General Discussion Thread 2020-21

[Daniel Boden]

Hello. Can I just confirm that Clifford Chance, Freshfields and Slaughter and May only accept penultimate year law students for their vacation schemes? Therefore final year law students can only apply for a direct TC at those firms?

That's correct yep

 

[SLKEJRWOI97]

Hi all,

Have a very silly question but it's a question nonetheless haha..

What does everyone think of using abbreviations in application forms? e.g. I'm instead of I am.

Currently writing my Freshfields PS and I've been abbreviating I am to I'm but just panicking whether this is appropriate. I wouldn't do it for applications without a word count so slightly confused.

@Jessica Booker if you have any insight?

Thanks!

 

[Daniel Boden]

Hi all,

Have a very silly question but it's a question nonetheless haha..

What does everyone think of using abbreviations in application forms? e.g. I'm instead of I am.

Currently writing my Freshfields PS and I've been abbreviating I am to I'm but just panicking whether this is appropriate. I wouldn't do it for applications without a word count so slightly confused.

@Jessica Booker if you have any insight?

Thanks!

Personally I wouldn't use them as it can come across as being too informal. However, abbreviating a firm's name, for example, Herbert Smith Freehills to HSF, is acceptable in my experience.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hi all,

Have a very silly question but it's a question nonetheless haha..

What does everyone think of using abbreviations in application forms? e.g. I'm instead of I am.

Currently writing my Freshfields PS and I've been abbreviating I am to I'm but just panicking whether this is appropriate. I wouldn't do it for applications without a word count so slightly confused.

@Jessica Booker if you have any insight?

Thanks!

Depends what the abbreviation is.

If it is something the firm use themselves on their website, then it’s fine (eg M&A, firm acronyms). Otherwise avoid it.

 

[WannabeSolicitor24]

At the end of a lot of Vac Schemes, virtual or not, there is a TC conversion interview. I was just wondering how and if the format, structure, questions asked etc differed from a Vac Scheme or normal TC interview? Thanks

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

At the end of a lot of Vac Schemes, virtual or not, there is a TC conversion interview. I was just wondering how and if the format, structure, questions asked etc differed from a Vac Scheme or normal TC interview? Thanks

It will depend on the firm, but typically there is just much more weighting put on your motivation for the firm. They will want to be confident you are going to stick with the firm for several years post qualification.

 

[Velikilawyer123]

Guys, is anyone taking part in the workshop organised by Paul Hastings?

Hey, which workshop is that?

 

[Velikilawyer123]

RE the Slaughter and May questions, there's a part in the firm's FAQ section that states "Candidates who have had an unsuccessful work experience application can still apply for a training contract. Those who have had an unsuccessful training contract application are unlikely to be successful in a subsequent application unless there has been a significant development which alters their application. We do not tend to re-interview candidates for training contracts."

I applied for a direct TC before and my application was rejected, so I'm not sure if it's worth it applying to Slaughters again. Does anyone know what could count as a "significant development" which alters one's application? Would it be along the lines of doing 2 new VSs and finishing a master's since the last one, or can it be as simple as learning how to better tailor an application to the firm?

Thanks!

 

[Velikilawyer123]

Also, maybe a bit of a silly question, but how do you know how to spell a firm's name in the possessive form? For instance - is it Linklaters' or Linklaters's? Macfarlanes' or Macfarlanes's? Morgan Lewis' or Morgan Lewis's? Paul Hastings or Paul Hastings's?

They're all based on surnames and technically singular words, so you should grammatically be able to add on " 's ", but for some of them it sounds more off than others because it has that unmistakable "plural-sounding" name, so I'm really not sure.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

RE the Slaughter and May questions, there's a part in the firm's FAQ section that states "Candidates who have had an unsuccessful work experience application can still apply for a training contract. Those who have had an unsuccessful training contract application are unlikely to be successful in a subsequent application unless there has been a significant development which alters their application. We do not tend to re-interview candidates for training contracts."

I applied for a direct TC before and my application was rejected, so I'm not sure if it's worth it applying to Slaughters again. Does anyone know what could count as a "significant development" which alters one's application? Would it be along the lines of doing 2 new VSs and finishing a master's since the last one, or can it be as simple as learning how to better tailor an application to the firm?

Thanks!

significant development:

- significant work experience completed
- Further study (often law only though)
- significant improvement in grades

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Also, maybe a bit of a silly question, but how do you know how to spell a firm's name in the possessive form? For instance - is it Linklaters' or Linklaters's? Macfarlanes' or Macfarlanes's? Morgan Lewis' or Morgan Lewis's? Paul Hastings or Paul Hastings's?

They're all based on surnames and technically singular words, so you should grammatically be able to add on " 's ", but for some of them it sounds more off than others because it has that unmistakable "plural-sounding" name, so I'm really not sure.

avoid writing it that way. Change the sentence structure or use “the firm’s”

 

[thecorporatelawyer]

For Cover letters what is the standard format expected? Is it simply 12 point font, 1.5 spacing and times new roman font?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

For Cover letters what is the standard format expected? Is it simply 12 point font, 1.5 spacing and times new roman font?

not doesn’t really matter - single line spacing and 10 font can be ok as long as you are not trying ever trick in the book to squeeze more content on to a page. It visually needs to be appealing to read.

 

[Velikilawyer123]

significant development:

- significant work experience completed
- Further study (often law only though)
- significant improvement in grades

Would a VS + new job (in the legal field) fall under significant work experience?

 

[thecorporatelawyer]

not doesn’t really matter - single line spacing and 10 font can be ok as long as you are not trying ever trick in the book to squeeze more content on to a page. It visually needs to be appealing to read.

Yeah I thought there might be flexibility but what would you consider as "squeezing" like I'm just scared I'll be writing too much.

 

[S87]

Hey, which workshop is that?

They held the interviews long time ago, it is on the 25th

 

[dosblancos7]

Hey guys, Freshfields allows me to edit my app(TC) even though I submitted it. Is it normal? Im guessing it depends on the firm, as CC allowed for edits after submission prior to the deadline.. though I'm not sure(first time submitting TC's)

 

[Velikilawyer123]

They held the interviews long time ago, it is on the 25th

Wait, is that the impact investing one? I got an automatic invitation for that one, no interview! Could we be thinking of different events?

 

[Daniel Boden]

Also, maybe a bit of a silly question, but how do you know how to spell a firm's name in the possessive form? For instance - is it Linklaters' or Linklaters's? Macfarlanes' or Macfarlanes's? Morgan Lewis' or Morgan Lewis's? Paul Hastings or Paul Hastings's?

They're all based on surnames and technically singular words, so you should grammatically be able to add on " 's ", but for some of them it sounds more off than others because it has that unmistakable "plural-sounding" name, so I'm really not sure.

Yeah, I was always taught that if it's a singular noun ending in -s then you only need to add an apostrophe e.g. Chris' book. In that case, I would say Linklaters', Macfarlanes', Morgan Lewis', Paul Hastings' etc.

 

[Daniel Boden]

Hey guys, Freshfields allows me to edit my app(TC) even though I submitted it. Is it normal? Im guessing it depends on the firm, as CC allowed for edits after submission prior to the deadline.. though I'm not sure(first time submitting TC's)

Yeah FF and CC are exceptions in this regard I'm 99% sure