General Discussion Thread 2020-21

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Does anyone have any advice on how to answer ‘tell us about deals we have worked on that interested you’ type of questions in interviews. I have an interview with HR & apparently that is a common question, but it’s difficult to know how much detail to go into or if I should just name the deal & say why I thought it was interesting

focus on you and your motivations/interests first.

Talk about it as if your interviewer knows nothing about the topic/matter

 

[websterl]

I have been practising the Watson Glaser using JobTestPrep.

There's one question under assumption section that I'd welcome some feedback on. On statements two and three I am inclined to put Assumption Made, but on further interrogation, I think it is Assumption Not Made for all three.

'If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you logically.'
1. Some matters of belief cannot be proven by logic. Assumption Not Made
2. Logical proof will cause you to alter your belief about the matter under discussion. Assumption Not Made
3. What I present as logical proof will influence your thinking. Assumption Not Made.

Thanks!

 

[OB]

I have been practising the Watson Glaser using JobTestPrep.

There's one question under assumption section that I'd welcome some feedback on. On statements two and three I am inclined to put Assumption Made, but on further interrogation, I think it is Assumption Not Made for all three.

'If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you logically.'
1. Some matters of belief cannot be proven by logic. Assumption Not Made
2. Logical proof will cause you to alter your belief about the matter under discussion. Assumption Not Made
3. What I present as logical proof will influence your thinking. Assumption Not Made.

Thanks!

I would be inclined to think statements 2 and 3 are assumption made as in the assumption part of the WG you are supposed to take the assumption as gospel and use no outside knowledge/opinion. But would love other opinions on this!

 

[websterl]

I would be inclined to think statements 2 and 3 are assumption made as in the assumption part of the WG you are supposed to take the assumption as gospel and use no outside knowledge/opinion. But would love other opinions on this!

Yes I was inclined to say Assumption Made for 2 and 3, but the initial statement gives no indication that what is proved logically will actually have an effect on the person's belief..

Hard one!

 

[OB]

Yes I was inclined to say Assumption Made for 2 and 3, but the initial statement gives no indication that what is proved logically will actually have an effect on the person's belief..

Hard one!

Sometimes I try and take my gut reaction for the answer as I end up over thinking them! Think thats where I went wrong with the Bird & Bird WG because I spent the last 5 mins reconsidering the tricky ones (tbh probably this one too as I recognise it!) whereas I passed the CMS one by just following my gut

 

[NK]

Hi everyone, I’m planning on starting the GDL in January, but I was wondering if it will still be possible for me to squeeze in a vac scheme (spring or summer), during the course. I have applied to a few vacation schemes already and I’m a little worried I won’t be able to complete them. I’ve heard that it can be doable but the course is quite demanding, as it’s only 9 months. Would really appreciate any help!

 

[M1999]

Sometimes I try and take my gut reaction for the answer as I end up over thinking them! Think thats where I went wrong with the Bird & Bird WG because I spent the last 5 mins reconsidering the tricky ones (tbh probably this one too as I recognise it!) whereas I passed the CMS one by just following my gut

I second this. Whenever I overthink the WGT I fail. Trust your instincts!
Try and do the Clifford chance test instinctively and see what you get. If you get a high mark (say 75%-80% overall) then you know you do naturally well and don’t need to overthink

 

[M1999]

Hi everyone, I’m planning on starting the GDL in January, but I was wondering if it will still be possible for me to squeeze in a vac scheme (spring or summer), during the course. I have applied to a few vacation schemes already and I’m a little worried I won’t be able to complete them. I’ve heard that it can be doable but the course is quite demanding, as it’s only 9 months. Would really appreciate any help!

be aware that the study guarantee at a lot of universities mean that even if you cannot make the course workshops at the time (for example attending a vac scheme) then you can catch up on it relatively easy. This was put in place due to Covid however it can also be used to take time off without falling drastically behind. at the end of the day it’s two weeks, which means you might be putting in extra work but vac schemes are amazing for your career and the reason most people do the GDL is to get their foot in the door at law firms. I’d say do the course and worry about catching up with GDL later if you are successful at vac schemes!

 

[JJP]

I have been practising the Watson Glaser using JobTestPrep.

There's one question under assumption section that I'd welcome some feedback on. On statements two and three I am inclined to put Assumption Made, but on further interrogation, I think it is Assumption Not Made for all three.

'If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you logically.'
1. Some matters of belief cannot be proven by logic. Assumption Not Made
2. Logical proof will cause you to alter your belief about the matter under discussion. Assumption Not Made
3. What I present as logical proof will influence your thinking. Assumption Not Made.

Thanks!

I'd be inclined to agree with you and say assumption not made to all 3 - do JobTestPrep not provide the answers? I would be interested in their rationale either way

 

[JJP]

Hi everyone, I’m planning on starting the GDL in January, but I was wondering if it will still be possible for me to squeeze in a vac scheme (spring or summer), during the course. I have applied to a few vacation schemes already and I’m a little worried I won’t be able to complete them. I’ve heard that it can be doable but the course is quite demanding, as it’s only 9 months. Would really appreciate any help!

I'm also starting the GDL in Jan! Some of the term dates line up quite nicely with vac schemes (especially spring) so may be worth checking in with your uni to find them out.

 

[NK]

I'm also starting the GDL in Jan! Some of the term dates line up quite nicely with vac schemes (especially spring) so may be worth checking in with your uni to find them out.

thank you so much - this is very helpful! Are you doing your course with the UofLaw? I will get in touch with my uni to find out the term dates

 

[NK]

be aware that the study guarantee at a lot of universities mean that even if you cannot make the course workshops at the time (for example attending a vac scheme) then you can catch up on it relatively easy. This was put in place due to Covid however it can also be used to take time off without falling drastically behind. at the end of the day it’s two weeks, which means you might be putting in extra work but vac schemes are amazing for your career and the reason most people do the GDL is to get their foot in the door at law firms. I’d say do the course and worry about catching up with GDL later if you are successful at vac schemes!

this is very true, I hadn’t thought of this. Thank u for your help!!

 

[E.A]

I haven't heard back from Links and Hogan Lovells after completing the WGT weeks ago. Is it safe to assume this is a rejection?

I contacted Hogan Lovells to ask for my WG result and grad rec said they will start reviewing TC apps in the next couple weeks

 

[R1a01]

I contacted Hogan Lovells to ask for my WG result and grad rec said they will start reviewing TC apps in the next couple weeks

Did grad recruitment give you your score through email?

 

[Velikilawyer123]

@Jessica Booker I'm currently filling out an application form for a firm and I can't fit all of my pre-university exams in the provided space (I'm an international student and we had 14 exams on our A-level equivalent, yet the space provided only allows for 9). There is an extenuating circumstances spaces right after it - do you think it would be fine if I used this box to continue listing my 5 remaining exam grades? Of course with an explanation like "I could not fit all of my exam results in the above space. Please find the rest of my results below.".

 

[Jaysen]

Does anyone have a a link to somewhere (maybe on this forum) of competencies and motivational questions to prepare answers for?

Here you go: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/175-training-contract-interview-questions-2/

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

@Jessica Booker I'm currently filling out an application form for a firm and I can't fit all of my pre-university exams in the provided space (I'm an international student and we had 14 exams on our A-level equivalent, yet the space provided only allows for 9). There is an extenuating circumstances spaces right after it - do you think it would be fine if I used this box to continue listing my 5 remaining exam grades? Of course with an explanation like "I could not fit all of my exam results in the above space. Please find the rest of my results below.".

that is fine to do what you have suggested

 

[JWT]

Does anyone feel like they are losing hope this application cycle? This is my second application cycle and I've already gotten a few rejections from what I thought were strong applications. To make things worse, I've spotted two mistakes on an application (despite me checking it a hundred times) I submitted to my dream firm so I kind of know that I'm going to get rejected. Sorry for the pity party but just spotting those mistakes just makes me feel like maybe I'm not good enough to be a lawyer if I can't even spot mistakes on something so important to me!

Sorry about this, just needed a place to rant!

 

[arbitracion]

Hi guys, I noticed this question in my Baker McKenzie application: Please list other work experience or career events you have attended (this can include open days).
Does this mean I can include virtual events/presentations?

 

[OB]

Does anyone feel like they are losing hope this application cycle? This is my second application cycle and I've already gotten a few rejections from what I thought were strong applications. To make things worse, I've spotted two mistakes on an application (despite me checking it a hundred times) I submitted to my dream firm so I kind of know that I'm going to get rejected. Sorry for the pity party but just spotting those mistakes just makes me feel like maybe I'm not good enough to be a lawyer if I can't even spot mistakes on something so important to me!

Sorry about this, just needed a place to rant!

I like to draw back on the phrase my driving instructor used to say to me when I was learning to drive. You haven’t failed until you’ve actually failed. E.g. if you think you’ve made a mistake early on in the test, keep driving perfectly! One of his students thought they failed and then got sloppy with their driving and it was the subsequent driving that caused them to fail!

We’re still quite early on in the application cycle. You don’t know if those mistakes will cause you to be rejected. Now you’ve noticed these mistakes you’ll know what to look for in your subsequent apps! You’ve got this