Ask 3 future trainees ANYTHING!

[Andrei Radu]

Hi everyone!

My name is Andrei, I’m a future trainee at Davis Polk and I am currently in my SQE year. I’m excited to returning as one of TCLA’s Community Assistants for this year alongside @Amma Usman and @Abbie Whitlock. I just wanted to say hi again to those who know me from last year and introduce myself to new people!

To share a bit about my background and journey: I’m originally from Romania, and I have only moved to the UK in 2022 to start my law degree at UCL. I knew I had an interest in commercial law since the very beginning of year 1, but I knew very little about the application process and legal landscape in the City. As such, in my first application cycle, I was rejected in all my applications at the first stage.

Fortunately, with the support of a number of friends and career mentors, I bounced back by using my frustration and anxiety as motivation to give 100% in the next application cycle. By attending several careers events every week, completing courses and virtual experiences, and using some of the amazing resources offered by TCLA, I managed to significantly improve my research and application writing skills. Thus, my second cycle was the complete reversal of the first. I ended up receiving vacation scheme offers from Slaughter and May, Milbank, Willkie, and Davis Polk, and was fortunate enough to receive TC offers from the last three firms.

Subsequently, I have started spending lots of time to help friends and acquaintances in overcoming the same struggles I had faced. I took on a similar role at TCLA last year, when, alongside Amma and Ram, I spent the last application cycle as a Community Assistant. Afterwards, during this summer, I spent my time reviewing and updating TCLA’s Law Firm Profiles to ensure they are as informative and up to date as possible.

To list some of the queries I feel like I would be in a good position to answer:

• Application process questions, particularly regarding how to research law firms to identify unique selling points, writing tips, and application strategy.
• Interview tips, especially competency interviews and general commercial awareness/case studies.
• How to improve commercial awareness, particularly in how to make best use of events and online resources.
• Any questions around PE, M&A, and equity capital markets work.
• Tips for overcoming rejection.

However, definitely feel free to ask me anything and everything throughout the forum threads – I am here to help 😊!

Finally, my top tip for aspiring solicitors is to realise you are not in this journey alone. The biggest difference between my first and second application cycle has been the support I received from so many people the second time around, without which I would not be in in this position. So, whether it is friends, your university’s law society, LinkedIn connections, or this forum, do not be afraid to reach out for help!

 

[Amma Usman]

Hello everyone!

My name is Amma Usman and I’m a Community Assistant at TCLA alongside @Andrei Radu and @Abbie Whitlock.

By way of introduction, I’m an SQE student at BPP Law School and a Future Trainee at Gibson Dunn. I’m an international student, born and raised in Nigeria, and I moved to the UK a couple years back. I joined TCLA a year ago and I was so keen on joining due to the positive impact it had on my career trajectory and perception of the law firm application process. From the wonderful forum community where everyone was so open and friendly about their experiences, to the comprehensive courses, TCLA really felt like a ‘community’ from day one.

One piece of advice I would really love to share about the whole process is that consistency would take you places that sometimes motivation may not. As a candidate, it’s super easy to feel let down by rejections or struggle with confidence during the process - I certainly did. Although it’s always worth remembering that every rejection, every feedback call with a member of graduate recruitment, every written application, all eventually contribute to securing that TC. As an international student, I personally struggled with adapting to the legal system in the UK as I had only been exposed to Nigerian laws and deals my whole life. I also felt quite ‘late’ to the process as I had no knowledge of what graduate programmes or training contracts even were until the end of my first year! I must admit that all these feelings were quite overwhelming but eventually I realised that I actually appreciated the journey a whole lot more when it wasn’t particularly smooth.

Really looking forward to getting deep into the role and adding as much value as possible! Lovely to meet you all

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

Hi everyone!! My name is Abbie, and I am a future trainee at Reed Smith and currently on my SQE internship at the firm! I’m excited to be joining TCLA as a Community Assistant alongside the amazing @Amma Usman and @Andrei Radu, especially as TCLA was such a huge part of my training contract journey last cycle!

To share a bit about my background, I recently graduated from the University of Portsmouth and as the first in my family to go to university, I know how daunting it can be to navigate the legal application process with no prior knowledge or connections. In my first application cycle, I only made one application and was rejected after AC due to my lack of commercial awareness. This was an area that I knew I needed to develop but wasn’t sure how, which is something I’m sure many of you can relate to. This really took a hit on my confidence and I started to question whether I could secure a training contract in a commercial firm.

To build up my CV, I completed a placement year as a paralegal and worked in my university’s legal advice clinic, which were both instrumental in my training contract journey and reaffirmed that I was passionate about a career in law. Additionally, I was the runner-up in BIUCAC last year, and so I am more than happy to share any advice for those wanting to participate in commercial awareness competitions! Following these experiences (and after brushing up on my application writing technique), I started to see a lot more success in my applications. I managed to complete vacation schemes at Stephenson Harwood, Farrer & Co, and Travers Smith (from BIUCAC), and I secured my TC at Reed Smith through their direct route.

I also mentored first-year students during my final year of my degree, and I really enjoyed giving back when I had benefitted from so many wonderful mentors in the past. As I loved this experience, I knew that I wanted to apply to join TCLA to contribute to a community that assisted me so much in my journey.

Among other areas, I feel I am in a good position to answer queries on:

• Navigating the process as a Non-Russell group student, or someone from a socially mobile background.
• How to improve commercial awareness, and tips for preparing for commercial awareness competitions.
• Applying for paralegal or placement year roles, and how to write a tailored CV.
• Preparing for case study interviews and group tasks.

However, please do ask me any questions you have in relation to the application process, and I can help or direct you to the best person to assist!

My top tip for aspiring solicitors is to remember that it’s not a matter of if but when - you will find yourself at the firm that’s right for you. There’s a huge amount of support available throughout this process, especially at TCLA, so don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions (and truly, no question is ever too small or silly!).

I’m really looking forward to getting to know you all!

 

[Anakin10]

@Andrei Radu Hey Andrei, a big fan of your work and was hoping to get your thoughts and advice on how to approach the work experience section of the written applications for vacation schemes. Most firms leave it open ended in terms of word count and how many experiences to submit. But what kinds of things would you mention in this section and how would you discuss them? Here are 2 key points I wanted to ask about:

1.I have so far only used real work experiences, such as part time work and legal internship. But I have seen people talk about their responsibilities at university (such as committee positions and judge positions etc).
2. I have so far mainly discussed what I did in these roles and what the work experience entailed. I haven't really tied it back to skills or spoken much about the skills learnt and how it links back to commercial law, but I have seen that some people do take this approach.

I know that there is no particular or 'correct' way to approach this (the same can be said for the application process in general) and it will also be firm dependent but I wanted to know your thoughts and what you think would work best (and perhaps what would work best for certain types of firms).

I would also ask how to approach it depending on your experience (the work experiences I have been talking about are: summer camp counsellor, sports and fitness assistant at my university gym, Tutor, research intern at client earth (legal research internship), 2 week internship/shadwoing at local high street firm)

Should I speak about more work experiences or are those enough/good?

 

[Andrei Radu]

@Andrei Radu Hey Andrei, a big fan of your work and was hoping to get your thoughts and advice on how to approach the work experience section of the written applications for vacation schemes. Most firms leave it open ended in terms of word count and how many experiences to submit. But what kinds of things would you mention in this section and how would you discuss them? Here are 2 key points I wanted to ask about:

1.I have so far only used real work experiences, such as part time work and legal internship. But I have seen people talk about their responsibilities at university (such as committee positions and judge positions etc).
2. I have so far mainly discussed what I did in these roles and what the work experience entailed. I haven't really tied it back to skills or spoken much about the skills learnt and how it links back to commercial law, but I have seen that some people do take this approach.

I know that there is no particular or 'correct' way to approach this (the same can be said for the application process in general) and it will also be firm dependent but I wanted to know your thoughts and what you think would work best (and perhaps what would work best for certain types of firms).

I would also ask how to approach it depending on your experience (the work experiences I have been talking about are: summer camp counsellor, sports and fitness assistant at my university gym, Tutor, research intern at client earth (legal research internship), 2 week internship/shadwoing at local high street firm)

Should I speak about more work experiences or are those enough/good?

Hi @Anakin10 to take your questions in turn:

1. There is some disagreement even among recruiters regarding what counts as work experience - some only think it refers to paid positions under a contract, whereas others see it as covering a way broader set of experiences, including attending events with firms, Forage courses, and extracurriculars such as the ones you mentioned. My view here is that you should put down as work experience every position that entailed a substantial degree of responsibility and dedication on your part, even if not paid or governed by a contract; unless this is allowed, even roles in pro bono organisations could not be included. As such, I think roles such as the ones you mentioned could be included, but have a think whether there is enough content to cover on each individual role, or if it makes more sense to bundle a couple together and discuss/list under one heading (for instance, many use this for open days/other career events).
2. I think your current approach is generally the right one. Your focus in the work experience section should be to provide an accurate, comprehensive, and specific description of what the experience entailed; drawing links to motivations and skills is where the cover letter/application form question come in. Nonetheless, if there are any clear and direct links you can draw to an interest or a skill that is particularly relevant to a given firm and you cannot draw them in other sections, it may make sense to include them (but ensure this is done very sparingly). For instance, since Freshfields does not have a cover letter anymore this year, if you have an experience which sparked your interest in corporate M&A, it may make sense to draw that link in a short sentence or two as a concluding thought (given that Freshfields is particularly renowned for work in this practice area).
3. I think you have a good number and variety of work experiences to include, although perhaps I would also mention some career events/Forage courses to show a bit of commercial law focus. In terms of how to speak about them, I advise you to generally follow a STAR structure, and to be concise and specific in regards to what you actually did. You should not feel the need to always write a lot - in the case of "simpler" roles, a 2-3 sentence description may suffice.

 

[Anakin10]

Hi @Anakin10 to take your questions in turn:

1. There is some disagreement even among recruiters regarding what counts as work experience - some only think it refers to paid positions under a contract, whereas others see it as covering a way broader set of experiences, including attending events with firms, Forage courses, and extracurriculars such as the ones you mentioned. My view here is that you should put down as work experience every position that entailed a substantial degree of responsibility and dedication on your part, even if not paid or governed by a contract; unless this is allowed, even roles in pro bono organisations could not be included. As such, I think roles such as the ones you mentioned could be included, but have a think whether there is enough content to cover on each individual role, or if it makes more sense to bundle a couple together and discuss/list under one heading (for instance, many use this for open days/other career events).
2. I think your current approach is generally the right one. Your focus in the work experience section should be to provide an accurate, comprehensive, and specific description of what the experience entailed; drawing links to motivations and skills is where the cover letter/application form question come in. Nonetheless, if there are any clear and direct links you can draw to an interest or a skill that is particularly relevant to a given firm and you cannot draw them in other sections, it may make sense to include them (but ensure this is done very sparingly). For instance, since Freshfields does not have a cover letter anymore this year, if you have an experience which sparked your interest in corporate M&A, it may make sense to draw that link in a short sentence or two as a concluding thought (given that Freshfields is particularly renowned for work in this practice area).
3. I think you have a good number and variety of work experiences to include, although perhaps I would also mention some career events/Forage courses to show a bit of commercial law focus. In terms of how to speak about them, I advise you to generally follow a STAR structure, and to be concise and specific in regards to what you actually did. You should not feel the need to always write a lot - in the case of "simpler" roles, a 2-3 sentence description may suffice.

Thanks for the very coherent and clear advice Andrei! I tend to avoid talking about commercial law events/careers events in the work experience section as most of the applications I have done have asked about events attended/interest in commercial law so I bring those in there.

 

[getitjules]

On behalf of my sister:

Hey! I am struggling a little here.

I am in year 12 currently applying for year 12 schemes. Multiple law firms seem to have programmes and development schemes as well as work experiences for those who are low-income and from underrepresented backgrounds; however, I seem to be rejected from every single one and I am not sure why as there isn't individual feedback.

I have recently been interested in law (in the past couple of years) after years of working towards a STEM career. It started off in a law competition I took part in which was more related to human rights law but then that moved onto searching more about commercial law. I have taken part in online internships (forage) that are available to all in commercial law but I am struggling to find any experiences to showcase my passion.

The general feedback all applicants are receiving is to search up more about the firm, more commercial awareness? I am not sure. I do not know how to do this. I looked into previous cases - although I struggled understanding much of it, I did break the cases down and researched it more. I included the cases I found interesting although probably gave a surface level outlook on it. It also states why I want to join the firm for this programme - again I assume I'd have to research the firm and what the programme offers. Other than the website, I am not sure how to do this further?

I went to an awful school and lived much of my life in poverty so all these opportunities I am coming across, now that I go to a really good school, are eye opening and have completely frazzled my mind! I'd love to get in to one of these programmes but I feel as though I am destined to not get in as someone that doesn't have much experience to begin with especially in commercial law. How is anyone getting into these programmes??

 

[Andrei Radu]

On behalf of my sister:

Hey! I am struggling a little here.

I am in year 12 currently applying for year 12 schemes. Multiple law firms seem to have programmes and development schemes as well as work experiences for those who are low-income and from underrepresented backgrounds; however, I seem to be rejected from every single one and I am not sure why as there isn't individual feedback.

I have recently been interested in law (in the past couple of years) after years of working towards a STEM career. It started off in a law competition I took part in which was more related to human rights law but then that moved onto searching more about commercial law. I have taken part in online internships (forage) that are available to all in commercial law but I am struggling to find any experiences to showcase my passion.

The general feedback all applicants are receiving is to search up more about the firm, more commercial awareness? I am not sure. I do not know how to do this. I looked into previous cases - although I struggled understanding much of it, I did break the cases down and researched it more. I included the cases I found interesting although probably gave a surface level outlook on it. It also states why I want to join the firm for this programme - again I assume I'd have to research the firm and what the programme offers. Other than the website, I am not sure how to do this further?

I went to an awful school and lived much of my life in poverty so all these opportunities I am coming across, now that I go to a really good school, are eye opening and have completely frazzled my mind! I'd love to get in to one of these programmes but I feel as though I am destined to not get in as someone that doesn't have much experience to begin with especially in commercial law. How is anyone getting into these programmes??

Hi @getitjules while I do not have any direct experience with pre-university commercial law applications, I just thought I would share a few thoughts and bits of advice. Firstly, a key thing you should keep in mind and be proud of yourself for is the fact that you have begun exploring an interest in commercial law at such an early stage and are already working towards your career goals. While it may not seem like a huge achievement now, and while you while always find people who have started even earlier than you, you are in a significantly better position at this stage than the vast majority of people I know who have now secured a TC at a top firm. Most of my friends who were successful in getting a TC did not really know anything about commercial law and did not so anything to improve their chances to get a TC until university started; in fact, most of them only ever started investing serious time and effort into this pursuit in their penultimate year of their degree.

As such, while you may not have been as successful as you wanted right now, you should know that you are already way ahead of the curve. Moreover, your efforts now will pay huge dividends later. Commercial awareness and application writing are not skills one can master overnight; they involve a steep learning curve, and are only honed by consistently investing your efforts in this pursuit over large spans of time - this is why the vast majority of people who are ultimately successful in securing a TC only do so in their second or third application cycle. No one comes into this knowing everything they need to to succeed. At first, they are rejected again, and again, and again; and through these experiences they learn. Thus, I urge you to not put too much pressure on yourself, and internalise the fact that rejection is an unavoidable part of the process. Even the most successful candidates (who end up receiving multiple training contract offers) are rejected more often than they are progressed.

Finally, for some concrete advice for what you can do to improve your success chances:

• For improving commercial awareness, I highly recommend listening to commercial awareness podcasts everyday. Some of my favourites include the FT News Briefing, BBC Business News, and Watson's Daily.
• For improving application writing and firm research: a key part of your applications you want to get right is showing why you are motivated to apply to that particular firm (as opposed to one of its rivals); but to find out what makes a firm unique, in many cases the firm's website will not be enough. If you can get a TCLA Premium subscription, I think the best resource in the market for that are our Law Firm Profiles. If not, two great free resources I would recommend are Non Billable and the Chambers Student Guide.