TCLA General Discussion Thread #2 (2021)

[TCLA Community Assistant]

I wish this was true but he was completely dumbfounded . I'm pretty sure his commercial awareness is worse than mine. Since he's 5 years PQ he doesn't read much beyond his specialism anymore I don't think.

Pure laziness

Pretty typical of lawyers to be honest. They just rely on each other for specialist knowledge.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hi guys. I really struggle with 'what's your weakness' questions. I know it's best to give a genuine answer but I've also heard it's not good to talk about a personality trait which all of my examples are any advice please?

It can be a personality trait.

The main part of this question is really:

- do you recognise it?
- how do you work around it?
- what “coping mechanism” do you put in place to ensure you do things well when ultimately it is going to take you more energy to work against a weakness?
- what are you doing to improve the weakness?
- what evidence do you have that you are working on the weakness?

 

[jan28]

It can be a personality trait.

The main part of this question is really:

- do you recognise it?
- how do you work around it?
- what “coping mechanism” do you put in place to ensure you do things well when ultimately it is going to take you more energy to work against a weakness?
- what are you doing to improve the weakness?
- what evidence do you have that you are working on the weakness?

oh really? i need to stop reading random advice blogs then as i always find conflicting advice! This is really helpful, thank you

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

oh really? i need to stop reading random advice blogs then as i always find conflicting advice! This is really helpful, thank you

I have seen plenty of personality traits in answers like this, both in applications and at interviews. It’s really not a problem.

I don’t think it can ever be a binary as “don’t use a personality trait” or not. It is really the context of the answer that is important here, not what it actually is!

 

[RoughWood]

Hey guys, my employer is really supportive of my career change to law and has expanded my duties to include contract drafting and reviews, tenancy agreements, and trademark/IP issues etc before they are then sent to be signed off by our solicitors.

I think that it is really valuable experience but how would I best include this in my TC apps? Would it be better as a duty of employment within the work history record? Not sure how to include it so would appreciate any input!

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hey guys, my employer is really supportive of my career change to law and has expanded my duties to include contract drafting and reviews, tenancy agreements, and trademark/IP issues etc before they are then sent to be signed off by our solicitors.

I think that it is really valuable experience but how would I best include this in my TC apps? Would it be better as a duty of employment within the work history record? Not sure how to include it so would appreciate any input!

I think your description in the post is pretty spot on!

For a CV/work experience entry, it could be:

Duties have been expanded to include contract drafting and reviews, tenancy agreements, and trademark/IP issues etc before they are sent to solicitors to be signed off.

In more of a motivational answer, you could explain your employer has been supportive of your future career change and your want to take on such responsibilities.

 

[Bananana]

I only have one vac scheme lined up and I'm worried about putting all my eggs in one basket - am I just overthinking though?

i feel for you as I’m in the same position. To everyone saying make sure you prepare well for it - how can you prepare well for a vacation scheme? I have no idea what kind of tasks I’ll be given so I feel like there’s not much I can do?

 

[Asil Ahmad]

i feel for you as I’m in the same position. To everyone saying make sure you prepare well for it - how can you prepare well for a vacation scheme? I have no idea what kind of tasks I’ll be given so I feel like there’s not much I can do?

Speak to future trainees or current trainees of the firm on Linkedin.

 

[Jacob Miller]

i feel for you as I’m in the same position. To everyone saying make sure you prepare well for it - how can you prepare well for a vacation scheme? I have no idea what kind of tasks I’ll be given so I feel like there’s not much I can do?

I was a terrible example of how best to prep for my schemes (i.e., I barely did any...) - with that said, a few general pointers:

• LinkedIn networking is fine so long as it's done right.
• Look through your schedule for the scheme and pre-plan some questions you might want to ask different people. Beware however, make sure you don't ask something that's already been answered in the course of a presentation if using pre-prepped questions!
• Brush up on your commercial awareness if that's slipped a little since interviews etc
• If it's been a while since your interview, check over some of the firm's recent news bulletins for more recent deals, cases etc etc
• Don't over-think it: as hard as it is, try and chill a bit. Be authentic and personable, let your personality shine through and you'll be good to go. Being able to relax a little and just be a human also shows a greater degree of emotional intelligence than being super uptight and visibly uncomfortable too!

 

[Daniel Boden]

i feel for you as I’m in the same position. To everyone saying make sure you prepare well for it - how can you prepare well for a vacation scheme? I have no idea what kind of tasks I’ll be given so I feel like there’s not much I can do?

I made a thread on this last year which seemed to be quite helpful for people - lot of great tips were shared that helped a lot

Vacation Scheme Preparation

Hi guys, Per my post in the 'hearing back from law firms' thread, I thought I would create this so we can bounce ideas off each other and help each other out with any questions to ensure that we can all (hopefully) get those TC offers after this summer! I'll post my approach today but please...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

 

[Asil Ahmad]

Anyone heard back from Teacher Stern post-application stage.

 

[RoughWood]

I think your description in the post is pretty spot on!

For a CV/work experience entry, it could be:

Duties have been expanded to include contract drafting and reviews, tenancy agreements, and trademark/IP issues etc before they are sent to solicitors to be signed off.

In more of a motivational answer, you could explain your employer has been supportive of your future career change and your want to take on such responsibilities.

Thanks Jessica, I appreciate your input!

 

[E.A]

If anyone has any tips for Baker AC prep, I'd really appreciate it

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

If you are keen to understand your strengths and weakenesses more, you may want to complete the free strengths finder test here:

Develop your skills - Office for Students

How graduates can develop their skills

www.officeforstudents.org.uk

The site has some other interesting/useful content. I have just done the strengths finder and despite doing several of these types of assessments in the past few years, I learnt a thing or two!

 

[GK8997]

If anyone has any tips for Baker AC prep, I'd really appreciate it

feel free to PM me!

 

[jan28]

when we said we expected real estate/retail stores to be re-purposed and be more innovative, wasn't quite expecting this

 

[FM302989]

when we said we expected real estate/retail stores to be re-purposed and be more innovative, wasn't quite expecting this View attachment 3336

No way would I attend a wedding at a store where a bottle of water costs over £10 and t-shirts up to £200

 

[jw97]

I'm yet to receive a Teams invite for an interview at 9:15am tomorrow. They said it would be "no later than one day before the interview". Is it appropriate to ring now or should I give it more time?

 

[Anon 11031]

I'm yet to receive a Teams invite for an interview at 9:15am tomorrow. They said it would be "no later than one day before the interview". Is it appropriate to ring now or should I give it more time?

Personally, if this was me, I'd give them a call at this point. I don't see what harm you can do and lots of teams leave for the day at 5. So calling now gives you the chance to check in again later, if you can't get through for whatever reason.

 

[Hele25]

Hiya @Jaysen, since this is a general inquiry forum i though I may as well ask my question here One direct TC application I’m doing has my CV as an integral part of the application. Are CV’s included as part of the premium service to look over applications? It’s is a main part of their application process, but CV’s are a bit different to the normal “why commercial law?’ questions. Thanks SM