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TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

Prudentia

Star Member
Oct 21, 2025
35
66
Does anyone know if the Clifford Chance team reviews our first or latest submitted application when we make changes to the DTC application (the portal is still open and the page allows changing inputs and saving new inputs)
I didn’t know you could change applications! I submitted mine and didn’t realise the last sentence of my motivation response had been cut. I’ve quickly gone and edited it. They don’t review the applications under after you’ve passed the WG test anyway. So if you can edit it now go ahead and do it.
 
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AMullin

Active Member
Nov 18, 2025
12
13
Hi guys - I'm currently doing the cover letter for the Taylor Wessing application, and I had a couple of quick questions - if anyone has any advice, I'd be massively grateful! :)

1. On the application form, it says that candidates' cover letters must provide "details on your skills and why you have applied for the scheme". With this in mind, does a typical cover letter structure of why commercial law/why Taylor Wessing/why you sound okay?

2. I can't find anything on the Taylor Wessing website suggesting who the cover letter should be addressed to, but lawcareers.net suggests it should be addressed to Jasmine Hepple. I know that Jasmine Hepple works in Taylor Wessing's recruitment team; would it be a good idea to address it to her, or is it preferable to just put "Dear Sir/Madam?"

Apologies if these questions are a bit stupid; it's my first time writing in a cover letter in a while!
Hi!

So I have an application in for Taylor Wessing, not sure whether they invite everyone for the online test or review applications first but I had a test invite and I followed a similar why law/why TW/why me structure and addressed it Dear Graduate Recruitment Team.

As I said, I'm not sure if a human has actually looked at it yet so take that with a pinch of salt.
 

Amgrad

Legendary Member
Oct 2, 2025
164
213
Hi guys - I'm currently doing the cover letter for the Taylor Wessing application, and I had a couple of quick questions - if anyone has any advice, I'd be massively grateful! :)

1. On the application form, it says that candidates' cover letters must provide "details on your skills and why you have applied for the scheme". With this in mind, does a typical cover letter structure of why commercial law/why Taylor Wessing/why you sound okay?

2. I can't find anything on the Taylor Wessing website suggesting who the cover letter should be addressed to, but lawcareers.net suggests it should be addressed to Jasmine Hepple. I know that Jasmine Hepple works in Taylor Wessing's recruitment team; would it be a good idea to address it to her, or is it preferable to just put "Dear Sir/Madam?"

Apologies if these questions are a bit stupid; it's my first time writing in a cover letter in a while!
1. Yes, you can showcase whatever you think TW is peculiar in some way that is unlike any other firms. Also include its strong reason, not generic and not covered in your 2 essays.

2. Yep, she's so affable. I met her on the Open Day, you definitely can contact her by email, but sometimes it might be taking a while, if it's not replied you can go to TW online booth at Legal Cheek Virtual Law fair next Tuesday which was scheduled due to yesterday's cloudflare outage.
 
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Abbie Whitlock

Administrator
Staff member
Gold Member
Premium Member
Sep 11, 2025
520
450
Hi guys - I'm currently doing the cover letter for the Taylor Wessing application, and I had a couple of quick questions - if anyone has any advice, I'd be massively grateful! :)

1. On the application form, it says that candidates' cover letters must provide "details on your skills and why you have applied for the scheme". With this in mind, does a typical cover letter structure of why commercial law/why Taylor Wessing/why you sound okay?

2. I can't find anything on the Taylor Wessing website suggesting who the cover letter should be addressed to, but lawcareers.net suggests it should be addressed to Jasmine Hepple. I know that Jasmine Hepple works in Taylor Wessing's recruitment team; would it be a good idea to address it to her, or is it preferable to just put "Dear Sir/Madam?"

Apologies if these questions are a bit stupid; it's my first time writing in a cover letter in a while!
Hello!

No worries at all - these are not stupid questions!

A typical structure of “why commercial law / why Taylor Wessing / why you” works perfectly for your cover letter. The key is to keep it concise and to clearly link your skills and experiences to what the firm values. It’s a great place to highlight your transferable skills like teamwork, communication, or decision-making under pressure, using concrete examples from your past experiences that show why you’d be a strong candidate. Just make sure to outline ‘why this scheme’ in the ‘why TW’ part of your cover letter, and discuss what attracts you about the vacation scheme in particular :)

As for who to address it to, if you know that Jasmine Hepple works in the graduate recruitment team, it’s usually better to address it to her rather than “Dear Sir/Madam”, as it makes the letter more personal and shows you’ve done your research. Just double-check her role and the spelling of her name to be safe. If you’re not completely sure, “Dear Graduate Recruitment Team” is also a perfectly acceptable option.

It definitely sounds like you are approaching it the right way - just make sure to keep it focused, clear and use your examples to show how you demonstrate the skills needed

I hope that helps, and best of luck with your application! :)
 
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The Corporate Law Academy (TCLA) was founded in 2018 because we wanted to improve the legal journey. We wanted more transparency and better training. We wanted to form a community of aspiring lawyers who care about becoming the best version of themselves.

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