TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[badmintonflyinginsect]

I relate to this personally as a fellow northerner hahaha. It’s difficult and the imposter syndrome is real. It’s mostly psychological but people have had awful experiences by being told to ‘change’ their accent if they want a successful legal career. It’s probably an indication of that firm’s culture if the lawyers there say stuff like that tbh. I think as of recent, accent bias training is becoming more prevalent and especially at firms that partner with rare recruitment, it should be less bad. As a result, I’ve found interacting with lawyers actually ends up being a positive, as it turns out many of them are also northern and/or socially mobile! To overcome it, just know you’re in those rooms cos you earned it and you belong there too!

When I went to the Weil Oct insight day, as I was leaving, I bumped into someone in the lift who obvs at the time I didn’t know who they were. We were both chatting away about my experience at the open day and my interest in Weil for about 10 mins. Then they dropped a major bomb: he was in fact an insolvency disputes and restructuring partner at the firm, and he was also northern! Genuinely it was that interaction that boosted my confidence knowing that I can and should be able to speak freely and not worry about potential accent biases cos I’m northern. He was acc so unfazed by me calling him lad and mate the entire conversation without realising he’s a partner lmfao. 😂😂

Sorry for the essay I’ve just written lad idfk how I’ve managed to write so much haha. Hopefully this helps and pls dw about being northern. Own it!​

what do brits think of an american accent

 

[wqueens8]

what do brits think of an american accent

a lot of brits don't like them generally, but in professional circles like law it's perfectly fine and quite common. If not actually american/canadian, we have a huge number of students from british international schools who tend to develop an american-ish accent. Also lots of international students generally, especially from countries like Hong Kong tend to have a similar accent too,

 

[badmintonflyinginsect]

a lot of brits don't like them generally, but in professional circles like law it's perfectly fine and quite common. If not actually american/canadian, we have a huge number of students from british international schools who tend to develop an american-ish accent. Also lots of international students generally, especially from countries like Hong Kong tend to have a similar accent too,

ok sweet perfect! good to know. also did notknow our accents werent liked more generally unfortunately i am the loud rowdy yeehaw american

 

[wrpark]

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.

 

[badmintonflyinginsect]

Gibson Dunn Zoom Interview.

I imagine this is the stage most people get. It's exciting though haha.

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

 

[DavidJC]

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[Disgruntled SQE Student]

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.

Assuming you are applying to London. Short answer. No. The city is built on multi-culturalism. You are clearly a native speaker. "Sounding foreign" isn't a thing, not outwardly anyway. You may need to navigate subconcious racism, but this is the exception and not the norm. The reason you may only see British/American/Australian accents are firm events is because these are the most commonly represented people at UK law firms. Either those who have made the relatively easy transition from common law jurisdictions, or those who have moved from the US to work for satellite firms in the UK. You will probably encounter many people who won't have grown up/aren't English/American/Australian, and a lot of firms will expect you to be open minded to working with their offices in other jurisdictions, where people can sound very different to one another. Multi-culturalism is a strength in the eyes of international law firms, not a representation of your ability.

 

[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

 

[iwatchsuits]

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

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.

 

[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.

 

[FutureTrainee100]

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.