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17 December 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!
Hoping Travers Smith will get back to us this week or next with either a partner interview invite or a PFO. At this point my reaction will be the same because the waiting is long asf. 🥲
I think BCLP, Macfarlanes and White & Case have a DTC route open until May-July. If you applied for the VS and were unsuccessful after application stage, then you can apply for the DTC in the same cycle. White & Case only recruit 20% of their trainees from DTC (10/50 per year), so I imagine it’s...
I think Freshfields got rid of their summer DTC because they introduced the WVS (for finalists and graduates). I also think you can only send one application per cycle to Freshfields, so if you applied for the winter DTC, you would need to wait for the next cycle. The WVS (Dec 2025) is for next...
I think it’s firm dependant. If a firm has a large trainee intake and recruits a lot of trainees from the DTC route (50% or above) then go for it. Typically, this would be the Magic Circle firms. If a firm has a small trainee intake and recruits only a few trainees per year from the DTC route...
I knew getting a TC at a city law firm was competitive but damn I didn’t realise it was like this lmao. 7,000 is actually insane!! How does a firm even begin cutting down from 7,000? How did they manage to go from 7,000 to 30, that’s also insane!! 😮😖
In the FAQ section of their graduate recruitment website, it says you can re-apply if unsuccessful but only once per cycle. If you do re-apply there needs to be an improvement in your application...
I have managed to get past application stage for a few firms even though I am certain I had some typos and spag errors (White & Case, Willkie, BCLP and Paul, Weiss). I missed the , for Paul, Weiss at least 3x in my application and I have an interview soon. I’m lowkey worried they might ask about...
I am sorry to hear you are feeling this way. Just know that you aren’t alone in feeling like this. This whole process is so stressful and demotivating. To try and find the will power and energy to write more applications is incredibly difficult. I am genuinely amazed by the resilience some...
I think more city law firms should follow in the footsteps of Travers Smith, White & Case and BCLP. 2,000 words is light work idk why there aren’t more firms asking us to write that much in our applications. Surely we’d all be doing it for the thrill!! 😖🤣
Based on what people have said on this thread, the deadline for the Mischon VI is 23:59 on Tuesday the 25th, meaning up until 23:59 on that day, you can sit and complete the VI. It is fine to submit Tuesday 11:59 or even 22:59 (one hour before). 🙂
Most firms have virtual internships on Forage so if you haven’t completed those yet, they are a great way of demonstrating an interest in the firm. I think they also can count as work experience because you are completing trainee style work. I know all the Magic Circle firms have virtual...
The only thing I can think of is that there might have been some people on TCLA who did get to the Linklaters AC but they chose not to post about it. 🤷🏾♂️
Thank you @Andrei Radu for your advice and guidance for both questions, I really appreciate it. The breakdown of Willkie relative to its position in the City of London and against its competitors is really insightful. I think TCLA needs to add a 🐐 react at this point because you are literally...
I’ve made the decision that if I am to go through another cycle, I am avoiding firms that ask us to write an entire PhD thesis, only to then give us a generic automated PFO. If an application question asks for more than 300 words, it’s an automatic no from me. This is the point I am at after...
That’s literally what has been throwing me off because I’ve got the rest filled in (e.g., personal details, academics, work experience, rare recruitment data, etc.) but the thought of writing 1,800 words is actually draining. That’s basically an entire university essay. Just need to firm it at...
I’ve seen around 3 people on this forum with partner interview invites so far. The AC itself takes place during the VS I think. People that pass the partner interview get SVS offers.
Just to add to this, I think this also extends to things like work experience and extra-curricular activities. Most people who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds end up needing to work part-time or full-time during their time at university (to afford the cost of living), so do not have...
Please don’t give up man. The fact you secured 4 VS offers from some of the most prestigious law firms in the world speaks volumes about your potential and abilities. You are genuinely one of the few forum users that has been a huge influence and inspiration for me to keep it pushing through...
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