TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[billyonthespeeddial]

Hey guys, kind of a random question but building onto the query above; I'm not a native English speaker although I'm 100% fluent in the language (scored 8.5 in the IELTS, I literally study English Lit in uni lol) and I've grown up in a very international environment in Asia so I have a bit of a mix of accents (imagine an American accent with a hint of Canadian / Asian) and it's not definitively any one of them. Would firms care about this / impact me any way in interview processes / or believe this to be reflective of my English-speaking abilities? I know from legal events I've attended that accents of trainees & associates are indeed diverse but I've also found that the "diversity" is contained within native English-speaker accents like British/American/Australian and rarely ever anything else. Sometimes I'd see people from Hong Kong / Singapore but I'm not from those parts of Asia either so I do fear that my accent may sound a little foreign to firms.

No, I know people with exactly the same background as you described who are trainees/future trainees at my firm and other firms too. Firms are very used to this these days and I don't imagine this will generally be an issue at all!

 

[FutureTraineeMaybe]

Merry Christmas everyone!!

 

[Afraz Akhtar]

This might sound a bit silly, but how do people manage feelings of imposter syndrome during a vacation scheme? Some people are naturally very confident socially, and I sometimes feel out of place at London open days and insight events, especially with a northern accent. What are the best ways to overcome that? I think it's mostly psychological rather than actually being able to do anything about it.

Any insights? @Afraz Akhtar @Abbie Whitlock @Andrei Radu

Hey guys, kind of a random question but building onto the query above; I'm not a native English speaker although I'm 100% fluent in the language (scored 8.5 in the IELTS, I literally study English Lit in uni lol) and I've grown up in a very international environment in Asia so I have a bit of a mix of accents (imagine an American accent with a hint of Canadian / Asian) and it's not definitively any one of them. Would firms care about this / impact me any way in interview processes / or believe this to be reflective of my English-speaking abilities? I know from legal events I've attended that accents of trainees & associates are indeed diverse but I've also found that the "diversity" is contained within native English-speaker accents like British/American/Australian and rarely ever anything else. Sometimes I'd see people from Hong Kong / Singapore but I'm not from those parts of Asia either so I do fear that my accent may sound a little foreign to firms.

Hey @Lord Sumption and @wrpark hope you're having a lovely Christmas, just thought I'd chime in with a response to this. Personally, I've never seen this to be an issue. Having worked in a few legal settings over the last 5 years (whether that be international firms, magic circle firms, and even in-house institutions), I have had the chance to work with people who sound nothing like me e.g. Vietnamese accent, French accent, Indian accents etc. During my time at these places, they were never written out of anything and took on managerial or senior positions. I too myself have a little bit of a Yorkshire accent.

Of course, I've been in spaces where I wanted to tone it down, but as you progress in the industry, you realise that you're in that room because you're meant to be. And the same will be the case for the both of you. Don't let these comparisons make you feel any less than, acknowledge the fact that you've accomplished and are capable of so much, and remind yourself that you earned your place there just like everyone else.

 

[zonnonomo]

love that we're talking about accents i would feel too silly to bring it up irl with anyone i know

during a group exercise at an ac someone (londoner, eton vibes) mimicked the way i spoke (thick thai accent) and i completely choked, didn't speak much at all and cherry on the cake my feedback was that I came across as rude... (silver circle firm)

simultaneously my best interviews were where i brought that sawadeekrap swag in so 🤷

 

[Maria56]

Talking about accents really hits a spot for me too.
I have a strong slavic accent as i went to public school in Eastern Europe and my biggest nightmare is people not being able to understand me at an AC

 

[michelle ma]

Could anyone share some insights about Goodwin’s video interview? I would be happy to exchange information on Simmons & Simmons’ AI internship in return.

 

[LehmanBrothersRiskManagementIntern]

Is Milbank's first stage automatic or post review of the app? For their spring vac scheme leveraged finance, is prior experience in lev finance (like an internship etc) essential?

 

[llblawstudent]

Could anyone share some insights about Goodwin’s video interview? I would be happy to exchange information on Simmons & Simmons’ AI internship in return.

Hey, have you heard back from Simmons for the AI internship after the test?

 

[Dannie]

Hey guys do you know if the PH First Paul Hastings Programme leads to a TC interview? is it like a vac scheme since any student is elegible?

 

[bh.sa]

Hey guys do you know if the PH First Paul Hastings Programme leads to a TC interview? is it like a vac scheme since any student is elegible?

It doesn't lead to an interview - you still have to apply for the TC separately. It's essentially just a 1 week WEX placement

 

[shadowboxer909]

hi! can i know ur grades/academics + uni (not name) if that's OK?

12A* - GCSE

3A* 1A - A-level

2:1 - Economics - mid-tier university (mixture of firsts, 2:1s, 2:2s and 2 thirds)

Investment Banking internship, Asset Management internship and then my current role.

I wouldn't worry too much. The process is so, so random and my academics post-A-level aren't particularly amazing.

Gibson Dunn wasn't even a firm that I thought would be remotely close to getting an interview with.

 

[ChambersLoading]

Looking for a bit of advice, would appreciate anything.

I think I’m genuinely considering calling it a day regarding TC’s:

Last year, I managed to make it to 2 ACs, with the more recent of the two being a huge positive for me. Though I didn’t get an offer, I received positive feedback and fell just short, and it was a significant improvement on the first AC. It’s also worth mentioning this was for a firm with a notoriously challenging AC, which I further took as a positive.

This was around August, so it gave me good motivation to hit the ground running with this cycle. By this point, I knew what I was doing, I’d perfected my strategy when it came to SJT’s, Watson Glasers, so I felt good going into this cycle…

Only to quickly realise that most firms decided this year they want to throw a massive spanner in the works and make their processes 40x harder. Before this, I knew VIs were not my strength, so I thought I’ll just avoid firms that use them, considering I knew I was now strong in written applications and psychometrics. Now, it seems that VIs are an unavoidable fact of TC applications as of this year.

Still, I went into WVS applications quite optimistic. Fast forward to now, received rejections from every single winter I applied to, which was demoralising but I knew it was still early days.

Again, fast forward to now, I’m genuinely considering just saving my time and investing it elsewhere, starting to believe the odds are far too stacked against me.

I’ve completed about 10 VIs for firms this year already, with a good portion of those being selective, so again I know my applications are pristine and my psychometrics are too, but I’ve been rejected from all. I’ve had 1 to 1s with various people to help me improve VI performance, who all said that I was seemingly quite good with them.

I was going into this cycle with AC experience from two elite City Firms and so I naturally felt pretty confident in my abilities, but this year feels regressive if anything at this moment in time. Now I just think it’s ultimately impossible to even get an AC, especially with this cycle quietly coming to the end in a month or so, at least for vacs. I’m now a graduate and so I really cannot afford to keep investing my time into what seems to be a black hole, having told myself I’m going to give it my best shot this year and leave no stone unturned.

And in my opinion - and it could sound convenient - I think the way firms are heading with these new recruitment processes is ultimately starting to diminish the merit that used to be involved in writing an impressive application. Though I know endurance is very important in this process too, it does feel like unless the quality you input is matched with an exhausting amount of stamina, people who were strong contenders in ACs and vacs are now not even being shown the time of day.

But that’s just my opinion. Let me know what you think, thanks.

I really feel this, and just wanted to say you’re not alone. Last year I made it to 3 ACs. This year, nothing so far. I’ve been rejected from every single VI I’ve done, despite getting strong feedback previously and knowing my written apps and psychometrics are solid.

What’s hit me hardest is that I’ve just bombed a VI for a firm where I did an AC last year, was told I was “a hair away”, and was strongly encouraged to reapply this cycle. Im bawling right now. It’s incredibly demoralising when you know you’re capable at AC level but can’t even get back into the room.

I don’t really have answers, but I wanted to add another data point that supports what you’re saying, this cycle feels fundamentally different, and it’s not a reflection of us suddenly becoming worse candidates.

 

[radssss]

Totally feel this, I had a pretty strong Welsh accent before uni and completely lost it because I had to constantly ‘tone’ myself down and change the way I pronounce things so people wouldn’t mimick me or make fun of me. It was all jokes to them but I feel like I’ve lost a part of my identity! I sound like I’m from southern England now and it makes me feel out of place and less connected at home.

Even in seminars, I felt like my contributions were taken less seriously. People perceived me as ditsy when to be honest, I was doing way better than them academically. It’s really frustrating.

I completely felt the same as I have a south Asian accent.

Trust me, it gets better eventually and you’ll gain confidence. When I started working full time initially in law, I felt out of place but it got better every passing day as well

You’ve got this @Lord Sumption !!!

@iwatchsuits i couldn’t relate more and especially to the seminar bit, more power to you and please don’t change yourself for anything or anyone!

 

[Lord Sumption]

I completely felt the same as I have a south Asian accent.

Trust me, it gets better eventually and you’ll gain confidence. When I started working full time initially in law, I felt out of place but it got better every passing day as well

You’ve got this @Lord Sumption !!!

@iwatchsuits i couldn’t relate more and especially to the seminar bit, more power to you and please don’t change yourself for anything or anyone!

Thank you everyone 🥹🥹
Really appreciate everyone's stories and just ways of dealing with something that is natural! We should all just embrace our regional accents and be proud of who we are.

❤️

 

[whywhy88]

Totally feel this, I had a pretty strong Welsh accent before uni and completely lost it because I had to constantly ‘tone’ myself down and change the way I pronounce things so people wouldn’t mimick me or make fun of me. It was all jokes to them but I feel like I’ve lost a part of my identity! I sound like I’m from southern England now and it makes me feel out of place and less connected at home.

Even in seminars, I felt like my contributions were taken less seriously. People perceived me as ditsy when to be honest, I was doing way better than them academically. It’s really frustrating.

Same lol being a Welshie at a London uni is not for the weak 💀

 

[Harvey Specter - Presiding Partner]

Totally feel this, I had a pretty strong Welsh accent before uni and completely lost it because I had to constantly ‘tone’ myself down and change the way I pronounce things so people wouldn’t mimick me or make fun of me. It was all jokes to them but I feel like I’ve lost a part of my identity! I sound like I’m from southern England now and it makes me feel out of place and less connected at home.

Even in seminars, I felt like my contributions were taken less seriously. People perceived me as ditsy when to be honest, I was doing way better than them academically. It’s really frustrating.

My face when I arrived on campus for a seminar at a Northern RG uni for the first time only to discover I was in fact the only northerner in the room…

It was a struggle frfr! I’ve got a weird hybrid of a scouse and manc accent and I would get made fun of for how I pronounced diff words.

It’s been nice to read you guys’ experiences and stories. We should all embrace our accents cos it’s what makes us who we are ultimately!​

 

[angdps]

How much weight do firms give to the university you go to? Is it relatively small or a massive advantage/disadvantage? From my understanding, with law students it matters to a certain extent but I'm a non-law student so I'm not sure if that changes things.

 

[Suii]

I am doing research into PMC Guildford office and can't find much information the work in those offices. I can't find much online on what type of litigation, restructuring or construction work lawyers in that office does. Does anyone have experience with applying for their Guildford, Basingstoke or Oxford offices. Is it okay to mention work from other offices like deals in the cover letter but tie it back to my interest in the firm.

 

[llblawstudent]

Hey does anyone know whether White and Case send their VIs in batches? Applied and sat the online test early/mid December so I’m hoping the VIs are from people that applied earlier (because ik they’re rolling) and so doesn’t mean a PFO for me 😭

 

[anonymous.15]

Are people getting W&C VIs and CMS ACs? Am I cooked?

I was pfod a while back