One Last Shot - My 25/26 TC Journey

[1stCycleApplicant]

I thought, as many others do, to start this thread as a way to keep myself accountable. I certainly haven't done it due to being unemployed and bored...

My background: I just graduated from a good RG (Durham, KCL, Warwick) with a law degree. I finished strong in my final year with a very high 2.1 leaving me with an overall grade of 65%. Not amazing, not terrible. Decent.
A Levels: I achieved 3A* from a well-known private school in England.
GCSE's: 7A* 3A

Not to go into too much detail but last cycle I received a TC offer post vac scheme, but I realised it wasn't the type of firm I wish to train in. Toughest decision I've had to make, but one that I can live with. Anyway, enough of the boring old past.

This cycle, I will only be applying to US/MC/SC firms. Someone please let me know whether this is a hubristic approach. Like, genuinely please do let me know, especially within the context of my academic profile.

Applications so far:

Jones Day: Rejection post-app
Sidley: Rejection post-app
Paul, Weiss: waiting, post-app
Gibson Dunn: waiting, post-test
Cleary: waiting, post-app
Hogan Lovells: waiting for test
Slaughters: waiting, post-app
Dechert: Written Exercise Invite
Willkie: Video Interview Invite

I will prepare as much as I can for willkie and Dechert this week, and cross my fingers I can get through to the next stage. Although, I am not confident. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Truthfully, I am really excited for this application season. It has started well with 2 next stages already, but I am aware of how quickly things can change once rejections come through. I have created a list of about 20 more firms that I will apply to in the coming weeks/months, and will keep this updated as often as possible.

If anyone believes there are firms I shouldn't be applying to with the grades that I have then please do tell me. For example, I am more than certain slaughters will be a rejection, given the fact that my grades were relatively inconsistent, despite an ok average.

Overall, I back myself once I get to face-to-face interviews or assessment centres, but it's just a matter of passing the preliminary stages. That's where I feel I might struggle. Or, what could be worse, I am rejected post-app at most places given I am aiming for the highest echelon of firms.

Let me know how your applications are getting on, any advice you may have, any advice you may need, or just any thoughts in general. They are all welcome.

Best of luck to everyone!

 

[yasmars]

I think you have a very strong academic grade profile. Is there a reason you’re just applying to MC/US/SC firms? Look forward to following your journey

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

I thought, as many others do, to start this thread as a way to keep myself accountable. I certainly haven't done it due to being unemployed and bored...

My background: I just graduated from a good RG (Durham, KCL, Warwick) with a law degree. I finished strong in my final year with a very high 2.1 leaving me with an overall grade of 65%. Not amazing, not terrible. Decent.
A Levels: I achieved 3A* from a well-known private school in England.
GCSE's: 7A* 3A

Not to go into too much detail but last cycle I received a TC offer post vac scheme, but I realised it wasn't the type of firm I wish to train in. Toughest decision I've had to make, but one that I can live with. Anyway, enough of the boring old past.

This cycle, I will only be applying to US/MC/SC firms. Someone please let me know whether this is a hubristic approach. Like, genuinely please do let me know, especially within the context of my academic profile.

Applications so far:

Jones Day: Rejection post-app
Sidley: Rejection post-app
Paul, Weiss: waiting, post-app
Gibson Dunn: waiting, post-test
Cleary: waiting, post-app
Hogan Lovells: waiting for test
Slaughters: waiting, post-app
Dechert: Written Exercise Invite
Willkie: Video Interview Invite

I will prepare as much as I can for willkie and Dechert this week, and cross my fingers I can get through to the next stage. Although, I am not confident. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Truthfully, I am really excited for this application season. It has started well with 2 next stages already, but I am aware of how quickly things can change once rejections come through. I have created a list of about 20 more firms that I will apply to in the coming weeks/months, and will keep this updated as often as possible.

If anyone believes there are firms I shouldn't be applying to with the grades that I have then please do tell me. For example, I am more than certain slaughters will be a rejection, given the fact that my grades were relatively inconsistent, despite an ok average.

Overall, I back myself once I get to face-to-face interviews or assessment centres, but it's just a matter of passing the preliminary stages. That's where I feel I might struggle. Or, what could be worse, I am rejected post-app at most places given I am aiming for the highest echelon of firms.

Let me know how your applications are getting on, any advice you may have, any advice you may need, or just any thoughts in general. They are all welcome.

Best of luck to everyone!

Hey!

Really appreciate the honesty in your post - it’s nice to see someone approach the application cycle with both ambition and self-awareness!

Your academic background is strong, and I don’t think aiming for US / MC / SC firms is unrealistic at all. You’ve clearly thought it through and you’re being strategic about where you apply, which is half the battle!

Turning down a TC because it doesn’t feel right shows really good judgment - I assume this was not an easy decision, but one that’ll probably pay off in the long run if it means that you end up somewhere that is a better fit!

Sounds like you are off to a good start with Dechert and Willkie, so fingers crossed for those!

Best of luck this cycle, and do let us know if we can help at all

 

[1stCycleApplicant]

I think you have a very strong academic grade profile. Is there a reason you’re just applying to MC/US/SC firms? Look forward to following your journey

I think it’s a matter of the type of work you would be doing as a trainee and associate at these firms. You’re essentially exposed to the largest deals and work for the world’s largest corporations. Although the hours would be intense, I imagine the training you receive is unparalleled. Especially given I’m interested in the transactional side of the law, these firms have the best teams within those areas, hence the ambition to work there. Also, maybe it’s a bit of an ego thing too! Not in a bad way, just thinking that I am capable of working there, so I owe it to myself to try.

 

[Jaysen]

I thought, as many others do, to start this thread as a way to keep myself accountable. I certainly haven't done it due to being unemployed and bored...

My background: I just graduated from a good RG (Durham, KCL, Warwick) with a law degree. I finished strong in my final year with a very high 2.1 leaving me with an overall grade of 65%. Not amazing, not terrible. Decent.
A Levels: I achieved 3A* from a well-known private school in England.
GCSE's: 7A* 3A

Not to go into too much detail but last cycle I received a TC offer post vac scheme, but I realised it wasn't the type of firm I wish to train in. Toughest decision I've had to make, but one that I can live with. Anyway, enough of the boring old past.

This cycle, I will only be applying to US/MC/SC firms. Someone please let me know whether this is a hubristic approach. Like, genuinely please do let me know, especially within the context of my academic profile.

Applications so far:

Jones Day: Rejection post-app
Sidley: Rejection post-app
Paul, Weiss: waiting, post-app
Gibson Dunn: waiting, post-test
Cleary: waiting, post-app
Hogan Lovells: waiting for test
Slaughters: waiting, post-app
Dechert: Written Exercise Invite
Willkie: Video Interview Invite

I will prepare as much as I can for willkie and Dechert this week, and cross my fingers I can get through to the next stage. Although, I am not confident. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Truthfully, I am really excited for this application season. It has started well with 2 next stages already, but I am aware of how quickly things can change once rejections come through. I have created a list of about 20 more firms that I will apply to in the coming weeks/months, and will keep this updated as often as possible.

If anyone believes there are firms I shouldn't be applying to with the grades that I have then please do tell me. For example, I am more than certain slaughters will be a rejection, given the fact that my grades were relatively inconsistent, despite an ok average.

Overall, I back myself once I get to face-to-face interviews or assessment centres, but it's just a matter of passing the preliminary stages. That's where I feel I might struggle. Or, what could be worse, I am rejected post-app at most places given I am aiming for the highest echelon of firms.

Let me know how your applications are getting on, any advice you may have, any advice you may need, or just any thoughts in general. They are all welcome.

Best of luck to everyone!

Best of luck this cycle. I look forward to following your journey!

 

[1stCycleApplicant]

Dechert Written Exercise completed!!!

My goodness, that was intense. It took me about 3 minutes to actually find the brief/question, so not the best of starts. But, I managed to find my feet around the 3-4 minute mark. There wasn't too much law to digest, and the brief was relatively straightforward. Essentially, they provide you with a clear structure to follow within their own question. I finished with about 10 seconds to go, rivalling the nail-biting suspense experienced during every Mission Impossible movie. Yet, in the spirit of a Tom Cruise character, I was able to press submit just in time.

Overall thoughts:

Pleased, relieved, stressed. It's always hard to judge with these things. You never really know how well you have done, nor what it is they are explicitly looking for, let alone whether what you wrote was correct. What I can say, however, is that I am pleased with the effort I put in prior to the exercise, as well as how it went on the day. Regardless of whether I proceed to the next stage or not, I am so happy to have had this experience. You learn a lot about your strengths, yet, more importantly, your weaknesses in these scenarios. For example, I over-stretched myself today. I believe I tried to do too much in a short space of time, leaving me with a matter of seconds to submit. I wish I had had at least 3-5 minutes to proofread everything. Thus, on reflection, I will make sure to set a more realistic standard of what I should aim to deliver. That way, I can produce a high-quality piece of work, but also have the time to check over it.
Despite that obvious misstep, I am pleased that I was able to understand the law and apply it to the facts/brief. Indeed, that is the most important part, as, without it, you can't even begin to write a decent answer.
If I am subsequently rejected by the firm, I will be eager to receive feedback and reflect upon it. Previously, I would simply brush it aside and move on. Not this year. Every time I fail, I will reflect. I will attempt to understand what went wrong, so that I can practice and improve. It's great that I had this experience so early on in the cycle as the feedback I receive will hopefully aid me in all future applications.
Despite the clear and obvious defence mechanism you see above, that being, already accepting defeat haha, I really hope to make it to the final stage.

Next step, Willkie Video Interview tomorrow...

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

Dechert Written Exercise completed!!!

My goodness, that was intense. It took me about 3 minutes to actually find the brief/question, so not the best of starts. But, I managed to find my feet around the 3-4 minute mark. There wasn't too much law to digest, and the brief was relatively straightforward. Essentially, they provide you with a clear structure to follow within their own question. I finished with about 10 seconds to go, rivalling the nail-biting suspense experienced during every Mission Impossible movie. Yet, in the spirit of a Tom Cruise character, I was able to press submit just in time.

Overall thoughts:

Pleased, relieved, stressed. It's always hard to judge with these things. You never really know how well you have done, nor what it is they are explicitly looking for, let alone whether what you wrote was correct. What I can say, however, is that I am pleased with the effort I put in prior to the exercise, as well as how it went on the day. Regardless of whether I proceed to the next stage or not, I am so happy to have had this experience. You learn a lot about your strengths, yet, more importantly, your weaknesses in these scenarios. For example, I over-stretched myself today. I believe I tried to do too much in a short space of time, leaving me with a matter of seconds to submit. I wish I had had at least 3-5 minutes to proofread everything. Thus, on reflection, I will make sure to set a more realistic standard of what I should aim to deliver. That way, I can produce a high-quality piece of work, but also have the time to check over it.
Despite that obvious misstep, I am pleased that I was able to understand the law and apply it to the facts/brief. Indeed, that is the most important part, as, without it, you can't even begin to write a decent answer.
If I am subsequently rejected by the firm, I will be eager to receive feedback and reflect upon it. Previously, I would simply brush it aside and move on. Not this year. Every time I fail, I will reflect. I will attempt to understand what went wrong, so that I can practice and improve. It's great that I had this experience so early on in the cycle as the feedback I receive will hopefully aid me in all future applications.
Despite the clear and obvious defence mechanism you see above, that being, already accepting defeat haha, I really hope to make it to the final stage.

Next step, Willkie Video Interview tomorrow...

Congratulations on getting through the Dechert exercise! 🎉 Sounds like you handled the pressure really well - finishing with 10 seconds left is definitely very "Mission Impossible" style haha!

I think your reflection is spot on - it's always great to try and leave some time to proofread, but it's great that you have recognised that now to keep in mind. I really admire your mindset about learning from feedback too - it's a really tricky skill, but will be so helpful for you moving forward.

Best of luck with Willkie tomorrow - you've got this!