• 📅 Vacation Scheme Applications 2025–26

    Planning to apply for winter, spring or summer vacation schemes? Join our dedicated threads for support, deadlines, and discussion:

    Let’s make this your strongest application season yet 💼

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  1. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    I remember after mine I was so anxious about potentially being rejected that I was just trying to fill all of the waiting time with "productive" activities which would help put me in a better position in the worse case scenario - such as starting new applications or doing lots of readings for my...
  2. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @gazdgazd11 I completely empathize with being stressed about written exercises, as I also did not get to do a mock one before my ACs last year. However, I have found that in practice, as long as I could keep myself focused on being very-time efficient, they were not as challenging as I...
  3. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    I'm so glad to hear Chris - and I hope the interview went very well for you, definitely let us know when you hear back :)
  4. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    For my first interview I spent around 3-4 days preparing (although only the last two were completely dedicated to this) and for the latter ones around 1-2 days. Different people however start at different points and learn at different speeds, so I think everything within a range of 2 to 6/7 days...
  5. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @lawstudent2 to boost your CV and general experiences, consider the following: Apply to/reach out to any smaller/local law firms and practitioners to see if there is any opportunity for an internship, paralegal, or shadowing work experience available. Browsing LinkedIn and sending emails...
  6. Andrei Radu

    K&E / Kirkland and Ellis research

    Hi @traineeintraining for the first question the first way we would look for Kirkland's general competitors will be to identify those that have (i) the best PE and (ii) the best restructuring practices (as those are its areas of focus and main revenue generators in London). Thus, we would look...
  7. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Katten is a firm I am not that familiar with myself, but having looked around a bit I found the following: In the US, while not among the most profitable or largest firms, it is still a prestigious big law firm: it has an average PEP of around $2.2m (which is a bit lower than MC and...
  8. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @ACivilLawyer and congratulations on getting the VS, it is a huge achievement! I have collated bellow some of my best tips on maximizing conversion chances. Firstly, consider doing the following in the preparation period before the vacation scheme starts: Review you firm research and...
  9. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    That's a great question, although unfortunately my capacity to give an informed view is very limited (these decisions are made by executive partners through rather secretive internal processes, and while I have a passion for researching these matters after all I am not even a trainee yet 😁)...
  10. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    For competitors in the sense of the "type of firm" Gibson Dunn is most alike, I would list other highly-profitable US firms with both transactional and contentious London practices: Simpson Thacher, Skadden, Milbank, and Latham. However, in many cases it is more useful to look at competitors on...
  11. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @gazdgazd11 just to add to the excellent points made by @Ram Sabaratnam I would also consider the following three factors: Current client demand: for many firms who consider expanding a crucial point is whether current clients have any operations or need for legal services in that foreign...
  12. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @Willgetthere and before @Ram Sabaratnam comes back to you, I thought to list some of Gibson Dunn's distinguishing features: Established among the most profitable and prestigious US firms: as a long-term member of the V10 group (the Vault list of the 10 most prestigious US firms, as ranked...
  13. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @floral.tcla I will first of all say that you are definitely taking the right approach in asking for and reflecting on feedback. I know how disappointing a post-AC rejection can feel, and showing this attitude in the face of it is no small feat. My advice on how to act on the feedback is the...
  14. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    For the podcasts question, I will recommend a number of different podcasts for the different kinds of useful content I have found: Keeping up with current events: here I would firstly recommend listening to the FT News Briefing every day - there is no better concise statement of the most...
  15. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hey Adrian and @Chris Brown and first of all congratulations on reaching the final stage! As for your query, you will appreciate that for reasons of fairness and confidentiality I will not be able to list the specific questions I was asked. I can however give you some general thought on what I...
  16. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    If you constantly look at notes to try to read out answers you had previously written down or because you had not memorized any relevant substantive points, I think this would not be a good idea. It is quite unlikely you would be able to fool the interviewer that you are formulating your...
  17. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    I remember the graduate recruiter at Paul, Weiss said that for the first stage application review they would have an automatic spelling and grammar check. If you passed that, I doubt they would focus much on it at a later point. I do however believe this applies more broadly. I had a few typos...
  18. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    I normally used 'Hi [name of the addressee]' if there was implied familiarity from the details of the written exercise or if they were someone in the firm who was not very senior. If they were either a client or a partner/counsel and familiarity was not implied, I simply used 'Dear [name of the...
  19. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    If you think you can improve your answer by bring up new points or by adding more insights, analysis, and nuance to already mentioned points, that is great. However, that is definitely not a requirement or expectation. If anything, firms would tend to expect your fundamental motivations to be...
  20. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @Chris Brown and @legal18 I would describe Willkie in London as a middle-sized office of a top US firm specializing in a number of transactional (particularly PE and insurance work) and contentious practices (particularly competition litigation and white collar crime). If we look at...
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