer]

I have a question, the answer to which might be obvious. For this question 'Akin’s London office works across a range of practice areas. Which area(s) interests you most, and why?', do I explain why a practice area in general interests me or why that practice area at Akin specifically interests me? I have already mentioned their Funds team in the why Akin question and was wondering whether the above question would be where I explain my interest in PE/funds by discussing open days and VS experience. Or do I expand on Akin's expertise in Funds?

 

[Superfrozone]

Hi, I completed the NRF Artic shores test. Very interesting to say the least... How did others find it? How does NRF score this?

 

[BT0901]

Hi, I completed the NRF Artic shores test. Very interesting to say the least... How did others find it? How does NRF score this?

I thought I was having an epileptic episode. Scored 1/5 in all metrics. Apparently my keyboard's input lag is indicative of me not being a good team player lol

 

[Superfrozone]

I thought I was having an epileptic episode. Scored 1/5 in all metrics. Apparently my keyboard's input lag is indicative of me not being a good team player lol

Yes, my laptop lagged too but I assume that the firm would factor that into account.

 

[Bread]

I thought I was having an epileptic episode. Scored 1/5 in all metrics. Apparently my keyboard's input lag is indicative of me not being a good team player lol

Everyone knows that fine motor skills are crucial to being a good lawyer

 

[jojo23]

Hi, I completed the NRF Artic shores test. Very interesting to say the least... How did others find it? How does NRF score this?

All those years ragebaiting in call of duty might finally pay off😤

 

[tcapplicant.1]

Has anyone managed to complete W&C's online assessment? I think there is an error with the 'Your Thinking' section.

 

[Bhavana]

Has anyone been able to access Weil's vac scheme application?

 

[Bhavana]

I have a question, the answer to which might be obvious. For this question 'Akin’s London office works across a range of practice areas. Which area(s) interests you most, and why?', do I explain why a practice area in general interests me or why that practice area at Akin specifically interests me? I have already mentioned their Funds team in the why Akin question and was wondering whether the above question would be where I explain my interest in PE/funds by discussing open days and VS experience. Or do I expand on Akin's expertise in Funds?

I think you could discuss why a practice area interests you, and then discuss why Akin in particular would be an ideal firm to explore that area. You could discuss Funds again but just be cautious of repeating anything that you've already mentioned in the other question

 

[llblawstudent]

anyone heard back from Mayer Brown after sending the form?

 

[Amgrad]

Hey all, I came across this thread: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....s-for-international-trainees.6617/post-164157

Is it true that Hogan Lovells & White & Case sponsor VISA last year or cycle?

I also figured it out in another thread that they previously, in 2023 and earlier never sponsored visa for Vac Scheme.

My application is ready to submit and felt like it's very strong, but I doubt they will sponsor this cycle as I don't get any info or contact them yet.

I want to apply VS instead of TC as in the last cycle I applied only one TC and no VS.

It went all the way to AC, but I just felt quite disconnected as I was the only one to attend virtually among my peers.

 

[DavidJC]

Hi @DavidJC I think what you should do in general for an Open Day application is to:

1. Identify a Unique Selling Point of the firm (USP) you are interested in
2. Explain why you are interested in the firm's USP, making reference and describing any relevant experiences and achievements
3. Analyse the USP more in depth based on your research and then express a desire to learn more about said USP at the open day

For instance, say you express an interest in the firm's leading M&A practice. Firstly, you would want to explain why you are interested in this type of work by picking out which features of it attract you more than the features of other practices. At this stage, you should also describe (using a STAR structure) any relevant experience (and relevant need not mean solely an M&A-related role; it could be a negotiations competition, a prior firm event, a Forage Experience etc.).

Then, you should go on and explain the firm's USP in more detail based on your research. You could thus firstly discuss Davis Polk's global M&A practice, which consistently ranks in the top 10 firms by total M&A deal value it advises on and which has one of the highest average deal values in the world, suggesting the firm has a high deal value-lower deal volume model; you could then express an interest in learning more about how this model functions. Then, you could analyse Davis Polk's London practice in more detail, focusing on how it has a small headcount compared to similarly ranked rivals (it has a Chambers 4 ranking, similar to White & Case, a firm with a headcount roughly 6 times higher), suggesting it punches significantly above its weight in terms of high-end M&A work - and then, on this point you could look at some of the notable mandates the firm recently worked on. Next, you could mention how the firm is particularly active in the TMT and life sciences sectors and how its client base tends to be formed of institutional relationships rather than individual partner relationships. Further, you could go on to look at how efficient the firm's corporate practice is, as it has consistently boasted of some of the highest revenue per corporate partner and revenue per corporate lawyer figures in London, and then explore how this ties into the firm's general sky-high profitability (Davis Polk has the third highest PEP in London, only behind Kirkland and Quinn Emanuel).

All of these are just features that I think you can mention and elaborate on in your analysis to make it more persuasive and to also fill the word count - but none needs to necessarily be featured; this is simply something you should choose depending on how your answer shapes up. You should think about exploring similarly very specific features and sub features of the firm's other USPs, be they related to strategy and growth, other practices, or trainee programme. To get the relevant information, I would highly recommend you read the firm's TCLA Law Firm Profile here, which I have recently updated for the 2025/2026 application cycle.

Hi Andrei, thanks so much for the advice and insights, and for your work on the firm profile too. Is there somewhere I can easily find the statistics you've mentioned here or in the profile (Revenue per lawyer/partner, department headcount etc) or is this something more obscure that I would need to search the websites and directories to find out? They're all really cool and I'd love to find out more and see what really stands out to me

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

I have a question, the answer to which might be obvious. For this question 'Akin’s London office works across a range of practice areas. Which area(s) interests you most, and why?', do I explain why a practice area in general interests me or why that practice area at Akin specifically interests me? I have already mentioned their Funds team in the why Akin question and was wondering whether the above question would be where I explain my interest in PE/funds by discussing open days and VS experience. Or do I expand on Akin's expertise in Funds?

Hey!

That’s a really good question, and I can see why that might be unclear.

I’d recommend focusing on why that practice area interests you personally, but also incorporating why you’re excited to explore it specifically at Akin. Think of it as a mix of both: start by explaining how your interest in the area developed (e.g. open days, academic exposure, vacation schemes), then link at the end why Akin’s strengths in that area make it the ideal place to pursue it.

Since you’ve already mentioned their Funds team in your other question, you don’t need to repeat too much, but this is a great chance to go into more detail - maybe discuss a particular deal or client type that aligns with your career goals.

To summarise:

1. Explain your personal interest in the area
2. Connect it to your experience
3. Tie it back to Akin - why you’re excited to develop that interest there

I hope that helps - best of luck with your application!