TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[BobThebIlly]

I’m currently applying for the Freshfields Direct Training Contract and I’m a bit unsure about what counts as “voluntary work” in the work experience section of their Forage system. Would something like being an Events Manager for a university society qualify as voluntary experience?

If so, how would you suggest I fill in the fields for “organisation,” “role,” and “how you got the role”?

Sorry if it’s a silly question 😅

 

[InterestInPublicLaw]

I did mine a few weeks ago so I don't fully remember but I believe there was one written question and two video interview questions. There unlimited prep time for everything. I believe there's one motivational question and the second one is possibly a competency question.

Thank you!

 

[emily3827]

does anyone know how long white and case usually takes post ac

 

[Unknowncabbage]

I’m going to ask at their next virtual event

I’m losing my patience with Latham.

Does anyone know how strict they are with grades ( my uni grades are majority firsts)

I think the 2nd test invite is selective (not 100% but from what I've seen/heard, it looks to be).

 

[adrianchkong]

does anyone know how long white and case usually takes post ac

When did you do your AC? Was this for the Winter Scheme?

 

[Andrei Radu]

I’m currently applying for the Freshfields Direct Training Contract and I’m a bit unsure about what counts as “voluntary work” in the work experience section of their Forage system. Would something like being an Events Manager for a university society qualify as voluntary experience?

If so, how would you suggest I fill in the fields for “organisation,” “role,” and “how you got the role”?

Sorry if it’s a silly question 😅

Hi @BobThebIlly this is definitely not a silly question, as law firms often use this kind of somewhat ambiguous terminology on their application forms (particularly in relation to work experience). Unhelpfully, there is no general consensus as to their interpretation, as different recruiters have different views of what terms like "work" and "extracurriculars" refer to and the extent to which they can overlap. For this reason, people often encounter such grey area roles which are not easy to classify.

As for your question, I would personally interpret "voluntary work" as meaning work you were not paid for. To qualify for "work: (rather than extracurriculars or hobbies, which are activities that are also not paid), I think there would be a general expectation for the role to involve substantial recurring tasks and responsibilities other people rely on you for. Applying this to an events manager role in a university society, I believe it would likely be included in a volunteer work category.

Finally, for filling in the fields:

• In the organisation category I would write the name of the university and the society;
• In the role category I would write "Events Manager";
• In the "How did you get the role" category I would provide a brief explanation of the selection process - i.e. were you elected following a campaign, were you selected by another society member after an application process, etc.

 

[BobThebIlly]

Hi @BobThebIlly this is definitely not a silly question, as law firms often use this kind of somewhat ambiguous terminology on their application forms (particularly in relation to work experience). Unhelpfully, there is no general consensus as to their interpretation, as different recruiters have different views of what terms like "work" and "extracurriculars" refer to and the extent to which they can overlap. For this reason, people often encounter such grey area roles which are not easy to classify.

As for your question, I would personally interpret "voluntary work" as meaning work you were not paid for. To qualify for "work: (rather than extracurriculars or hobbies, which are activities that are also not paid), I think there would be a general expectation for the role to involve substantial recurring tasks and responsibilities other people rely on you for. Applying this to an events manager role in a university society, I believe it would likely be included in a volunteer work category.

Finally, for filling in the fields:

• In the organisation category I would write the name of the university and the society;
• In the role category I would write "Events Manager";
• In the "How did you get the role" category I would provide a brief explanation of the selection process - i.e. were you elected following a campaign, were you selected by another society member after an application process, etc.

omg thank you so much!

 

[flower1]

Hello @Andrei Radu @Abbie Whitlock
I was just wondering, when we practice analysing articles, like those on FT for example - I understand we must think about opportunities and challenges for law firms, and legal implications etc - but I'm struggling to think of what a successful answer in an interview would look like?
Right now, all I can do is just mention for example, corporate work increases, the firm helps, more revenue etc - it feels extremely generic
Or as a challenge, regularity complexity - but I don't know how to expand beyond this
I'm really new to this, and am struggling with what to do and was hoping for your advice, and what a successful response looks like in an interview

Thank you

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi guys,

On the Pinsent Masons application portal, there doesn't appear to be separate sections for employment and extra-curricular activities; instead, there's a catch-all section titled Relevant Experience, with the following message on the top of the screen:

"Please use this section to include up to 5 of your most relevant experiences only. This can be anything you’ve done, such as employment, work experience, placement(s), volunteering, sports activities, positions of responsibility etc."

I've got a couple of queries:

1. I'm currently undecided as to what experiences I should put down. So far, I'm thinking of putting down (1) my current work volunteering for a local charity; (2) a previous vacation scheme; (3) my time at my university's student legal journal, and (4) some work I did carrying out research for the authors of an academic article on health law.

For my fifth "relevant experience", I'm thinking of including my role as president of my university college's law society - it seems more impressive than, say, writing about my time playing for my university college's tennis team. What worries me, however, is the thought that if I were to write down my time at the college law society as my fifth relevant experience, then this would risk making my application sound quite one-dimensional (because 4 out of the 5 relevant experiences would be law-related, and none of the relevant experiences would be to do with hobbies, sports, etc). Does anyone think there is a risk that this could be the case?

2. Ordinarily, on work experience sections, I keep my entries to a maximum of 150 words per experience. Does that sound like an appropriate amount for the "Relevant Experience" section of the current application, or would it be advisable to write in slightly more detail (say, 250 or 300 words), given that there appears to be no stand-alone sections for either Work Experience or Extra-Curricular Activities (or any other questions along the lines of "tell us about a time when you did XYZ, etc")?



I would be immensely grateful for any feedback, no matter how big or small!

Hi @pfoapplicant for the first question, I think it is fine (and, likely, also advisable) to include you role as president as the fifth entry. The firm asks you to include only the "most relevant" roles - an expression I interpret as referring to those that are most indicative of how well you "fit" the firm. Thus, in determining what to include, I would focus on (i) roles that represent your most significant achievements and demonstrate your skills and abilities; and (ii) roles that are most closely connected to your motivations to work as a commercial solicitor at the firm. Your role as president of a law society scores highly in both categories, so I would argue it should definitely be included; at the very least, it appears to me it definitely scores higher on both criteria when compared to things like playing in the university's tennis team.

As for your worry as appearing too "law-focused", I would advise you not to be too concerned - after all, you are applying to join a law firm, where almost everything you do will have to do with law! If the firm wanted to see more of your personality and ascertain how "well-rounded" you are as a person at the application form stage, they could have easily done so by including questions targeting this. You should not read a hidden intention on their part to do this covertly; one of the things I hear recruiters most often complaining about is that many candidates read things into their questions and prompts that they were simply not asking.

For you second question: I think it would make sense to use a roughly 150-words limit as a starting point when writing the entries. If you find that you have lots of valuable content left to cover for a role and are not able to do so within this limit (even if writing in a very concise manner), I think you could write up to around 250-300 words per entry.

 

[johnsmith]

I think the 2nd test invite is selective (not 100% but from what I've seen/heard, it looks to be).

I'm also at the point where I think it's selective, though it seems to have shifted from the earlier OD applicants, where lots of people were saying they were doing the VIs. I was thinking perhaps they've changed it up as they've gone through the process, as the volume was too overwhelming to review.

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hello @Andrei Radu @Abbie Whitlock
I was just wondering, when we practice analysing articles, like those on FT for example - I understand we must think about opportunities and challenges for law firms, and legal implications etc - but I'm struggling to think of what a successful answer in an interview would look like?
Right now, all I can do is just mention for example, corporate work increases, the firm helps, more revenue etc - it feels extremely generic
Or as a challenge, regularity complexity - but I don't know how to expand beyond this
I'm really new to this, and am struggling with what to do and was hoping for your advice, and what a successful response looks like in an interview

Thank you

Hi @flower1 this is a really good question, and one I also used to struggle with quite a lot back in the day. The first thing I will mention is that making a detailed analysis of the impact of news to law firms is really difficult, as general commercial awareness resources and publications normally do not teach you to make such connections.

Importantly, it is also worth remembering that, for this reason, there is a limit as to how detailed and novel a firm would expect your answer to be. In many cases, commercial awareness questions based on an article will not focus that much on the specific impact to the firm; and generally, even when they ask this direct question, firms will not mark you down for having a "generic" answer such as one that points out what practices and sectors will likely experience an increase/decrease in demand.

That said, of course, the more nuanced, well-researched, and going beyond and above in depth of analysis an answer is, the better. A number of ways you can seek to add these layers of depth to your answer include:

• Focusing on firm-specific bits of information you can include, such as anything specific to the firm that may make new opportunities particularly important for them? For instance, if there is a projected increase in PE activity, the likes of Kirkland and Latham would benefit a lot more than other rivals with PE practices, given their dominance in this market.
• Focusing on how firms may respond to the challenge/opportunity - i.e. beyond saying what is the likely impact, you can consider if the firm should be looking to hire more associates/partners in a given area, expand geographically, invest in technology, reduce operational costs, etc.
• Link the main story you read about to any related trends/stories that are relevant to your analysis and conclusions - e.g. if you are discussing increased demand for corporate work as a result of decreasing inflation and a more relaxed monetary policy, you could also mention how this will be further reinforced by the calming of tensions around tariffs and trade wars, a built up of dry powder in private funds, and a potential decrease in geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Finally, I just wanted to recommend to you some additional commercial awareness resources which were particularly helpful to me in improving my ability to analyse the impact different commercial news have on law firms:

• The Lawyer is a great publication for this kind of analysis, although you will need an organisational subscription; if you are a student, check if your university has one. If not, their podcast is still freely accessible, so I would advise you to take a look.
• The Global Legal Post is an amazing resource which does not require a subscription at all, so I would advise you to browse through it.

 

[pfoapplicant]

Hi @pfoapplicant for the first question, I think it is fine (and, likely, also advisable) to include you role as president as the fifth entry. The firm asks you to include only the "most relevant" roles - an expression I interpret as referring to those that are most indicative of how well you "fit" the firm. Thus, in determining what to include, I would focus on (i) roles that represent your most significant achievements and demonstrate your skills and abilities; and (ii) roles that are most closely connected to your motivations to work as a commercial solicitor at the firm. Your role as president of a law society scores highly in both categories, so I would argue it should definitely be included; at the very least, it appears to me it definitely scores higher on both criteria when compared to things like playing in the university's tennis team.

As for your worry as appearing too "law-focused", I would advise you not to be too concerned - after all, you are applying to join a law firm, where almost everything you do will have to do with law! If the firm wanted to see more of your personality and ascertain how "well-rounded" you are as a person at the application form stage, they could have easily done so by including questions targeting this. You should not read a hidden intention on their part to do this covertly; one of the things I hear recruiters most often complaining about is that many candidates read things into their questions and prompts that they were simply not asking.

For you second question: I think it would make sense to use a roughly 150-words limit as a starting point when writing the entries. If you find that you have lots of valuable content left to cover for a role and are not able to do so within this limit (even if writing in a very concise manner), I think you could write up to around 250-300 words per entry.

Thank you so much Andrei - you're an absolute star!

 

[stilltrying]

Anyone know how long HSF take post AC seen some people say same day anyone else know?

 

[flower1]

Hi @flower1 this is a really good question, and one I also used to struggle with quite a lot back in the day. The first thing I will mention is that making a detailed analysis of the impact of news to law firms is really difficult, as general commercial awareness resources and publications normally do not teach you to make such connections.

Importantly, it is also worth remembering that, for this reason, there is a limit as to how detailed and novel a firm would expect your answer to be. In many cases, commercial awareness questions based on an article will not focus that much on the specific impact to the firm; and generally, even when they ask this direct question, firms will not mark you down for having a "generic" answer such as one that points out what practices and sectors will likely experience an increase/decrease in demand.

That said, of course, the more nuanced, well-researched, and going beyond and above in depth of analysis an answer is, the better. A number of ways you can seek to add these layers of depth to your answer include:

• Focusing on firm-specific bits of information you can include, such as anything specific to the firm that may make new opportunities particularly important for them? For instance, if there is a projected increase in PE activity, the likes of Kirkland and Latham would benefit a lot more than other rivals with PE practices, given their dominance in this market.
• Focusing on how firms may respond to the challenge/opportunity - i.e. beyond saying what is the likely impact, you can consider if the firm should be looking to hire more associates/partners in a given area, expand geographically, invest in technology, reduce operational costs, etc.
• Link the main story you read about to any related trends/stories that are relevant to your analysis and conclusions - e.g. if you are discussing increased demand for corporate work as a result of decreasing inflation and a more relaxed monetary policy, you could also mention how this will be further reinforced by the calming of tensions around tariffs and trade wars, a built up of dry powder in private funds, and a potential decrease in geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Finally, I just wanted to recommend to you some additional commercial awareness resources which were particularly helpful to me in improving my ability to analyse the impact different commercial news have on law firms:

• The Lawyer is a great publication for this kind of analysis, although you will need an organisational subscription; if you are a student, check if your university has one. If not, their podcast is still freely accessible, so I would advise you to take a look.
• The Global Legal Post is an amazing resource which does not require a subscription at all, so I would advise you to browse through it.

Thank you, this is really helpful

 

[LawAspirer]

HSFK PFO , expected

 

[iwatchsuits]

I don’t mean to get soppy on here, but does anyone have some tips on how to deal with rejection? This is my first proper VS application cycle (I’ve applied to a handful previously but didn’t take it as seriously as I am now) and two firms that I really love have rejected me lol. They were the ones at the top of my list. I know it’s not a personal thing and I know it’s competitive, but how do you all motivate yourselves to push through despite the inevitable rejections you encounter along the way? Would love any advice😅x

 

[Prudentia]

I don’t mean to get soppy on here, but does anyone have some tips on how to deal with rejection? This is my first proper VS application cycle (I’ve applied to a handful previously but didn’t take it as seriously as I am now) and two firms that I really love have rejected me lol. They were the ones at the top of my list. I know it’s not a personal thing and I know it’s competitive, but how do you all motivate yourselves to push through despite the inevitable rejections you encounter along the way? Would love any advice😅x

This is such a good question! It’s good to remember that a rejection doesn’t mean you’re a weak candidate/not good enough for the firm. A lot of recruitment is subjective and can ultimately come down to sheer luck. Secondly, I find it useful to reframe rejection as redirection. I have been rejected many, many times in my career, and I’ve found that in hindsight each rejection meant I was redirected towards an opportunity that was a much better fit. Remember, all you need is one ‘yes’. If you keep at it, you will get there. Ultimately, these applications are just a small part of your life. You’ll go on to do and achieve so much, so please don’t let a no get you down.

 

[sadboi]

Has anyone heard back from Macfarlanes post the second online assessment/VI?

Yeah I think the first tranche of ACs have gone out. Heard from one of my friends.

 

[Lawlawland]

Is referring to Paul Weiss’s developing litigation practice and wanting to learn more about this in relation to core practice areas, as one of 4 points in an open day application an immediate red flag. Some people have said this would be enough to get an application binned and why would Paul Weiss offer an open day to someone who mentioned litigation (no matter how briefly) over candidates who mentioned PE, even though PE is mentioned elsewhere in the application and among other points?

I did the same, as I positioned it with my past career and how the fresh start of it makes it more appealing to me (along with other things that's impressive about the firm).

We're on the same boat, and fingers crossed!

 

[Lawlawland]

(Regarding WGT)

Is having 70 percentile in Assessment day practice test, 68 in allaboutlaw, 70 in jobprep test and 68% in Clifford chance test decent enough practice for a timed WGT test?