TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[A worried graduate]

It’s pretty ironic considering the SQE was supposedly introduced to broaden access into the legal profession, yet it seems to be having the opposite effect lmao. I think the exam fees have gone up again recently as well! 🥲

Why would a firm need to approve a future trainee working whilst studying the SQE? How exactly do they expect (socially mobile) future trainees to afford the cost of living in London with a grant that is less than £20,000? 🥲

To be fair, I read somewhere that future trainees studying the SQE with their cohort(s) together in London have a higher chance of passing first time than people self-funding and studying the SQE independently. 🫤​

The pass odds may be higher but it is not something that can be guaranteed, so it creates a risk.

I am surprised that law firms aren't working to develop an alternative to BPP/Ulaw as the tuition fees are continuing to rise and both have a rather poor reputation. If not the firms themselves then you'd expect one of the London unis to create something (For example Queen Mary supposedly offer an LLM with SQE yet presently outsource the SQE part to Barbri)

If I was the SRA, I'd be looking to standardise the test papers somewhat to make it cheaper to run and allow for tests to be resat within a shorter period. If they want to keep the toughness element then perhaps tightening the QWE aspect as those who qualify via that without the training are often struggling anyway.

 

[Andrei Radu]

Guys this might sound like a daft qs but should I be preparing for a potential PH interview even tho I have heard nothing from them since my initial app?

I don’t really know how long you have between the interview invite and the interview itself. I also don’t want to tire myself out by preparing in advance if I don’t have an interview to begin with 😭

I think in general firms give at least a one week notice prior to a scheduled interview. Unless you have other significant commitments, that should be more than enough time to ensure you are well-prepared. In my opinion, intense preparation for more than 4-5 days can actually have diminishing returns. As such, unless you have information to the effect that PH sometimes makes interview invites only a few days in advance, I believe investing lots of time in interview preparation may be premature. However, you could try to keep up with the news and generally work on your commercial awareness more in the coming days/weeks - that is a skill you can best improve a more extended period, as it can take quite a bit of time. This should also reduce your workload if you end up invited to interview with a shorter notice.

 

[Chris Brown]

Is it even worth emailing PW at this point, when you haven’t heard back yet post- app? (Summer)

To my knowledge, the application deadline for Paul, Weiss was 19/01/25. They sent out a lot of their online test invites between 30/01/25 and 31/01/25. I think others received online test invites in the first week of February. Paul, Weiss sent out a lot of post app and post test PFO’s around this time as well. 🥲

I think most of us received Paul, Weiss interview invites on 14/02/25 (Valentine’s Day). This was for the first batch of interviews. Other people received their interview invites in the following few days. From this first batch of interviews, Paul, Weiss made the majority of their Spring and Summer VS offers on 10/03/25. 🙂

Last week, a second batch of interview invites were sent out, which I think were to fill the remaining Summer VS slots (5 remaining). I think Spring VS for Paul, Weiss is full. If you haven’t heard back at all from Paul, Weiss (post application) since the deadline passed, it might be a PFO sadly. 🫤

Then again, some people have not heard anything since the online test invites were sent out. Also, a lot of people that interviewed with Paul, Weiss did not hear back post interview. It is hard to say ultimately as it’s their first recruitment cycle. If you feel that emailing them is worthwhile, I would say go for it (for ease of mind)! 🙂​

 

[FM302989]

Please can I remind people to keep things civil and avoid speculation, especially in conversations regarding a named individual.

Just as we wouldn’t expect judgement and negative comments within our community, it is not appropriate to direct the same behaviours to someone just because they are in the legal press.

I think the key takeaway from this news is the ‘dishonesty’ element when these decisions are published. That’s why the punishment has been severe. Whether it’s accounts breaches, behaviour, or the classic ‘briefcase left on train’ scenario, honesty is taken seriously

This is something that’ll come up when solicitor ethics/SRA principles are studied

 

[Starfish31]

Hey guys, ahead of my vac scheme at Goodwin I would really appreciate any good advice for maximising my chance of converting it into a TC. (For context the VS is a week long.)

My background is non-law and I have never done a vac scheme before so I would be going in blind in a sense. I'm also open to investing in any paid services that anyone would personally recommend.

I selected a few seat preferences but I haven't gotten any confirmation as to where I would be sitting. I know that there will be a written exercise task and a group assessment but that's basically all the info I have.

Separately, but quite randomly, I have been looking to reactivate my premium LinkedIn because I have ran out of personalised invites to send to Trainees at the firm but it's either £30 a month of £180 for a year. Is it worth the investment or should I seek alternative methods such as trying to email for a discount of leaving it altogether?

 

[ohnoselim]

does anyone struggle to get referees for applications?

none of my tutors at university were very helpful when it came to this (had some bad experiences and just stopped asking) , and now that I am a graduate I just think its difficult

for applications some specify having an academic referee, what do people do in this instance?

 

[broalabear]

Quick WG Assumption Q:

For humankind to survive, it must colonise other planets.
Assumption - There will be a time when the Earth can no longer sustain human life.

Am I right in saying that an assumption has been made here?

The only thing I can think of against this is that Earth may very well sustain human life, but not be sufficient. Then again, that would mean that it technically cannot sustain human life, and therefore, the assumption is made.

Also, if I were to invert this: There will be a time when the Earth can sustain human life, then the proposed statement becomes redundant, which should logically indicate that there is an assumption, no?

3.30 am yk, I hate these damn tests.

 

[emma.d]

Hi everyone, I have 2 x 400 application questions which I would like some guidance on. I am unsure of how to fill the word count and the things I should cover.

In light of our service lines, if you could introduce one client to us, who would it be and why? (max 400 words)

I have identified a specific client and how it relates to the firm through similar cases in the past but am unsure on what else to talk about.

AI is rapidly changing how law firms operate and how solicitors interact with clients. How can we embrace AI without sacrificing our value of Human First? (max 400 words)

@Andrei Radu your insight would be much appreciated as I have found your question breakdowns in the past super useful! Also, a side question Andrei do you think you will still be around on TCLA next cycle?

 

[Bread]

Quick WG Assumption Q:

For humankind to survive, it must colonise other planets.
Assumption - There will be a time when the Earth can no longer sustain human life.

Am I right in saying that an assumption has been made here?

The only thing I can think of against this is that Earth may very well sustain human life, but not be sufficient. Then again, that would mean that it technically cannot sustain human life, and therefore, the assumption is made.

Also, if I were to invert this: There will be a time when the Earth can sustain human life, then the proposed statement becomes redundant, which should logically indicate that there is an assumption, no?

3.30 am yk, I hate these damn tests.

What does the answer say?

 

[user9809]

I have a paralegal interview soon and I’m not sure how to prepare for it. This is my first one. Does anyone have any advice? Would really appreciate it!

@Jessica Booker @Ram Sabaratnam @Andrei Radu @Amma Usman

 

[Legallywhatever]

Is there any way (alongside practice tests) that one can prepare for an Amberjack test? I've never done one of these before so don't really know how to adequately prepare. Any tips would be appreciated!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Interesting, I wonder if that puts off law firms from moving to GSAs or if the 95% is sorted regardless

I don't think this is the issue as effectively the GSAs are funded from the apprenticeship levy (which is why it cannot be paid back). The levy is effectively a tax on employers as they can only spend it on apprenticeship training, otherwise it goes to waste (well just goes to the government if not used).

I think the reluctance of GSAs is more firms are worried about how they manage capacity and giving 20% of time off dedicated to the academic part of the apprenticeship and needing blocks of time off for assessments.

Its not really an issue in my opinion - the investment banks and accountancy firms manage it very well and typically with much higher numbers of people.

 

[Jessica Booker]

does anyone struggle to get referees for applications?

none of my tutors at university were very helpful when it came to this (had some bad experiences and just stopped asking) , and now that I am a graduate I just think its difficult

for applications some specify having an academic referee, what do people do in this instance?

You can just give your faculty's admin office. It does not need to be someone who vouches for you personally - the reference just needs to verify your grades.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I have a paralegal interview soon and I’m not sure how to prepare for it. This is my first one. Does anyone have any advice? Would really appreciate it!

@Jessica Booker @Ram Sabaratnam @Andrei Radu @Amma Usman

Read the job description carefully and look for the skills or qualities they are saying are important to the role. These are likely to be the basis of the competency questions you are asked.

Be prepared to summarise your journey (academic and employment to date) - summary is important here, you need to pick out the most relevant and important details rather than explain everything.

Also be prepared to be able to explain more why this specific job appeals to you. Paralegal jobs are less likely to focus on why the firm (although this could come up) but focus more on why you want to work in that specific department/team, doing that particular type of work.

 

[futuretrainee!]

Quick WG Assumption Q:

For humankind to survive, it must colonise other planets.
Assumption - There will be a time when the Earth can no longer sustain human life.

Am I right in saying that an assumption has been made here?

The only thing I can think of against this is that Earth may very well sustain human life, but not be sufficient. Then again, that would mean that it technically cannot sustain human life, and therefore, the assumption is made.

Also, if I were to invert this: There will be a time when the Earth can sustain human life, then the proposed statement becomes redundant, which should logically indicate that there is an assumption, no?

3.30 am yk, I hate these damn tests.

I would say you are correct. The way I see this text is where the assumption must be strictly true for the statement to hold.

Therefore, for the statement "There will be a time when the Earth can no longer sustain human life." an assumption has been made that Earth would not be able to sustain human life in perpetuity, i.e., if it could, there would be no reason to colonise other planets. In other words, given that human life is definitely not going to support human life forever, it *must* colonise other planets to ensure survival.

 

[Maddy]

Anyone heard back from Ropes & Gray's PE transaction paralegal position?

 

[johnnn821]

Whats going on with WBD? Has anyone tried emailing? Its quite frustrating that they said we would hear back by the 7th of March and they still havent provided outcomes.

 

[James Wakefield]

Whats going on with WBD? Has anyone tried emailing? Its quite frustrating that they said we would hear back by the 7th of March and they still havent provided outcomes.

I think they’ve got back to people with TIs. It’s probably a PFO at this point but they might not send these out for a while.

 

[Maddy]

I think they’ve got back to people with TIs. It’s probably a PFO at this point but they might not send these out for a while.

Wasn't it only for Leeds office or did anyone receive Ti's for London office?

 

[TCpleasex]

Is there any way (alongside practice tests) that one can prepare for an Amberjack test? I've never done one of these before so don't really know how to adequately prepare. Any tips would be appreciated!

Unpopular opinion, however, I genuinely prefer (and kinda enjoy) doing Amberjack. Every firm is different with their pillars & what they are looking for, however, I will try give some tips that help me.

One thing I think trips people up is inconsistency. I know you have probably read this a tonne of times but when you are answering the SJT type questions answer honestly with what you would do not what you think the firm is looking for. Adding to that though & it might contradict what I just said but look at what the firm’s values are. If they are super into teamwork then they will put more emphasis on those answers or if they are looking for you to work independently then they will be looking for more taking initiative based answers. It is about finding the balance.

A major thing though is if you say that you prioritise say attention to detail over time it takes you to get stuff done, there will be answers that might trip you up to look contradictory. Choose one & roll with it. I know you want to say you can do both, that’s what I tried to do at first but then your answers will look more like you are trying to answer what the firm wants rather than you as a person.

The main thing with the SJT parts is consistency basically.

Also, if a firm is super innovative they will be looking for people open to accept innovative ways of working - just something else to keep in mind.

Re the maths sections, my main advice would be have a pen & paper next to you. It sounds so simple but the maths q’s can be wordy so having a place you can really break it down will help.

Re the verbal sections, to me these seem to align a lot with WG style qs where you have a chunk of text & you need to read what it says without personal interpretation & external knowledge. When I’m doing these qs I put on my WG hat (which isn’t very good) & look at it from a more frank perspective. What exactly is the question & are those words/information provided?

I really hope this will help a little. I know these tests are a pain, however, once you have the right mindset & know what these tests are testing for then you will do well. I used to hate them & my scores this year haven’t been any lower then 7s in the pillars & high in numerical & verbal!!

Good luck!!