TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2024-5

[3000to1shoteverytime]

Bros gonna be disappointed when he checks his inbox

Only if you mean because they have now extended this deadline to 19 May

 

[Jessica Booker]

Between sending my application and my interview, a few weeks (less than a month). I was let go a little over a week after my application

It’s not to say it couldn’t be picked up - it could. It’s why lying about things like your employment in terms of when or how long you did it is something to definitely avoid.

It may not be picked up though given the limited time period and the fact it was referenced in an interview.

But you’ll now have to manage the potential anxiety of going through the reference check process and worrying about whether it is picked up or not.

 

[jy1041405]

Hi Jessica! @Jessica Booker

I hope you are well.

I was wondering what I should do to prepare for written exercises. I’ve not done one before so I would appreciate any kind of advice / what I should expect!

Thank you!!

 

[OliverTwist]

I have never completed a fact-finding exercise in an AC before, but I have some tips based on my experience with it in a client interviewing competition:

1. Determine the scope of your inquiry: essentially, you want to find out early on what information you are looking to get and why, as this can help you ascertain what further questions will actually be relevant. As such, after hearing/reading the brief, ask yourself: what are the commercial/legal issues we are dealing with, what is the client's interest, and what do I need to help them achieve it?
2. Organize your questions: if you can see early on that your questions can be split between a few different areas, you should make a mental plan to go through each area one at a time.
3. Ask open-ended questions: this is crucial to prompt the associate to give you more information you may not even be aware you should be looking for yet. If you ask closed-ended questions like 'Did this particular thing happen?', this simply does not give the respondent much to work on.
4. Spot strategic ambiguity: in my client interviewing competition, interviewees received a specific set of instructions as to how and when to give out information, and at some points, they would have to be intentionally ambiguous. This was to assess if you can spot that and know how to follow up more on the issue until you get the information you need. I would suspect the same will hold in your case, as the firm is looking for ways exercises that can differentiate between candidates' skills. Thus, I think you should constantly be on the lookout for insufficiently specific responses.
5. Be an active and inquisitive listener: probably the most important line of advice here is this - you need to have a genuinely inquisitive mindset, to actively want to get to the bottom of the issue. This is what enables you to naturally seek the facts that are kept hidden from you. One method that worked for me in this regard was to try to imagine myself in the shoes of the client as I was picturing their story, which prompted me to ask the right questions as to how I got into a given situation.

Thank you Andrei, this is super helpful!

 

[B101]

Hi @Andrei Radu @Ram Sabaratnam

I have a written case study with Ashurst next week. The email says that I will be asked to justify a recommended course of action.

How do you suggest I prepare for this? I’ve been using ChatGPT to give me mock acquisition, JV, and market entry case study so I can practise writing answers. Is there anything else I should do to prepare?

 

[Tintin06]

I submitted a two-page cover letter. This was for Sullivan & Cromwell. Cover letter length not mentioned anywhere. Only Chambers Student mentions that, FWIW. Chambers says it 'should' be single-sided. Am I now doomed with two sides?

 

[Future$trainee]

I submitted a two-page cover letter. This was for Sullivan & Cromwell. Cover letter length not mentioned anywhere. Only Chambers Student mentions that, FWIW. Chambers says it 'should' be single-sided. Am I now doomed with two sides?

Most firms I have applied to always advise one page.

If SC haven't specified specifically, it should be fine.

 

[Tintin06]

Most firms I have applied to always advise one page.

If SC haven't specified specifically, it should be fine.

Yes, only mentioned on Chambers Student. Their S&C entry suggests one side. It was very frustrating to see. Nothing else saying that elsewhere, really. Didn't use CS in my research. S&C's site is limited on details. I hope it's not a deal-breaker. They're one of my dream firms.

 

[Julia Wyporkiewicz]

Hi, did anyone apply for the Flex trainee programme? I got the invitation to the online test and there is one part of it called SQE type questions. I was just wondering if anyone has any idea what it could mean? 😊

 

[billyonthespeeddial]

Yes, only mentioned on Chambers Student. Their S&C entry suggests one side. It was very frustrating to see. Nothing else saying that elsewhere, really. Didn't use CS in my research. S&C's site is limited on details. I hope it's not a deal-breaker. They're one of my dream firms.

I don't think it would be a deal-breaker necessarily but a cover letter, unless otherwise advised, is understood to be a one page doc. I think make that your default.

 

[wannabe_solicitor]

Bates wells PFO😢 damn I thought I nailed that one, we MOVE

 

[BillSikes]

Browne Jacobson TI invite (London).

 

[Tintin06]

I don't think it would be a deal-breaker necessarily but a cover letter, unless otherwise advised, is understood to be a one page doc. I think make that your default.

Fair enough - that all makes sense.

 

[toad92]

Bates Wells wg invite zoinks

Peak final year exam season rn and having to balance TC apps and wg too 😭

 

[adrian_nlh]

Has anyone heard anything from Foot Anstey following VI?

Nope. I wonder what's taking them so long.

 

[Gin]

Hi! Question here again. Is it wise to apply for Stephenson Harwood's DTC without legal experience in the UK? Since the deadline is 31st July, I suppose people who failed to convert their VS will also apply. Does anyone know if SH places a high value on legal experience? Is it still worth giving it a go?

 

[trainee4u]

I was offered a training contract at quite a large firm. In my application, I stated that I was working part-time as a paralegal at a small law firm. Between sending my application and being invited for interview, they fired me (it was a very small firm and it was not particularly personal). During my training contract interview I verbally said I was still working there but was planning on quitting. Do you think this will come up in my pre-employment screening checks that I will have to complete in over a year's time (I will likely have a new job in the meanwhile).

This is definitely something to avoid doing.
Firstly, when it comes to ending employment, it's usually preferred to resign rather than be fired, and perhaps it's something that you could have asked for from the firm (not sure what is meant by "not particularly personal"), and again you'd probably want a reference from them.
Secondly, it's not really clear what you mean by "between sending my application and being invited they fired you" - normally you'd have a notice period, but perhaps it was only one week; if you were still in your notice period then you were in fact still "working there", so this in that case would not be untrue. However if you told then that you were still working there after your employment had in fact ended then this would be dishonest and is the kind of thing that can get people banned from the solicitor's profession on top of losing a TC.

It's not a given that you will be found out assuming that the employment ended after you initially applied. But worth bearing these issues in mind...

 

[jazzzade]

Just got invited to Ashursts written case study. Does anyone have any tips as this is the stage I struggle with the most? 🙏

Congrats! May I ask when you submitted your TC application?

 

[TCseeker101]

Hi everyone! I've reached the final AC stage for a DTC. The previous stage was a virtual interview with a partner and a member of HR. At the AC, I will also have an interview with two partners. Is it a good idea to ask for feedback from my previous interview to help with my preparations, or is this generally avoided?

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi @Andrei Radu @Ram Sabaratnam

I have a written case study with Ashurst next week. The email says that I will be asked to justify a recommended course of action.

How do you suggest I prepare for this? I’ve been using ChatGPT to give me mock acquisition, JV, and market entry case study so I can practise writing answers. Is there anything else I should do to prepare?

Hi @B101 I have quoted below a post with some further resources for you to take a look at.

Besides that, I advise you to generally work on your commercial analysis skills in the coming week by engaging with commercial awareness material in a more critical and active manner. Thus, when you next read an article or listen to a podcast, instead of doing so passively, only aiming to improve your stock of background knowledge, ask yourself questions like:

• What are the essential points about this story I would mention if I had to summarize it quickly and clearly?
• What are the causes for the events in the story?
• Who are the different stakeholders, and how does this impact them?
• What are potential responses in light of the story, and what are the arguments for each? What is my view, and how would I substantiate it?

This kind of thinking will develop your ability to analyze commercial topics better, which is the key skill case studies assess.

Hi @CHLTC I really empathize with your struggles, as case studies/written tasks were always the hardest part of ACs for me as well. I don't think there is a specific method you can prepare, since as you mentioned, they come in a wide variety of formats. In my view, the only way to prepare is by developing the underlying skills every case study will seek to test: time-management and work under pressure, clarity of writing and structure, commercial awareness and analysis, ability to digest large amounts of information, etc.

To do that, I think it is useful to both practice actual case studies and to read more widely about the commercial matters that might be relevant for them. A particularly helpful resource for me was the course offered by TCLA on the matter (which you can find here). It includes a number of mock PE and M&A case studies, recordings of two hour long sessions explaining how to think through written/interview style M&A case studies, and a number of questions that are analyzed in depth by the TCLA team. To link a few useful free resources on TCLA:

• An amazing guide for M&A case studies by @Jacob Miller, which includes both a mock case study and a model answer with detailed explanations of how you should think through the materials (which you can find here).
• A mock written case study offered by TCLA here.
• An excellent article written by @Jaysen Sutton, which explains the process, types, structures, and general terms of an M&A transaction (which you can find here).
• A glossary of M&A terms by @Amma Usman here.

Besides these, I have also found a few external resources you may want to take a look at:

• A great LSE article giving an overview of case studies and preparation methods for each element
• An article with tips from the Oxford Careers Service
• A Next City Lawyer case study available on a fee basis

Finally, I quoted bellow a recent post I wrote which I think you could find useful - it includes my top tips for any written task: