TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2022-23

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Jessica Booker

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In an application do you ever capitalise the word 'firm'. Can't work out if I should be writing the Firm or just the firm? Thanks!
In most instances, it doesn't need to be capitalised. However, some firms have a preference for capitalising it when they are referring to themselves.

I would have a look at how the firm writes it on their website and then replicate if you want to be super diligent, but I don't think it is one of those matters where it really makes a difference to your application either way where it is a stylistic point rather than a grammatical one.
 

Jessica Booker

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Does anyone have any resources for technical interviews? Like specific contract terms one should cover etc etc? Any help would be truly appreciated!
Do you know more about what the "technical" aspect of the interview consists of? It quite a broad/vague term, meaning the advice for one technical interview could be very different to the next.
 

AB

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Jan 23, 2020
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I know this is last minute and they were rolling so 100% my own fault but is the bclp application appearing as closed for anyone else? I thought the deadline was 23:59.
 

Blue1789

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Jan 30, 2023
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Oh I knew it was midday for Goodwin didn't realise it was bclp too. Thank you. Just for future reference, where did you see it listed as 12 midday, on Vantage?
It had the deadline on the 1st tab of the application form on vantage. It had the time listed as ‘12:00’ which I took to mean lunch, as they usual put 23:59 for midnight deadlines.
 

Wannabe_Lawyer

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Jul 22, 2018
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Hi All,

Does anyone have any thoughts for answering the question below for Watson Farley & Williams?

You are a trainee solicitor, working in the office and it is 6.30pm. You have an important personal appointment at 7pm. You are updating a document ready for a client meeting which will take place at 10am the next day. As this is a new client it is important that the firm impresses them and accuracy is key. You are waiting on some information from a third party before you can finalise the document. You have also received several emails from other fee-earners in the department asking you to help them on some urgent tasks. Your supervisor is working from home. What do you do?

I would want to attend my important personal appointment, but perhaps leave early to give me time to assimilate the information from the third party before tomorrow's meeting. I would probably also want more details about the urgent tasks to decide how long they would take before committing to work on them. Would it be acceptable to try and negotiate a later deadline with fee-earners or ask them to see if someone is available to work on the tasks immediately?

I'm also not quite sure I understand the significance of the supervisor working from home either. I assume they would be responsive to email just the same?

I've worked primarily in a 9-5 role for the past few years and so, haven't really encountered these types of conflicting situations...
 

Jessica Booker

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Hi All,

Does anyone have any thoughts for answering the question below for Watson Farley & Williams?

You are a trainee solicitor, working in the office and it is 6.30pm. You have an important personal appointment at 7pm. You are updating a document ready for a client meeting which will take place at 10am the next day. As this is a new client it is important that the firm impresses them and accuracy is key. You are waiting on some information from a third party before you can finalise the document. You have also received several emails from other fee-earners in the department asking you to help them on some urgent tasks. Your supervisor is working from home. What do you do?

I would want to attend my important personal appointment, but perhaps leave early to give me time to assimilate the information from the third party before tomorrow's meeting. I would probably also want more details about the urgent tasks to decide how long they would take before committing to work on them. Would it be acceptable to try and negotiate a later deadline with fee-earners or ask them to see if someone is available to work on the tasks immediately?

I'm also not quite sure I understand the significance of the supervisor working from home either. I assume they would be responsive to email just the same?

I've worked primarily in a 9-5 role for the past few years and so, haven't really encountered these types of conflicting situations...
On the working from home point, I would assume you cannot assume you could just ask them about balancing work/get their opinion, although it isn't necessarily impossible that you could speak to them too (e.g. it is not that they are on leave). Therefore you might not be able to get their opinion and therefore how would you make a decision/what decision would you make if you haven't got the person around to just ask a quick question by walking up to them. I'd also consider that you are not limited to working in the office, and therefore your ability to work is something you could do around your appointment.

Discussing and agreeing deadlines for work is a key part of the job - you can't do everything and there is a team of people to work with when you have got important commitments. But if you have just received emails (and several of them) it's unlikely the expectation would be that you would do all that work that evening.

I'd also pick out that you are still waiting for the information from the third party - there is no definition as to when that information could come through. So think about how you will manage that ahead of the 10.00am meeting.
 
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