TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2021-22 (#1)
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Jessica Booker
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Generally decided by graduate recruitment as loads of other people are interviewing other candidates and they need to ensure there is consistency between assessors and also make sure they make enough offers (and not too many).
Will only be your interviewer(s) if you are going to work in their team. As most vacation schemes/training contracts are recruited across a firm, it really needs to be coordinated centrally rather than individual interviewers making offers.
Non-law student here and it's perfectly fine to ask for clarification. I wasn't asked anything with legal jargon in it, but it might be helpful if you understood some of the business terms in the sector - an example of such a term would be SPAC (which I had no clue about until I started following news articles more closely). For interviews, I felt that they were treated as a two-way conversation.
Jessica Booker
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My view is if the firm is actively marketing to career changers, then that shows their interest. Look for events and advertising that may suggest this. For instance:
How to get into law as a career changer - with Shearman & Sterling, Irwin Mitchell, 2TG and ULaw - Legal Cheek
How to get into law as a career changer: Stem Future Lawyers
How To Get Into Law As A Career Changer — With BCLP, Shearman & Sterling, 2 Temple Gardens, And ULaw - Xperta Insights
I used to do this event with the Law Society too: Slide 1 (lawsociety.org.uk) and they had a whole load of firms' representatives attend.
From my experience, Freshfields used to be pretty good at taking on career changers - we had a fair number of career changers, albeit through the direct TC route back in the day.
It's going to be hard to slot firms into these categories because while they may choose to recruit differently it may not be with the intention of keeping career-changers out of the profession.
I would encourage you to instead look for firms with direct TC routes and who have career-changer specific events/recruitment programmes (see Jessica's post here).
@LS07 I'm sorry to hear about this. I would encourage you to take a break from applications-related work for as long as you need to process your rejection and see where you want to go from here. Rejections test the strength of your response and will so give yourself the time and space you require to deal with this disappointment in the best manner possible.
What may feel like 'the' firm for you right now may not be 'the' firm in a few weeks, months, years and tying yourself to this notion can be limiting at times. Interviews are incredibly stressful and testing for even the best of us- you gave it a good shot and that's really what matters at the end of the day. If the outcome is not in your favour, then take some time to process it and see how you could deal with this situation better next time and try to move forward to making new applications to other firms you like. Who knows- maybe there are other firms out there who are an even better fit.
Go for it! I would be quite brief while talking about your interest in football because you don't want to go off-topic but linking deals back to why they interest you is always a good thing.
Jessica Booker
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I have seen this work many times, so not a problem to use something like this.
Guys I just got an email from Travers Smith this morning.
Dear Asil
Thank you for your application for a summer scheme.
We apologise for the delay in getting back to you but due to the volume of applications the process is taking longer than anticipated. We hope to be in touch in the next few weeks.
Yours sincerely,
So there is still hope.
Dear Asil
Thank you for your application for a summer scheme.
We apologise for the delay in getting back to you but due to the volume of applications the process is taking longer than anticipated. We hope to be in touch in the next few weeks.
Yours sincerely,
So there is still hope.
Dont really have a conclusive answer to this, but from my experience if a firm wants to get in touch with you, they will! I missed a call about the outcome of my CMS AC, and was sent an email with phone numbers to call back on. So yes, most likely, if they have made the effort to contact you they will ask you to call back. Hope this helps!
Covington vac scheme offer 🥳 looking like a fabulous summer ahead 
I feel like Travers should either go rolling, or move their deadline closer to just after the new year. As a student, it just feels a little too close to exams with AC's being in mid later March, not sure how other students feel about it?
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My reaction to Travers email this AM giving a very nice “we’ll be with you in a few weeks” update 💀
Hi George, I sent you a private message but unsure if you will be able to respond there! i have my interview coming up next week, if you had any key tips/advice for the day that would be amazing! Thank you so muchHey @WiseOwl,
Thank you for the question and for reaching out. Given everything that has been said on this by the team already, I do not have much to add. Just wanted to let you know I have seen this!
Feel free to tag me in future though as I would be delighted to help.
Hey @rb26,
Unfortunately I do not have any experience of GT, so I cannot help directly with your query.
My advice would be to use the forum's search bar functionality if you have not already (searching "Greenberg" looks promising for example!). By doing this you might be able to identify some users who have posted about their interview process on the forum previously and reach out to them directly via PM.
Very happy to help with some general interview tips if that would be helpful!
Hey @TCApp2021,
This is a great question. I think there are three ways of doing this:
1. Have you taken a look at Travers' entry in Chambers & Partners? If you take a look at where the firm is strongest in London, consider the firms that are in the same band as them in these areas. For example, under "Corporate/M&A: Mid-Market in London (Firms)", the other firms listed in Band 1 are DLA Piper and Macfarlanes. TheLegal500's entry for Travers (and going through the same process with reference to their Tier ranking system) may also be useful for this.
2. Consider recent deals that Travers have publicly spoken about. This method can be hit and miss. I actually took a look through several deals that they recently publicised on their website (e.g., The Access Group on its acquisition of Vincere, Brown & Brown, Inc. on its acquisition of BDB and InstaVolt on its acquisition by EQT Infrastructure) but had little success in finding the opposing counsel for any of these deals.
This method can be a little misleading. Some companies will have a go-to counsel who may not work with (in this case) Travers very often, so it would be wrong to call them a key competitor more broadly despite them working with the firm on a particular occasion.
3. Reach out to (future) trainees/associates on LinkedIn who work at/have experience of Travers and ask them about their experience of the firm. this approach is a really great way of learning about a firm in a way that is difficult to do by digesting their GR literature.
@WiseOwl, looking at the deal teams of particular deals and reaching out to members of that team to see if they would be willing to discuss it (albeit most likely in broad strokes) might be a great way of demonstrating your curiosity and enthusiasm for a firm/deal (especially if you wish to discuss this at interview). If you were to do this though, I would make sure that you are very comfortable speaking about it and the relevant industry/commercial context.
I hope that helps @TCApp2021 🚀
Hey @Jellybelly829,
I know others have replied to this, but I think it would be best for you to wait until you hear back now. I think it would be inadvisable to ask to resubmit your CV at this stage personally!
Please do let me know when you do hear back. I interviewed (twice) with Slaughters and would be more than happy to help where I can.
Hey @Zubin,
Congratulations on the AC!
It might be helpful to take a look at my advice for @rb26 above about using the search bar functionality on the forum (if you have not already!). I am sure there will be some content on the forum that would be helpful.
Very happy to point you towards some of our resources on interviews more broadly too. Just let me know if you would find that useful
Hey @gkadh03,
Awesome news on the being invited to Goodwin's WE. I would suggest as above taking a look through the forum using the search bar, just in case others have spoken about their experience previously on the forum.
In terms of more general advice, here is some fantastic evergreen content from the community which I hope might be helpful:
Let me know if you would like any further help with this!
- @James Carrabino's thoughtful and thorough list of issues to consider when completing a WE
- A basic structure to employ when writing a WE
- @Jessica Booker's words of wisdom for WEs
- @SLKEJRWOI97's thoughts on WEs
Hey @AB,
Congratulations for getting progressed to an AC with Macfarlanes! I empathise with your nervousness. I felt anxious before each of my interviews.
The biggest thing to remember is that the firm has invited you for a reason and that you really can only do your best. So channel that anxiety and make sure that you make the most of this opportunity because you really can do it.
Do take a look at my advice above about using the search bar functionality and at my reply to @gkadh03 above regarding WE resources from the forum too.
If it would be helpful I am very happy to point you towards some general AC resources. Just let me know if that would be useful🤙
Have you heard back yet? I am still waiting to hear!
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