TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2024-5

[Julia Wyporkiewicz]

Hi, did anyone get any reply from Howard Kennedy? It was supposed to be last week but I haven’t heard anything

 

[Tintin06]

Anyone know what percentage (I.e is it worth apply DTC to them) these firms take from their DTC:
- BCLP
- Dentons
- Paul Hastings
- White and Case
- Macfarlanes
- Stephenson harwood
- Sullivan cromwell
- K&L gates

Sullivan & Cromwell seems VS only. They don’t regularly recruit via DTCs.

 

[James Wakefield]

Still nothing from Ashurst?

I think they started getting back to people this time last year.

 

[dlc3266]

Does anyone know if White & Case’s DTC is rolling or not?

 

[Chris Brown]

Does anyone know if White & Case’s DTC is rolling or not?

DTC is non-rolling. They are rolling for VS. DTC deadline is in July I think. 🙂​

 

[Tintin06]

DTC is non-rolling. They are rolling for VS. 🙂​

Also, you can apply for both.

That's also true for Morgan Lewis.

 

[spamelinazoid]

Anyone still waiting on Baker McKenzie?

 

[OliverTwist]

Anyone heard back from Mayer Brown post-test?

Is this post job simulation, if so, no!

 

[Moe]

Does anyone have any news on Bristows DTC?

Hi - did you hear any news or are you still waiting? They should have gotten back to you by now!

 

[GV]

Does anyone have an idea when we’ll hear back from Shoosmiths?

 

[User5678]

Does anyone have an idea when we’ll hear back from Shoosmiths?

On 9 May after 3pm (before closing I.e., 5:30pm)

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi everyone, I got to the test stage invite for Kingsley Napley and didn’t get through. I seem to have this issue for a lot of firms. I take practice tests for Watson Glaser along with other types of critical thinking skills. I keep falling short even though I score well on the practice tests. Any advice from anyone who struggled before and now has managed to be able to pass them?

Hi @Eeeazyyy8 practicing the WG is certainly very important, but it also matters to have the right understanding of how approach questions when you are practicing. I have quoted bellow a post in which I discussed the way I went about it:

Hi Lauren, my top tip for the WG is to read really carefully the instructions for each section and note them down in a number of short bullet points, which you can then go back to when having difficulty during the assessment. The biggest mistake I've seen people make with the WG is to treat it as a general critical thinking (IQ style) test and therefore rely too much on pure intuition when choosing the answer. I have found that an intuitive answer could be right in some sections and not in other. I have tended to score quite highly on the WG and my focus has been on the precise boundaries of the criteria given for each section - what can be assumed vs what can be inferred vs what can be deducted all have slightly different meanings, just as 'true', 'probable', 'beyond reasonable doubt', 'logically certain' all have slightly different meanings. The difference between the candidates who score highly and those who score at our under average will likely depend on an ability to notice those fine distinctions.

As for top tips for the inferences section, I have copy pasted bellow the information sheet I used. Besides tips to keep in mind, it has some summary of the 'test' I mentally go through when deciding on an answer:

Tips:

• If you don’t know the meaning of a word, try and figure out from its context.
• Notice the difference between qualifiers (e.g. some, most) and extreme qualifiers (always/none).

Test:

• True: The inference is explicit in the passage; if the inference is inferable from the passage (solely from the passage and without broader reference to general knowledge).
• Probably True: If the statement does not directly suggest the inference is true, but suggests it is likely (>50%) to be the case; or if the inference is based on common knowledge + information in the passage.
• More information required: Information you are asked is simply not given in the passage, with no grounds for correctly inferring the likelihood of the truth or falsity of the statement; also, generally if the inference is opinionated.
• Probably false: if the statement does not directly suggest the inference is false, but suggests it is likely (>50%) to be the false; or if the inference is false based on common knowledge + information in the passage.
• False: The inference directly contradicts something mentioned in the statement, or if the inference misinterprets the statement

This information sheet has been partly based on an excellent course made by the TCLA team on WG preparation. If you haven't already, I highly encourage you to watch it here.

 

[Eajob]

Hi - did you hear any news or are you still waiting? They should have gotten back to you by now!

I'm still waiting to hear back from them. Hoping I'll hear next week 🙏

 

[RS Sanjanaa]

if anyone can share insights on CRS AC, please dm

 

[gazdgazd11]

if anyone can share insights on CRS AC, please dm

Congrats! When did you get the invite and which office if you don’t mind x

 

[Gin]

Hey guys another question here! Will MC/US/International law firms be more harsh to international students who need sponsorship in terms of grades and work experience?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hey guys another question here! Will MC/US/International law firms be more harsh to international students who need sponsorship in terms of grades and work experience?

I don’t think firms are harsher as such, especially now there is not any form of residents labour market test that needs to be done for people not transferring from a student visa (which used the be the case pre January 2021).

I do think firms look closely at motivations for international candidates though and often have an additional layer of why commercial law in the U.K. rather than another country that a lot of domestic students don’t have to prove in the same way. Firms know the English training system is one of the quicker ones in the world and that it makes many people more employable in other jurisdictions. They don’t want to train people for them to leave upon or shortly after qualification, especially in jurisdictions where they don’t operate.

 

[Gin]

I don’t think firms are harsher as such, especially now there is not any form of residents labour test that needs to be done for people not transferring from a student visa (which used the be the case pre January 2021).

I do think firms look closely at motivations for international candidates though and often have an additional layer of why commercial law in the U.K. rather than another country that a lot of domestic students don’t have to prove in the same way. Firms know the English training system is one of the quicker ones in the world and that it makes many people more employable in other jurisdictions. They don’t want to train people for them to leave upon or shortly after qualification, especially in jurisdictions where they don’t operate.

Thank you!!! That's so reassuring to know.

 

[Tintin06]

Noticed a big application mistake today. Put 2021 as GDL start date. I haven’t done the GDL though. But then elsewhere it says 2025. That’s for the SQE start date. Am I cooked because of this?

 

[billyonthespeeddial]

Noticed a big application mistake today. Put 2021 as GDL start date. I haven’t done the GDL though. But then elsewhere it says 2025. That’s for the SQE start date. Am I cooked because of this?

I've found that grad rec are very understanding when you email to correct more factual details like this