TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2022-23

[Asil Ahmad]

I know it is still early days but has anyone heard from Kennedys yet

 

[Ambs123]

I know this wasn’t a reply for me but I did my SST on the 27th December, and my three strengths were Commercial Awareness, Collaboration and Attention to Detail ☺️

I got the same! Last year when I did the VI, I got confidence, attention to detail and collaboration and I didn't make it through to VI

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Is it a good idea to mention specific deals and/or cases in the, 'Why X firm' type of questions (mentioning why these are significant and/or interesting, of course)? Or is this unwelcome as the firm already knows what it does!

Stating deals or cases is fine in the manner you are talking about if you are clearly tieing back to you/your motivations. They firm doesn't know about them!

 

[lawyer256]

can someone help please with why commercial law and not IB or consulting?

 

[Hmm123]

Reed Smith VI!😆 First time passing the application/test stage

 

[lllaaawww098]

Will also put on the other thread, but has anyone else not yet heard back from Freshfields re the direct Training Contract application ... I applied on November 17th and haven't heard anything ... lost hope!

I'm in your same position, but Freshfields is non-rolling and so they review all applications once the deadline is passed!

 

[fleur269]

@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.

@AvniD This is immensely helpful, thank you! I'll take a look at your blog.

 

[Sachin Chandra]

Reed Smith PFO... Does anyone know why? I got Judgement, Attention to Detail and Drive as my strengths. This rejection hurt for some reason

I don't get how they can PFO you when they list these three strengths as applying to you

 

[lllaaawww098]

For anyone who has applied for the Spring scheme at Latham and Watkins and got a VI, when did you apply?
I have applied before Christmas and did the test on Dec 28th but still no update, should I expect PFO?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

can someone help please with why commercial law and not IB or consulting?

This post and the article it links to might help: https://www.thecorporatelawacademy....w-community-managers-anything.4399/post-93792

 

[legally.brown]

For anyone who has applied for the Spring scheme at Latham and Watkins and got a VI, when did you apply?
I have applied before Christmas and did the test on Dec 28th but still no update, should I expect PFO

Same here! Applied for summer and I am expecting a PFO.. Not sure if they are sending it in batches or if it’s a PFO

 

[CorpLawyer00]

Same here! Applied for summer and I am expecting a PFO.. Not sure if they are sending it in batches or if it’s a PFO

If you look at the forum from last year, they seem to have sent in batches.

 

[lawstudent9]

any advice on answering "your great weakness" type questions in interviews pls?

@Jessica Booker

 

[RB2022]

I got a PFO too with collaboration, attention to detail and drive. Guessing it's just because other people matched their preferred strengths better, sadly! 😢

I had the same strengths

 

[Sachin Chandra]

I had the same strengths

Did you get PFO'd?

 

[aemond54]

Anyone heard from PwC Legal for summer vacation scheme - they sent an email saying we would hear back soon but it says my application is still under review.

im in the same situation

 

[lawyering]

If you look at the forum from last year, they seem to have sent in batches.

yeah that seemed to calm my anxiety, but the fact that they reopened apps hella concerned me? someone on here said earlier that they reopened today (can't confirm)...and i can see they are closing again tonight ...which makes me think it may be an error. we're probably better off holding tight😂

 

[BM99]

yeah that seemed to calm my anxiety, but the fact that they reopened apps hella concerned me? someone on here said earlier that they reopened today (can't confirm)...and i can see they are closing again tonight ...which makes me think it may be an error. we're probably better off holding tight😂

Hi where can you see they open apps?

 

[lawyering]

Hi where can you see they open apps?

i couldn't possibly confirm when they were reopened but if you go onto allhires you can see the spring and summer deadlines are now 09/01/23 (prev 01/01/23)

 

[ms167bs]

If I may ask, when did you apply to Latham?

30th dec