Hey Guest, Happy Valentine's Day! Sending our 💙 this weekend. We're all rooting for you in your training contract journey.

TCLA Premium: Now half price (£30/month). Applications, interviews, commercial awareness + 700+ examples.
Join →

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Abbie Whitlock" data-source="post: 217279" data-attributes="member: 42112">Hi [USER=42114]@certihxh[/USER] !Thank you for sharing - it’s great that you’ve already done two mini-pupillages, work experience with GLD, and open days at commercial sets. This is all great exposure to the legal profession and shows real initiative. Even though your minis were at common law sets, there’s still a lot you can draw on for vacation scheme applications. Firms won’t expect everyone to have come through the ‘typical’ route, especially if you can reflect on your experiences and relate them to why you’d like to be a solicitor.The main thing will be to demonstrate clearly why you want to be a solicitor rather than a barrister, and how your experiences shaped that decision. For example:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Maybe you found yourself more interested in the collaborative, team-based nature of legal work in private practice</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You might’ve enjoyed working through complex commercial scenarios over time rather than the more advocacy-driven side</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You could highlight an interest in engaging with strategic and long-term client relationships, which are central to the role of a solicitor</li> </ul>This question does tend to come up in most commercial law interviews, so I wouldn’t panic if you get asked it! I would say it’s okay to discuss how your experiences helped you rule out the Bar and confirm that your skill set and preferences align better with the solicitor route.To bridge the gap with firms that you are interested in applying to, you could:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Reference any recent matters, news publications, or even podcasts from those firms to show an interest and understanding of what they do</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Show how your existing experiences have reaffirmed your interest in the legal industry, and how your skills fit with the role</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Emphasise that you are now looking for first-hand insight into the solicitor role through a vacation scheme</li> </ul>Ultimately, focus on building a genuine and honest narrative about how your previous experiences - even if not directly linked to commercial law - have shaped your ambition to train and qualify as a solicitor in private practice. For context, I did not attend any open days / insight events for the firm I secured a TC at, so it is definitely not essential to. Your genuine motivations and interests will be key for making successful applications.I hope that assists! Wishing you the best of luck <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

Verification: Our company is called, "The Corporate ___ Academy". What is the missing word here?

Top Bottom

Search

Search

Reply to thread