General Discussion Thread 2020-21

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Just a quick message to say Happy Holidays to everyone. I hope the festive break give you a much needed break from the craziness of not only application/interview season, but also some time with friends and family, even if it is virtually.

 

[alicebloom]

Hi Jessica, I hope you had a lovely break and Christmas. I had a question about the application process as a whole. What is the likelihood of a vac scheme offer once you have secured the interview? (e.g. 30-50%?) I assume firms cut down most of their applications before the interview so i was wondering if you had any idea about the stats?

 

[Celestie]

Hi Jessica, I hope you had a lovely break and Christmas. I had a question about the application process as a whole. What is the likelihood of a vac scheme offer once you have secured the interview? (e.g. 30-50%?) I assume firms cut down most of their applications before the interview so i was wondering if you had any idea about the stats?

I don't know if I am qualified to reply to this @Jessica Booker may be better?

I don't think its a matter of 'likelihood' after securing the interview. Its how you actually do and perform in it which matters to them. For example, a firm may have 1,000 applicants and 150 get to interview. There are 20 places on the scheme, but it doesn't necessarily mean you are more likely to get it just because you got an interview. It's based on your performance.

That's my interpretation because the application process is based on performance, rather than likelihoods.

 

[alicebloom]

I don't know if I am qualified to reply to this @Jessica Booker may be better?

I don't think its a matter of 'likelihood' after securing the interview. Its how you actually do and perform in it which matters to them. For example, a firm may have 1,000 applicants and 150 get to interview. There are 20 places on the scheme, but it doesn't necessarily mean you are more likely to get it just because you got an interview. It's based on your performance.

That's my interpretation because the application process is based on performance, rather than likelihoods.

Thanks for your reply! I understand completely everything you've mentioned, but I guess what I'm saying is I'm curious and I'd just be interested in knowing the stats.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hi Jessica, I hope you had a lovely break and Christmas. I had a question about the application process as a whole. What is the likelihood of a vac scheme offer once you have secured the interview? (e.g. 30-50%?) I assume firms cut down most of their applications before the interview so i was wondering if you had any idea about the stats?

The likelihood is ultimately down to how you perform in the interview. Your chances will be very different to the next candidate being interviewed.

But firms will typically interview somewhere between 2 and 4.5 candidates per vacancy, depending on their earlier recruitment processes and their acceptance rates (most firms will get some people declining their offer). The more stringent the recruitment process before final interview, the lower that ratio should be, particularly if there has been a previous telephone or video interview (pre-covid when last stages would have been a face to face interview)

 

[Deleted member 2707]

Just a question on how to quantify achievements. I had a really successful online business (raked in profits within 3 months) but was forced to close down due to regulatory changes. I want to talk about this when discussing why commercial law but I'm struggling to convey the success of my business in a succinct manner. How should I go about quantifying this success without adding 2-3 lines to my answers?

 

[Lumree]

Just a question on how to quantify achievements. I had a really successful online business (raked in profits within 3 months) but was forced to close down due to regulatory changes. I want to talk about this when discussing why commercial law but I'm struggling to convey the success of my business in a succinct manner. How should I go about quantifying this success without adding 2-3 lines to my answers?

I would try to explain why doing X, which led to Y profit, convinced you that you’d enjoy a career as a commercial lawyer.

That’s probably two sentences when you link it to commercial law but I would expect that length or longer given you’re using the example to show why commercial law.

 

[Dheepa]

Just a question on how to quantify achievements. I had a really successful online business (raked in profits within 3 months) but was forced to close down due to regulatory changes. I want to talk about this when discussing why commercial law but I'm struggling to convey the success of my business in a succinct manner. How should I go about quantifying this success without adding 2-3 lines to my answers?

First of all, I think it's amazing that you started your own successful business! In terms of how to quantify it, you could state the exact amount of profits you made, the percentage increase in customers from when you started, the number of hours you worked on your business each week which could all probably be said in one sentence. All that would really get across how significant it was! Otherwise agree completely with Lumree about tying it back to why commercial law.

 

[PP27]

Hello I have a question about getting a TCLA membership. I have an AC coming up in 2 weeks and was considering whether I should get the Bronze or Gold (for the extra case study material). Would I be able to get the Bronze membership and upgrade to Gold by paying the difference if I were to decide I wanted to extra material?

 

[Deleted member 2707]

I would try to explain why doing X, which led to Y profit, convinced you that you’d enjoy a career as a commercial lawyer.

That’s probably two sentences when you link it to commercial law but I would expect that length or longer given you’re using the example to show why commercial law.

Hello I have a question about getting a TCLA membership. I have an AC coming up in 2 weeks and was considering whether I should get the Bronze or Gold (for the extra case study material). Would I be able to get the Bronze membership and upgrade to Gold by paying the difference if I were to decide I wanted to extra material?

Thank you both!

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Just a question on how to quantify achievements. I had a really successful online business (raked in profits within 3 months) but was forced to close down due to regulatory changes. I want to talk about this when discussing why commercial law but I'm struggling to convey the success of my business in a succinct manner. How should I go about quantifying this success without adding 2-3 lines to my answers?

Think you pretty much managed it with your part in brackets - saying how much profit you gained in three months would be sufficient in showing success.

 

[Jaysen]

Hello I have a question about getting a TCLA membership. I have an AC coming up in 2 weeks and was considering whether I should get the Bronze or Gold (for the extra case study material). Would I be able to get the Bronze membership and upgrade to Gold by paying the difference if I were to decide I wanted to extra material?

Sure, we can do this. I'd just flag that it's a little messy due to limitations on our platform (we'll have to cancel your subscription and re-sign you up to Gold with a coupon).

 

[Jacob Miller]

Just a question on how to quantify achievements. I had a really successful online business (raked in profits within 3 months) but was forced to close down due to regulatory changes. I want to talk about this when discussing why commercial law but I'm struggling to convey the success of my business in a succinct manner. How should I go about quantifying this success without adding 2-3 lines to my answers?

I would personally break this down into a simple STAR response: Situation, Task, Action, Response/ Result. I would then link that back to why it's relevant to a career in commercial law, specifically at that firm. E.g.:
"In order to maintain an income stream while at University, I launched a successful online business. I researched my market to understand client needs, spearheaded my efforts in specific areas to ensure that my business was relevant to potential clients and subsequently launched. The business was extremely successful and highly profitable within three months of launch. [This is the STAR component]. Unfortunately, there was a regulatory change which meant I had to cease doing business. I feel that having a first-hand understanding of how law impacts on businesses would make me an ideal candidate for X firm because [list parallels between your skills/ experiences/ beliefs and the firm's aims etc]".

 

[Deleted member 2707]

Think you pretty much managed it with your part in brackets - saying how much profit you gained in three months would be sufficient in showing success.

Thank you Jessica. Once again so helpful!

I would personally break this down into a simple STAR response: Situation, Task, Action, Response/ Result. I would then link that back to why it's relevant to a career in commercial law, specifically at that firm. E.g.:
"In order to maintain an income stream while at University, I launched a successful online business. I researched my market to understand client needs, spearheaded my efforts in specific areas to ensure that my business was relevant to potential clients and subsequently launched. The business was extremely successful and highly profitable within three months of launch. [This is the STAR component]. Unfortunately, there was a regulatory change which meant I had to cease doing business. I feel that having a first-hand understanding of how law impacts on businesses would make me an ideal candidate for X firm because [list parallels between your skills/ experiences/ beliefs and the firm's aims etc]".

I have been doing this for applications with longer word counts but there are a few which require a cover letter in 300 words and I can't afford to explain my actions in so much detail. It is encouraging to know that my approach is correct though!

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Thank you Jessica. Once again so helpful!



I have been doing this for applications with longer word counts but there are a few which require a cover letter in 300 words and I can't afford to explain my actions in so much detail. It is encouraging to know that my approach is correct though!

With very limited word count, just focus on the R part. The rest of the STAR format can come out at interview stage.

I am not a big fan of STAR unless it’s for a competency question “tell me about a time you have...” it doesn’t really work in generic statements/cover letters.

 

[bethbristol]

Huge congrats Beth! That's fantastic news - delighted for you

Thank you Daniel!

 

[Deleted member 2707]

A silly question but Freshfield's or Freshfields'

 

[WannabeSolicitor24]

A silly question but Freshfield's or Freshfields'

Freshfields'

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

A silly question but Freshfield's or Freshfields'

definitely not Freshfield’s - the debate would be if it is Freshfields’s or Freshfields’.

From a very reputable FBD source, I was told it was Freshfields’ as you wouldn’t pronounce it Freshfieldses.

 

[SLKEJRWOI97]

Hi all,

Debevoise and Milbank have a deadline of 3 Jan 2020 on apply4law. Does this mean I have only the rest of today (3ish hours) or the rest of tomorrow also?

Milbank says "Applications will open on Thursday 1st October 2020 and the deadline is Sunday 3rd January 2021 at midnight."

Thanks!