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TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

an03

Star Member
Oct 20, 2023
31
25
CRS VI!! Does anyone have any advice on passing those? I find them super stressful!

I'm afraid that prep for another VI has shuffled a lot of the details from my mind. But here is what I can recall about the CRS VI...

The practice questions are not assessed, of course, but it is possible that they may be viewed by the grad team. Always assume that someone is on the other end of a camera. Personally, I find having a lot of practice questions to be great for settling the nerves, but in my experience, the longer the VI and the more questions involved, the more likely things are to flag and loose structure. You may end up drawing on the same example twice, for example, or hesitate if this was also covered in the practice questions.

There was a mix of competency, motivational questions and commercial awareness; no SJT, as far as I can recall. The prep time was about 30 seconds for a 90 second answer, but don't quote me on that.

If you're prepping for yours now, good luck!
Do you know if we are able to re-record? Thanks!
 

Carrington Lane

Legendary Member
Gold Member
Premium Member
Jan 7, 2023
126
327
Anyone heard back for VI for CRS vacation scheme (London). I know a few people have on this thread - does anyone know if they send in batches? I applied on the 14th of January.
From my little investigation, last year CRS sent 3 VI batches for the London office on the 7th, 12th, and 27th Feb. I hope that answer our questions and best of luck to us.
 

kim wexler

Active Member
  • Sep 1, 2023
    16
    30
    people already getting willkie partner interview offers while i got nothing rn. it's OK i will accept my fate bc seriously how many people will turn down an interview with willkie

    Speed Transparency GIF
     

    Madison Pinewall

    Valued Member
    Dec 12, 2025
    114
    256
    Hey!

    I assisted at my university's legal clinic during my final year and had similar doubts about whether to refer to it in interviews, as it didn't directly involve commercial law. What may be happening is that firms are stress-testing your motivation, rather than directly judging your prior experience. If they can't immediately see the link to commercial law, they may try to get this out of you through questions such as "why not public law?".

    What helped me was framing the experience around the elements that are directly relevant to commercial practice, and I then explained why those elements motivated me to pursue commercial law overall. For example, things such as working closely with clients and using problem-solving skills to provide clear and practical advice. If you position it in a similar way, the experience will support a genuine interest in commercial law rather than detract from it, provided you are clear and convincing about why commercial law is the path you want to pursue :)
    Thanks so much!! This is extremely useful!
     
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