TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[scoffee]

Welcome new forum members 👀 - can we at least get some lovely introductions, if poss, so we can better direct our queries?

Hey guys! I'm a final year Scots Law student and I am currently completing my second app cycle. Last year I was doing a year abroad so didn't apply to many firms as I was very limited on being able to travel for ACs, but I got one VS, which unfortunately I didn't convert.

I think the theme of not converting to a TC has been talked about a bit on the forum yesterday, so I'm happy to give a bit of insight into my experience if anyone is worried about converting or in a similar position to me. This is also my first year of being eligible for most US/London firms since my degree is technically 'non-law' in England, so a lot of these application processes are still new to me!

Looking forward to getting more involved in the forum and sharing anything that might be useful from my experiences so far!

 

[yk1906]

App it was evident that most applicant used ChatGPT to aid them during the app process which clearly became evident on the scheme

This is what I got from a friend who successfully got a TC last year on that scheme

Interesting... Then app questions weren't a particularly high decisive factor, I reckon? I am a coach for one competition, and whenever we assemble a new team, I put their motivational answers into an AI detector before making a final decision. If it's 20%, then I let it go, of course, but if it's 80-90%...

P.S. I am not against AI, but how you use it demonstrates intelligence, in my view

 

[anonymousanon123]

Does anyone have any advice on how to properly tackle a question asking: ‘how would you ensure you are continuously learning and developing in the role of a trainee associate’? Any help would be appreciated frfr!​

I think a good way to answer this question is to focus on the qualities that help you keep learning in any role, like curiosity, self-reflection, and initiative.

For example, you could talk about taking the initiative to go to optional firm events or training sessions, such as ones on new AI tools or changes in the legal landscape, and link this to times when you’ve done something similar in past jobs or work experience to build your understanding.

You could also mention setting your own learning goals at the start of each seat, based on what the firm values, and actively asking for feedback from supervisors so you can keep improving.

It would also be good to mention the importance of putting yourself in uncomfortable situations - actively seeking out tasks you haven't done so that you can learn new skills.

As always, it helps to tie this back to experiences you’ve actually had before to evidence these claims. Hope this helps!

 

[TinnedFish]

ES video interview - any tips or insights from anyone who has done it before? I am absolutely terrible at video interviews and want to be as prepared as possible😭 I know it’s strengths-based but was wondering if it is entirely scenario questions or a mix of scenarios with anything else e.g. why the firm, why commercial law. Super nervous!

Hey! I did ES's video interview last year and you're right it is strengths-based. The firm really focuses on your motivations in specific scenarios and what qualities you're naturally drawn to expressing. Expect mainly questions about an experience you have and how that shows your affinity for a specific strength. The firm also likes if you mention what energised you about the overall situation. Focus on preparing these competency examples instead of preparing the typical why law, why firm!

 

[anonymousanon123]

Does anybody have any tips on how to write about a different firm's vacation scheme that you have completed in the work experience section of job apps?

Treat it like any other work experience section - keep it concise, but make it really specific. Mention where you were sitting, the kind of work you helped with, the actual tasks you did, and what the experience taught you about how commercial law firms work. As always, try to link it back to why you’re confident this is the career you want to pursue. Good luck!

 

[anonymousanon123]

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... 😓

Hey - no silly questions here, we’re all figuring this out!

I think it definitely makes sense to include your university legal clinic experience in the positions of responsibility section. It’s directly relevant to the role and it’s clearly a position of responsibility, so you’ll have loads of good things to draw on.

I’d keep it in both sections, but you’re right that you don’t want to repeat yourself - with such limited word counts, that would be a bit of a waste of a chance to show yourself off! Instead, you could use the work experience section to show your exposure to formal legal work (focusing more on the practical side of the role and the hard skills you picked up), and then use the responsibility section to go deeper into specific experiences, how you handled responsibility, and - most importantly - link it clearly to how it confirmed your interest in commercial law.

 

[johnsmith]

1500 words??? who has time for that???? why r they asking me for a tutorial essay???

Broken down, this doesn't seem that bad, and there is definitely cross-over with questions from other firms - number 3 is always a tricky one, though, had it in 2 interviews this month, and I think as a prospective trainee you're kind of focused on the prize of the TC offer and haven't necessarily decided what your future career looks like. Interesting on to consider though.

 

[Suii]

me too lollll - I got the AC 2 years ago when I was in uni and had no legal experience.... I applied again this year and now have 1.5 years of paralegal experience and I got a PFO!!!! crazy....

I know how you feel and tbh I feel a 2k app with a critical thinking test is a long process like do the test with shorter questions or just remove the test.

 

[anonymousanon123]

Welcome new forum members 👀 - can we at least get some lovely introductions, if poss, so we can better direct our queries?

Hey! I’m a recent law graduate about to start the SQE. I have a training contract offer from Freshfields and previously received interviews from HSF, Milbank, and Trowers & Hamlins for their vac schemes (did not attend HSF though!). I also received a TC offer from Milbank after their vac scheme, as well as a vac scheme place at Trowers that I did not attend. Happy to help with any questions!

 

[anonymousanon123]

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

Honestly, this is such a normal feeling. Those video questions feel soo unnatural at first, even if you’re usually a confident speaker. It really does get easier with practice. A big tip is to practice answering questions out loud on camera (even just on your phone) so you get used to talking to a screen rather than a person. Also, don’t worry too much about a bit of overlap between answers. I think assessors expect some repetition, and as long as you shift the angle clearly, that’s completely fine. The more you do these, the more natural and less “artificial” they start to feel, I promise. You’ve got this!

 

[TinnedFish]

Hiii, thanks for sharing your experience! Do you have any advice as to how to convert a vac?? And maybe what not to do, or any insight as to why people might not convert one? I’m super nervous for mine and not sure what to expect and how to act lol 😭

I’m a little scared that my written work/ tasks won’t be up to standard, or if I will know how to even approach the task in general (I guess the best approach is to clarify with the supervisor, but still)

I’ve done a one-week vac at a smaller firm but I wasn’t too nervous for it since it wasn’t convertible anyways and it was quite informal.

But since this vac is one with a much larger firm and one I really want, I’m just extra jittery! Any advice would be appreciated!!

Hi! I wanted to give my two cents on this as someone who has failed to convert 3 vac schemes 😭!

The biggest mistake I made and one that I've seen drag other top candidates down was confidence. You have to try your best to really put yourself out there and express how interested you are in the work and the firm. There were times where a task that my supervisor was doing was super fascinating to me but because I just quietly did what was assigned to me without voicing this interest, he assumed that I wasn't interested at all.

In terms of the written work/tasks, I did 4-5 forage vac schemes (theforage.com/simulations?careers=law) before my actual vac schemes and this was a really useful example of how lawyers structure and draft documents and I tried to mimic their language and style. This ended up working well for me as I usually performed on the work/tasks.

Lastly I would say to just enjoy the experience, make friends with all the other schemers and try to connect with the lawyers at the firm. Grad Rec can sense your energy and whether someone doesn't fit in with their cohort or the firm and will definitely take it into consideration. Also always be friendly and polite! (Someone on a scheme I attended was kicked off halfway through for making fun of someone's hairline😭)

 

[TinnedFish]

could anyone please advise on this please on understanding what a firm is looking for in their video interview process?
- Format: 3 mins to prep 90 seconds to respond
- Told we are being assessed on skills and competencies, and the VI email invite explicitly stated that the VI assesses 4 competencies
- But the firm's video advises us to focus just on how we would approach the situation - to not bring in past examples - but to also show your unique perspective and how we would approach the situation.
- am I correct in thinking that this is what the firm is saying: your skills/past experience is not directly assessed, only how you would approach the situation (which can be informed by past experiences, no matter what that encompassed and how much you have).
- but if everyone is saying similar things and making similar points, how would the firm distinguish between candidates (this is the final stage before the AC)?

If the firm has really said not to bring in past examples then you're probably right in that they are mainly assessing how you approach the situation. I'm sure that there will be differences in the points that each person makes and how they tackle the questions based on their own lived experiences. HOWEVER, if everyone does end up making similar points, the firm will likely distinguish candidates based on energy, confidence, and structure. So for example:

Did you make your points clearly and logically?
Did you stutter?
Did you sound passionate and excited?
Was your delivery & pronounciation strong?
Were you maintaning eye contact? (or camera contact I guess??)

These are definitely what I would make sure to have perfected before the VI!

 

[elle woods]

Hi! I wanted to give my two cents on this as someone who has failed to convert 3 vac schemes 😭!

The biggest mistake I made and one that I've seen drag other top candidates down was confidence. You have to try your best to really put yourself out there and express how interested you are in the work and the firm. There were times where a task that my supervisor was doing was super fascinating to me but because I just quietly did what was assigned to me without voicing this interest, he assumed that I wasn't interested at all.

In terms of the written work/tasks, I did 4-5 forage vac schemes (theforage.com/simulations?careers=law) before my actual vac schemes and this was a really useful example of how lawyers structure and draft documents and I tried to mimic their language and style. This ended up working well for me as I usually performed on the work/tasks.

Lastly I would say to just enjoy the experience, make friends with all the other schemers and try to connect with the lawyers at the firm. Grad Rec can sense your energy and whether someone doesn't fit in with their cohort or the firm and will definitely take it into consideration. Also always be friendly and polite! (Someone on a scheme I attended was kicked off halfway through for making fun of someone's hairline😭)

Thank you so so much! This is also super helpful!! And damn you should’ve seen my face when I read that last line 😂

What I struggle with is knowing if it’s okay to interrupt a partner if I’m interested in their work or if they’re too busy to want to discuss things with you 😭

Haha I guess the best way to go about it is just to be less nervous as it’s easier to be confident and curious when you’re not worrying about the small details (maybe?)

All the best!! Are you applying to DTC or VS’ this year? Or do you have a TC already? Best of luck either way and thanks again!

 

[yk1906]

Eversheds PFO

 

[TinnedFish]

Thank you so so much! This is also super helpful!! And damn you should’ve seen my face when I read that last line 😂

What I struggle with is knowing if it’s okay to interrupt a partner if I’m interested in their work or if they’re too busy to want to discuss things with you 😭

Haha I guess the best way to go about it is just to be less nervous as it’s easier to be confident and curious when you’re not worrying about the small details (maybe?)

All the best!! Are you applying to DTC or VS’ this year? Or do you have a TC already? Best of luck either way and thanks again!

Elle, you should've seen my face when they made that hair line comment to that poor paralegal😭

I had the same issue struggling with interrupting partners as they can have so much aura. What I did that seemed to work was when initially getting introduced to them by my supervisor, I would ask whether they were free for a coffee at the end of the day or tomorrow. I would then use that coffee chat to really get to know them and try to build rapport. After that, it became a lot less scary to ask them about their work.

On that note, I would say to always ask if you're interested as a closed mouth doesn't get fed. If you don't ask you definitely won't get anything from them but if you do ask there's always a chance they'll be happy to walk you through things. One time, I overheard a partner talking about a scheduled client negotiation over the phone, After his call ended I asked him about it and cheekily suggested that it would be a great learning opportunity for me if I could sit in and he actually ended up bringing me to the negotiation. I might've just been a piece of furniture during the discussion but it was a really interesting experience that I wouldn't have gotten if I hadn't asked!

I do already have a TC so feel free to ask any questions you have. Best of luck to you too!

 

[elle woods]

Sigh Mayer Brown Automatic Test invite 😭 would anyone have any insights into the VI please? Same with Weil tbh

 

[Rads]

Sigh Mayer Brown Automatic Test invite 😭 would anyone have any insights into the VI please? Same with Weil tbh

Same any insights would help!

 

[TinnedFish]

Any tips on how not to lose my mind over christmas knowing firms are going to be telling anyone anything until Jan🫠

Tbh I've just deleted gmail every christmas for the past 3 years. Out of sight out of mind!

 

[Madison Pinewall]

Sigh Mayer Brown Automatic Test invite 😭 would anyone have any insights into the VI please? Same with Weil tbh

The Mayer Brown test has a VI??

 

[elle woods]

Elle, you should've seen my face when they made that hair line comment to that poor paralegal😭

I had the same issue struggling with interrupting partners as they can have so much aura. What I did that seemed to work was when initially getting introduced to them by my supervisor, I would ask whether they were free for a coffee at the end of the day or tomorrow. I would then use that coffee chat to really get to know them and try to build rapport. After that, it became a lot less scary to ask them about their work.

On that note, I would say to always ask if you're interested as a closed mouth doesn't get fed. If you don't ask you definitely won't get anything from them but if you do ask there's always a chance they'll be happy to walk you through things. One time, I overheard a partner talking about a scheduled client negotiation over the phone, After his call ended I asked him about it and cheekily suggested that it would be a great learning opportunity for me if I could sit in and he actually ended up bringing me to the negotiation. I might've just been a piece of furniture during the discussion but it was a really interesting experience that I wouldn't have gotten if I hadn't asked!

I do already have a TC so feel free to ask any questions you have. Best of luck to you too!

poor thing hahah

Yess thank you for the above! Closed mouths don't get fed is sooo true. I love that haha, hopefully I'll be less stressed about the scheme when the time comes around so that I can just be myself and be a curious little social butterfly hahah

Oh wow well done on securing your TC!!