General Discussion Thread 2020-21

[TYP]

I heard back yesterday about the vac scheme saying I was unsuccessful and just received an email about the TC (don't remember applying for one) saying the exact same thing as what @TYP mentioned.

Sorry to hear that. Just to relay some information (which may or may not be accurate)

A friend of a friend (take this with a pinch of salt) who is an associate at the Birmingham office, mentioned that they may have rejected everyone as they are not keen on running a virtual scheme and August seems to also be off the table.

He was under the impression that they will look to the direct TC to recruit for 2021 and maybe delay 2022 and fill it with 2023. He was also under the impression that there was alot of disagreement with senior partners and the grad rec team due to the time it took to even interview candidates and the partners were under the impression that due to it being left so late alot of the applicants were already tied down with other firms.

Like I said; this may or may not to accurate, but I knew of a number of people who applied to the Birmingham office and who have been rejected so unless the cohort is very small then maybe this might be true to some degree. The head of grad rec has apparently also left the firm which would, MAYBE, suggest the above is not that far from the truth.

 

[Frank]

Just to let you know that Jones Day has postponed their VS for this summer; details to follow shortly, but those who've been successful already will be given a place on a future VS (date tbc). Fingers crossed for everyone! The non-rotational feature was indeed problematic; but, of course, I stand by their decision given that this is what makes their TC distinct from the other firms.

 

[L.M.P]

Just to let you know that Jones Day has postponed their VS for this summer; details to follow shortly, but those who've been successful already will be given a place on a future VS (date tbc). Fingers crossed for everyone! The non-rotational feature was indeed problematic; but, of course, I stand by their decision given that this is what makes their TC distinct from the other firms.

I just got the same!

 

[S87]

Guys, for those who applied to Macfarlanes, how did you approach the question "Please give details of one area of your course which you found
particularly interesting and explain why?" 50 words max

 

[Asmee DC]

Sorry to hear that. Just to relay some information (which may or may not be accurate)

A friend of a friend (take this with a pinch of salt) who is an associate at the Birmingham office, mentioned that they may have rejected everyone as they are not keen on running a virtual scheme and August seems to also be off the table.

He was under the impression that they will look to the direct TC to recruit for 2021 and maybe delay 2022 and fill it with 2023. He was also under the impression that there was alot of disagreement with senior partners and the grad rec team due to the time it took to even interview candidates and the partners were under the impression that due to it being left so late alot of the applicants were already tied down with other firms.

Like I said; this may or may not to accurate, but I knew of a number of people who applied to the Birmingham office and who have been rejected so unless the cohort is very small then maybe this might be true to some degree. The head of grad rec has apparently also left the firm which would, MAYBE, suggest the above is not that far from the truth.

Oh wow! Thank you for letting me know! Whether this is true or not, it's still disappointing for those who do not have offers at all and have no chance in being considered for a direct TC if the firm wishes to cancel the VS.

 

[hktr]

Guys, for those who applied to Macfarlanes, how did you approach the question "Please give details of one area of your course which you found
particularly interesting and explain why?" 50 words max

I just chose something I genuinely enjoyed, but I also tried to frame it in a way that revealed something positive about me. In my case, I highlighted how and why the particular course was challenging but also why I enjoyed rising to this challenge.

 

[tamara]

Sorry to hear that. Just to relay some information (which may or may not be accurate)

A friend of a friend (take this with a pinch of salt) who is an associate at the Birmingham office, mentioned that they may have rejected everyone as they are not keen on running a virtual scheme and August seems to also be off the table.

He was under the impression that they will look to the direct TC to recruit for 2021 and maybe delay 2022 and fill it with 2023. He was also under the impression that there was alot of disagreement with senior partners and the grad rec team due to the time it took to even interview candidates and the partners were under the impression that due to it being left so late alot of the applicants were already tied down with other firms.

Like I said; this may or may not to accurate, but I knew of a number of people who applied to the Birmingham office and who have been rejected so unless the cohort is very small then maybe this might be true to some degree. The head of grad rec has apparently also left the firm which would, MAYBE, suggest the above is not that far from the truth.

does this apply for all offices or just Birmingham?

 

[TYP]

Oh wow! Thank you for letting me know! Whether this is true or not, it's still disappointing for those who do not have offers at all and have no chance in being considered for a direct TC if the firm wishes to cancel the VS.

Hey, no problem. I seem to suspect this is probably true as I know 8 people who did the AC and all got rejected, no one on this forum has heard good news either, so unless they had a huge AC it does seem strange indeed. I do think its unfair as so many people would have spent considerable time preparing and the email was rather unpleasant. Firms tend to atleast call whereas Trowers seems to suggest that we can ask for feedback if we so wish, but a friend has been waiting for 2 weeks to even get a reply to their request so I wouldnt hold my breath.

does this apply for all offices or just Birmingham?

Hi. The associate is at Birmingham. But like I said I would take it with a pinch of salt. However, the more you look into the more it does ring true. Unless someone gets an offer which does not seem to be the case at any office, it would be safe to assume this might be a firm wide issue.

Just to add to my original post above; as I had a few PMs, I literally have no way of knowing whether the associate is lying, I dont know him personally and it was just information which I thought would be helpful as it may help people if they are stuck feeling like they were not competent enough. A large part does to a large degree add up and side with the story. I also dont see any reason why the individual would lie as it would not gain him anything.

 

[WMA]

does this apply for all offices or just Birmingham?

Hey, I've been offered a place on the Manchester VS last week. They said they're not doing virtual and are going to hold it when the office opens, but they're not sure when this is. So it seems it may not be all offices, but this is just from what I know. Hope this helps

 

[W]

Not TC, but they are holding partner interviews for the VS the second week of June so TC will be soon after that.

I see, thank you

 

[Zayn]

Sorry to hear that. Just to relay some information (which may or may not be accurate)

A friend of a friend (take this with a pinch of salt) who is an associate at the Birmingham office, mentioned that they may have rejected everyone as they are not keen on running a virtual scheme and August seems to also be off the table.

He was under the impression that they will look to the direct TC to recruit for 2021 and maybe delay 2022 and fill it with 2023. He was also under the impression that there was alot of disagreement with senior partners and the grad rec team due to the time it took to even interview candidates and the partners were under the impression that due to it being left so late alot of the applicants were already tied down with other firms.

Like I said; this may or may not to accurate, but I knew of a number of people who applied to the Birmingham office and who have been rejected so unless the cohort is very small then maybe this might be true to some degree. The head of grad rec has apparently also left the firm which would, MAYBE, suggest the above is not that far from the truth.

This sounds so depressing!

 

[Zayn]

Just so you know Trowers have a new graduate recruiter manager..so people might wait a bit longer than expected

How did you find out? Who is the new head? On their website, it says that Eleanor Beattie is still Graduate Recruitment Manager.

 

[Zayn]

Hey, no problem. I seem to suspect this is probably true as I know 8 people who did the AC and all got rejected, no one on this forum has heard good news either, so unless they had a huge AC it does seem strange indeed. I do think its unfair as so many people would have spent considerable time preparing and the email was rather unpleasant. Firms tend to atleast call whereas Trowers seems to suggest that we can ask for feedback if we so wish, but a friend has been waiting for 2 weeks to even get a reply to their request so I wouldnt hold my breath.



Hi. The associate is at Birmingham. But like I said I would take it with a pinch of salt. However, the more you look into the more it does ring true. Unless someone gets an offer which does not seem to be the case at any office, it would be safe to assume this might be a firm wide issue.

Just to add to my original post above; as I had a few PMs, I literally have no way of knowing whether the associate is lying, I dont know him personally and it was just information which I thought would be helpful as it may help people if they are stuck feeling like they were not competent enough. A large part does to a large degree add up and side with the story. I also dont see any reason why the individual would lie as it would not gain him anything.

One of my friend has been offered VS from the Birmingham office yesterday. However, it's subject to Covid 19 situation and could be pushed back to August.

 

[S87]

How did you find out? Who is the new head? On their website, it says that Eleanor Beattie is still Graduate Recruitment Manager.

Eleanor is on maternity leave. Check on LinkedIn..they have announced it today

 

[tamara]

Hey, I've been offered a place on the Manchester VS last week. They said they're not doing virtual and are going to hold it when the office opens, but they're not sure when this is. So it seems it may not be all offices, but this is just from what I know. Hope this helps

Thank you

 

[Zayn]

Eleanor is on maternity leave. Check on LinkedIn..they have announced it today

She has been on maternity leave for some time now. However, Trowers only just announced it on Linkedin. Her Assistant is the now main Recruitment co-ordinator. Reading some of the posts on the forum gave the impression that there has been some kind of internal disagreement in the firm and the recruitment Manager has been blamed for AC dates fiasco. Thank you for the clarification. I just wanted to confirm that the Recruitment Manager has not left the job or anything. She is only on her maternity leave.

 

[thecorporatelawyer]

Has anyone heard from Stephenson Harwood after a HR interview?

was this for a VS?

 

[thecorporatelawyer]

Does there happen to be a list of firms that take cover letters and that alone?

 

[KayM.]

was this for a VS?

Yes it was

 

[W]

Does there happen to be a list of firms that take cover letters and that alone?

Mostly the US firms, or small regional firms. Just have a google search