TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[lawstudent2]

Has anyone heard back for the Paul, Weiss open day next week?
Also the Mischon undergraduate open day and the Mayer Brown open day?

 

[whywhy88]

Anyone have an idea when Paul, Weiss may start sending test invites for the WVS?

 

[JasmineM9]

Anyone have an idea when Paul, Weiss may start sending test invites for the WVS?

Hey! My understanding is that they removed the test this year? I could be wrong but I remember grad rec saying this somewhere. The next stage is interview I believe.

 

[Amgrad]

Hi I have a few questions about a Video Interview I have.
(1) any tips generally as I am usually so much worse at pre-recorded interviews than live phone or teams ones.
(2) when speaking about a deal, how recent does it need to be -- there is a deal in particular that id love to talk about but it was in December 2024 -- is this too long ago?
(3) how many deals/clients should we prepare for a 20 minute interview? I have a few interesting ones in mind but they could be used for a variety of different questions and I am unsure if I need to know multiple in depth or if I can use the same one as it Is unlikely there will be multiple commercial questions.

I can help to answer the second question. December 2024 isn't that old, it's still relevant to this cycle, especially big law firm like White & Case they ask about the recent deal in the past 2 years on the essay.

Same goes to Uni where most instructors told us to cite a recent article im the last 2 years. IMO, you can put as old as 2023 deals.

 

[Amgrad]

Hey! My understanding is that they removed the test this year? I could be wrong but I remember grad rec saying this somewhere. The next stage is interview I believe.

Yes, it's confirmed by the grad team. Here is the reference to quote: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....-paul-weiss-anything-2025-26.9940/post-217642

 

[aspiringsolicitor2027]

Ashurst WVS written exercise invite! Does anyone have any insight on how to prepare for this?

Amazingggggg, Congrats!! Do you mind me asking when you applied?

 

[Legal_Beaver]

Just had confirmation that HSF AC invites haven't gone out

 

[johnsmith]

Anyone else qualified for the AS competition quarter finals?

 

[e_turbo2]

@Andrei Radu Hey! I have been enjoying your responses around structuring answers on apps. Just wondering if you have an idea of the best way to structure the answer to this Q-
What do you find attractive about BCLP's sectors/departments and which area(s) are you interested in having exposure to in your Training Contract and why? Max 500 words it is quite lengthy! How many sectors/departments would you recommend discussing? Thank you

 

[berocca567]

Just had confirmation that HSF AC invites haven't gone out

Was there any indication of when they might?

 

[TortillaTC]

For those that haven’t got the first HL test yet, I emailed grad rec and haven’t heard back (I applied 29th September). Will keep you updated

 

[jojo23]

If I inputted a grade incorrectly on a submission (via all hires), what should I do? If I contacted them, would it look detrimental/unprofessional?

 

[Legal_Beaver]

Was there any indication of when they might?

Unfortunately, not, but surely not any later now. Imminent if some PFOs gone out.

 

[Legal_Beaver]

Anyone else qualified for the AS competition quarter finals?

Congrats! I'm curious what the benchmark would be. Could you estimate how many out of 35 you got right? I was thinking 25+ was top 5-10%

 

[johnsmith]

Congrats! I'm curious what the benchmark would be. Could you estimate how many out of 35 you got right? I was thinking 25+ was top 5-10%

Thanks! I didn't get to finish as I had some issues with it getting stuck loading right at the beginning, and with about 30 seconds to go, so I only answered 31 questions - my guess would be 25 would be about right.

Looks like 98 slots taking 5 people per slot, so assuming they all fill up, that's 490 qualifiers. I think I read previously that it's between 3.5k to 5k competitors, so that is around the top 10-15%

 

[applicant457]

Thanks! I didn't get to finish as I had some issues with it getting stuck loading right at the beginning, and with about 30 seconds to go, so I only answered 31 questions - my guess would be 25 would be about right.

Looks like 98 slots taking 5 people per slot, so assuming they all fill up, that's 490 qualifiers. I think I read previously that it's between 3.5k to 5k competitors, so that is around the top 10-15%

Cool! I didn't know the next round took such a small %!

 

[johnsmith]

Cool! I didn't know the next round took such a small %!

I suppose they have to cut quite aggressively. The next stage after that is hosted across the 6 sponsor firms, who I'm sure can only accommodate so many from a practical point of view, so my guess is max 120 people move to semi, and then the final might be like 10 people? I'm sure someone on here will have experience of how big each stage is!

 

[tk.42_]

For video interviews (one way), what type of questions do they normally ask? Is it competency or my why this firm/commercial law? Thanks!

 

[Andrei Radu]

@Andrei Radu Hey! I have been enjoying your responses around structuring answers on apps. Just wondering if you have an idea of the best way to structure the answer to this Q-
What do you find attractive about BCLP's sectors/departments and which area(s) are you interested in having exposure to in your Training Contract and why? Max 500 words it is quite lengthy! How many sectors/departments would you recommend discussing? Thank you

Hi @e_turbo2 I would discuss 3-4 sectors/departments and I would use use the following structure:

Paragraph 1: Firstly, I would mention the sector or department I am interested in and explain why, describing both (i) the substantive features of the department/sector that attract me (i.e. what about the particular tasks/matters I would work for interests me) and (ii) any relevant examples of experiences related to the department/sector. Secondly, I would go on to explain why I would be interested in working in the sector/department at BCLP in particular: here, I would analyse the firm's team and expertise in the area in depth, looking at rankings, awards, notable deals/cases and comparisons with rivals.

Paragraph 2, 3 , 4: I would simply repeat the above, but for a new sector/department;

Advice on how to use all the word count without unnecessarily lengthening your points:

• Since the firm mentions both sectors and "departments", you can likely discuss practices areas of the firm as well, which increases the breadth of what you can discuss.
• You should describe your experiences in a lot of depth, using a STAR structure.
• You can analyse the firm's expertise in as much depth as you want, going though important matters they worked on and their impact, mentioning top practitioners, recent hires and strategy, etc.

 

[jojo23]

For those of you applying to Mayer brown, did you put things like open days in the employment history or just leave them out?