TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[Kakaboo]

BoE Interest rates reducing from 4% to 3.75% (the lowest for nearly two years)

See I have this but I’m so bored of banks and blah blah blah. I want something spicy

 

[lolololol]

Hi!

When answering this sort of question, it might help to focus less on the specific action and more on the skills that the question is testing. Therefore, have a think about how you would show:

• Awareness of deadlines and responsibility
• The ability to prioritise realistically
• Proactive and early communication
• Offering solutions rather than creating / bringing problems

The way that I would structure it is: briefly assess the situation -> explain how you'd communicate with supervisors -> show how you'd agree a sensible way forward and deliver on it.

The graduate recruitment team won't necessarily be looking for the 'perfect' outcome - they are much more interested in your judgement and thought-process whilst making the decision!

Super helpful, thanks Abbie!

 

[gao8899]

Hello!

That's a great question, and I think the answer genuinely depends on the firm in question. Using Farrers as an example, they offer a significant proportion of their training contracts through the DTC route, which makes it a very viable option. That said, I would generally encourage applications to apply for the vacation scheme route if possible. They are an excellent opportunity to gain a deeper insight into the firm's culture, practice areas, and way of working, and they allow you to demonstrate your abilities over a longer period of time. In many firms, the chances of securing a training contract through a VS are higher, simply because they often hire from the VS in the first instance.

However, as you have mentioned that this is mainly for firms whose vacation scheme applications have closed, there is absolutely no harm in submitting a DTC application if that route remains open. Given your background and experience, you are well-suited to the DTC process - particularly if you feel more confident in structured assessments. When I applied for my DTC, I had a similar background of vacation schemes and paralegal experience, which I found helped me articulate my motivations and competencies more clearly.

It's also worth remembering that there are so many variables in this process and you truly never know what might come of an application. For example, I submitted my Reed Smith DTC application after seeing it advertised on TCLA, with relatively low expectations and a general fear of assessment centres! Despite that, it ended up being my only offer. I think this really reinforced to me that it is always worth putting yourself forward, even if you think the chances are low - you might be pleasantly surprised!

I hope that helps give some perspective, but shout if you have any other questions!

Thank you so much Abbie!

 

[Failedtc]

Any tips on what 4 pillars Weil assesses for their Amberjack?

Thanks!

The normal 4 pillars - Digital mindset, applied intellect, creative focus and grit and then you have numerical and verbal intellect. It’s very important when you’re doing it to try and recognise which of these pillars the question is examining and then make your decision based on that. The VI questions are not too bad but instead of prepping for specific questions (like i did) think about the skills they’re looking for and examples where you showed those skills because you might not get the questions you prepped for. Think mainly of your experiences and use the two minutes to integrate them into the question. I tanked mine so I hope it goes better for you.

 

[Afraz Akhtar]

Lowkey interested in this topic too so if anybody has any insights pls do share them. What sets Akin’s funds practice apart from Debevoise and vice versa? Idk if this question was alr answered by someone so I have decided to bump it lmao.​

I’m not going to pretend to know anything about something I have no idea of. Trust me, 8 months with Blackstone and I still can’t tell you the rationale behind a funds flow. Safe to say it’s not for me. However, one thing I repeatedly see with Debevoise is their industry specific knowledge is constantly commended. What’s interesting about this is that industry specific knowledge can sometimes translate to creative drafting for what seems to be very tedious funding documents - in a way that encourages investment whilst protecting the client. For example, they have a have a long standing relationship with Kelso, having most recently advised them on the formation of the Kelso Investment Associates XI fund and Kelso tend to create funds for investment in the healthcare space. I’d be curious to look into whether there are any concerns here with regards investment in healthcare e.g. is there less ROI on certain aspects of clinical measures that hinder investment - how are Debevoise forming funds that actually surpass the expected pool of money to be coming in here? How are they structuring the documents to appeal to investors. Is there a certain insight have that other firms maybe don’t? Seems like a long shot, but worth looking into. Work backwards and look at their success, scrutinise it in line with market concerns and consider what they did to alleviate them. Hope this helps, but if it didn’t, it may be my last post on funds at all.

 

[TheLegalEdit]

Ah! I got a Reed Smith test invite !! Does anyone have any tips for both assessments?

 

[shadowboxer909]

What differentiates Gibson Dunn from other competitors? Other than the standard 'free market system', 'low leverage' etc.

I've done my internet research (but there's nothing I know that will make me different from other peoples' knowledge) but does anyone know if they have an all-equity partnership or do they have non-equity partners as well?

Vault says they mainly have equity partners but I didn't know whether they have non-equity partners like other American law firms?

 

[Lawlawland]

Ah! I got a Reed Smith test invite !! Does anyone have any tips for both assessments?

Congratulations ✨
May I know when did you apply?

 

[iwatchsuits]

Out of curiosity, did anyone here apply to ES' Cardiff office? Haven't seen anyone say so and was just wondering

 

[martianmcfly]

I was wondering if anyone has any insight or advice for Bird & Bird VI?

 

[dreamer]

See I have this but I’m so bored of banks and blah blah blah. I want something spicy

How about you pour some and serve us all?

 

[elle woods]

This is very true! Sometimes, the rejection is simply the result of a highly competitive process - where most candidates were good but they still only have 25 TC's on offer. It's funny because we tell ourselves the rejection itself is so bad without considering the fact that there is so much behind it that we don't know. We assume that we're not good enough because we applied to the same firm two cycles in a row and think that's it, but we never consider the the potential behind how close we may have been this time around. The truth is, with each rejection, there is always little success candidates never get to see e.g. the first time you applied you were ranked 98/600 applicants and they could only shortlist 50, and the second time you applied you were ranked 57/2000 and they could only shortlist 50 - candidates just see the rejection, but we can see your improvements. This is why, you should never give up, tomorrow you may be 12/2000 and they're still shortlisting 50!

Guys I’m going to apply for HR internships or smth next summer and report back about how they actually do things behind the scenes because this is curiosity is eating at me (half joking)

 

[dreamer]

Guys I’m going to apply for HR internships or smth next summer and report back about how they actually do things behind the scenes because this is curiosity is eating at me (half joking)

You just gained a follow. Take one for the team 💪💪

 

[floral.tcla]

the type of inner calm I’ve been needing to reach to get through the Watson Glaser😇

 

[Harvey Specter]

Guys I’m going to apply for HR internships or smth next summer and report back about how they actually do things behind the scenes because this is curiosity is eating at me (half joking)

Imagine we’re thinking there’s an excruciatingly complex, multi-layered advanced process which grad rec use to determine who gets offers and who gets told to kick rocks, using all their blood, sweat and tears, but irl they’re acc doing this: 🥲​

 

[switchingup]

A very active day lol:

• White & Case: applied 21st Dec (didn't update properly below - apologies)
  • Received assessment: 22nd Dec
    • Received test invite immediately after applying
  • Took assessment: 22nd Dec - scored top for 'credibility,' 'resilience,' and 'work ethic,' lowest for 'adaptable.'
    • Report came immediately after completing the assessment
• Reed Smith: applied 14th Dec
  • Received assessment: 22nd Dec
  • Took assessment: 22nd Dec - scored high verbal intellect, mid numerical intellect, 4/9 (Grit), 7/9 (Applied Intellect), 4/9 (Creative Force), 9/9 (Digital Mindset). Thankfully, I think my VI responses offset the lower scores, but who knows.
    • Received confirmation of completion email and feedback report (separately): 22nd Dec

Those are two different people right there lmao! 🤣

If anyone is wondering, the Reed Smith VI was the easiest of the VIs I've done thus far (CMS, FF, Simmons). If you've prepped basic motivational and competency questions, you should be fine. There are 4 questions with unlimited prep time for 2min responses.

I hope I receive more assessments/progress whilst I'm off work -- so much easier to manage! 😭

Update:

• Bird & Bird: applied 10th Dec
  • PFO: 22nd Dec ❌
  • Deffo applied too late lol! Will get it in early if I have to apply to firms again next cycle.
• White & Case: applied 21st Dec
  • Probably also too late, but decided to switch from DTC to VS at the last minute.
  • No further communication as of 22nd Dec (shocker lol)

No further updates!

Re-post: was in mod jail!

Hi everyone! First time posting here, although I've been lurking without an account for ages lol. I'm a career changer, and this is my first application cycle.

I'm posting the vacation schemes I've applied for with dates. Hope this helps with timelines! I'll try my best to keep this updated, but working full-time + juggling these apps is no joke lol. Bear with me!

• Bird & Bird: applied 10th Dec (probs too late lol)
  • No further communication as of 19th Dec
• DLA Piper (London): applied 19th Nov
  • Received WG invite: 26th Nov
  • Took WG: 29th Nov - scored 'Strength to leverage' for assumptions and arguments, 'Further exploration' for Critical thinking, and 'Opportunity for development' for conclusions. My worst performance on any WG! Don't take these tests when exhausted. 💀
    • Report came immediately after completing the assessment
  • Received what vaguely resembles a passed benchmark email: 1st Dec
  • Portal updated to (paraphrase) "We're enjoying getting to know you": 4th Dec
  • Portal updated to "Thank you for your interest in DLA Piper. We are fully considering the information provided": 9th Dec
  • No further communication as of 19th Dec
• HSF Kramer (Spring VS): applied 1st Dec
  • Received assessment: 1st Dec
  • Took assessment: 5th Dec - scored 'balanced' for technical expertise and 'moderate fit' for the rest lol
    • Report came immediately after completing the assessment
  • Reached benchmark: 8th Dec
  • No further communication as of 19th Dec
• Linklaters: applied 1st Dec
  • Received assessment: 1st Dec
    • Took assessment: 3rd Dec - scored highest in 'Resilience' and 'Motivation,' lowest in 'Resource and Work Management'
    • Report came one day after completing the assessment
  • Received WG invite: 3rd Dec
  • Application under review email: 4th Dec
  • Second holding email from recruiters: 15th Dec (everyone received this)
  • No further communication as of 19th Dec
• Reed Smith: applied 14th Dec
  • No further communication as of 19th Dec
• Simmons & Simmons: applied 14th Dec (last-minute app, also probs too late 🤪)
  • Received assessment: 14th Dec
  • Took assessment: 15th Dec - scored high verbal/numerical expertise, 8 (Self) / 8 (Commercial) / 4 (People) loool
    • Report came immediately after completing the assessment
  • No further communication as of 19th Dec
• Willkie: applied 10th Dec
  • PFO 17th Dec ❌

Pending: Covington

I've also applied to the following firms DTC: CC, CMS, Freshfields, Slaughter and May (pending: Ashurst, Lewis Silkin, and W&C). I've added updated on these apps in the DTC thread.

Best of luck to everyone 🍀

 

[BobThebIlly]

Is it worth applying to Debevoise with ABB at A Level and three 2.2 modules?

Also is it rolling? What are the app questions?

 

[elle woods]

I might do MB tonight, I wonder how wild my scores for amberjack will vary with 12 hours in between each test 😂

... bruh I got a worse score for MB than I did for Weil...what is this... I'm actually crying because I tried tailoring my responses to the pillars LOL it obviously backfired instead 😂 😂 😭 😭

 

[Harvey Specter]

Is it worth applying to Debevoise with ABB at A Level and three 2.2 modules?

Also is it rolling? What are the app questions?

This probs depends on what your overall degree average is. I’ve got a similar profile to this and I’d spoken to their grad rec guy who said based on my circumstances I shouldn’t simply self-reject, so he encouraged me to apply. It’s non-rolling (closes on 1st Jan 23:59). There’s 6 app questions, each has a 250-300 word limit, so quite long lmao.​

 

[elle woods]

You just gained a follow. Take one for the team 💪💪

Why thank you, this damsel is honoured deeply by your genorosity

(what do follows do though? I hope it doesn't notify you when I post because that will be a lot of notifications...)