• WIN: Lunch with Willkie Trainees!
    15 Oct 2025 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm (UK) Zoom (registration required)
    Put your knowledge of Willkie Farr & Gallagher to the test in this interactive quiz session. The winner will enjoy lunch with Willkie trainees!
    Register on Zoom →
  • Get Everything You Need to Secure a Training Contract
    Now half the price. Join TCLA Premium for £30/month and get step-by-step application support, daily commercial awareness practice, and 700+ successful examples of past applications and interview experiences. Plus so much more.
    Join Premium →

Search results

  1. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    You need to explain what your expectations are for which route you will be taking, and where/when you expect to do this. It is an open question to check people's expectations of what and when they will study.
  2. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    I wouldn’t expect much in terms of update until probably the 2 or possibly even 3 January. Some firms will be open the 27, 28 and 29th but so many people are off for the festive break, I don’t think you can expect much until everyone is back in the new year.
  3. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2023-4

    I think you can just go into the summary (as if it was attached to an email).
  4. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2023-4

    With the 30 month programme, you do your SQE during the training contract, so you would have between 2024 and 2025 to do the PGDL before starting.
  5. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    If you can’t fit it in, I’d try to be more concise rather than using the other section as an overflow. You can use it as an overflow if you wish, but it’s not really there for that purpose - it’s more for the evidence you haven’t been asked for rather than the elements that didn’t fit in elsewhere.
  6. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    Consider it as if there is anything you feel that is really important to explain in regards to your application but you haven’t had the opportunity to present it in other sections of your application because you have not been asked (rather than you not being able to fit it in). There are quite...
  7. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    If it’s a family member it’s unlikely they will ask for proof of the circumstance (as it’s not your information) but may ask for your academic institution to provide some form of reference that they knew about the circumstances instead.
  8. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    They can do depends on the circumstances and how they have impacted your grades/profile. It’s one of those things where it tends to be a case by case basis rather than a standardised approach, even within the same firm.
  9. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    Your certificates should be sufficient for A-levels and GCSEs - they won’t want transcripts for these as they only care about the overall grade. The transcript is only really needed for your degree level qualification(s), as they are interested in the module scores.
  10. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2023-4

    I would recommend focusing on deals at least partly covered by the office you are applying to. If you are using it as justification as to why you want to work at the firm, it can often fall a little flat if lawyers in the office you are applying to haven’t worked on the matter. There are some...
  11. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    Firms don’t have to declare anything really - they are private companies and have no requirement to publicise such information, in the same way they don’t have to publicise their retention rates, their profits/PEP, their strategy etc. All regulated firms in England and Wales have to report on...
  12. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    The firm uses Mishcon, so you can use that:
  13. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    You don’t have to disclose how you got the work experience unless explicitly asked. However, for something where the relationship is a direct relative (parent/sibling) I think a very brief reference to it being part of your family’s business can be useful for context, and doesn’t mean there’s a...
  14. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    I would personally recommend finding something more recent. 7 years is quite a long time in law.
  15. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    They can’t see this information on individual applications, but they can report on the collective data. So say for instance, a firm has a target of getting 10% of their applications from Black candidates, they can monitor that across applications whilst they are coming in and if they are not...
  16. TCLA Community Assistant

    How difficult is it to get a VS being mid 20s and already qualified in another country?

    One quick question - have you got the right to work in the U.K. for a vacation scheme?
  17. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    It means being a bit new to the process. For instance, the earlier in the cycle you do your interviews, the more likely you are to come across candidates who have never interviewed before, while later in the cycle it maybe that more candidate have had practice through being interviewed with...
  18. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    These things tend to come in waves and trends. Sometimes firms feels like they have to push their processes earlier to compete with other firms, only to find out that approach starts to harm them in other ways (eg if you complete earlier you may just have higher renege/drop out rates, or end...
  19. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    This is not required - it is only really there for their other vacancies that also use the same applicant tracking system but are not relying on an application form. It will most likely not even be read if you do.
  20. TCLA Community Assistant

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2023-24

    I’d focus more on what was the most challenging, what was the biggest commitment, or what developed a range of skills rather than worrying about them being legal or non-legal experiences.

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.