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  1. D

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    About to submit Sidley and I got jumpscared by an extra question about extra curriculars in the Work Experience section so I guess it's back to drafting for a couple hours 😭
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    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    I think that they could potentially see that you've got a physical health issue in the recording itself, but I would email anyway and I think someone (I think it was Andrei) mentioned how in a similar situation, you can do the VI anyway (if the deadline is really soon) and GR will still see the...
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    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    Literally the exact same, Grad Rec are going ham liking/commenting on every one of these posts and the algorithm's pushing it. I was just thinking of you when I saw it and hoping you weren't scrolling LinkedIn 😭 Doesn't help that I mainly scroll LinkedIn for deals and commercial news, which...
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    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    Honestly it depends on the firm you're interested in and their strengths. I've talked about patent cliffs and tariffs on pharma re life sciences, interest rates re M&A, capital requirements/private credit re PE (specifically if private credit is part of the firm's offering, they're really just...
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    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    Honestly, at the end of the day, no one really knows why anyone gets rejected at any stage except for the specific person/people who make the final decision to reject at that stage i.e. Grad Rec/Partners depending on the stage (as far as I'm aware)
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    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    Just throwing it out there again, but is anyone able to offer any insights into the Mayer Brown VI, please? I'm aware of how many questions, and prep/response time, just curious if the questions are mainly motivational/commercial/competency/situational/strengths-based, or if it's e.g. one of each
  7. D

    TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    I'm trying not to, but I've very much got a list of "back-up" firms that I intend to apply to, time permitting. I also view it as giving my preferred firms 90% (in the way Andrei's talked about it before) and these "back-up" firms something closer to 75% (see what sticks approach). The depth of...
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    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    "Please outline the skills you possess that make you well suited to a career as a commercial solicitor and explain why you believe this makes Dechert the right Firm for you to develop your career." I can totally see how it feels like a standard Why law/Why Dechert question, and I think that...
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    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    I just had to re-copy + paste everything for PW cos I've got like 4 new things since I last applied to their Open Day 😭
  10. D

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    I've got one mostly done, honestly the real challenge is Dechert's first question (it's very loaded for 300 words) cos idk how to link skills to specific practice area interests lmao, I definitely put this one off for too long (I'd originally intended to finish and send it off first week of the...
  11. D

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    I can relate, I've got to finish MB tomorrow and I'm currently travelling, and I've still got four applications I'd like to get in before Christmas too
  12. D

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    mfw i sense TCLA members about to clash again
  13. D

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    I got mine instantly, so should be pretty soon
  14. D

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    Gotta throw the Paul, Where Next? speculation somewhere in there too 🤣
  15. D

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    I think Andrei and someone else has answered another person's question about approaching this app question before, I have them saved cos I'm planning to apply to SPB too, hopefully it helps...
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    TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    I just realised that I never got a confirmation email for completing Freshfields Stage 2 either, hope it doesn't mean anything bad :/
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    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    I make notes and bullet points and hopefully cover them while remembering the actual content for each point etc. For me, the most challenging VI questions I've had were actually when they were softballs rather than curveballs, which I wasn't expecting, thereby becoming curveballs in themselves...
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    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    I'm not really an expert but, depending on what you consider to simply be economic knowledge vs commercial awareness, the most immediately applicable situations are increased transactional work because the cost of borrowing (i.e. most types of finance work) is cheaper, which means more deals and...
  19. D

    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    Apparently TW and Winston & Strawn have some actual synergies in their practice areas and focus. HL and Cadwalader is really surprising to me cos I don't feel like HL particularly needs to merge and Cadwalader doesn't really fit their core strategy (regulated industries, lobbying in US...
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    TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

    rn I'm just trying to wind down and take a break, get back to work on applications later cos I think I really need it, at least I had a useful chat with my uni's careers service today (different person from the usual) and I've got a better idea on how to fix my application answers. But...

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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.

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