TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[TCLA Community Assistant]

@Andrei Radu @Jessica Booker would a paralegal role in a high street firm be okay to take up after failing to get a TC for two cycles and after one vac scheme? Would this be a wise move in terms of motivations for the new cycle? I just don't want to be unemployed whilst applying so weighing up my options here. thank you for any advice you may have

Yes - it is fine to take a non-commercial role up. Many people applying for training contracts are in non-legal and/or non-commercial roles. Focus on demonstrating the transferable skills and knowledge from your role and consider how you can demonstrate your pursuit of commercial law through other activities.

 

[kleinbottle]

Ur cooked doing the LevFin route. I know someone on that Vac Scheme and they were in until like past midnight almost every day

Oh gosh really? I've heard conflicting advice from people that it's obviously good to stay late to show that you're committed, but that staying too late can indicate that you can't manage the workload properly

 

[Apple]

Hi, I'm new here so I'm not sure where to post this! I have a friend who completed the Milbank Spring Scheme, and she mentioned that a few training contracts have already been offered. For context, I think they give 8 general TCs and 4 LevFin track ones. I'm due to do the Summer Vacation Scheme for the LevFin track, and she told me there are only two LevFin TCs left — and that's before the summer cohort even starts. How do I stay positive when it feels like I'm working towards such a small chance? And is there a chance I'd be offered a general TC if I was good enough, even if I just sit in LevFin during my scheme?

Receiving a VS offer at Milbank is an incredibly small chance in itself, and yet here you are with the offer. Try to stay positive and not get bogged down by numbers, even though its easier said than done, and I'm certainly guilty of it myself.

 

[JustwantaTC]

Yes - it is fine to take a non-commercial role up. Many people applying for training contracts are in non-legal and/or non-commercial roles. Focus on demonstrating the transferable skills and knowledge from your role and consider how you can demonstrate your pursuit of commercial law through other activities.

thank you @Jessica Booker, have you seen people be successful in vac scheme, tc apps whilst working in high-street firms in distinct areas like conveyancing or family?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Oh gosh really? I've heard conflicting advice from people that it's obviously good to stay late to show that you're committed, but that staying too late can indicate that you can't manage the workload properly

It depends how you are utilising your time and if you are actively contributing to live team/department matters.

If you are hanging around just to be seen, this won't be looked at positively, or if you are sticking around to do tasks that are not needed that evening or to help colleagues who are also working late, then again that won't be positive. If you have spent all the usual working day in coffee catch ups and then just are doing things you could have done within the working day, again, not a positive.

But if you are having a positive contribution to matters that the team are working on that evening and staying late themselves to do, then this will be seen as helpful and therefore positive.

I'd stress working past midnight is exceptionally rare and not expected. Most supervisors will be pushing you out the door in the evening unless they know there is something you can easily contribute to with little supervision or support.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

thank you @Jessica Booker, have you seen people be successful in vac scheme, tc apps whilst working in high-street firms in distinct areas like conveyancing or family?

Yes

 

[Andrei Radu]

@Andrei Radu @Jessica Booker would a paralegal role in a high street firm be okay to take up after failing to get a TC for two cycles and after one vac scheme? Would this be a wise move in terms of motivations for the new cycle? I just don't want to be unemployed whilst applying so weighing up my options here. thank you for any advice you may have

Hi @JustwantaTC I do not think this would have any negative impact to the recruiter's perception about your motivations for commercial law. Recruiters are well aware how competitive the job market is and are also aware that many people need to be employed to fund living expenses, so it is very unlikely they will take having a legal job outside the commercial sphere as an indicator of lacking a sufficiently strong interest in commercial law. If anything, having this job should be a boost to your candidate profile, as paralegal jobs are quite competitive everywhere and will also help build valuable skills.

The only important consideration against taking the offer you should weigh is the amount of time this will take off your schedule, as that is time you could spend applying and interacting with firms. Whether you think you will still have enough time to make a high number of high quality applications despite working full time is something only you will know. Regardless, if you do take them up on the offer, I would advise you to start researching firms and writing applications very early into next cycle to ensure you are not overwhelmed by work and deadlines come November/December.

 

[Amma Usman]

Does anyone that has received interview invite know how book interview for Moore Barlow please? We were sent a spread sheet where all the available interview dates are , do we put our names in front of our choices or reply Grad rec with our preferred dates?

Hi there,

I would personally do two things:

(1) Save the spreadsheet onto my system, edit it accordingly, and send the sheet.
(2) Still send those same dates via the same email in which the spreadsheet is attached, with bullet points for ease of reference.

I guess there’s no need to do both, but it helps avoid back-and-forth if they end up preferring a variation of the spreadsheet instead.

 

[Someoneinlaw]

Hi there,

I would personally do two things:

(1) Save the spreadsheet onto my system, edit it accordingly, and send the sheet.
(2) Still send those same dates via the same email in which the spreadsheet is attached, with bullet points for ease of reference.

I guess there’s no need to do both, but it helps avoid back-and-forth if they end up preferring a variation of the spreadsheet instead.

Thank you Amma 🙏🙏

 

[User5678]

Hi all, I wanted some advice, I have a client pitch presentation which I was currently recording and it’s not supposed to be longer than 3 mins. If I exceed the time limit by 10-15 secs is this going to lead to a rejection or look bad?

 

[Amma Usman]

Hi, I'm new here so I'm not sure where to post this! I have a friend who completed the Milbank Spring Scheme, and she mentioned that a few training contracts have already been offered. For context, I think they give 8 general TCs and 4 LevFin track ones. I'm due to do the Summer Vacation Scheme for the LevFin track, and she told me there are only two LevFin TCs left — and that's before the summer cohort even starts. How do I stay positive when it feels like I'm working towards such a small chance? And is there a chance I'd be offered a general TC if I was good enough, even if I just sit in LevFin during my scheme?

Hi there!

I’d honestly advise you not to focus on the numbers at all — not now, and not at any stage of the application process. Whether it’s the number of training contracts available, how many people are on your scheme, or what you’ve heard from friends, those figures will only cloud your mindset.

The reality is that numbers can shift. Firms regularly increase their intake when a cohort is particularly strong, as well as for many other reasons. And even if the number doesn’t budge and there really are only two LevFin spots left, that’s still fine. Because the real question isn’t “how many places are there?”, it’s: why not you?

You’ve earned your place on the scheme, and that alone shows they already see potential. So the most productive thing you can do is show up, learn as much as you can, and be the most engaged and authentic version of yourself. If you stay focused on growth, connection, and contribution rather than the odds, you’ll not only perform better, but you’ll come out of the experience proud of how you handled it, regardless of outcome.

You will do well on the scheme. I believe in you.

 

[Amma Usman]

Hi all, I wanted some advice, I have a client pitch presentation which I was currently recording and it’s not supposed to be longer than 3 mins. If I exceed the time limit by 10-15 secs is this going to lead to a rejection or look bad?

Was it timed by a software, or something you had to manually record and send to the firm?

 

[Amma Usman]

Been offered a Linklaters training contract following a vacation scheme! Thanks all for the support on this forum

LOVE LOVE TO SEE IT. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

 

[JonjoShelvey]

LOVE LOVE TO SEE IT. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Thank you!

 

[Amma Usman]

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

I hope you are all well.

I recently completed a spring VS, after which I received an email stating that I didn't receive a TC offer. They mentioned I could ask for feedback, which I promptly did, and a feedback call was scheduled on a certain day (although no specific time was agreed upon). However, on the day of the call, I did not receive any communication. I followed up by email 48 hours later but have still not received any response. It has now been over a week since my follow-up.

This delay is concerning as I have upcoming interviews with other firms and I am concerned about how to explain why I did not convert my VS without knowing the firm's feedback. Any advice on how to handle this situation or how long to wait before following up again would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

I'm really sorry about this - it’s completely understandable to feel this way, especially with upcoming interviews on your mind. You’ve done the right thing by asking for feedback and following up politely, so try not to be too hard on yourself. Sometimes delays happen due to internal scheduling, annual leave, etc. In terms of interviews, if the firm still hasn’t provided feedback by the time you're asked about conversion, you can just say that you haven’t yet received formal feedback, though you’ve requested it and currently awaiting a response. The firm you are interviewing for will likely understand that these processes take time. On the other hand, if the feedback does come through before your interview, you can use it as a great opportunity to show self-awareness and growth. When asked about the outcome of the VS, it’s helpful to briefly mention what you learned from the experience and what specific steps you’re taking to improve. Firms really value candidates who can reflect, take feedback on board, and act on it.

 

[User5678]

Was it timed by a software, or something you had to manually record and send to the firm?

Manually record and send it to the firm! They want us to share it via YouTube

 

[Amma Usman]

Manually record and send it to the firm! They want us to share it via YouTube

Ah, I see. In that case, if you haven’t sent it yet and you're allowed to re-record, I’d definitely recommend aiming for something slightly shorter, ideally just under the 3-minute mark.

That said, if you’ve already sent it, I don’t imagine the firm would be overly strict about going just 10–15 seconds over. They’ll likely be understanding about such circumstances, especially considering the natural time delays that can happen with manual recordings - like clicking start and stop, or slight lags that wouldn’t occur with automated software.

As long as the content is strong and concise, I do not think that a few seconds over would hurt your chances. Focus on clarity, confidence, and getting your key points across smoothly.

 

[Amma Usman]

Hi @lawstudent0708 ,


Question:

“Hello Amma,

I hope you are well.

Do you have any tips/advice for preparing for Vacation Schemes, in terms of performance, tasks and general advice? Are there any published articles on TCLA about this?

Thank you very much for your help! ”

Response:
I have quoted some previous posts from I and the team on this to help.

Hi @Chelsea101 I have just found one from 2021 that seems to include many useful resources and tips, you can take a look here. Since I have had a good VS conversion rate and since WVS are approaching, I am also planning to soon write a detailed guide on the topic, so be on the lookout for that !

Besides this, I have quoted bellow a great post from @Jessica Booker outlining the biggest mistakes people make during vacation schemes.

Hey @_shims_ , huge well done on securing the WVS! I’ve included some tips below from a past post I made.

Hi @Lalis, to list a few of my top VS conversion tips:

• Speak with people at the firm (particularly graduate recruitment, recruitment partners, and trainees) to find out what are the most important assessment criteria for conversion. Different firms have different policies - for instance, in my case conversion at Slaughter and May was 100% determined by the final TC interview and written task, at Willkie it was mostly determined by the quality of your work and your integration in the firm's culture, at Milbank it was a combination of the final assessment and the impression you left on people on your team. To maximize conversion chances, you should modify your approach to match the factors emphasized by each firm.
• Take notes: as you go through the vacation scheme, at the end of each day, write down a short summary of what you did: who did you meet and what did you learn from them, what tasks did you work on, what sessions did you attend etc. As you approach the final interview, this will help you with being reflecting about the experience and showing that you have taken all the opportunities the firm offered.
• Try to meet as many people as possible, particularly in your department, but do not overdo it. Of course, it is great to integrate yourself as much as you can and to make as many people as possible notice you. However, you should not be spending every second of the day inviting people for coffee chats. Firstly, there are many other things you should be doing, like getting involved in different workstreams, attending sessions, and deepening your relationship with people you have already met, such as your supervisor. Secondly, as you will know, lawyers are often very stressed and have very little free time on their hands. Most will accept coffee chat requests, but they will appreciate if you do not waste their time by asking to meet only with a view of getting them to potentially put in a good word for you. Thus, I would advise you to always have a genuine reason for meeting someone. That does not need to necessarily be work-related - you can simply ask for a coffee chat because you want to introduce yourself and get to know people in the firm - but you should be upfront about it. Furthermore, try to get an idea from your supervisor as to who is more and less busy at the moment and avoid targeting the former.
• Mirror the attitude of those around you, and know when to be more relaxed: a crucial element of succeeding in many vacation schemes is to be able to build rapport with a few important people - particularly your supervisor, one or two lawyers you will get to work more with, and the recruitment partners. Try to read the attitude and expectations of those people and do not always attempt to impress them. In my experience, the people who ended up not converting tended to be the slightly overbearing ones who wanted to be constantly seen. Sometimes, such as at an event over drinks or at a lunch, people will want to simply relax a bit and forget about work. Other times, they may be too busy and stressed to want to engage with you about something serious. They could and also many times do want to take a slightly more lighthearted approach when talking about their work, so try not to seem like you are taking yourself too seriously. From what I have seen, people more often fail in adapting to these circumstances rather that when adapting to more formal dynamics.

Hey!

I don’t have much to Andrei‘s great response on this. I’ve quoted a post on the past which I made on this. Best of luck on the VS..!

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hi all, I wanted some advice, I have a client pitch presentation which I was currently recording and it’s not supposed to be longer than 3 mins. If I exceed the time limit by 10-15 secs is this going to lead to a rejection or look bad?

I would try to get it down to the time limit, just because you might be cut off - so anything you say in the last 10-15 second might not be able to be said.

 

[KBanana]

I'm really sorry about this - it’s completely understandable to feel this way, especially with upcoming interviews on your mind. You’ve done the right thing by asking for feedback and following up politely, so try not to be too hard on yourself. Sometimes delays happen due to internal scheduling, annual leave, etc. In terms of interviews, if the firm still hasn’t provided feedback by the time you're asked about conversion, you can just say that you haven’t yet received formal feedback, though you’ve requested it and currently awaiting a response. The firm you are interviewing for will likely understand that these processes take time. On the other hand, if the feedback does come through before your interview, you can use it as a great opportunity to show self-awareness and growth. When asked about the outcome of the VS, it’s helpful to briefly mention what you learned from the experience and what specific steps you’re taking to improve. Firms really value candidates who can reflect, take feedback on board, and act on it.

Thank you very much @Amma Usman