TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[TCLA Community Assistant]

@Jessica Booker Hi Jessica, just wanted some advice if possible. Do law firms care at all about what you do prior to starting the SQE/TC? I am scheduled to do the SQE February 2026 and start the TC the February after. Now I just have this massive year long gap between now and studying the SQE. Many people have advised that I should travel/enjoy this amount of time since I'll never have this much free time again and I'll be stuck in an office doing silly hours for my legal career, but travelling for that long period of time is not feasible for me. I've currently been working in an admin role unrelated to law since October, but it is stressful and uninteresting. I would like to leave to improve my mental health, and I'm fortunate enough to not have to rely on this role. If I do this, and if I don't go in any sort of employment between now and next Feb, would this be detrimental going forward in your experience?

In the vast majority of cases, no one is going to care. They are going to look at your training contract much more closely.

If the difference is between working in your current role and not, I don't think this is going to be a big issue. If you were saying you wanted to go into a very competitive area of law like international arbitration as a qualified lawyer and you were working in international arbitration now, then I might be saying something slightly different as that type of direct experience could 1) help you get an international arbitration seat as a trainee and 2) help your qualification chances into that area as you would have more experience in the field.

But given this is an admin role unrelated to law, I really don't think this is an issue. Plus you could find other forms of employment instead or even fill your time with things like travelling, volunteering. I think it is important to do something with any long period of time out (like a year) but that does not have to be work and that does not have to be one thing either.

Ultimately your mental health is not worth risking. The SQE will be a tough period anyway and going into that mentally fresh and not exhausted/stressed is probably a good idea anyway.

 

[LegallyStressedOut]

Did anyone else get this email from JD? any insights?

 

[Wannabe_Lawyer]

Hi Jessica (and anyone else who wants to chip in),

Just wanted to piggyback on your point about international arbitration being a really competitive area (sorry, for the completely unrelated topic!). Would you say that is the case at the majority of London-based firms? Would it be different at firms with strong int'l arb practices like Debevoise, King & Spalding and the likes? As these firms are also prioritising the growth of their transactional practices, would that mean that int'l arb is a competitive area to get into even in such firms?

Thanks!

In the vast majority of cases, no one is going to care. They are going to look at your training contract much more closely.

If the difference is between working in your current role and not, I don't think this is going to be a big issue. If you were saying you wanted to go into a very competitive area of law like international arbitration as a qualified lawyer and you were working in international arbitration now, then I might be saying something slightly different as that type of direct experience could 1) help you get an international arbitration seat as a trainee and 2) help your qualification chances into that area as you would have more experience in the field.

But given this is an admin role unrelated to law, I really don't think this is an issue. Plus you could find other forms of employment instead or even fill your time with things like travelling, volunteering. I think it is important to do something with any long period of time out (like a year) but that does not have to be work and that does not have to be one thing either.

Ultimately your mental health is not worth risking. The SQE will be a tough period anyway and going into that mentally fresh and not exhausted/stressed is probably a good idea anyway.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hi Jessica (and anyone else who wants to chip in),

Just wanted to piggyback on your point about international arbitration being a really competitive area (sorry, for the completely unrelated topic!). Would you say that is the case at the majority of London-based firms? Would it be different at firms with strong int'l arb practices like Debevoise, King & Spalding and the likes? As these firms are also prioritising the growth of their transactional practices, would that mean that int'l arb is a competitive area to get into even in such firms?

Thanks!

I can't say for certain having not worked in those firms, but I suspect it would be the case at any firm. Its typically one of the most popular areas for people to qualify into and firms with strong IA practices are naturally going to attract more people wanting to sit/qualify in those areas.

There are weird and unexpected trends though that mean popularity of different practice areas ebbs and flows at different times though. It also comes down to a bit of pot luck as to who else you have in your intake who is really interested in the areas you are. I have seen seat rotations and qualification processes where popular areas are no longer popular, and conversely typically hard to fill practice areas all of a sudden being popular and too many people wanting to sit/qualify there. It doesn't take much for a couple of people who thought they wanted to be corporate lawyers end up loving being litigators (or vice versa) and dynamics shift quite quickly.

 

[Wannabe_Lawyer]

I can't say for certain having not worked in those firms, but I suspect it would be the case at any firm. Its typically one of the most popular areas for people to qualify into and firms with strong IA practices are naturally going to attract people wanting to sit/qualify in those areas.

There are weird and unexpected trends though that mean popularity of different practice areas ebbs and flows at different times though. It also comes down to a bit of pot luck as to who else you have in your intake who is really interested in the areas you are. I have seen seat rotations and qualification processes where popular areas are no longer popular, and conversely typically hard to fill practice areas all of a sudden being popular and too many people wanting to sit/qualify there. It doesn't take much for a couple of people who thought they wanted to be corporate lawyers end up loving being litigators (or vice versa) and dynamics shift quite quickly.

That is a good point re: all the aspiring int'l arbitrators targetting such firms. I guess there really is no way of predicting these things. But good food for thought. Thanks!

 

[Harvey Specter]

Hi Jessica (and anyone else who wants to chip in),

Just wanted to piggyback on your point about international arbitration being a really competitive area (sorry, for the completely unrelated topic!). Would you say that is the case at the majority of London-based firms? Would it be different at firms with strong int'l arb practices like Debevoise, King & Spalding and the likes? As these firms are also prioritising the growth of their transactional practices, would that mean that int'l arb is a competitive area to get into even in such firms?

Thanks!

I would think it depends on the size of the firm and in relation to its graduate recruitment, how many trainees the firm takes on. For example, a firm like Debevoise & Plimpton takes on around 10 trainees. For a firm like this, I would imagine it’s less competitive to enter international arbitration than say Freshfields, which recruits 90-100 trainees annually, all of whom might be super interested in international arbitration as a training contract seat and an area they’d like to qualify into.

I think for firms that are prioritising the growth of their transactional practices, this might also reduce the competition around international arbitration. For example, private equity is now increasingly popular and is a known strength of US firms. I imagine this is a very competitive area to enter and qualify into now compared to international arbitration. However, I don’t know for sure. 🤷🏾‍♂️

I think ultimately it would come down to luck, in that it depends on the interests of the trainees and NQ’s at the time. I imagine these vary every year. For example, one year competition law might be super popular and then the next year it isn’t, and instead intellectual property is the most competitive area to enter. I am very interested in dispute resolution, but I could start a TC or near becoming an NQ and decide I want to become a tax associate (very unlikely for me but never say never). 😂​

 

[kuuks_]

Paul, Weiss Interview! Got it at 5:39pm. My SJT scores weren’t that great so guys, don’t loose hope lol!

Congratulations!!

Did you apply for spring or summer?

 

[billyonthespeeddial]

I would think it depends on the size of the firm and in relation to its graduate recruitment, how many trainees the firm takes on. For example, a firm like Debevoise & Plimpton takes on around 10 trainees. For a firm like this, I would imagine it’s less competitive to enter international arbitration than say Freshfields, which recruits 90-100 trainees annually, all of whom might be super interested in international arbitration as a training contract seat and an area they’d like to qualify into.

I'm not sure if this is really accurate. Most firms will have certain number of NQ position openings in certain departments. While I don't think Freshfields will have ten times the IA places Debevoise will have, they'll also have so many other contentious options that people will gravitate towards.

 

[OliverTwist]

Received an invite to complete the Mishcon VI yesterday. Does anybody have any insight on what it involves?

 

[Wannabe_Lawyer]

I would think it depends on the size of the firm and in relation to its graduate recruitment, how many trainees the firm takes on. For example, a firm like Debevoise & Plimpton takes on around 10 trainees. For a firm like this, I would imagine it’s less competitive to enter international arbitration than say Freshfields, which recruits 90-100 trainees annually, all of whom might be super interested in international arbitration as a training contract seat and an area they’d like to qualify into.

I think for firms that are prioritising the growth of their transactional practices, this might also reduce the competition around international arbitration. For example, private equity is now increasingly popular and is a known strength of US firms. I imagine this is a very competitive area to enter and qualify into now compared to international arbitration. However, I don’t know for sure. 🤷🏾‍♂️

I think ultimately it would come down to luck, in that it depends on the interests of the trainees and NQ’s at the time. I imagine these vary every year. For example, one year competition law might be super popular and then the next year it isn’t, and instead intellectual property is the most competitive area to enter. I am very interested in dispute resolution, but I could start a TC or near becoming an NQ and decide I want to become a tax associate (very unlikely for me but never say never). 😂​

I have seen so many former classmates/friends go from having strong preferences for transactional/litigation work and completely flipping their preferences on qualification. I'm also anticipating it in myself (if I ever get a TC that is). 😆

 

[TCpleasex]

@Jessica Booker Hi Jessica, just wanted some advice if possible. Do law firms care at all about what you do prior to starting the SQE/TC? I am scheduled to do the SQE February 2026 and start the TC the February after. Now I just have this massive year long gap between now and studying the SQE. Many people have advised that I should travel/enjoy this amount of time since I'll never have this much free time again and I'll be stuck in an office doing silly hours for my legal career, but travelling for that long period of time is not feasible for me. I've currently been working in an admin role unrelated to law since October, but it is stressful and uninteresting. I would like to leave to improve my mental health, and I'm fortunate enough to not have to rely on this role. If I do this, and if I don't go in any sort of employment between now and next Feb, would this be detrimental going forward in your experience?

I can’t really talk on the employment side of taking a break between SQE & your TC, however, I have been on a gap year for the past 2 years travelling and something I will say is if you have enough money to even spend a small amount of time travelling do it.

The experiences I have gained whilst being away honestly cannot compare to what I would have in an office - not just fun travel stuff but also cultural awareness which if you’re going into an international firm or have international clients would be so important.

From a financial perspective, we have worked at the same time so we don’t really have savings per se that we are dipping into, however, I’ve been back in the UK for a fortnight so far and the prices are insane. We were literally booking beachfront accommodation in Sri Lanka for £15 per night.

So basically, from a career perspective I don’t think it’s hindered me in anyway, if anything I think it has gave me invaluable insights into different cultures & working life around the world that you can bring to your new role.

 

[Legalgirl]

Congratulations!!

Did you apply for spring or summer?

Thank you!! I selected both spring and summer as I couldn't decide xD

 

[CanOz]

Hi everyone,

I have an AC coming up with Fladgate, and this will be my first ever AC.

If anyone previously did the AC with Fladgate, I would be grateful for any and every advice!

 

[Harvey Specter]

I'm not sure if this is really accurate. Most firms will have certain number of NQ position openings in certain departments. While I don't think Freshfields will have ten times the IA places Debevoise will have, they'll also have so many other contentious options that people will gravitate towards.

I guess I was looking at it from the perspective of international arbitration specifically. If there were 100 Freshfields trainees who were all seeking to qualify into international arbitration only, it would be more competitive than 5-10 trainees at Debevoise & Plimpton looking to qualify into the same practice area in their firm (since there is less people to begin with). I think it could also depend on business needs as well. If a firm like Freshfields only needed 1-2 international arbitration NQ’s from a pool of almost 100 that expressed interest, then I imagine it would be tougher competition.

I think it also depends on whether a firm is full service or specialist. Freshfields offers almost every practice area imaginable, so I think it’s likely they’d want an even spread of NQ’s across their transactional and contentious practices (I don’t know this for sure I’ve never been to or worked at Freshfields). To my understanding, I think Debevoise & Plimpton is more focused on certain practice areas, one of them being their international arbitration practice. I imagine they have a few NQ positions for this area as it’s one of their main practices (alongside public international law). To be fair though, I don’t know an awful amount about Debevoise & Plimpton. 🥲🥲​

 

[jacksollaf]

Just received a TLT PFO… 😂😂 tbh I thought I’d at least get through the first stage, since I attended their first-year insight scheme…

 

[lucyloo]

Interview at Wedlake Bell! Any insight or tips would be really appreciated! Feeling nervous about the "skills assessment", as not sure what this means...

 

[Harvey Specter]

I can’t really talk on the employment side of taking a break between SQE & your TC, however, I have been on a gap year for the past 2 years travelling and something I will say is if you have enough money to even spend a small amount of time travelling do it.

The experiences I have gained whilst being away honestly cannot compare to what I would have in an office - not just fun travel stuff but also cultural awareness which if you’re going into an international firm or have international clients would be so important.

From a financial perspective, we have worked at the same time so we don’t really have savings per se that we are dipping into, however, I’ve been back in the UK for a fortnight so far and the prices are insane. We were literally booking beachfront accommodation in Sri Lanka for £15 per night.

So basically, from a career perspective I don’t think it’s hindered me in anyway, if anything I think it has gave me invaluable insights into different cultures & working life around the world that you can bring to your new role.

£15 a night for beachfront accommodation in Sri Lanka is crazy good! In the UK, £15 would barely get someone a Nando’s these days lmao. 😂​

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

I have seen so many former classmates/friends go from having strong preferences for transactional/litigation work and completely flipping their preferences on qualification. I'm also anticipating it in myself (if I ever get a TC that is). 😆

I have seen this many 100s of times over. Sometimes people with the strongest preferences can be those to change their mind to something they really thought they would hate.

 

[TC129129]

Hi everyone,

I have an AC coming up with Fladgate, and this will be my first ever AC.

If anyone previously did the AC with Fladgate, I would be grateful for any and every advice!

congrats, when did you hear from them?

 

[simplyfaith]

Thanks. Not too pricey! I looked at a video yesterday and they were saying entry-level webcam is Insta360 2C (£130!)

Honestly I'm partly wondering about doing it on my phone; only problem is my phone also sucks, so maybe I need to buy a new phone (had it for almost 3 years now, Redmi)!!!

You're right, that is on the expensive side! Generally speaking, most Logitech USB webcams and mics should be miles better than integrated laptop parts. Things like the C920 or Yeti Orb. I'd definitely check raw footage on youtube to make sure you'd be happy with the product, though. Either way, I'm pretty sure law firms are used to questionable hardware.

Speaking of phones, if you happen to have a good one, there are apps which let you use your phone as a webcam/mic over WiFi/USB! I tried DroidCam just now, which seemed to be okay as someone with a Samsung Galaxy S23, but results may vary. Doing VIs on the phone itself can't be a fun experience 😭