• 📅 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 💼

Search results

  1. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @Hana ♥ and congrats on the AC! I will link here some of the general and NRF-specific resources I think could be most helpful, but please let me know if you have any follow up questions after you have taken a look: For my best tips for interview preparation, see my Complete Competency...
  2. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    I would not expect it to. Firstly, because firms in general, but in particular American firms, have a clear preference for recruiting candidates that they can observe and test in the office. In fact, as far as I am aware, the only route available to enter biglaw in the US is the summer associate...
  3. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    To improve commercial awareness as much as you can over a short period, I advise you to do the following: Try to understand well the basics of how businesses and investments work. On the business side, look up how businesses generate revenue and grow, but also what are the main risks they face...
  4. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @pleasepleaseplease as I have never been assessed under this particular format I will not be able to speak from experience, but as I see it this exercise is set out to test mainly two things: Firstly, your commercial awareness. More specifically, since you mention it could be unrelated to...
  5. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    I generally think there is nothing wrong with using answers you formulated in your applications as well, although for some reason it seems many people initially assume that this is the case. Of course you can and should polish and tailor the answers for the purposes of the interview, perhaps by...
  6. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    I think you should still wait another week, as 2-3 weeks is still not far off from the average response time. If you hear nothing by then, you can send an email to check when to expect a response by.
  7. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    I think you should introduce yourself first but only very briefly - something like "Hi, my name is X and today I will be presenting on ..." should suffice. As for the short summary, I think in many cases that works better at the end, as you want the interviewers to remember that you covered the...
  8. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Just to add a couple of points to @Jessica Booker 's great response: 1. Judging the building of rapport is difficult as partners have very different approaches to interviews. Whilst I think discussing personal life is a positive sign in this regard, it is definitely not conclusive. Besides...
  9. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    I doubt they would ever rescind it for merely asking for a longer time to sign, but they may insist that the offer's expiry date is fixed. If you do decide to tell them about this, I would however be careful to not phrase my intentions as wanting to do other vacation schemes because I had not...
  10. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @Lalis, to list a few of my top VS conversion tips: Speak with people at the firm (particularly graduate recruitment, recruitment partners, and trainees) to find out what are the most important assessment criteria for conversion. Different firms have different policies - for instance, in my...
  11. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @FutureTraineeMaybe for the group exercise I think you need to strike the right balance between showcasing teamwork and collaboration but also demonstrating your capacity for commercial analysis and leadership. Since there is a tight time limit and since everyone will be aiming to show the...
  12. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    No - I was fortunate in that the first TC offer I got was only expiring in September. The second spring offer was in theory only valid for three weeks, but I negotiated a longer period for consideration so that I am able to complete my summer vacation schemes. In practice, if you have multiple...
  13. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @AS24 I hope you have enjoyed your weekend as well :)! For the first part of the task, I would focus on making the practical answer the client is seeking very clear. If possible, provide actionable steps that the client can take relating to the issue at hand. Furthermore, if you have the...
  14. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    When I interviewed with Slaughter and May it took them around a month to get back to me and I ended up receiving a VS offer. With Milbank, I only heard back two weeks afterwards and also got an offer. While some firms will respond very quickly, others spread out ACs over a longer period of time...
  15. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    I definitely would not assume rejection, firms have very different response times for a variety of reasons. In some cases I had to wait for two months to get an AC invite. But to address your question, I think most ACs take place in February, but there are definitely some also being held in...
  16. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Depending on the question and the time you have to respond to it, sometimes linking it to your own experiences will not be a strict requirement. For instance, if the question was "What are three essential skills for a successful commercial solicitor and why?" and the response time was one...
  17. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    I think normally you can - I have actually been in this situation before, as I received my TC offers from Milbank and Willkie in the spring but went on to do my Davis Polk and Slaughter and May vacations schemes in the summer. You should not have any issues with doing your summer schemes unless...
  18. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    I think your primary focus should be on why you want to be a solicitor - so make sure to show (i) why do you want to work in the legal field - what interests you about law?; (ii) why do you want to be a legal practitioner, as opposed to, say, an academic?; and (iii) why do you want to be a...
  19. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    If you get an offer from another firm and you only have a short period before you have to respond to it, you should definitely let the other firms know. It is quite a common circumstance and many of them will be willing to speed up the process. In some cases, I have anecdotal evidence of firms...
  20. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    The website allows for personal messages, but community assistants will normally respond with a message redirecting you to post your query on the forums and will only respond to it there. The reason for that is to make information available to as many people as possible, which means keeping it...

About Us

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.

Newsletter

Discover the most relevant business news, access our law firm analysis, and receive our best advice for aspiring lawyers.

    Share this page

    Community platform by XenForo® © 2010-2022 XenForo Ltd. | Style and add-ons by ThemeHouse | Community services from Audentio
    XenCarta 2 PRO © Jason Axelrod of 8WAYRUN
    Top Bottom