2020-21 Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion

[jan28]

I was shocked to read earlier in the thread that many of the larger firms are only running virtual vacation schemes this year? Does that mean that the VS experience in summer 2021 at a London firm won't approximate an actual internship/'summer associate position' (as they're called in the US) - are they purely going to be about recruitment rather than experiencing what the firm has to offer through its actual work?
It's strange if that's the case since it didn't come up at the presentations I attended this year...

I mean it really is all Rona-permitting but as for now I think we can assume it will be online. Having done a virtual vac scheme in the summer it was fine tbh and the interns still socialised via zoom outside of office hours. Also got a lot of interesting work, attended real catch up team meetings etc. Won't be the same but I wouldn't worry!

 

[bendico1860]

I mean it really is all Rona-permitting but as for now I think we can assume it will be online. Having done a virtual vac scheme in the summer it was fine tbh and the interns still socialised via zoom outside of office hours. Also got a lot of interesting work, attended real catch up team meetings etc. Won't be the same but I wouldn't worry!

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

Sorry just to clarify - when I said virtual I was under the impression that it was some kind of simulation involving hypothetical cases/clients/legal issues/time scales as one other person suggested.

I completely understand that they will be remote - as you helpfully suggest through zoom etc and a little bit of planning any issues relating to not physically being there can be overcome

 

[Kola]

Reading some of the recent responses is really heart warming. You people are seriously wonderful and I am so glad I found this forum.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

I was shocked to read earlier in the thread that many of the larger firms are only running virtual vacation schemes this year? Does that mean that the VS experience in summer 2021 at a London firm won't approximate an actual internship/'summer associate position' (as they're called in the US) - are they purely going to be about recruitment rather than experiencing what the firm has to offer through its actual work?
It's strange if that's the case since it didn't come up at the presentations I attended this year...

I don’t think many firms want this to be the case. But the reality is with most people not being vaccinated until September, I suspect most firms will see there being a significant risk of bringing vacation scheme students in. No one wants to be the firm on Legal Cheek’s front page that has an outbreak of Covid running through their vac scheme population, nor for anyone to get gravely ill because of it.

Some firms are still offering real insight into work, rather than just purely e-learning type simulations. It is just they will be done remotely rather than in the office

 

[Lily721]

I agree with all of the comments above. Definitely think that while rejection sucks, it is part of the process and you just have to keep going until you find the right fit for you!

I got to the AC for two years in a row for one firm I really liked - the first year they told me that just a tiny bit was missing for me to be successful and I should reapply. In fact, my feedback was positive and it made it that much harder to understand the rejection. I reapplied, got to the AC again, it didn't go the best but I still had hope and then two months later - after watching countless people on LinkedIn who had done the AC weeks after me get offers, I was once again rejected. It was such a horrible experience mainly because of the prolonged wait. The countless emails to the firm and their responses that I will hear within "a few days" didn't really help either....especially since I knew that they knew what the outcome was going to be. The process was so off-putting that I didn't even get back to them to request feedback and I won't be applying there again.

And then a friend of mine from uni, who is yet to graduate, turns around and suddenly has 3 TC offers from Magic Circle firms. I do wonder, what is it that candidates like my friend have that helps them secure firm offers so "effortlessly"? I know that "effortlessly" is probably not the right word, but I see so many people who have managed to secure multiple vac schemes and TC offers and I just want to know what do they have in common that makes them excel in interviews? Anyone?

So yeah, I have accepted that the process will be difficult and at times very disheartening and disappointing, but I will keep trying and all of you strong and smart people should keep going as well!! We've got this!

And I just hope firms don't stop me from re-applying because I keep applying to them year after year....

 

[corplaw0702]

Does anybody know what Ropes & Gray's graduate recruitment email is? Their spring vacation scheme dates on apply4law and website are different...

 

[j597]

I’ve just joined TCLA and have read the last few pages of posts and this sounds such a supportive and welcoming forum and I feel happy to have you guys throughout this recruitment cycle! Well done to everyone who’s got through even one stage of the process this year, hopefully we all have a successful year of applications!

 

[Legalmel_99]

Helloooo, anyone heard from the following post-app?

• Hill Dickinson (summer vac scheme)
• HFW (spring vac scheme)
• DWF (summer vac scheme)
• Eversheds Sutherland (summer vac scheme)

Thank you!

DWF deadline is this week, so you won’t find out until the deadline is over

 

[Rob93]

Does anybody know what Ropes & Gray's graduate recruitment email is? Their spring vacation scheme dates on apply4law and website are different...

Very good catch - email address from their faq page is below.

[email protected]

Would you mind posting the answer when you find out? I thought I had to write them off as the dates on apply4law overlap with term time (int'l student) but the dates on their site are fine.

 

[corplaw0702]

Very good catch - email address from their faq page is below.

[email protected]

Would you mind posting the answer when you find out? I thought I had to write them off as the dates on apply4law overlap with term time (int'l student) but the dates on their site are fine.

Thanks! I'm an international student too, which is why I was concerned. I will post the reply when they get back to me!

 

[Jacob Miller]

I was shocked to read earlier in the thread that many of the larger firms are only running virtual vacation schemes this year? Does that mean that the VS experience in summer 2021 at a London firm won't approximate an actual internship/'summer associate position' (as they're called in the US) - are they purely going to be about recruitment rather than experiencing what the firm has to offer through its actual work?
It's strange if that's the case since it didn't come up at the presentations I attended this year...

I should imagine that everything this year will be very much the same as 2020 spring and summer VSs - totally different from a normal VS but still interesting, engaging and fun in their own way. You do, in my experience, miss out on the parts of VSs that can't be replicated online- the office experience, doing 'actual' work for your supervisor, going out for drinks with your cohort, etc- but I still genuinely enjoyed my virtual VSs and feel like we're so used to 'zoom life' now that it's not as jarring or stark a difference as it was, say, at the beginning of the pandemic.

 

[cryingoverTCs]

Has anyone heard from:
Addleshaw Goddard
Linklaters
Mayer Brown

Idk about other people but in my telephone interview w Mayer Brown, the interviewer told me I'd hear back first week of jan - but maybe I heard wrong?

 

[bendico1860]

I should imagine that everything this year will be very much the same as 2020 spring and summer VSs - totally different from a normal VS but still interesting, engaging and fun in their own way. You do, in my experience, miss out on the parts of VSs that can't be replicated online- the office experience, doing 'actual' work for your supervisor, going out for drinks with your cohort, etc- but I still genuinely enjoyed my virtual VSs and feel like we're so used to 'zoom life' now that it's not as jarring or stark a difference as it was, say, at the beginning of the pandemic.

Thank you for getting back to me Jacob - I was more concerned about it being a virtual simulation rather than it being on Zoom which I think is the only sensible way to have them this year. I am trying to make a choice about two or three practice areas I am interested in and I don't think that a virtual simulation will help me make that choice - approximating an experience through a program on Sherpa etc. can hardly give you a sense of the subtleties of different practices. I appreciate that helping me develop my legal interests is not what's in it for the firms but it's rather different than what I was hoping for.

 

[SCN]

Hey everyone, I've been reading some of the posts today and thank you all for such heart-warming comments. Sad to say I've also been rejected from NRF post-telephone interview but I'm going to persevere! Don't give up everyone, we'll get the TC one day, I promise

 

[MZ]

Does anyone know when Hogan Lovells will start holding assessment centres? They recruit on a rolling basis but their deadline was 2 weeks ago and I still haven't seen anyone get an AC invite despite having a few batches of rejection emails. I thought we'd most likely hear back by mid-January if they're having their ACs at the end of January/early February but I wanted to check if anyone has spoken to grad rec or knows when they might start replying to people?

 

[AS2000]

How long does it take to hear from Mayer Brown post verbal reasoning test?

 

[E.A]

How long does it take to hear from Mayer Brown post verbal reasoning test?

Depends. I heard back after two weeks last year. This year I have still not heard back and I did it mid Dec.

 

[Phoebe]

CMS Academy offer!!!

4 years of applying and 5 ACs later I’ve finally got a vac scheme

 

[E.A]

CMS Academy offer!!!

4 years of applying and 5 ACs later I’ve finally got a vac scheme

Congratulations!!!!!!

 

[Bugsy Malone]

CMS Academy offer!!!

4 years of applying and 5 ACs later I’ve finally got a vac scheme

Incredible news Phoebe!! Well done and VERY well deserved!!