-
Register on Zoom →WIN: Lunch with Willkie Trainees!15 Oct 2025 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm (UK) Zoom (registration required)Put your knowledge of Willkie Farr & Gallagher to the test in this interactive quiz session. The winner will enjoy lunch with Willkie trainees!
TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26
- Thread starter Ram Sabaratnam
- Start date
It is yes, comes as a link in the thanks for your application email.
- Sep 9, 2024
- 826
- 1,489
I would explain how maintaining a profit essentially also comes down to keeping costs under control and ensuring earnings remain constant. If you wanted to address the question of maintaining profit separately, I think you could focus more on managing risk rather than looking for growth - i.e. you would analyse what factors could lead to rising costs and/or declining revenues. Nonetheless, I think many of the strategies you would discuss when considering generating profits will significantly overlap with the part about maintaining them - for instance, M&A is both a strategy to grow market share and to protect against losing market share to an up and coming rival (consider Meta's acquisition of Instagram). As such, I would probably discuss the question of generating and maintaining profits at the same time and structure my answer in terms of a costs/earnings analysis split rather than maintaining/generating analysis split.
- Sep 9, 2024
- 826
- 1,489
Firms often asks a mix of competency and motivational questions, among the most usual being the so-called big three: why you, why the firm, why commercial law. However, in many cases you will also be asked some less-encountered questions, such as:
- Tell me about a weakness, or tell me about a time you made a serious mistake?
- What do you expect to be you biggest challenges in the VS/in our TC?
- Why do you want to work in London specifically?
- What practice areas are you most interested in and why?
Hi @Andrei Radu what do you recommend I should be discussing about an open day attended? Do you think I should leave this out when applying to certain firms that are not similar in terms of practice areas etc? thanks!
- Sep 9, 2024
- 826
- 1,489
I think you should definitely contact the firm's graduate recruitment team and inform them of your mistake. While this may have some negative impact on the firm's view of your attention to detail, it will also have a positive impact in terms of showing them you keep yourself accountable and proactively address any mistakes. This is not at all an uncommon situation and it does not normally result in disqualification. Nonetheless, if this comes out at a later stage (and it will, since you will have to send them transcripts), you do risk the firm suspecting dishonesty and rejecting your application for this reason.
- Sep 9, 2024
- 826
- 1,489
It really depends on what else you learnt from the open day and the broader points that you look to be making. Of course, a situation in which the practice areas/sectors you learnt about during the open day are also areas the firm you are applying to is strong in is ideal, but you can also use the open day experience to make valuable points if this is not the case. For instance, you could explain how by speaking with lawyers at the open day you learnt more about commercial law and the way solicitors help businesses manage risks and grown, a fact that confirmed your interest in pursuing a career in this area.
- Sep 9, 2024
- 826
- 1,489
Hi - for general tips, please read Section A and B of the Complete Competency Interview Guide I wrote last year. It covers in depth my preparation method, the most commonly met questions, and the most important advice for succeeding in VIs.
For the second question, I think you can safely go back 2-3 years for an average deal the firm on to still be considered relevant, and potentially even 5-6 years if you will look at deals/cases of historical importance and/or you are making a broader point about the firm's historical excellence in the area or its long-standing client relationships.
For the third question, I expect you will be asked at most one direct question about a the firm's cases/deals and client base. As such, I think one of each should generally suffice. Nonetheless, if you plan to use examples of the firm's clients and work in other answers (such as why the firm), you are of course allowed to do so as often as you want.
Hi @Abbie Whitlock , I have a question on the DLA Piper Vac Scheme Application question 2. The question is : Select one article from the DLA Piper Insights page on a client sector that interests you. How does it align with your personal and professional ambitions? (Max 200 words.)
There is a podcast episode within the Insights Page on a topic I find really interesting. Would this count as an article for the purpose of this question? Or would you suggest that I find another written article instead?
There is a podcast episode within the Insights Page on a topic I find really interesting. Would this count as an article for the purpose of this question? Or would you suggest that I find another written article instead?
- Sep 9, 2024
- 826
- 1,489
I do not think it is a requirement for your answer to be very "you-focused" in the sense that you talk at length about why you are more interested in a sector than most other people are, but I do think it is advisable to at least link it with one of your experiences to illustrate your motivations. What I would say is a requirement is to explain why the sector you have chosen is more interesting to you than other sectors, which is the "sector-focused" part of the answer: in essence, you will be picking out and analysing features of that sector and the work lawyers do in that sector that is more appealing to you than features/work in other sectors.
Nonetheless, in many cases this will not suffice as such a discussion can remain a bit too abstract and arguably will not satisfy the "Show, don't tell" rule in application writing - the idea that you need to look to evidence the veracity of your claims. Arguably, the best way of doing so is to make use of concrete examples of your experiences illustrate your broader points.
Similar threads
- Sticky
