TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[aspringlawyer25]

Skadden, Akin and Macfarlanes PFO, what a morning.

 

[LawAspirer]

Skadden PFO

 

[LawAspirer]

Skadden, Akin and Macfarlanes PFO, what a morning.

Sorry to hear... not a great morning for me either
When did you apply to Akin if I may ask?

 

[Trophy]

I have not gotten a PFO or a WE invite from Skadden? Does this mean a PFO?

Have you checked your spam/junk mail?

 

[Rads]

Have you checked your spam/junk mail?

It is not there

 

[Bread]

There is never a benefit of applying early at Willkie as all applications are reviewed and treated the same regardless of when you send it. The rolling aspect is progressing to VI > written exercise. Spots don’t fill up. You can apply on the first day and not progress or on the deadline and get through all the preliminary stages. It’s semi rolling 😄

Also their grad rec recently changed most likely a back log of applications and maybe a different approach than what Gemma used 🤔 who knows!

The benefit would be getting progressed to VI/WE earlier, or getting a rejection instead of nothing 🙏🏻

 

[aspringlawyer25]

Sorry to hear... not a great morning for me either
When did you apply to Akin if I may ask?

applied oct 10

 

[aspringlawyer25]

The skadden one really hurt cause that was one of my best applications.

 

[Rads]

Have they forgotten about my application

It is not there

 

[abc124]

I have not gotten a PFO or a WE invite from Skadden? Does this mean a PFO?

Same 😭 I’m thinking maybe they’re doing it in an alphabetical order idk lol

 

[FutureTraineeMaybe]

Has anybody heard back from simmons lately? Or have they closed applications?

 

[yk1906]

Same 😭 I’m thinking maybe they’re doing it in an alphabetical order idk lol

Same

 

[Trophy]

The benefit would be getting progressed to VI/WE earlier, or getting a rejection instead of nothing 🙏🏻

That’s fair.
Nothing is not bad news!
Good luck!

 

[Rads]

Same 😭 I’m thinking maybe they’re doing it in an alphabetical order idk lol

Rejecting in alphabetical order?

 

[Trophy]

Has anybody heard back from simmons lately? Or have they closed applications?

They closed applications last night. I’m not sure if they’re filled all spots as I know they’re rolling.

 

[LawAspirer]

If I remember correctly from last year, Skadden sent out emails in batches. I remember being in the same shoe as many of you that didn't get a reply. I waited a couple of hours and eventually received a pfo

 

[Aspiring_CommercialLawyer2026]

Any tips for a written exercise? What can we expect?

Hi!

Congratulations on receiving a written exercise invite! I have outlined some general advice below.

• Practice timed writing - pick a recent business or news article, summarise the points in a structured way with a clear conclusion summarising your findings.
• Use a clear structure - a crucial area where I obtained success was having a clear structure in an answer and practicing this for different documents. For example, a written exercise could invite you to answer a letter, an email or a memo. Familiarise yourself with the structure of what these should be and practice drafting a couple ahead of the assessment to ensure you are comfortable with all types.
• Proofread under pressure - just like any exam under timed conditions, mistakes are likely to find their way into your responses. This is something easy to forget when considering the content of the exam, making sure you display commercial awareness and having a good overall structure. However, it is crucial to practice both leaving adequate time to review your response and having a clear strategy when double checking your work. It may be following your answer with a pen or finger helps you to not miss anything.
• Review sample case studies - there are plenty of good examples both to assist you with the thinking process involved with technical terminology and to get an idea of what it may look like. TCLA has some available such as this great M&A case study by Amma Usman (attached at the end of this response).

To summarise, it is a good idea to practice condensing down large volumes of information into clear, concise summaries, and presenting them using a clear structure that flows logically and leads to a well substantiated conclusion.

I hope that helps, and best of luck with the written exercise - I am rooting for you
M&A case study (by Amma Usman) - https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/mock-m-a-case-study-analysis.9136/

 

[adh3]

Skadden PFO was not expecting this as I had my application reviewed by TCLA and tailored it to the firm

I don't want to sound like a doomer, but I've recently come to the realisation that the content of our application answers doesn't matter. These answers often just act as a filter for the other parts of your candidate profile.

Obviously I can't share these but, I have an old friend's successful applications from his second year of university. Trust me when I tell you that he essentially copy/pasted the exact same application for every firm he applied to – even down to using the same adjective for each of these firm's cultures. They were absolutely indistinguishable. However, this guy was on track to getting a first, he held multiple executive (society) positions, and he had also secured a large number of first-year schemes. If anybody else had written those applications, they would have been binned. But, his candidate profile was genuinely so impressive that (in my opinion) firms were willing to look past the lack of substance in his application answers.

 

[Harvey Specter - Presiding Partner]

Skadden written exercise invite!​

 

[yk1906]

Skadden written exercise invite!​

Yeeeeeeees 🥂🥂🔥