Interview/Open Day/Vacation Scheme Updates- Coronavirus

[Jaysen]

Thought it might be helpful to have an updated thread that lists law firm interview/open day/vacation scheme cancellations/changes in one place. Please note, these are all student reported and shouldn't be taken as definitive.

Open Days

• Allen & Overy (March 2020) - Cancelled and Replaced with Webinar
• Cleary Gottlieb (Spring 2020) - Postponed to June
• Davis Polk (March 2020) - Cancelled
• Freshfields (April 2020) - Postponed until late Summer
• Howard Kennedy (March 2020) - Cancelled
• Vinson & Elkins (March 2020) - Cancelled

Assessment Day/Interviews

• Hogan Lovells (March 2020) - Postponed/Cancelled
• Gateley - Postponed
  
• Irwin Mitchell London/Birmingham PLS (March 2020) - Postponed
• Trowers & Hamlins (March 2020) - Replaced with online assessments, taking place from Monday 6 April 2020 to Friday 17 April 2020. Summer vacation scheme offers to be made after this.
  
• Vardags - Scheme to run next year
• VWV (March 2020) - Cancelled

First Year Schemes

• CMS First Steps - Postponed
  
• Linklaters Pathfinders - Postponed until May 2020
• Pinsent Masons Prime - Postponed

Easter Vacation Schemes

• Addleshaw Goddard - Postponed
• Charles Russell Speechlys - Postponed
  
• Dechert - Postponed
• Dentons - Postponed
  
• Gowling WLG - Moved online, everyone to do a TC AC regardless of vacation scheme attendance
• Kirkland & Ellis - Postponed
• HFW - Postponed
  
• Herbert Smith Freehills- Postponed to June
  
• Jones Day - Postponed
• Latham & Watkins - Postponed
  
• Linklaters - Postponed
  
• Mishcon de Reya - Transferred to Summer
• Norton Rose Fulbright - Postponed
  
• Ropes & Gray - Cancelled
• Russell Cooke - Postponed
• Shearman & Sterling - Postponed
• Skadden - Moved to Summer
  
• Slaughter and May - Postponed
• Stephenson Harwood - Postponed to Summer
• TLT - Postponed
  
• Weil Gotshal & Manges - Postponed
  
• White & Case - Postponed

Summer Vacation Schemes

• Arnold & Porter - Moved to August (TBC)
• Baker McKenzie - Moved to 2 week virtual scheme
• BCLP - Moved to 1 week virtual scheme
• BDB Pitmans - Cancelled
• Browne Jacobson - Cancelled (Asked applicants whether they'd like to be considered 2022 direct TC)
• Charles Russell Speechlys - Cancelled vacation scheme, interviewing for direct TC instead
  
• Cleary Gottlieb - Cancelled both summer vacation schemes (firm is still hoping to run a scheme in 2020)
• Clifford Chance - Moved to virtual scheme (with work-shadowing aspect and TC interviews taking place in Winter)
• Covington & Burling - Moved to 1 week virtual scheme, attendees reimbursed for original 2 weeks
• Deloitte - Moved to 4 week online mentoring programme + fast-track to final interview
• DLA Piper - Moved to 1 week virtual experience
• Fieldfisher - Postponed vacation scheme until next year
• Forsters - Cancelled (Interviewing for direct TC)
• Freshfields - Moved to two shorter virtual schemes
• Gibson Dunn - Moved to virtual scheme in early July
• Herbert Smith Freehills - Cancelled Summer vacation scheme (changed to TC interview and followed by a 4-day virtual scheme for those offered a training contract)
• Hogan Lovells - Cancelled (giving out some direct TCs, rest moved to Winter)
• Linklaters - Virtual Scheme TBC
• Irwin Mitchell London BLS - Reduced to 1 week, still to go ahead last week of June(?)
• Latham & Watkins - Moved to 1 week virtual scheme, 1 week work experience in the Winter
• Norton Rose Fulbright - Moved to 3 day scheme in in September
• Pinsent Masons - Moved to virtual scheme
• Reed Smith - Delayed until autumn (and changed to 2 x 1 week schemes)
• RPC - Moved to 4 day virtual scheme
• Shoosmiths - Cancelled (Candidates to be considered for TCs)
• Sidley Austin - Moved to shorter virtual scheme (still paid for 2 weeks)
• Slaughter and May - Moved to 1 week virtual scheme
• Taylor Wessing - Moved to week-long virtual scheme in Summer
• Travers Smith - Moved to 1 week virtual scheme (still paid for 2 weeks)
• Vinson & Elkins - Moved to virtual scheme
• White & Case - Moved to virtual scheme
• Weil Gotshal & Manges - Moved to virtual 2 week scheme (still paid for 2 weeks)

Training Contracts

• Fieldfisher - Cancelled final training contract assessment centre which was due to take place in March
• Orrick - Postponed TC Assessment Centres until 2021

Updates August 2020 +

• Gateley has moved its recruitment process for this year (i.e. AC and VS) to next year.

As the news develops, feel free to post here and I can update this thread.

 

[riggers]

Very surprising not more Easter vacation schemes have been cancelled. Is the general feeling that they will still go ahead?

 

[J Wu]

https://www.thelawyer.com/first-fir...onavirus-pandemic/?nocache=true&adfesuccess=1

• Shearman & Sterling is postponing its Spring Vacation Scheme until a later date.
• Linklaters Pathfinders has been postponed until May but their Spring Vacation Scheme is still going ahead.

 

[Jen E C]

https://www.thelawyer.com/first-fir...onavirus-pandemic/?nocache=true&adfesuccess=1

• Shearman & Sterling is postponing its Spring Vacation Scheme until a later date.
• Linklaters Pathfinders has been postponed until May but their Spring Vacation Scheme is still going ahead.

@AH9891

 

[Ifmhouse4]

Got an email to say the Freshfields open day on the 15th of April will be postponed until late summer!

 

[Konstantinos]

A&O's Open Day that was supposed to happen on 17 March has been cancelled and replaced by a one-hour webinar

 

[JayB]

Slaughter and May may be cancelling their spring schemes, but not definite yet!

 

[AH9891]

@AH9891

thank you x

 

[D]

It needs to be clarified via a direct source, however, on TSR someone said that Easter Vac's at S&M had been cancelled with no alternative offer made.

 

[Ratish S]

March open days at Davis Polk and Vinson & Elkins were cancelled (emails said that people may be invited to attend an open day in autumn if the situation improves).

 

[JayB]

It needs to be clarified via a direct source, however, on TSR someone said that Easter Vac's at S&M had been cancelled with no alternative offer made.

Hey mate! I’m on the Easter vacation scheme at S&M - I haven’t received no email YET confirming this? Now I’m really stressing out..

 

[Jaysen]

Looks like the Slaughters first year open day is postponed (found on LinkedIn).

 

[D]

Hey mate! I’m on the Easter vacation scheme at S&M - I haven’t received no email YET confirming this? Now I’m really stressing out..

Ah, unsure. Just posting what I saw on TSR!

 

[Jaysen]

Updated to reflect Jones Day's postponed spring scheme.

 

[Jen E C]

W&C spring scheme has also been postponed

 

[R203]

W&C spring scheme has also been postponed

May I ask, postponed to when?

 

[Jen E C]

May I ask, postponed to when?

Hasn't been confirmed

 

[D]

I don't know if it's worth noting "negative updates", but, FF confirmed today (email) they have no plans at this stage to cancel their Summer VS (/cheer!).

 

[Jaysen]

I don't know if it's worth noting "negative updates", but, FF confirmed today (email) they have no plans at this stage to cancel their Summer VS (/cheer!).

Definitely worth us following the summer ones too - things are just so up in the air at the moment!

 

[W]

@Jaysen what are your predictions as to when you think those spring schemes (open day/vac schemes) will be open again? May? Or too early in your opinion?