TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[Andrei Radu]

If I inputted a grade incorrectly on a submission (via all hires), what should I do? If I contacted them, would it look detrimental/unprofessional?

I think you should definitely contact the firm's graduate recruitment team and inform them of your mistake. While this may have some negative impact on the firm's view of your attention to detail, it will also have a positive impact in terms of showing them you keep yourself accountable and proactively address any mistakes. This is not at all an uncommon situation and it does not normally result in disqualification. Nonetheless, if this comes out at a later stage (and it will, since you will have to send them transcripts), you do risk the firm suspecting dishonesty and rejecting your application for this reason.

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi @Andrei Radu what do you recommend I should be discussing about an open day attended? Do you think I should leave this out when applying to certain firms that are not similar in terms of practice areas etc? thanks!

It really depends on what else you learnt from the open day and the broader points that you look to be making. Of course, a situation in which the practice areas/sectors you learnt about during the open day are also areas the firm you are applying to is strong in is ideal, but you can also use the open day experience to make valuable points if this is not the case. For instance, you could explain how by speaking with lawyers at the open day you learnt more about commercial law and the way solicitors help businesses manage risks and grown, a fact that confirmed your interest in pursuing a career in this area.

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi I have a few questions about a Video Interview I have.
(1) any tips generally as I am usually so much worse at pre-recorded interviews than live phone or teams ones.
(2) when speaking about a deal, how recent does it need to be -- there is a deal in particular that id love to talk about but it was in December 2024 -- is this too long ago?
(3) how many deals/clients should we prepare for a 20 minute interview? I have a few interesting ones in mind but they could be used for a variety of different questions and I am unsure if I need to know multiple in depth or if I can use the same one as it Is unlikely there will be multiple commercial questions.

Hi - for general tips, please read Section A and B of the Complete Competency Interview Guide I wrote last year. It covers in depth my preparation method, the most commonly met questions, and the most important advice for succeeding in VIs.

For the second question, I think you can safely go back 2-3 years for an average deal the firm on to still be considered relevant, and potentially even 5-6 years if you will look at deals/cases of historical importance and/or you are making a broader point about the firm's historical excellence in the area or its long-standing client relationships.

For the third question, I expect you will be asked at most one direct question about a the firm's cases/deals and client base. As such, I think one of each should generally suffice. Nonetheless, if you plan to use examples of the firm's clients and work in other answers (such as why the firm), you are of course allowed to do so as often as you want.

 

[WiddyJ]

Freshfields online test invite!!!

is it automatic or selective this year?

 

[FutureTraineeMaybe]

For those of you applying to Mayer brown, did you put things like open days in the employment history or just leave them out?

I would love to know as well!

 

[TCHolderr]

Hi @Abbie Whitlock , I have a question on the DLA Piper Vac Scheme Application question 2. The question is : Select one article from the DLA Piper Insights page on a client sector that interests you. How does it align with your personal and professional ambitions? (Max 200 words.)

There is a podcast episode within the Insights Page on a topic I find really interesting. Would this count as an article for the purpose of this question? Or would you suggest that I find another written article instead?

 

[Andrei Radu]

another question: when asking about a sector I am interested in and an example of a recent deal -- do I need to speak about myself and why that sector deal in particular stands out to me?

I do not think it is a requirement for your answer to be very "you-focused" in the sense that you talk at length about why you are more interested in a sector than most other people are, but I do think it is advisable to at least link it with one of your experiences to illustrate your motivations. What I would say is a requirement is to explain why the sector you have chosen is more interesting to you than other sectors, which is the "sector-focused" part of the answer: in essence, you will be picking out and analysing features of that sector and the work lawyers do in that sector that is more appealing to you than features/work in other sectors.

Nonetheless, in many cases this will not suffice as such a discussion can remain a bit too abstract and arguably will not satisfy the "Show, don't tell" rule in application writing - the idea that you need to look to evidence the veracity of your claims. Arguably, the best way of doing so is to make use of concrete examples of your experiences illustrate your broader points.

 

[BillSikes]

Specifies eligibility criteria for the vacation scheme here, maybe email in? View attachment 7291

This makes sense. I was a graduate last year and was able to apply then.

 

[aspringlawyer25]

One attempt to record but unlimited planning time - personally really enjoyed the process over and above CappFin/Arctic

Freshfields online test invite!!!

When did you apply?

 

[SamiyaJ]

HSF Kramer PFO

 

[flower1]

Hello,
For people who have passed Clifford Chance WG test - what scores were you getting out of 40 in your practice?
Thank you

 

[johnsmith]

When did you apply?

I applied to both Freshfields & A&OS on the weekend, but for TCs.

 

[Dannie]

How long does freshfields give you to speak for the video interview?

 

[TortillaTC]

Hi! @Abbie Whitlock I attended Willkie's application writing event yesterday, and their grad rec said that we shouldn't talk about skills developed in the WE sections but mere results/achievements in each WE, and she recommended the CAR structure (context; action; result) => is it okay to mix action+result together, since writing about them separately seems a bit odd? e.g. "I drafted x document (action), that helped y.. (result)" instead of putting the result in the next paragraph?

Also: she advised against describing skills in WE entries but their open day application form doesn't have a separate skills Q - would it be a really bad idea to talk about relevant skills in WE after all? she pointed out that candidates sometimes connect experiences with unrealistic skills (e.g. working at McDonalds won't give you commercial awareness) but what about actually valid skills eg. Juggling an internship with my studies developed my time management skills that will help me manage conflicting deadlines as a trainee?

 

[whywhy88]

Hey! My understanding is that they removed the test this year? I could be wrong but I remember grad rec saying this somewhere. The next stage is interview I believe.

Oh cool I wasn't aware of that, thank you for letting me know!

 

[Chelsea101]

For those who have applied to Freshfields, is there verbal reasoning and numerical reasoning in the online test?

 

[TCLA0322]

macfarlanes summer vs rej

 

[Chriss]

Macfarlanes PFO

 

[nonlawstudent98]

Macfarlanes PFO following job simulate. Jones Day interview tomorrow so wish me luck!

 

[ohnoselim]

Hi all,

for video interviews are we expected to prep for situation based questions eg: xyz happens how do you deal with it?

or do they typically tend to be motivational and competency based only?