TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2021-22 (#1)

[A92167!8]

If a work experience section states this - 'Tell us about any paid employment, paid or unpaid placements or internships and any other office and non-office work experience below. Include everything, even if you’re not sure that it’s relevant – non-legal work employment and experience is as important to us as legal placements'

Can you include volunteer roles or committee positions or extra curricular activities from school/uni? @Jessica Booker

 

[John Travoni]

DLA Piper app updated on 31st Dec but no email confirming outcome. Anyone know what that means?

Sameeeee

 

[summer207]

If a work experience section states this - 'Tell us about any paid employment, paid or unpaid placements or internships and any other office and non-office work experience below. Include everything, even if you’re not sure that it’s relevant – non-legal work employment and experience is as important to us as legal placements'

Can you include volunteer roles or committee positions or extra curricular activities from school/uni? @Jessica Booker

I would include volunteer roles but I would not include committee positions or extra curricular activities in the work experience section. Those are more suited to the application questions.

 

[Zubin]

Baker McKenzie Summer VS WG invite!

Also, does anyone know how long after the telephone interview NRF normally gets back to you? Haven't heard anything in the past 10 days since mine 😭

One last thing - does anyone have any tips for Clyde & Co's virtual interview? Have mine in the next few days

 

[summer207]

Has anyone got any stories of fumbling part of a VI and still progressing? Had my first ever this morning, with one really rough Q (messy answer, awkward silence at the end) but the second I think went really well. Trying to stay hopeful.

I’d say it’s usually better than you think and if you don’t progress, it’s still an opportunity to learn. I laughed halfway when answering a question in a VI because I lost my train of thought and I’m currently in the final round of interviews for that role, so I wouldn’t worry. Just wait for the outcome and I hope that helps!

 

[LawfulRust00]

Baker McKenzie Summer VS WG invite!

Also, does anyone know how long after the telephone interview NRF normally gets back to you? Haven't heard anything in the past 10 days since mine 😭

One last thing - does anyone have any tips for Clyde & Co's virtual interview? Have mine in the next few days

Re NRF, I was told not to expect a response until after NY, so don’t stress.

 

[Rob93]

I’d say it’s usually better than you think and if you don’t progress, it’s still an opportunity to learn. I laughed halfway when answering a question in a VI because I lost my train of thought and I’m currently in the final round of interviews for that role, so I wouldn’t worry. Just wait for the outcome and I hope that helps!

Thanks for that, this is exactly the kind of anecdote I was hoping to hear.

 

[Slawrelated]

You are staying late in the office tonight because you are leaving work early tomorrow to go away for the weekend. A partner invites you to a client dinner. How would you respond?

How do you approach a question such as this?

I am inclined to say I would stick to my own commitments?

 

[S87]

You are staying late in the office tonight because you are leaving work early tomorrow to go away for the weekend. A partner invites you to a client dinner. How would you respond?

How do you approach a question such as this?

I am inclined to say I would stick to my own commitments?

What's better for the client and for the firm? Are you going to work for this client? Probably more yes than no..so it would be good to know how to approach them. Clients are likely to drink and become more loose and open about certain things and if you make a good impression...

 

[GXA123]

You are staying late in the office tonight because you are leaving work early tomorrow to go away for the weekend. A partner invites you to a client dinner. How would you respond?

How do you approach a question such as this?

I am inclined to say I would stick to my own commitments?

I’d say something around it depends on the situation for example if it’s someone’s wedding or a really important thing I would thank them for the offer and apologise respectfully and make sure that I tell them the reason.

if it’s something I could delay or postpone I would accept the offer happily as it would be a great opportunity to form stronger bonds and relationships and network and develop!

This is how I would approach it personally. Hope it helps

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

If you’re asked in an interview to discuss a deal or commercial story that has interested you, how recent does it have to be? Can I talk about a story that interested me from about October/November?

Yes, that is fine. Anything within the last 6-12 months is generally fine.

 

[Commerciallaw]

Baker McKenzie Summer VS WG invite!

Also, does anyone know how long after the telephone interview NRF normally gets back to you? Haven't heard anything in the past 10 days since mine 😭

One last thing - does anyone have any tips for Clyde & Co's virtual interview? Have mine in the next few days

LOL - I still haven't heard from NRF post-WG 🤣 🤣 😭😭😭😭

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

You are staying late in the office tonight because you are leaving work early tomorrow to go away for the weekend. A partner invites you to a client dinner. How would you respond?

How do you approach a question such as this?

I am inclined to say I would stick to my own commitments?

Generally you shouldn’t miss out on these opportunities unless you are going to miss out on something bigger (either your other work or your personal life).

But there can often be compromises.

- Is what you are working on time urgent or can it be delayed?

- Could you get into the office early the next morning to cover the work you wanted to do tonight?

- If you are leaving early tomorrow, could you stay slightly later to get work done and still have time to travel for the weekend?

- Could you come in early on Monday?

- Could you go the the early part of the dinner but leave early/could you attend the dinner later on in the evening, once you have done your work?

Sometimes it doesn’t need to be black and white, there is often a whole host of options somewhere in the middle.

 

[SCN]

Anyone else just find it so difficult to align your interests with the firm like I don't have experiences in most of the legal practice areas so it seems really empty saying "I find private equity work interesting" because I can't back up that statement.

 

[GXA123]

Anyone else just find it so difficult to align your interests with the firm like I don't have experiences in most of the legal practice areas so it seems really empty saying "I find private equity work interesting" because I can't back up that statement.

Try to link it to a virtual experience, an event or maybe an article you read

 

[AvniD]

@Jessica Booker

Happy New Year everyone!

Please could someone help me with TI prep:

Why commercial law

1)Is it better to answer this by going through a journey of why you're interested in commercial law- e.g. "At age, x sparked my initial interest in commercial law... At university, y expanded my area in this interest.. etc" or should we approach it in the following way- "I am interested in commercial law because of the following three reasons... Reason 1 was experienced through x... Reason 2 was experienced through y"
i.e. should we lead/structure a response with our experiences or what we gained from each experience?

2)When answering this, should the focus be more on trainee role or a career in commercial law in general?

Why this firm

1)Is it okay to use the same reasons/structure as used in cover letter/written application stage? How much are we expected to expand on our written app answers?

Thanks,

@TCApp2021 for why commercial law, either structure makes sense as long as you give a solid reason with evidence demonstrating your motivation. I'd speak about a career in commercial law in general as the trainee role will only last 2 years and I'd want to demonstrate an interest beyond that period.

As for why this firm, you should ideally be ready to build on your answers at the interview stage, especially if you've picked them up from your written app. Otherwise, it might sound too rehearsed or under-researched.

hi everyone! when a firm asks you where they should open their next office in an interview is this a hypothetical question or do you have to know all their offices and suggest a new one? i am asking this because i have an interview coming up and this firm in particular has offices almost in every country in the world so am really struggling to find a new one?

@ELSA19 firms can (and do!) have more than one office in a country/region so you should be okay on this front. This question essentially tests your ability to link a city/country/region that's had heightened business activity or new commercial opportunities with the firm's expansion strategy, allowing you to demonstrate both your commercial awareness and firm research in one answer. If you're able to show this link, irrespective of which location you choose to open the office, then your answer will stand out. I hope this helps?

Anyone else just find it so difficult to align your interests with the firm like I don't have experiences in most of the legal practice areas so it seems really empty saying "I find private equity work interesting" because I can't back up that statement.

@SCN I completely understand your predicament- I was in a similar position as you when making applications. My best tip to you would be to try and attend webinars, talks, panel discussions and online events on such practice areas so that you can demonstrate a grounded interest in them. In the absence of relevant work experience, nothing is more convincing than the initiative you take to educate yourself and learn more about a firm's practice areas and develop an interest in them.

 

[elizabethjo123]

There's no specified word limit for Macfarlanes' work experience section, but it won't let you type more than 500 words. Most of my work experience is around the 150 word mark. Is this too short? Should I try to lengthen my answers?

 

[kat_]

Has anyone got any stories of fumbling part of a VI and still progressing? Had my first ever this morning, with one really rough Q (messy answer, awkward silence at the end) but the second I think went really well. Trying to stay hopeful.

Yeah, I answered one question horribly.
I started talking about something completely unrelated to the question, and that answer made me laugh nervously.
I still progressed to the next stage.

 

[AvniD]

Has anyone got any stories of fumbling part of a VI and still progressing? Had my first ever this morning, with one really rough Q (messy answer, awkward silence at the end) but the second I think went really well. Trying to stay hopeful.

I once rushed through an answer and had nothing left to say so I just kept staring into the camera for the 10 or so seconds that were left because I had no idea what to do/how to end that segment of the VI early. Still progressed 😅

 

[summer207]

Is Latham’s work simulation like an SJT? Or similar to the job simulation exercise of Mayer Brown? Just wondering if it will involve any recorded elements, etc.