TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[radssss]

Amazing! So happy for you

You’re so kind and thank you

 

[TheSlapDotCom]

what are the chances HSF has simply lost my application lol

same

 

[HopefulTC]

Has anyone heard from HL post VI for Summer VS or shall I assume PFO

 

[DoNotRedeem]

For the folks that got proskauer AC invites could I ask when you guys applied? Thanks

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

Hey @Abbie Whitlock and everyone else that can help!!

I have an assessment centre soon and my first one, I am quite worried about the group interview and the written task + presentation. This is what I know so far:

Written Task and Presentation
- Written task is first then followed up with a separate follow-up virtual conversation, this will be the presentation task. Both will be based on the same scenario/brief. 50 minutes long in total. 5 minutes to review your instructions and 45 minutes to read the information provided and complete written response. 10 minute break in between written task and presentation. The presentation will be an opportunity to discuss the approach you had taken earlier in more detail. 40 minutes total for presentation so 5 minutes to review instructions given by assessor and 10 minutes to prepare for the presentation and then 25 minutes to present and discuss.

Group Exercise
Group of 3 or 4 candidates. In the morning before you are introduced to the exercise you will be told who your team is and if you are doing defendant summary A, B or C. Assessor will introduce the exercise and themselves then begin preparation time. You will evaluate defendant summary and give feedback to the group. As a group you will discuss how you will reach a conclusion to brief. 5 minutes to review instructions given. 10 minutes to read information provided. 15-20 minutes to do a group discussion. 20 minutes to present back to assessors and q&a.

I have no idea how or what to prepare so please anyone help! Thank you so much

Hey!

It is completely normal to be nervous before an AC, especially your first one! I'm happy to offer some pointers on how I would approach each task below

Written Task and Presentation

I would try to focus on using a clear structure and showing well-reasoned judgement, rather than trying to give a "perfect" answer.

For the written task, try to:
1. Start with a clear recommendation
2. Support this with 2-3 key reasons
3. Flag any main risks, and explain how you would mitigate these

Overall, aim to keep it concise and commercial-focused - it can be easy to slip into "essay-style" writing, but avoid this where possible!

For the presentation, you won't be expected to repeat what you wrote word for word. I would use the presentation to explain why you took that approach and the trade-offs that you considered. You should aim to show your thought-process, and any relevant factors or considerations that you took into account. This could also involve flagging areas where you might need more information before making a definitive decision, or practical steps that could be taken.

If challenged (which happens most of the time, so don't panic that they're doing it because your answer is "wrong"), make sure to talk through your reasoning calmly - it is absolutely fine not to know everything, but talking the assessor through what you are thinking helps a lot.

Group Exercise

This is usually much more about how you work with others, rather than the overall final answer. The assessors will usually be looking for collaborative behaviour and clear contributions to the group - however, this doesn't mean that you have to talk the most! I always aimed to be neither the quietest or the loudest in the room, and found that a middle ground struck the right balance. You could contribute by helping the group stay structured and on time, and helping track the progress as you go along.

It can be difficult to prepare for a group exercise and written task, but you could practise summarising lots of information quickly (e.g. by reading a commercial news story and creating a brief summary), as well as practise explaining your thinking out loud to others (e.g. your friends or family).

Overall, I'd try to go into the AC with the mindset of being a good future colleague, rather than trying to be the perfect candidate. Best of luck, and I'm sure you'll do great!!

 

[AryanAgg]

I'm curious: is a firm giving a wide range of international secondment opportunities also a unique selling point for a why this firm? question or it can be considered as potentially generic?

 

[lawstudent2]

anyone have any final advice before my ac tomorrow?
I received a rejection post weil ac today and my prep time and confidence have taken a pretty big hit as I haven't gotten any feedback yet so idk what went wrong and has made me wayyy more nervous for tomo

 

[trainee4u]

Someone DMed me "hey congrats on your AC, when is urs".

Like bro, you've been a member for 4 years, you've made two posts in that time, and you're asking me for info and could have said like "hey congrats on your AC, I'm X nice to meet you, I'm going on 10th", just annoying tbh

 

[trainee4u]

Bristows PFO post VI lmao.

Honestly I'll just get in the bin atp.

yeah mine were ok I thought? They asked about their competitor and I gave a thing about Bird & Bird ,what more do you want!?!?!

at least they gave some okish feedback, albeit where is the five!?

However, below are some top tips that we would like to share that may help interview performance in the future.
1. Make sure you are answering the question that you have been asked.
2. When talking about your previous experience, identify the key transferable skills that you have used or developed to face these situations.
3. Avoid using your generative AI to create a script for your answers to video interview questions, as we would like to see you speak with authenticity.
4. Expand your understanding of the role of a solicitor, and the work you will do as a trainee, you can do this by reading day in the life style blogs or attending firm events. Your increased knowledge of the role you are applying for will come across in your responses to our questions.
6. When researching law firms, make sure you have an understanding of the wider commercial field that we operate in, and the full service offering of the firm.

 

[johnsmith]

I'm curious: is a firm giving a wide range of international secondment opportunities also a unique selling point for a why this firm? question or it can be considered as potentially generic?

I think it's a USP, but you'd need to explain why that is important to you specifically. Also worth noting the secondments are linked to particularly high performance levels in previous seats and often connected to particular practice groups.

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

Hi @Abbie Whitlock @Andrei Radu

I have an upcoming AC with a written exercise being a briefing note.

Do you have any tips on how to structure and write this?

Hey!

Congratulations on the AC invite!

A briefing note is essentially a short document that is used to bring a colleague or client up to speed on an issue, and help them make a decision. Therefore, the focus should be on clarity, prioritisation, and offering an overall recommendation.

A structure that I would adopt is:
1. Purpose / Issue: why the note is being written and what decision is required
2. Key background facts: make sure that you only discuss facts that are relevant for the decision being made
3. Analysis: set out 2-3 key points that are influencing your view on the decision
4. Risks and Mitigation: discuss any material risks that would impact the situation, and how these could be managed in practice
5. Recommendation and Next Steps: lastly, make sure that you offer a clear and practical conclusion (even if it is dependent on other factors).

In terms of the style of the document, I would remember that it is likely being written for someone who is busy - therefore, you should aim to be concise and commercial-focused. You could perhaps utilise headings and bullet points to make it easier to read, and easier to scan for the more important information. I would avoid sitting on the fence in relation to the decision, but it is perfectly acceptable to acknowledge that there is uncertainty where appropriate.

They will be testing on how you think and communicate under time pressure, not whether you know everything. I would focus on making your note clear and structured, and as long as you offer a decision that makes sense based on the overall note, you should do great.

Best of luck!

 

[cinnamonspice]

yeah mine were ok I thought? They asked about their competitor and I gave a thing about Bird & Bird ,what more do you want!?!?!

at least they gave some okish feedback, albeit where is the five!?

However, below are some top tips that we would like to share that may help interview performance in the future.
1. Make sure you are answering the question that you have been asked.
2. When talking about your previous experience, identify the key transferable skills that you have used or developed to face these situations.
3. Avoid using your generative AI to create a script for your answers to video interview questions, as we would like to see you speak with authenticity.
4. Expand your understanding of the role of a solicitor, and the work you will do as a trainee, you can do this by reading day in the life style blogs or attending firm events. Your increased knowledge of the role you are applying for will come across in your responses to our questions.
6. When researching law firms, make sure you have an understanding of the wider commercial field that we operate in, and the full service offering of the firm.

i mentioned bird and bird too! maybe they have agenda against them lmao

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

is it frowned upon to email grad rec asking about a timeline re hearing back? im waiting on about 10 firms to get back post stage 2 and its been over a month since I did the last one, and I think its a bit ridiculous considering they're spring schemes

Hey!

I'd say it would be acceptable to send the graduate recruitment team a polite email to ask for an update on your application. Normally, one month isn't an abnormal amount of time to wait for an update, but if they are spring schemes, a brief check-in should be completely fine. Just make sure to keep it professional and avoid chasing them repeatedly (which I'm sure you weren't planning on doing anyway!)

 

[tclauser77898]

does Proskauer send interviews in batches?

 

[yasmars]

yeah mine were ok I thought? They asked about their competitor and I gave a thing about Bird & Bird ,what more do you want!?!?!

at least they gave some okish feedback, albeit where is the five!?

However, below are some top tips that we would like to share that may help interview performance in the future.
1. Make sure you are answering the question that you have been asked.
2. When talking about your previous experience, identify the key transferable skills that you have used or developed to face these situations.
3. Avoid using your generative AI to create a script for your answers to video interview questions, as we would like to see you speak with authenticity.
4. Expand your understanding of the role of a solicitor, and the work you will do as a trainee, you can do this by reading day in the life style blogs or attending firm events. Your increased knowledge of the role you are applying for will come across in your responses to our questions.
6. When researching law firms, make sure you have an understanding of the wider commercial field that we operate in, and the full service offering of the firm.

I feel like this is really good feedback

 

[fTS3002]

Proskeur Rose AC invite!!!

I would be very very grateful for any insight as it is one of my top choices and I have no clue what to expect in the AC (they will provide details closer to time of the activities).

@fTS3002 @Mart1nVa1l congrats guys!! Do Yall wanna create a gc to prep? Let me know if anyone else wants to be added.

Congrats to you as well A gc would be great to prep, pls add me!

 

[Donna Paulsen]

I keep track on Notion...and the amount of grey tabs is depressing lol

Mine are in red icl the firm rejections that have hurt me the most have just been deleted from the whole spreadsheet because I cba even seeing their name ever again #goodbye #nocontact #blacklisted

 

[bluesky]

Has anyone else not heard back from HSFK? It's 6 pm, so surely we won't get more PFO till tomorrow?

 

[Carrington Lane]

just to add onto the FF slander, not to give away too much but i am currently a mentee to a NQ solicitor there so i meet up with them virtually every few weeks and can i just say their attitude towards their own co-workers and in general their personality is probably one of the worst i have ever seen. they always reschedule and not show up, and you can just tell the company is absolutely all over the place. i have an opportunity to go down there for some work experience and i actually do not want to go and i know its an amazing opportunity but i actually cannot stand the company itself. i was encouraged by them to apply and i actually just wanted to crawl into a hole because i was just so put off which is such a shame because i used to like the firm.

Since we are spilling teas about 🏟, a few years ago I worked at a legal clinic with a 🏟 trainee and an associate as my supervisors.

Before our initial interview with the client, the first thing the trainee said was that she would not take any notes and basically say " you're on your own kid, you always have been."

The drafting phase was fine, but the juicy bits came after the case is closed. When the client flagged that there was some inaccuracy in the letter because of my mistakes, sure, I immediately rewrote it and asked them to re-approve the letter.

They immediately said no cause they have done their part on the case, the case had closed and they didn't want anything to do with it anymore. I was so shocked cause it was only 1 or 2 sentences that needed re-approval, even after I copied it to our email chain and beg them to approve only one sentence.

Anyway, my client, sweet lady though, has to wait from December to next year March just to get her finalised letter cause we have to ask for another associate from a different firm.

 

[Donna Paulsen]

Someone DMed me "hey congrats on your AC, when is urs".

Like bro, you've been a member for 4 years, you've made two posts in that time, and you're asking me for info and could have said like "hey congrats on your AC, I'm X nice to meet you, I'm going on 10th", just annoying tbh

Tbh nothing beats when someone was spamming me with ChatGPT-formulated messages asking about an AC I didn’t do of a firm that PFOd me honestly guys I know you just want support but please don’t go and message absolutely everyone who has mentioned the firm????