TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[Jaysen]

Hey everyone - just a note that I'll be running a session with Osborne Clarke">@Patrick - Osborne Clarke, our first-ever application session with OC. It's a virtual session tomorrow at 6pm.

Would love to see you there!

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/P97zp-J3RWurp2QnbmcaRQ#/registration

 

[Dogecoin GC]

Squires Patton Boggs’ vacation scheme question is just ‘Please argue whether you are for or against stricter regulation of social media. (300 words max)’ I am not sure how I am to approach this and what is the best structure to use.


Would really appreciate any guidance.

This might be a good start. From 2019 but still pretty relevant:

 

[Lawlife5]

Is it fine not to use the full time given in video interviews or is it a bad look lmao

 

[msclm]

Any AC invites for Milbank at all? or PFOs

I remember someone put in this forum a bit ago that grad recruitment said no acs until January!

 

[p2bv]

anyone had a TI with DLA yet?

 

[boots pharmacy]

Is it fine not to use the full time given in video interviews or is it a bad look lmao

As long as your answer is substantial and well reasoned it should be fine. But anything less than 50% of the allotted time would be suspicious.

 

[JCL]

Milbank stage 2 invite!! Completed stage 1 earlier today... Is stage 2 automatic? And is it timed? Thnxx

Congrats !!
Did stage 1 online assessment have a logical reasoning section? (the one w shapes etc.) And did you get your result straight after completing?

 

[jojo23]

Is it fine not to use the full time given in video interviews or is it a bad look lmao

Stare directly into the camera, say nothing and smile. Make them feel as uncomfortable as you felt throughout the interview.

 

[yk1906]

Congrats !!
Did stage 1 online assessment have a logical reasoning section? (the one w shapes etc.) And did you get your result straight after completing?

no shapes and no results

 

[JCL]

no shapes and no results

thank you

 

[FutureTrainee100]

Just make sure you don't use Chat GPT when writing app and these long dashes as you'll get rejected immediately

EXACTLY long dashes existed long before ChatGPT😭I used them in my app last year and still got an AC invite at Gibson haha

 

[dannyp123]

Most of the grad teams don't like seeing them in any of the applications; hence, it is always better to avoid them.

I'm sorry, but for example here an em dash would be quite useful:

'Most of the grad teams don't like seeing them in any of the applications — hence, it is always better to avoid them.'

Firms really reject applications based on AI when it is very obvious (i.e., extremely generic and overly flowery, convoluted language).

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

Is it fine not to use the full time given in video interviews or is it a bad look lmao

Hello!

As others have mentioned, it's completely fine to finish a video interview answer before the allotted time, as long as your response is clear and well-structured. If you've fully addressed the question and concluded confidently, wrapping up a little early is absolutely fine.

If you do notice that you are consistently finishing quite a bit early, it might be worth checking whether you can add a bit more depth or expand on your examples. Make sure that you've covered all the aspects of the question and explained your reasoning clearly.

If you've done that, leaving some time at the end isn't an issue - quality always matters more than duration!

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

W&C wvs offer 😅 I did my interview last Wednesday

Amazing!!! Huge congratulations, you should be super proud! Your hard work is clearly paying off, and you should definitely take some time to celebrate properly 🎊 😊

 

[dannyp123]

Does anyone know when you receive the AI Chatbox Test from Mishcon de Reya after sending your application?

 

[WillKitchen]

Does anyone know when you receive the AI Chatbox Test from Mishcon de Reya after sending your application?

Mine was a few weeks afterwards. I really enjoyed the chat interview - it took a long time, but it was a breath of fresh air after so many pie charts, graphs and video recordings at other firms!

 

[WillKitchen]

Me, a literature graduate, slamming the table because I can't use emdashes and "honed" anymore after AI because it'll be ruled out as one (I've always loved using them😭)

Agreed. I've published four books, and I use dashes all the time!

Thanks to law firm applications, I have started to use semicolons more often.

 

[abc124]

I'm slightly confused, in the Mayer Brown practice test it says we've got unlimited prep time for the VI questions but the invitation email says the vi questions 'are the only part of the assessment where there is a set preparation time'. Is the email some outdated template? Amberjack usually doesn't have limits on prep time

 

[lawstudent2]

I'm slightly confused, in the Mayer Brown practice test it says we've got unlimited prep time for the VI questions but the invitation email says the vi questions 'are the only part of the assessment where there is a set preparation time'. Is the email some outdated template? Amberjack usually doesn't have limits on prep time

There are four VI questions, two have unlimited prep time, two have limited prep time

 

[sjm251102]

Scary! Do they give you the materials beforehand to read atleast? Or are you expected to read materials & come up with an answer all in 1 minute?

Yesss you get the reading materials first, however once you have read them over, you start the question and there’s another paragraph with 3 questions to read through in 1 min😭😭 it’s just the short timing that makes it hard!!