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29 Oct 2025
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm (UK)
Hosted on TCLA TV
Join Isabel Elsey, Legal Recruitment Manager at BCLP, for a live Q&A session. Get details on secondments, innovation, growth areas, and everything else you’ve wanted to ask about life at BCLP!
Yeah I’m not sure to be honest but I think if we all focus on this first stage and pass it, I’m sure they will tell us all what to expect if there are any further assessments prior to the VS and during the VS (e.g., final partner exit interviews).
I saw it was 3 x 600 word long answer questions and called it quits. 🥲🥲
I was not about to write an entire essay like I did for BCLP (4 x 500 word long answer questions). 😂😂
I might apply for the DTC as it’s open until June so more time to prepare for my ramble. 🥲🥲
I have seen a Chambers Student Guide chart that said they received just under 1,000 but I’m not sure for which application cycle. It might be the numbers have increased gradually over each recruitment cycle. I have copied the link below...
I think the majority of their TC’s go to people on the VS but I think they also offer TC’s internally to people who are paralegals. Clyde & Co recently introduced their paralegal academy so i imagine if you are a law finalist or graduate then that’s an alternative route. I definitely agree it’s...
I was on LinkedIn before and I came across a link to a TCLA YouTube video with Jaysen (TCLA) and Gemma (Willkie). In this application cycle, they received just under 1,400 applications (1,396), which is crazy for only 20 VS places and 6-7 TC offers. 😦
I imagine if 25% were moved to the VI...
I think applications normally open in Sept for each year and most Open Days take place around Nov/Dec.
Some VS applications open in Aug for WVS and close in Sept (A&O Shearman, Ashurst, Freshfields, etc). 🙂
Spring and Summer VS applications normally open in Sept/Oct and close in Dec/Jan. 🙂
What would you say in relation to competition for certain seats (e.g., international arbitration) at Freshfields, given the firm has an eight-seat trainee associate programme. If each intake has 40-50 trainees (two cohorts per year) and for each seat rotation, a vast majority of trainees...
I guess I was looking at it from the perspective of international arbitration specifically. If there were 100 Freshfields trainees who were all seeking to qualify into international arbitration only, it would be more competitive than 5-10 trainees at Debevoise & Plimpton looking to qualify into...
I would think it depends on the size of the firm and in relation to its graduate recruitment, how many trainees the firm takes on. For example, a firm like Debevoise & Plimpton takes on around 10 trainees. For a firm like this, I would imagine it’s less competitive to enter international...
Some firms would probably be recruiting for a 2027 start but most would be 2028/29 I think.
The next cycle starts around August / September time for WVS applications.
Thank you so much @Andrei Radu this was so useful. I have been trying to wrap my head around this topic for a couple of days and had virtually no luck at all. This makes it seem somewhat less complicated than I perhaps initially thought it was (the big words probably threw me off). I didn’t...
Could someone please explain the difference between debt finance and equity finance and what the relative advantages and disadvantages are of each type of financing (in the context of PE), but in a way that would be digestible to a lay person. Why would one be chosen over the other? I’m trying...
In addition to what @VMS said, I think you can also try see if the firm has any forage internships that you could complete. This could help you understand the kind of work a trainee would do and the kinds of matters that the firm typically advises on. 🙂
Perhaps if the firm hosts virtual events...
I’ve probably asked this question at least 10x by now but has anyone heard from Travers Smith or Ropes & Gray at all? Low-key starting to crash out from waiting this long lmao. 😂🥲
Is this why they asked on their application form for one of their 500 word questions “how do business generate and maintain a profit.” These guys were trying to get some ideas from us lmao. Icl it’s clever on their part. I hope they took some detailed notes. 😂
I remember at their open day, someone asked why their trainee retention rates were so low and why BCLP seems like a sinking ship, and the partner basically dodged the question and waffled about how the firm is recognised for its training quality. Having said that, I may or may not re-apply for...
Most of us who got invited to interview scored between 20-24 on the SJT. I think scoring anything above 20 will be fine. However, since Paul, Weiss assess test scores alongside written application, I think it would also depend on the quality of the application as well. I’m sure you’ll hear back...
By video interview (VI), do you mean like a pre-recorded style VI, or any kind of VI? I think Travers Smith have a similar process to Slaughter and May, except the partner interviews are conducted virtually. People who pass that interview get the VS offer, and do the AC during the VS. I think I...
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