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TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

Cooley said they should be back next week. Gave me a heart attack cause I thought it was a PFO.

Scared Kermit The Frog GIF
Same, I also emailed Rachel and she said hold on, we still consider applicants based outside of the UK. I'm tired waiting, I need to move on with Orrick, its direct competitor and offer TC route lol
 
Hi everyone!

Just a random question- how does everyone view “work-life balance” once you get a TC? And yes I’m saying “once” cos we’re all going to get there!!!

Do you care about it? Do you think it depends on age? Are you picking firms based on their work-life culture? By age I mean someone in their early 20s/fresh out of uni vs 30s for example. But of course it depends on personal circumstances/responsibilities too
I’m 29 and WLB doesn’t bother me at all. I’m a workaholic by nature. I figured if I’m going to work stupid hours I might as well get paid extremely well for it. There are plenty of professions that require more hours than law but get paid a fraction of the money. Besides, it’s not forever. If you go into Big Law you can easily set yourself up for life after a decade or less of working and move into a firm/in-house that has a better WLB. That being said, I’m not in a relationship and I’m not planning on having kids.
 
Initially posted this in the wrong thread accidentally :P
Anyways... another week without news 😅 (personally not promising). It would be a pretty bad nightmare to end up getting an AC that I wouldn't be able to attend, and if most firms give 2 weeks' notice to their first AC that will pretty much be the case 🤷‍♂️🫠.
 
Initially posted this in the wrong thread accidentally :p
Anyways... another week without news 😅 (personally not promising). It would be a pretty bad nightmare to end up getting an AC that I wouldn't be able to attend, and if most firms give 2 weeks' notice to their first AC that will pretty much be the case 🤷‍♂️🫠.
Have you had no updates at all so far?
 
Have you had no updates at all so far?
Last week I had a couple PFO's, but I haven't had any updates this week (I guess nobody has had updates yet for those firms). I know not to expect every week, but there are a few that I made to 1st/2nd stage of testing (but ACs are usually scheduled early Feb for these firms.)

EDIT: Just looked back into past forums, and most have AC's that run nearer the end of February as well? (Specifically clyde & co, white & case, osborne clarke etc?) Can anybody who has applied in previous rounds comment?
 
How long does it usually take to hear back after AC? I know some people tend to hear back day after / same day for some firms - the wait is so agonising!
@Chelsea101 it really depends on the firm, but I would say the average is a week. That being said, the wait time is actually dependent on resource and who makes the offer. Often or not, it is an assessor as many partners love delivering the offer and they don't have the capacity to - so sometimes waiting isn't always the sign of a rejection.
 

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