TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[Lawyergyal123!]

To second this, what’s the usual approach to Amberjack scores? Is having a 25/36 the usual minimum and if that’s met, individual pillar scores aren’t that important, or some firms have minimum per each pillar?

how do you find out the number ? ive just got the regular feedback report

 

[TortillaTC]

how do you find out the number ? ive just got the regular feedback report

Some firms like Simmons, Bakers and Reed Smith send you your scores per 3 or 4 pillars, others don’t.

 

[Bbhu19]

That is true! Thanks for the tip! Not sure what other firms are open with cappfinity testing tho :0 maybe BCLP? But lowkey a bit put off by the whole essay we need to write 🤣

Very true if you haven’t applied to Gibson Dunn, white and case they auto send capp tests

 

[elle woods]

Very true if you haven’t applied to Gibson Dunn, white and case they auto send capp tests

ooh I see thank you! Yea I'll be doing Gibson Dunn seriously, so hopefully it goes well... Thanks for letting me know! Will give this a go if I have time!

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

Has anyone particularly responded to Mayer Brown's extra question about "anything not covered elsewhere in this form that is relevant to your application"? I've been mulling over whether to put anything in there but I have at best one extra-curricular item that's really more of a hobby rather than a society or anything like that, and I doubt I would fill the 300 words available anyway, so wondering if I should just do a relatively brief description of what I did, what I gained, how it relates to being a trainee etc. Not to mention the fact that the Work Exp section is limited to 150 words instead of 250 like most of the other AllHires forms

Hey!

I don't think you're expected to force something into that box, and plenty of people either leave it blank or keep it very short. If you do have something that hasn't fitted neatly elsewhere, even if it is more of a hobby, a brief explanation can work well! It definitely does not need to fill all of the 300 words available - a few focused sentences on what you did, what skills you developed, and why it is relevant to your application is more than enough.

That said, if you feel discussing the hobby doesn't really add anything beyond what is already explained in the rest of your application, it is completely fine to leave it blank (as I often did!). I'd say that it's better to be concise than to include something for the sake of it

 

[EfficientBag123]

I got max applied numerical intellect and pillars 6,6,7,3. Am I cooked for bakers SJT?🤣

 

[anonymous.15]

I have a question for firms which operate on a non rolling basis do they view apps from the ones which were submitted earlier and then go onto the ones submitted later post deadline or do they start viewing apps but don't fill spaces until the deadline? very lame question I know pls don't come @ me

 

[Madison Pinewall]

gosh I just did my Hogan Lovells test and found the video questions so hard and unnatural. I spoke about the topic of the third question in my second question so it felt a bit too repetitive too, though I did shift focus. I am usually a good speaker but it feels too artificial

 

[Andrei Radu]

I have a question for firms which operate on a non rolling basis do they view apps from the ones which were submitted earlier and then go onto the ones submitted later post deadline or do they start viewing apps but don't fill spaces until the deadline? very lame question I know pls don't come @ me

Not a lame question at all - I remember asking recruiters about it back in the day. Unfortunately, the answer is quite unhelpful: different non-rolling firms have different policies as to how and when they review applications. Besides not making progressions decisions before the deadline has passed and after they have had the chance to consider all applications, you cannot know precisely what the procedure of any individual firm will be. That said, from what I know the majority of non-rolling firms will only start reviewing applications once the deadline has passed.

 

[badmintonflyinginsect]

Do you have the permanent right to work in the UK?
I'm on a Student Visa so I do have the right to work. But unsure what "permanent" means - should I say no?
Edit: this is for Akin + unsure if the firm sponsors intl students for TCs so if someone could jump in on this!

 

[WeGotThis!]

Do you have the permanent right to work in the UK?
I'm on a Student Visa so I do have the right to work. But unsure what "permanent" means - should I say no?
Edit: this is for Akin + unsure if the firm sponsors intl students for TCs so if someone could jump in on this!

Hello! Permanent right to work essentially means that you wouldn't need a visa because you are a citizen, hold an ILR, have a settled status or come from a country that doesn't need a visa to work in the UK.

But if you need a visa sponsorship in the future based on your passport or hold a time limited visa (Eg: Graduate Visa), then you do not have the permanent right to work.

However, it is best to email the Grad Rec team once as well for clarification. Hope this helps!

 

[anonymous.15]

Not a lame question at all - I remember asking recruiters about it back in the day. Unfortunately, the answer is quite unhelpful: different non-rolling firms have different policies as to how and when they review applications. Besides not making progressions decisions before the deadline has passed and after they have had the chance to consider all applications, you cannot know precisely what the procedure of any individual firm will be. That said, from what I know the majority of non-rolling firms will only start reviewing applications once the deadline has passed.

thanks for the insight Andrei !! Would you recommend mailing the firm and asking this?

 

[futuretraineeihope]

Hey!

Generally, yes - making brief notes during the preparation / reading time is acceptable unless the firm explicitly says otherwise. In previous VIs, I have used the preparation time to structure my thoughts on paper, and I haven't ran into issues with this. "Independently and unaided" is usually aimed at preventing candidates from using external help (e.g. other people, pre-written scripts, websites, or AI), not at stopping you from jotting down a few structure points.

As long as the notes are made during the prep time, they're based only on the question and your own ideas, and you're not reading from a pre-prepared script or external materials, then this is typically fine and very common practice.

I would just make sure to check the specific VI instructions carefully - some platforms explicitly allow note-taking, while a few may ask you not to. If it's not prohibited, brief bullet-point notes for structure are generally understood and acceptable.

Best of luck with the VI!

Hi. Thank you so much for your answer. That is really helpful. There is no explicit mention of note taking in the email invitation but I will definitely make sure to check there is nothing stating otherwise when I actually click on the interview.

 

[W5690]

I passed the DLA wg on the 30th oct... haven't heard back from them since. Not sure how to feel about this

@J333 Hi! Congrats! How long did you wait before being sent an email informing that you had passed the WG test? Thank you.

 

[yk1906]

Happy Monday! Manifesting an AC invite for everyone 🙏💪💪

 

[tk.42_]

Has Baker McKenzie sent out online tests?

 

[lesh]

DENTONS PFO , goodbye tc dream

those guys legit have 5 direct tc spots just to give 4 of those to their paralegals

 

[lesh]

What I have found helpful is assessmentday and TCLA's WG. Also like you say asking chatgpt to test you helps, at the very least in understanding what the test is looking for.

use gemini guided learning feature to learn step by step

 

[Amgrad]

those guys legit have 5 direct tc spots just to give 4 of those to their paralegals

Where did you find this?

 

[ilikelaw]

A bit of a silly question... for Cooley's summer programme, one of the questions is 'Please tell us about interests and activities you pursue and positions of responsibility that are relevant for the role.' I was wondering if I should place advising at my university's legal clinic in this section instead of the work experience section as I have done previously? Also, would this count as a position of responsibility?

I ask this because its probably my strongest point, but I don't want to repeat what I have said in the work experience section. My other positions of responsibility largely come from my paid employment, so I don't want to mention them in this question. I also have a couple of positions of responsibility from Year 11 but I am very reluctant to use these seeing as it's been four years since then and it seems a little juvenile... 😓