TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[elle woods]

Oh damn, they haven't even given out summer VIs yet? I take back my anger then.

haha well I'm not 100% sure about that, but it does seem that way at the moment!

Most VIs have been for spring afaik

 

[Afraz Akhtar]

hey on the r&g form, where it says "which of these organisations supported your application" and has corporate law academy, chambers, legal cheek, lawcareers.net etc in the dropdown. im assuming this includes where you get your research from? i always thought that question was for if someone from an organisation reviewed your application but i didnt think legal cheek and chambers did that... AAA im overthinking

@ilikelaw this is typically an ROI assessment - so you need to mention which organisations have been helpful during your application process. Including TCLA in that doesn’t actually mean that they’ve reviewed your application, it simply means that we’re an organisation that you as a candidate has found helpful.

As for why firms need this information, it helps them decide which organisations they need to invest money and resource in going forwards, and which they need to cut back on.

 

[Novaa]

Yeah anyone know what is up with that? Last year they took 270+ days to reject me. This year, I did my assessment on 13 October (the Capptivate one) and haven't heard anything back either.

This is for Summer VS. Do they just despise my email or something? Just tell me to pfo and move on lmao.

Or have a number of people still not heard back?

Sorry 270+ days? as in almost 9 months…?

Edit: Crazy…

 

[Afraz Akhtar]

Hi! Need some insight on this - I have an AC coming up for a vac scheme i really really want. I received an email outlining whats gonna happen but I was wondering if its acceptable for me to email and ask who is going to me interviewing me? I feel a bit hesitant as maybe theres a reason they haven't told me or maybe they dont even know yet!! but...I want to show i'm proactive and thinking about this alot also?? any thoughts??

@georgianprincessmwuah usually the schedule is provided to you ahead of the AC, where names of assessors will be included. However, the names/exercise slots can change up until the very last minute so this is typically given to candidates as late as possible.

If your AC isn’t until a week later, I would wait for further information, but if it is for next week - I don’t see the harm in asking if they’re willing to provide the names.

 

[yuhhhh]

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if P,W AC invites have been for Spring only?

Or do they combine both Spring and Summer ACs into one assessment.

Thank you!

 

[Donna Paulsen]

Sorry 270+ days? as in almost 9 months…?

Edit: Crazy…

Could've had a whole baby in that time...

 

[Afraz Akhtar]

What’s considered a strong question to ask Graduate Recruitment after an interview

@TCLAuser2002 I don't think there is actually a set list, and honestly if there is, your interviewer has probably heard it a million times before. I think its important to bear in mind that strong interview questions aren't always those that are the most articulate or simply sound well put together, but instead, they are the ones that show a genuine interest in the path you're considering, and a motivation for success - so, any strong question for an interview, let alone a TC interview, is essentially based on a few fundamentals:

1. The role
2. Life at the firm
3. Type of work
4. Future insight

Bearing these in mind, as a candidate you should leverage the opportunity to ask about any of the four fundamentals above in a way that is meaningful to you, e.g. (The Role) "What do I need to have achieved, in the first 6 months, to be considered successful in this role? (Type of Work) "Given my interest in [practice area], what would you say are the key challenges and opportunities Trainees face in this department? etc.

 

[Lawyergyal123!]

I’ve had one bad experience this cycle requesting reasonable adjustments and that was with Hogan Lovells (yeah I’m name dropping). I’ll set out a brief summary of it below lmao.

I asked if I could do the stage 2 VI as a TI with extra time (standard request that I haven’t had any issues with before). At most I’ve been asked to provide more information to firms that’s it.

Grad rec aired me for like a week then responded saying that I needed to submit my uni support plan so they could determine whether I’d need the adjustments for the stage 2 test.

That sounds harmless initially, but they wanted to find evidence I specifically needed the VI as a TI (I’d not done any VI assessments at uni so that wouldn’t be something on any documents).

So I explained this and long story short they just reluctantly decided to do a TI. They didn’t give me any instructions or guidance so I had no idea how the TI would be structured or timed.

Mind you I had asked for extra time. I emailed and they said don’t worry everything has been accounted for including extra time. So I was like okay this seems calm let’s go for it!

So at the start of the TI I asked for confirmation. I was basically ignored and the grad rec person just started by saying she’d ask strengths based questions first then motivational ones after.

It’s safe to say I didn’t know what to do. So I just asked after each question can I take a moment to gather my thoughts, to which I either got half a response or just crickets lmao idek atp.

As I didn’t have any guidance or instructions, it’s safe to say my performance wasn’t the best. They sent me a PFO within 24-48 hours, which I felt like was their intention from the jump.

At their open day I felt the grad rec team weren’t that nice and the culture of the firm didn’t seem to be what they present it as. So in a way I’m glad that it didn’t work out but was a bit sad.

It’s made me reluctant to disclose adjustments. I know I have made jokes about Freshfields, but I’ll give credit where it’s due their grad rec team were so incredibly supportive re adjustments!

Ofc they took ages to get back to me, but they do receive loads of applications and many people will need adjustments. Once they did get around to me, they were 10/10 in my opinion.

Apologies for the long post I’ve tried to separate this into smaller paragraphs so hopefully it’s not too difficult to read it all??!! I just wanted to share my anecdotal experience with HL.​

so sorry this happened, this is super weird. I always submit my reasonable adjustments to firms and have only ever had the issue that they dont tell me what adjustments they made for assessment centres in advance, otherwise it is fine. I'm just saying this because I have been applying for over three cycles now and have had atleast 5 ACs, so I don't want anyone (or yourself!!) to feel disheartened by their lack of accessibility when applying in the future. Please do request the adjustments, and if the firm is being annoying just move on to the next because that should NOT have happened at all .

 

[Novaa]

Could've had a whole baby in that time...

I’ve been thinking about this, and I would’ve been on Legal Cheek on Day 271 doing a tell-all with my newborn because… u wot?? THATS AWFUL 😭😭

 

[Donna Paulsen]

I’ve been thinking about this, and I would’ve been on Legal Cheek on Day 271 doing a tell-all with my newborn because… u wot?? THATS AWFUL 😭😭

My newborn baby realising they have a better response timeline than a whole law firm:

 

[Harvey Specter - Presiding Partner]

I’ve been thinking about this, and I would’ve been on Legal Cheek on Day 271 doing a tell-all with my newborn because… u wot?? THATS AWFUL 😭😭

Then next thing you know you’re getting booked left, right and centre for interviews with BBC, Sky, The Telegraph, CNN and Fox News (yup cos now you’re going international ygm lad):

This would be the reaction from White & Case’s HR and grad rec team after seeing their name on all the major media and news outlets for the next few weeks and months to follow:

 

[johnsmith]

I've also applied to the Simmons Bristol office and I've not heard back yet. Pretty sure the Bristol office only does a Summer VS!

Only summer and only 8 positions going!

Just to add I attended their open day and I think they said the 8 positions were the number of vac scheme positions not the number of trainee roles but I may have misunderstood. They definitely aren’t moving quickly considering that was in like October/November.

 

[corporatebaddie1506]

Sorry to ask again but has anyone heard back from DLA Manchester (post-wg) or AddleShaw Goddard Manchester post-app? They are my last 2 apps so i’m stressing !! 😭

Pretty sure some people already got the Video/Voice Interview's

 

[IndianLawstudent28]

Hello everyone. I am a 21-year-old Indian law student pursuing an LLB and currently in my ante-penultimate year. I have been exploring vacation schemes and international internship opportunities, particularly in the UK and Singapore, and would like to understand the most practical pathway from India.

I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has followed a similar route, either by applying directly for international internships from India or by first pursuing an LLM and then applying. As a first-generation law student, I do not have access to mentors or informal guidance, so I am still navigating this process on my own.

I would be grateful for any insights, advice, or shared experiences on how to approach applications, plan timelines, and build a competitive profile. I would also be happy to connect with individuals willing to share their perspective.

 

[ArthurWeasleyLaw]

has anyone heard back from Weil post-AC?

They told us we will hear back either the end of last week or next week. I don’t think anyone has heard back yet, so it should be next week.

 

[TA04]

Anyone get a confirmation email after doing the Withers proofreading test?

 

[Chak]

Anyone get a confirmation email after doing the Withers proofreading test?

May I ask how ling did it take you to hear back from them after the SJT to get proofreading assessment invite?

 

[soph107048]

Fingers crossed indeed...

I got mine about 3 weeks after SJT so should still be time

 

[toughcookie]

Got an error message after opening the test link for Mishcon SJT. I've emailed the GR and the service desk, but

 

[qwerty!]

does anyone have any advice on how best to approach a client letter of advice/client brief? thanks so much