TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2026-27

[Legal seeker]

Congrats!! When did you submit your DLA and Freshfields?

Just trying to understand the turnaround as I still need to do Freshfields.

I submitted Freshfields on Friday (02/10) and DLA (28/09)

 

[Minhee]

Hi, has anyone been able to access the addleshaw goodddd spring vac scheme application page? I can’t find it to save my life

I'm not sure, but could this be it: https://joinus.addleshawgoddard.com...ontract-london-london-england-united-kingdom? If not, I would definitely recommend writing to their Grad Rec!

 

[Harvey Specter - Presiding Partner]

Does anyone have Freshfields' official GR contact email? I'm unable to find it Lord knows why!

ukearlycareers@freshfields.com

 

[Minhee]

Any inisghts on the Hogan Lovells job simulation assessment? Especially what the questions for the video interview part are? Thanks!

Unfortunately, I have never personally completed it, but I found this thread on it from last year: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/threads/hogan-lovells-job-simulation-assessment.10028/ where Abbie gives some general SJT and written exercise tips.

Sorry I can't be of more help here! Do let me know if you have any specific questions, and best of luck!

 

[rrr]

Slaughter and May direct tc PFO, im feeling really defeated about not getting anything this cycle but still need to hear from Sidley, A&O Sherman, Reed Smith (no assessment yet), and Dechert (no assessment yet). I plan on applying to more firms, but I'm worried I am approaching applications wrong tho I have looked at what recruitment and TCLA forums recommend in your responses.

It's still very early days!

 

[Minhee]

Hi guys, I was doing my Clifford Chance WGT when it submitted automatically at like 10mins. I have sent an email to recruitment but will they do anything about it? they have already sent me a report and automated rejection.

I'm sorry to hear that happened to you! You definitely did the right thing by emailing Grad Rec. Unfortunately, different firms have different policies on these sorts of glitches, but I hope it works out and you get to re-take it.

 

[Novaa]

Slaughter and May direct tc PFO, im feeling really defeated about not getting anything this cycle but still need to hear from Sidley, A&O Sherman, Reed Smith (no assessment yet), and Dechert (no assessment yet). I plan on applying to more firms, but I'm worried I am approaching applications wrong tho I have looked at what recruitment and TCLA forums recommend in your responses.

Just echoing what rrr said, it's still really early in the cycle, and it's so easy to compare your timeline to everyone else's when it's all so public.

But, I've just realised I don't think I have ever secured a single AC by October. They all came after Christmas, some as late as summer. There's still plenty of time to make this work!

Rooting for you!

 

[MZJxLadha]

Bevan Brittan is now open. Just noticed their vac scheme recruitment process now includes a written exercise after the video interview stage. Until now, it was just a written application + video interview.

 

[Minhee]

Ashurst written exercise invite! Does anyone have any tips? This is my first written exercise and I would really appreciate it!

Hi! Huge congratulations on reaching the written ex stage That's a wonderful achievement! I hope it goes well and wish you all the best of luck.

I was very nervous before my first written ex, so completely understand your position. Unfortunately, I don't know much about Ashurst specifically, but I did a general comment on written exes here: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....s-discussion-thread-2026-27.10658/post-262964. Let me know if you have any further questions!

 

[Minhee]

Me too! Any tips would be very much appreciated

Hi! Huge congratulations on also reaching the written ex stage That is lovely to hear! Best of luck!! As mentioned above, I did a general comment on written exes - I hope it is helpful and that it all goes well! https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....s-discussion-thread-2026-27.10658/post-262964

 

[sarg1234]

Does anyone have Freshfields' official GR contact email? I'm unable to find it Lord knows why!

ukgraduates@freshfields.com

 

[vacschemes]

Thanks so much for this! Do you know if the questions are more soft-skill based or motivational?

more soft-skill based

 

[Molly16]

you reckon I'm cooked if I did the test last Thursday, and not heard anything back?

I think since the winter app just closed today, you might be sent it with the last batch of apps (if u applied for winter)? I only did mine last tues and got the second one friday so not that far off !

 

[Futuretrainee002]

Hi guys a large firm i got to the final stage with sent me five emails today about wanting to reconnect and have a call about my career and potential opportunities. I’m thinking this is a scam has this happened to anyone else before?

 

[vacschemes]

Hi guys a large firm i got to the final stage with sent me five emails today about wanting to reconnect and have a call about my career and potential opportunities. I’m thinking this is a scam has this happened to anyone else before?

Remember kiddos if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is!

 

[flower1]

Does anyone know after how long after submitting application for Law DTC Slaughter and May replies back? - whether interview or no?

 

[Minhee]

Hey @Antoni Trochimowicz two quick questions 1) Im applying for Sullcrom, however, their website doesn't express a word limit for the cover letter. Thus, would 1 page be sufficient? Since you did an ac there, could you also provide some tips?

2) Would you be cognisant of any newsletter or website that publishes daily reports on the UK's macroeconomic trends, similar to FT's Spotify?

Thanking you in anticipation !

Hi Cristiano! Sadly, Antoni is no longer helping us as our community assistant (he is focusing on his product lead role). I know this is frustrating as he has experience with the SullCrom AC. Unfortunately, I did not personally apply there so I can't help much - so sorry!

However, 1) Re cover letter, I found a previous thread where another user said: 'Directly from Kirsten Davies (Recruitment Manager at S&C): "Candidates should write a punchy letter of motivation, no more than one side of A4"'. This sounds standard, so I think 1 page should be good. If possible, I would write to their Grad Rec and check though, as this is dated (from 2022): https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....ns-discussion-thread-2022-23.5995/post-124272.

Re AC - as mentioned, I am not the best person to give tips on SullCrom. But I heard from friends that their AC is very conversational. Candidates have had experience being asked in-depth about work experience entries etc., so I would definitely recommend being ready for that. I found it helpful to put my application form into a data-protected AI, prompt it to ask me questions based on my written answers, speak into the mic using the voice-to-text function, and simulate an AC-style conversation. If you don't have this option, you could always ask a friend to think of questions for you instead!

2) Podcasts
- My personal favourite is the FT 'Daily News Briefing' (I think this might be what you're referring to).
- PwC's 'Economics in Business' focuses on 'the outlook for the UK and global economy' and its 'implications for businesses' with short 5 - 10 min episodes.
- I have also heard good things about the BBC's 'Follow the Money' and 'Wake up to Money' podcasts, though they are on the lengthier side (20 - 50 mins) and not always UK-centred.

Newsletters
- The Guardian's 'Business Today' is more UK-focused.
- The 'Non-Billable' focuses on legal news, but after the legal news section, it has a short couple of paragraphs summarising recent business and finance developments.

Before an AC, I also find it helpful to Google:
- Recent interest rate decisions in the UK, US, and EU? Was this a raise, cut, or hold? Where are they projected to be in a few months' time / next meeting?
- Inflation rates in the UK, US, and EU? Energy prices? Oil and gas prices?
- Exchange rate fluctuations (pound vs dollar vs euro)?
- How are the bond and stock markets performing (NASDAQ, S&P 500, FTSE 100, UK gilts, US treasury bonds, etc.)?
- GDP growth and unemployment rates
- Any upcoming budget news

 

[Novaa]

Hellooooo!!

I just wanted to see how people are approaching SJTs and if anyone has any advice. I'm fine with the verbal, numerical and WG tests, but I think SJTs are what's been impacting me.

The "most/least likely" ones throw me off the most. Most of the options are so similar compared to the slider ones, so it feels like guesswork. I know people say to keep the firm's values in mind, but are you literally comparing each option against the values (like with a table), or do you have another method? They're usually untimed too, so I fear I'm overthinking them.

 

[Minhee]

I would really appreciate any insight - i tend to include a lot of information and a lot of experience but i am not sure if thats the way to go about it.- i assume, with the volume of apps, they do not spend too much time reading it

Again, very dependent on the firm. I’d try to find any info online as to how the firm prefers you to structure it. E.g., no more then 10, no volunteering etc etc. if you’re unsure, I would add everything you think is relevant as they won’t penalise you for it! I would say majority of time time, or if you’re unsure, to write in full pros.

As a rule of thumb, or if you cannot find anything online, to do a brief description of your role and what you done and the skills that you have learnt from it.

Other people relate it back to the role of a trainee. I wouldn’t say there is one way to answer this, so don’t worry!

Completely agree with FutureLawyer on this!

For each firm: I would recommend asking Grad Rec if they have any preferences in terms of: 1) prose / bullet-points, and 2) whether you should link skills gained back to the role of a trainee.

Should I identify skills + link to TC? Some firms prefer you explicitly name skills gained, other Grad Rec I have spoken to say this is not needed and that they can pull this out themselves. If unsure, I don't think there is any harm in including them, especially if the TC has a particular structure (e.g. if it is non-rotational, I would explain how being proactive, self-motivated, etc. would be especially helpful in this context. If it has an AI seat and I have experience in tech, I would explain how that links, etc.)

Number and range of experiences: I also agree with max 10 experiences, though some app forms might limit you to 6. As FutureLawyer said, I wouldn't self-screen too much, because an experience you might think is not that relevant might turn out to be exactly what Grad Rec are looking for, but I would avoid repetition. E.g., If you have 5 entries focused on collaboration, maybe change one to highlight your written communication skills, ability to respond to constructive feedback, manage time, etc. Similarly, if all your positions are the same (all entries are related to tutoring or even formal legal internships), I would try to add some variety so you have more talking points at interview and so that you are able to show you are a well-rounded candidate. E.g. Retail, volunteering, some legal internships (if you have them), some non-legal internships (if you have them), other part-time or full-time jobs.

Volunteering as wex? I completely understand the comment on no volunteering, but I did actually include volunteering under the wex section in all of my applications! There might be some Grad Rec who don't prefer this, but the people I spoke to recommended I do, and it never came back to me in a negative way. This might have also been because my volunteer positions were quite formal (working at legal clinics, assistant teacher at a primary school, etc.) However, I would add any society positions as extracurriculars.

Content? There are different ways to go about this.

I liked to spend 1-2 sentences describing what the role was (volunteer, part-time worker, manager, team leader, etc.), where it was (a local cafe, a primary school, a multi-national NGO, a boutique law firm, etc.), how I got it (selected as 1 of 20 from 100 applicants after submitting a CV and cover letter, etc.), and the general role (how many hours worked? every week? day? with how many team members? etc.)

I found that my entries would become too long if I literally spoke about everything I did, so I made a table with 2 columns: 'Skills' + 'Experiences'. I would ask Grad Rec or check the firm website to see which skills each firm looks for. If in doubt, you can also look at SRA guidance to see which competencies are sought in solicitors generally. They usual ones would be: collaboration, leadership, attention to detail, communication, integrity, growth mindset, analytical thinking, flexibility, proactivity, time management, problem solving, etc. For each skill, I would find an experience to link it to, then choose which responsibilities and actions I want to speak about accordingly.

For example, if I was speaking about working at a cafe:

- For problem solving, I could talk about dealing with negative customers: A customer was unhappy about a certain order not being available, I made sure to acknowledge his frustration and apologise, treating the situation with empathy and patience, then proposed alternative dishes he might like and offered him the chance to taste test them.
- For growth mindset, I could talk about how I struggled with coordination: Being transparent about my weaknesses, asking other waiters for tips, when a big order needed to be delivered, flagging this to colleagues beforehand and finding someone who would be able to help me bring dishes to the table later.

These are just some examples! It is great if you can also give an outcome / quantity! If you were a tutor, how many students did you work with? Of what ages? Did they see an improvement in grades? Etc.

I hope that is helpful and all the best with your app!!

 

[Minhee]

Why did I suddenly forget all my spelling and grammar during HLC’s proofreading test?

It happens I also relate to this sensation, don't worry, you're not the only one! After a bad test, I like to treat myself (go get some rest, night out, have a snack)! I also like to treat myself after a good test... I guess I just like to treat myself generally don't beat yourself up over it!

In all seriousness though, I found it helpful to practice. You can go on any firm's website, pick a news article, plug it into an AI, ask the AI to insert 100 SPaG errors, then time yourself for 10 mins or however long, and try to identify and fix as many of them as possible.

It sounds silly, but you can also train yourself by turning off autocorrect on your phone. I started noticing how many typos I made, even when texting friends, and it made me more conscious of my spelling. You can do this on Word, too.

If proofreading isn't your thing, it's not the end of the world! There are lots of firms that don't have timed proofreading tests. I hope that is helpful, and if you have to do another one, that it turns out better!!