TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2022-23

[Polaranu]

Reed Smith VI!!

 

[Future Six Figure Fee Earner]

Reed smith VI invite

 

[Sachin Chandra]

Strength Based Video Interview with Reed Smith invite just now - any advice team?

 

[born&raised]

WFW AC invitation - my first ever AC 😭. Thank you to everyone who helped me!

Edit: completed the VI on 2 January!

Woohoo, congratulations!!!

 

[BeGrateful.101]

i actually think using non legal experiences can be great here too. some of my extracurricular and non-legal work experiences are unusual and can really make someone stand out if they've thought carefully about how they relate to law. highly encourage thinking about a wide range of experiences - something i've also been told at interview before.

Thank you !

 

[BeGrateful.101]

Congratulations everyone with the Reed Smith VI!! Nice to see you so many of you guys progressing! Wish you all the very best ♥️♥️♥️

 

[JessicaIsabelle]

Received a PFO from Skadden about a week ago BUT just got my Reed Smith VI!
💕

 

[SK02]

Reed smith VI invite

I'm still waiting to hear from them.

May I ask when you gave the SST and what your strengths were?

 

[Adrian_S]

Reed Smith PFO post SST. What a day!

 

[S87]

Hi guys

Reed Smith PFO post SST

View attachment 4640

Love you to bits!

 

[lawyering]

Reed Smith PFO post SST. What a day!

View attachment 4640

Ditto - sorry to hear it Adrian!

 

[RB2022]

Reed Smith PFO 😔

 

[AvniD]

Hi everyone,

How do I demonstrate my potential as a trainee in Clyde & Co's video assessment? I feel so nervous because its is my first interview. I have gotten tips like research the firm and give eye contact but I still feel a little inadequate. Please help, I don't know what to expect

I would recommend reading this post here on VIs and then as an added layer, read through the firm's trainee competencies really well and create a list of examples where you demonstrated these competencies. Keep this list in front of you during the VI so you can pick examples from it while structuring your answers. Let me know how this goes for you!

 

[rayemuse]

I wish I can help, but I am in the same boat, waiting for someone to give advice about this VI.

I did it last year, didn’t pass it so idk how helpful I’d be but if you dm me I can tell you what it was like for me.

 

[AvniD]

Hi everyone. @Jaysen @Jessica Booker I am tagging you both as I feel your knowledge may be helpful if you have time to respond.

I'm currently working on applications for vacation schemes and direct training contracts - depending on which are still open with the relevant firms (US firms like Sidley and international firms, e.g. Simmons and Simmons, Ashurst).

Firstly, I just want to stress that I understand how competitive it is; the US firms offer a small number of places. My concern is my lack of work experience - no vacation schemes, no paralegal roles, no leadership roles in university (i.e. being a head of a committee/sports team). 'Positions of responsibility' are often a substantial chunk of application forms.

Although I can leverage the experiences I do have to their best advantage, these still may be considered insufficient by firms, and I worry that I might not, at this stage, be a viable candidate.

Has anyone else applied without much experience, and had any success?

@fleur269 I always say that firms won't know what to value until you tell them what you value. If you downplay your experiences from the get-go, they likely will too. You absolutely don't need any work experience to get what is generally meant to be your first job in this career.

What you must focus on instead is identifying the skills and traits that you have developed and demonstrated in the experience you have and expressing this to firms clearly, with an emphasis on creating a link with the competencies they are actively looking for. Your firm research and application answers have to be top-notch so ensure you prioritise this as well (I liked using these research grids when I was applying to organise my research). The same goes for your commercial awareness!

You absolutely can do this and if you feel you have any gaps in your knowledge, try reading law firm news and watching webinars with them online to try and bridge this.

 

[ms167bs]

Latham VI invite - has anybody else done one with them?

 

[Uvaia]

Reed Smith VI invitation. Please send help 🤣 🤣 any advice is greatly appreciated.

Edit: my strengths from the SST were: Attention to detail, collaboration and learning.

 

[AvniD]

I think I am not gonna pass the VI stage at all I did the Clyde & Co VI today and I really messed it up. I am desperate regarding this. Any thoughts, please of how to succeed at this stage? (My problem is I panic as soon as I miss the answer and get stressed about the timing count-down).
Has anyone had a similar situation but made it later?

I 100% believe that you can and will pass your VIs- you just need some information on how you can ace them. I'm linking my post on VIs here to help and also this super recent one here by a star member of our community, @ml_vk2022! Let me know if you find these useful!

 

[CorpLawyer00]

Latham VI invite - has anybody else done one with them?

congratulations! when did you apply?

 

[AvniD]

Dear @Jessica Booker (or anyone else who might be able to help ), I have a question about SJT-type interview questions (e.g. in A&O's interview).

Even though the question is hypothetical, is it encouraged to pepper your answer with how you have handled such an issue in real life to make the answer more powerful, or should I do so only if they ask whether I have encountered a similar issue as a follow-up question?

So for example, if the question is:

• If your colleague was slacking at work because of personal issues that they didn’t want to share with their boss, what would you do?

Would it be better to only address the question in hypothetical terms or can I also discuss the fact that, for example, I had a personal experience working in a team where person A alienated person B (the slacker) by being too direct and confrontational about person B's slacking, so one should take care to bring the issue up with the slacker in a diplomatic way?

I would keep your answer focused on what your would do in the scenario presented to you, rather than why you would follow the steps you have chosen. Think of SJTs as testing your ability to be solution-oriented and instinctive - walk the interviewer through your instincts and thought process for eg. why you think it's a good idea to tell your supervisor if you're super overwhelmed with work, but imo don't feel the pressure to justify which experiences have informed these instincts as this doesn't answer the question at hand. Does this make sense?