• 📅 2025–26 Applications: Vacation Schemes, Open Days & Training Contracts

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    Vacation Schemes
    Rolling vs non-rolling checklist included.
    Open Days & Insight Schemes
    Comprehensive list across top firms.
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    All key TC deadlines in one place.
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  1. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @DulyDiligent! Just to add to @Ram Sabaratnam's great response, I think (1) and (3) are great, especially if you provide further analysis like Ram suggested. I think (2) can work as well, but you will have to be careful as to how you draft this as a USP, because there are other firms who...
  2. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @tarty23! I think this depends on the practice area in question, but my main sources for in-depth research would be: The general legal press: The Lawyer (I found it particularly useful), Law.com, Legal Business, The Global Legal Post, Bloomberg Law, Vault etc. My method would be to just type...
  3. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    @Jessica Booker will be able to tell you more about this, but in my case firms accepted an email from my university as proof of the results, so I don't think it's unlikely they will accept your statement as well.
  4. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @MayaM0921 and thanks for the kind words :)! To firstly deal with the structure of the 'Why you?' answer, I think what you want is something like this: Give a high level summary of what your answer will be, something like 'There are three reasons why you should offer me a place: my critical...
  5. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hey @B101 and first of all huge congratulations, this is an amazing achievement 🥳! I don't have any W&C specific tips, but I thought it might be useful to quote here a post I made about my interview preparation method:
  6. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    That's not a bad idea for an initial start, but as you progress with your preparation I would try to personalize it further. If you can make connections to and reference any similar situations you've dealt with in the past, that will make your answer a lot more persuasive.
  7. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @Aspiringsolicitor01! I do not think there is on because AC interview questions are a lot more expansive than VI questions. Since VI questions tend to be more formulaic and predictable, a question bank for AC questions will likely automatically include most questions you can expect in a VI...
  8. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @Amehta1! Having spoken to a friend who did it, it is timed. They did not mention the exact amount of time you get to prepare, but I think general practice is to have a 1-2 minute period per question.
  9. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi, @Pola123! First of all, congrats on the progression and good luck in the VI!! I did the DLA VI last year and from what I remember it mostly had the basic usual mix of motivational/competency questions you find in video interviews. While I don't know what questions they will use this year, I...
  10. Andrei Radu

    Are Open Day Applications reviewed for Vac Scheme Applications?

    Hi @AdiKhurana! I do not think it is an issue to reuse an example, provided that the final answer is sufficiently different from the initial one. Generally, you want to change your answers between the applications, both because (i) the VS application is substantially more competitive than the...
  11. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @tarty23! @Jessica Booker and @Ram Sabaratnam covered most of the relevant considerations for your question already, the only thing I would have to add is that in deciding which and how many practice areas you want to discuss, you should consider how much you can differentiate the firm's...
  12. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    I'm so happy to hear that :)! Best of luck in the interview!!
  13. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    In the US the perception is that many of them they tend to be quite focused on academics - both in terms of the prestige of the university and GPA. In the UK I definitely do not think that is true to the same extent. I known many people with 2.1s offered TCs at top white shoe firms, including...
  14. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    Hi @searchingforaTC and first of all huge congratulations on the interview! While @Jessica Booker will definitely be able to tell you more, from what I know from my own and others' practice area-focused interview experiences, I thought I would list some of the questions that may come up: What...
  15. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    A group of prestigious New York firms including the likes of Sullivan Cromwell, Simpson Thacher, Cravath, Davis Polk and Paul, Weiss. While there is no exact list of group 'members', the term has mostly been used to refer to the firms who were recruiting heavily from Ivy league universities...
  16. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    @Jessica Booker will have a more informed view on this, but from what I know it varies from firm by firm. I know some firms simply use a percentile system, in which your progression depends on how you perform relative to the scores of the other applicants. Anecdotally, percentile benchmarks vary...
  17. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2024-5

    Hey @omnium! While having a slight decline in your yearly average is not ideal (and is something that you may need to be able to discuss in an interview), this should not be an issue. Being on track for a strong mid 2.1 will likely not disadvantage you for any of the other MC firms. I personally...
  18. Andrei Radu

    Journey to a TC

    Hi @Tallat and first of all congrats on already progressing to the interview stage, that's amazing! As for practicing for the WG, there were two posts in which I discussed my top tips for WG preparation generally and specifically for the inferences and assumptions section. You may find them...
  19. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    I would say what is best to ask depends on (i) what your interests are; (ii) who is interviewing you; and (iii) what has previously been discussed in the interview: Firstly, you want to ask something that you actually care about. Whoever is interviewing you likely has significant experience...
  20. Andrei Radu

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

    I'm not sure whether Cleary has any particular CV preferences, but I think using bullet points is widely accepted as common practice for structuring a CV. This is the way I structured mine and was progressed by multiple firms.

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