TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[nonlawstudent98]

Beginning to prep for my Mills & Reeve AC. If anyone has any tips or insights from previous years I’d be really grateful!

 

[corporatebaddie1506]

Hill Dickinson 3 written app questions and then an automatic SJT with 4 VI questions is actually crazy.

This is most likely due to the next stages only being Assessment Centre & Partner Interview 👌

I think the deadline is tonight at 12am for the VI questions, so we should heard back soon. When did you send your application away?

 

[Ernesto]

This is most likely due to the next stages only being Assessment Centre & Partner Interview 👌

I think the deadline is tonight at 12am for the VI questions, so we should heard back soon. When did you send your application away?

I am preparing for the VI as we speak 🤣 I'm just saying its a lot of work without having you application filtered.

 

[corporatebaddie1506]

I am preparing for the VI as we speak 🤣 I'm just saying its a lot of work without having you application filtered.

Is yours due today at 12am?

 

[Ernesto]

Is yours due today at 12am?

Yeah I applied deadline so everyone will have their SJT/VI deadline today and we will hear back before the AC's in March. What office did you apply?

 

[Ijustwanttobealawyer]

may I ask, whether V&E is for spring or summer? thanks!

I may be mistaken but I don't remember getting to choose whether it was spring or summer?

 

[corporatebaddie1506]

Yeah I applied deadline so everyone will have their SJT/VI deadline today and we will hear back before the AC's in March. What office did you apply?

Manchester – I emailed recruitment and she said we will know in February with whether we got into the AC or not.

 

[Jessica Pearson - Managing Director]

They changed it! Did you not get an email about it?

Further to our recent emails I am writing to let you know of a change to the structure and format of your upcoming virtual assessment centre.

The exercise that you'll be completing has changed from a research exercise and presentation to a commercial interview. In place of the preparation time you will be given all the required information 5 minutes before your interview starts. We appreciate that this is a change from what you were expecting; it has been introduced to allow us to assess your own real-time reasoning and to give you a greater opportunity to showcase your analytical skills, knowledge of Osborne Clarke and the legal sector, verbal communication and business awareness and understanding.

This change also reduces the amount of time that you need to allocate to the virtual assessment centre.

My guess is they had a much higher volume of applications this year (each AC I’ve been too they have said they had at least 1,000 more applicants than normal, thanks AI) and they want to halve the time to screen more people.

Edit: to add, I think we will see these short prep time exercises more to overcome the AI issues. The job really does demand us to be able to think on our feet after all!

I think more than AI though, I think that there are just more people in the pool. Career changers, people who have been applying for x number of years, new grads etc.
It seems like there are just so many people applying for jobs & I don't know if this is a reflection of the job market or the economy or what

 

[Jessica Pearson - Managing Director]

Who’s gna take it for the team and message one of R&Gs future trainees to see if they used headings for their R&G response. I feel like grad rec would tell us the opposite of the truth lmao. Makes their job to filter apps so much easier too.

This is something that was told to me second hand guys! Don't stress - I'm just saying it because R&G has given *mixed* signals

 

[trainee4u]

Crap, I unironically used that a couple of times (I read the phrase a couple months back in an article and liked it, now I'm guessing it was an AI article.)... just my luck! My fault for not using better writing though.

Just doing my last minute Hill Dicks VI

ChatGPT:
Your ambitious, international platform
It's not a side offering — it’s a core identity.
Hill Dickinson’s ... fits how I work best: A, B and C.

🤮🤮🤮

 

[johnsmith]

I think more than AI though, I think that there are just more people in the pool. Career changers, people who have been applying for x number of years, new grads etc.
It seems like there are just so many people applying for jobs & I don't know if this is a reflection of the job market or the economy or what

Agreed, but AI certainly makes applying easier for those who may not be confident writers.

 

[Ernesto]

Just doing my last minute Hill Dicks VI

ChatGPT:
Your ambitious, international platform
It's not a side offering — it’s a core identity.
Hill Dickinson’s ... fits how I work best: A, B and C.

🤮🤮🤮

Btw they ask 2 questions on innovation when the firm itself has blocked its lawyers from using AI 🤣 🤣 🤣

 

[trainee4u]

Btw they ask 2 questions on innovation when the firm itself has blocked its lawyers from using AI 🤣 🤣 🤣

they use Copilot.

 

[Harvey Specter - Presiding Partner]

The TCLA Premium Database has an example of a successful application from last year and there were no headings. In one of the commercial awareness webinars, one of the speakers shared a snippet from his successful answer and there were also no headings - I wouldn’t worry too much !

Okay but plot twist: what if they removed all of the headings from their answers to throw us off and help grad rec with their master plan to filter 95% of applicants for not using headings??!!

 

[Ernesto]

I am preparing for the VI as we speak 🤣 I'm just saying its a lot of work without having you application filtered.

Yeah and I scored 17 what a colossal waste of my time.

 

[Gr33ntea]

Womble bond and Dickinson test felt like i was playing a game

Hiya, can you give any tips for prepping for it please?

Was it timed and was it a watson glaser style with numerical reasoning too?