TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024-25

[sammy01]

anyone know if fried frank sends out WG invites automatically? Or do they review your app first?

 

[Andrei Radu]

Is it disadvantageous to refer to the role as 'trainee' or 'trainee solicitor' in training contract applications when the (US) firm refers to them as 'trainee associates'? Would be great to hear your thoughts! @Andrei Radu

I completely agree with @Jessica Booker here. While I think it is generally preferable to use the same terminology the firm uses when writing your application, particularly when discussing more nuanced concepts like firm values and initiatives, it is very unlikely this would be an issue in this case. The terms 'trainee associate' and 'trainee/trainee solicitor' refer to the exact same concept, and everyone in the industry will be aware of this. Since the use of the 'trainee/trainee solicitor' is so much more prevalent than 'trainee associate', I suspect the vast majority of applications received by the firm will have the former terms rather than the latter. Thus, graduate recruiters will likely not even spot your language as different from any expected standard. Even if they do, I cannot imagine a situation in which this factor would be given any real weigh in regards to the decision on progression.

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hey everyone

I was due to sit my SJT/VI with SH by 5pm today but I had to withdraw last minute due to a sudden health issue. I am gutted about this because it was my only invitation post initial app and I put in a lot of work for the initial app.

I wanted to ask if this would hinder my application to SH in the future? Also would love to hear some advice for what to do now until law firm VS apps open again in September.

It was my first cycle this year (I’m a second yr student) and I haven’t secured a single AC let alone VS 🙏

Hi @BobThebIlly I can imagine how frustrating your situation is, but I want to at least assure you that, provided you have emailed to explain why you cannot take the VI, it is quite unlikely this will have any negative impact on your future chances. Graduate recruiters are not absurd - they will understand that sometimes, circumstances you cannot control intervene in people's application journeys. Particularly since this is a health issue, I expect they will be sympathetic to your situation. Thus, if anything, a strong application next year will be seen as a clear indication of your resilience and the strength of your interest in the firm.

As for your second question, I have recently written a post with my best advice for summer preparation, I have quoted it bellow:

Hi @CupOfTea17 I think working on building your profile and knowledge and preparing for the next cycle over the summer is a great idea. For some reason, the majority of people concentrate the vast majority of their efforts in the normal applications cycle, which is also the time they tend to be busier with university and other commitments. However, starting preparation early can be hugely beneficial. A friend of mine who was previously unsuccessful took this very seriously over the last summer (treating it almost like a full time job towards the end) and now has several VS offers.

I would advise you to do the following things:

1. Start writing applications early: The first and most important thing is to start working on applications early. Some firms already open their applications in early August, and even for the ones that do not, you can (i) do the research work and determine what would go into your why the firm reasoning; and (ii) if the specific firm's applications questions stay constant between the cycle, you can have a go at answering them already. The most important thing for maximizing chances of securing a VS/TC is to send as many high quality applications as possible. Since researching and writing an application takes a lot of time, particularly before you have built your skills in this regard, it will be very difficult to attain this when you have other commitments and when you have to get many of them done over a short span of time. If you can do some of the work in the summer, this should enable you to improve both quantity (as ideally you can have many of them already completed by the time most people start - my friend had around 20-25 done by late September) and quality (as you will have more time to invest to ensure each one is up to standard).
2. Work on your commercial awareness: as you may have heard other people say, commercial awareness is a skill that you can only build over a longer time span. If you can invest time daily to read articles or listen to podcasts discussing the business world, this will pay huge dividends when you reach the interview stage.
3. Do Forage Work Experiences: these work experiences are very useful for a number of reasons - they help you learn about practice areas, give you proof you can mention of your interest in them, show commitment to pursuing commercial law, and can be used to showcase interest in a specific firm. The more you can do (ideally across a wide spectrum of practice areas and firms you are interested in), the better.
4. Try to find other work opportunities: I know this is quite difficult, but if you can get any work experience at law firm or in house legal department, even if not in the commercial sphere, or if merely a shadowing opportunity, this could be also very useful. A method that I have heard sometimes work with smaller firms and businesses is simply cold calling and emailing. If you do not necessarily ask to be compensated and want the experience more as an insight opportunity, given enough tries, I think this could work.

 

[Andrei Radu]

Shoosmiths AC! It involves a paired exercise, a group exercise, presentation and interview. I've never done a paired exercise, could anyone provide insights into what it's like? Since the interview is strengths-based, I'm assuming that the commercial awareness bit comes in during the presentation? Any advice at all would be appreciated!! 🙏 @Andrei Radu @Amma Usman @Ram Sabaratnam

Hi @hfbjsdhfbhf and congrats on the AC! I do not have a lot of information on the Shoosmiths AC specifically, but my best guess is that the paired exercise will involve working together with another AC participant on an exercise. You will probably be expected to show teamwork and organizational skills. Thus, you should try to constantly ask your partner for their input and not appear as antagonistic or competitive in ensuring your ideas always trump theirs. At the same time, however, you should try to make sure you are thinking critically and expressing your thoughts on each point of discussion. Finally, since you will likely be working under time-pressure, it would be good to introduce some structure early on and decide (i) how long you should take for each element of the task, (ii) in what order you will complete them, and (iii) how to divide the workload.

 

[Gr33n]

The AC is on the VS itself. The final stage prior to the VS is the SJT + VI. 🙂​

Would you mind sharing your online test scores seeing as you got to the vacation scheme?

 

[Gr33n]

Hi everyone, I’m just feeling like poop. Can anyone give me som support or advice as to how to proceed.

I was recently rejected (after interview) from a very prestigious legal internship and have seen the offers go out on LinkedIn. So far I only have one week legal internship under my belt but I’m seeing other students with multiple spring weeks at investment banks and first year schemes and alongside one/two week work placements at city firms through social mobility schemes.

How on earth do I compete with that, when all I have to offer is probono experience and retail, and I’m seeing my peers with PE internships and a different internship each month of June July and August. Surely grad rec is going to take the candidate with a PE internship and multiple investment banking spring weeks and now a two week US firm work experience placement over someone with basic retail and probono experience.

Just feel like giving up and have no more willpower to send out applications when I’m going to look like nothing compared to these people.

I don’t understand how I could even stand a chance next to these people.

I’m really sorry to hear that you feeling like this and this process will really take it out of you. Honestly it can be so soul crushing and demoralising which people don’t talk about enough.

I saw a tiktok recently of a guy explaining that it’s important to be realistic to secure a training contract and so many people want training contracts at SC/MC/US firms but actually it’s only the top 1% or something that actually make it. So potentially it could be a case of targeting too competitive firms? But, in the same breath, if it’s your dream to work at these high prestige firms then go for it, keep pushing and don’t let anyone stop you!

 

[Gr33n]

Anyone know if this is good enough for SH's SJT?

Verbal High
Numerical Medium
Grit 7/9
Applied Intellect 4/9
Creative Force 6/9
Digital Mindset 9/9

Anyone got through with a 4?!?

There’s also the video element too to consider, how do you feel you did on that?

 

[trainee4u]

There’s also the video element too to consider, how do you feel you did on that?

I scrupulously wrote out scripts which were quite ok but read them out, so IDK if that's bad. Also on one I ran out of time in the last second, not sure if that's fatal or not.

 

[Kakaboo]

Hi! I have a VS offer for a firm which is sponsoring a moot/debate I am competing in. Will this boost or hinder my chances of getting a TC?

 

[ish12345]

Hi, I have been asked to send in a headshot and bio for the firm I am completing a VS with in a few weeks time. Please may someone advise what to include in the bio? They specified that it is a couple lines about yourself to share with colleagues before I arrive for the scheme.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hi, I have been asked to send in a headshot and bio for the firm I am completing a VS with in a few weeks time. Please may someone advise what to include in the bio? They specified that it is a couple lines about yourself to share with colleagues before I arrive for the scheme.

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Ah I thought pfos post interview, no worries :) Ahh sorry for confusion then!!

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[AnonKn635]

Is it possible to take a year out after the SQE? Eg to take up a masters or would this have to be before SQE, assuming a sep 26 start date

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Is it possible to take a year out after the SQE? Eg to take up a masters or would this have to be before SQE, assuming a sep 26 start date

This may depend on whether the firm has a bespoke SQE course where they have incorporated other modules that are important for their business into the prep course.

If they have, I suspect they would prefer you to study this the year before your TC starts and would encourage you to do the masters before the SQE.

However, some firms might be flexible on this - definitely something to ask the graduate recruitment team when you have received an offer.

 

[legal18]

Hi, can anyone with an interest in shipping law PM me. Thank you

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi! I have a VS offer for a firm which is sponsoring a moot/debate I am competing in. Will this boost or hinder my chances of getting a TC?

Conversion is likely going to mostly come down to your performance in the VS itself, and how much of a cultural fit the firm thinks you would be. The moot/debate competition is unlikely to be a significant factor in their decision-making at this point. That said, to the extent there is any, I expect the impact on conversion chances to be a positive one. I do not see how your participation in this competition could hurt your chances. If your performance is not great and you do not progress to the final stages, it is very unlikely they will independently take note of that - as such, you can simply not mention it. However, if you perform well, this is something you may be able to mention in final interviews. I also know that in the last stages of such competitions, people are sometimes judged by lawyers at the sponsoring firm, and winners sometimes get prizes such as an exclusive office visit. This would enable you to connect with more people in the firm, and thus, in theory, increase your conversion chances.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hi! I have a VS offer for a firm which is sponsoring a moot/debate I am competing in. Will this boost or hinder my chances of getting a TC?

This won’t have any impact at all. The moot is not connected when it comes to hiring decisions.

 

[Legallywhatever]

Does anyone know if Burges Salmon are strict with their A-Level grade requirements?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Does anyone know if Burges Salmon are strict with their A-Level grade requirements?

There doesn’t seem to be any A-level criteria at all.

 

[Chris Brown]

Does anyone know if Burges Salmon are strict with their A-Level grade requirements?

There doesn’t seem to be any A-level criteria at all.

On Legal Cheek, it says that Burges Salmon have a minimum A-level requirement of BBB and a 2:1 at degree level. However, on their website FAQ it says they consider mitigating circumstances and won’t automatically screen out applications that don’t meet the minimum academic criteria. I don’t think it’s a strict requirement. Best of luck with your Burges Salmon application!

Burges Salmon - Legal Cheek

The Legal Cheek view on Burges Salmon, featuring trainee and newly qualified pay, our insider scorecard and all the key facts and figures.

www.legalcheek.com

Trainee application and FAQs

Explaining the process and answering your questions to help ensure you leap into an exciting legal career.

www.burges-salmon.com

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

On Legal Cheek, it says that Burges Salmon have a minimum A-level requirement of BBB and a 2:1 at degree level. However, on their website FAQ it says they consider mitigating circumstances and won’t automatically screen out applications that don’t meet the minimum academic criteria. I don’t think it’s a strict requirement. Best of luck with your Burges Salmon application!

Burges Salmon - Legal Cheek

The Legal Cheek view on Burges Salmon, featuring trainee and newly qualified pay, our insider scorecard and all the key facts and figures.

www.legalcheek.com

Trainee application and FAQs

Explaining the process and answering your questions to help ensure you leap into an exciting legal career.

www.burges-salmon.com

I think if they had a minimum requirement for A-levels it would be referenced on this page of their website but there is no reference to A-levels at all, only the 2.1.