-
TCLA Premium: Now half price (£30/month). Applications, interviews, commercial awareness + 700+ examples.Join →
TCLA Direct Training Contract Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26
- Thread starter Ram Sabaratnam
- Start date
I can’t say for sure, but I’d just take no news as good news for now!
thank you so much, Abbie!! Your message definitely helps a lot - mentioning the timeframe also sounds like a very good idea! I have a bit of a silly follow-up question: letting them know wouldn’t make me more likely to be rejected, right?
It is probably an illogical worry, but I just wanted to check 😅
No worries at all, glad to hear it helped!
Not a silly follow-up at all, and I can totally understand why you're worried (as I was the same and had to ask my mentor haha!). As long as your email is polite and doesn't seem like you are demanding an instant reply, it won't make you more likely to be rejected at all. As others have mentioned, if anything, it likely would have the opposite effect as you'll be viewed as a more competitive candidate
Do people apply to firms they’re lukewarm/ambivalent about? I started an application for a US firm but decided not to continue as I just couldn’t bring myself to show any passion for the firm. My list of firms I want to apply to is really, really small as a result. I wonder if I’m scuppering my chances by being so selective.
I'm doing that, but only when I have extra time to burn and if it doesn't affect the application timeframe of my preferred firms.
I'm trying not to, but I've very much got a list of "back-up" firms that I intend to apply to, time permitting. I also view it as giving my preferred firms 90% (in the way Andrei's talked about it before) and these "back-up" firms something closer to 75% (see what sticks approach). The depth of firm research I do for each type is definitely quite different though, you wouldn't likely find me digging up deal specifics or core repeat clients for the "back-up" firms
Absolutely. It's an extremely normal thing. In reality, most law firms of similar tiers will do quite similar things in quite similar ways. They are distinguished solely by culture and training. You need lawyers on both sides of an M&A deal after all. This changes slightly the smaller you get but is generally true for the massive full service firms. They will have their specialisms, but applying to train with the notion that you want to work only in the department they are known for may come across wrong on the application.
Honestly, a lot of people are drawn especially to the US mega firms for the wrong reasons. They demand a very particular type of person willing to work in a particular environment, and the firm themselves are not really willing to compromise what has worked for them to make sure you fit in. Not wanting to work in that environment (where the stereotype of US firms can be true) is totally understandable. The difficulty of landing a TC is trying to generate passion for the 27th law firm in a row you're applying to, it's unrealistic...
Being selective is not a problem theoretically if you have a CV and experience portfolio to back it up. Unfortunately, aspiration without experience is unlikely to be enough for most firms to want you when their candidate pool is so large enough with people that fit the bill. Of course, you never know if you don't try, but the recommendation is to try and find some motivators as to why you want to work there. It may not be your first choice firm, but if you like (or think you like) generally other things about the firm, talking about their practice areas can actually come second. The advantage that gives you is that if you have no long term legal experience, you don't actually really know what working in a law firm is like, and different departments are very different. Focusing on training quality, culture and broadly their existence in the market can be an alternative angle than practice areas. For instance, without having worked there, Ashurst's strengths are broadly projects, finance and disputes (all surrounding energy, infrastructure and construction). You may know very little about these practice areas, but a merger with Perkins Coie is an attractive opportunity to work in a market that had previously been difficult to access. Demand driven by US clients to have fully fleshed out cross border practices means that trainees post merger are going to have an advantage in a new market.
This is a bit of a run on, but I hope you can see that there is a way around focusing on the traditional application format.
Depends on where you stand in life, really! I'm trying my luck with around 40 firms this cycle. I have plenty of free time (before January, anyway) and want to understand my standing more globally.
Hill Dickinson amberjack assessment and video interview invite! Any insights would be greatly appreciated !
That's exactly how I felt about Mishcon, Simmons, and OC. I am still thinking about GD though, but after OD rejection I felt like it's going to bottom of my list. I will only do it if I could finish other apps in a calibre quality before the deadline.
No, I withdrew from Weil from this reason! Just wasn’t excited about it. Some of the applications are such a process, you might as well go for what you like.
I’m on the fence about applying to Lewis Silkin. The firm clearly has a great culture, and my professional background is aligned with their strengths.
However, I don’t want to be pigeonholed, and I worry with a more boutique firm (although I recognise it’s still a commercial firm), that’s exactly what will happen. For example, if I get a TC there and don’t convert to Associate, or perhaps don’t want to convert to Associate there, my options might be slimmer than if I trained elsewhere.
I sometimes think I don’t do myself any favours by thinking about the worst case scenario all the time lol. But idk, feels like a reasonable concern?
However, I don’t want to be pigeonholed, and I worry with a more boutique firm (although I recognise it’s still a commercial firm), that’s exactly what will happen. For example, if I get a TC there and don’t convert to Associate, or perhaps don’t want to convert to Associate there, my options might be slimmer than if I trained elsewhere.
I sometimes think I don’t do myself any favours by thinking about the worst case scenario all the time lol. But idk, feels like a reasonable concern?
I got the same feedback for an ac I gave last year. Funny because I worked at the firm for one year and then gave the ac. I didn’t prepare anything for the interview at all considering I worked there for a year :/ still got the feedback that I sounded too rehearsed. I was also very upset. I just guess it’s a misunderstanding or just a tactic rejection feedback ://
Thank you so much for this very comprehensive answer. It's given me lots of food for thought. I don't mind working for a US firm, but it still has to 'fit'. I'm also approaching this cycle as a career changer. I have a very good career at one of the major banks in a legal-adjacent field (but have always been drawn to law). For the switch to be worth it, I think the firm would need to be the right fit. I would rather stay where I am than accept a training contract at a firm I'm not really passionate about.
i completed Freshfields stage 2 in Nov, literally still not heard anything. shall i just assume its a no ?
Similar threads
- Sticky
