TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[AS24]

Hi @AS24 that's a great question I used to also wonder about, and it also gives the opportunity to clear a common misconception. While you may very roughly think of band 1 to band 4 Chambers rankings as going from the "best" to the "worst" in reputation, this best-to-worst ranking is only a ranking of a select handful of firms which are already considered to be the best in the jurisdiction for that type if work.

To take high-end Corporate M&A as an example: there are around 20 firms in total Chambers ranks here from band 1 to band 2. Nonetheless, there are more than 100 firms in the City that will provide corporate M&A advice and that would love to make it to the ratings. While a band 1 corporate M&A firm (say, Freshfields) can normally be assumed to have a stronger reputation in M&A than a band 4 firm (say, White & Case), White & Case can still be assumed to have a much stronger reputation in M&A than the significant majority of firms who do not even make it to the rankings - which in this case includes many big names, such as Gibson Dunn, Travers Smith, BCLP, Milbank, etc. Generally speaking, if a firm's practice gets a Chambers ranking, it is good enough to be mentioned as a reason to want to join the firm (although, to differentiate it from similarly/better ranked rivals, you may not want to have it as the only reason you list).

A second point that should be made is that Chambers rankings are not an indicator of absolute quality, in that they are influenced by two factors:

1. The size of the firm's practice: Chambers rankings do not only assess for the quality of a firm's work - ie are their usual mandates consistently high-end and complex ones, does it have blue-chip clients etc - but also the quantity, as this is also a factor for establishing reputation. As such, larger and older firms, such as the Magic Circle, will generally have an advantage over newer firms. Thus, if you are principally interested in quality of work rather than general renown, you can motivate choosing a lower band-ranked firm because of factors such as: (i) a high average deal/case value; (ii) having a high proportion of highly-ranked practitioners; (iii) punching above their weight by getting a Chambers ranking despite lower headcount; etc. All of these are examples of factors that could be indicative of a high-quality practice, despite not being as renowned as the practice of the largest players in the market.
2. A high level of generality: Importantly, the Chambers rankings operate at a high level of generality, while you could tie your interests to more specific subareas. Thus, while a firm may be ranked "just" band 4, there are likely particular subareas (say life sciences M&A, or tech M&A) where they have stronger expertise than in other areas, and potentially even market leading expertise. For instance, White & Case, a band-4 ranked firm for corporate M&A, is generally thought to be among the best firms for infrastructure/energy-liked M&A work.

Thank you so much!

 

[SamiyaJ]

Bird & Bird WG!

 

[AS24]

@Andrei Radu, apologies, but I have another question. I am currently applying to Dechert, and I am struggling to understand how many words I should write to cover each part of the question. This is the question: Please outline the skills you possess that make you well suited to a career as a commercial solicitor and explain why you believe this makes Dechert the right Firm for you to develop your career. 300 words max. Could you offer your opinion?

 

[Vakil]

Bird & Bird WG!

Same!

 

[c.t.tc]

Bird & Bird WG!

Me too!

 

[SamiyaJ]

Same!

Me too!

Will report back once I get rejected post test 😂

 

[Vakil]

Will report back once I get rejected post test 😂

Nah! You’ve got this.

 

[applicant457]

guys, I feel like 750 words for the NRF cover letter WITHOUT including a section dedicated to why law is way too much. without why law now I have around 600 words total(including first and last stenence) and I feel like anything more is pushing it/ they will not read. any advice??

 

[dannyp123]

Has anyone heard back from Jones Day regarding the Spring and Summer Schemes, only heard people talk about hearing about their Winter schemes so far.

 

[Harvey Ross]

For Linklaters Winter VS - one of the application question states --> please list your main interests including academic achievemnts, community roles, clubs and socieities etc with a word limit of 250 words.

I was wondering, as to how much detail should I go into my academic commendation I received for a module at University. Should I talk what the module is about / How I achieved that mark, and to what extent should I do it to.

It says list your interests, but the word limit is 250 words, so not sure as to what they are expecting.

Would appreciate any advice

 

[nonlawstudent98]

Bird & Bird WG invite!
Slaughter and May rejection :/

Swings and roundabouts!

 

[cheeseontoast]

Hi everyone, I might be too late to apply for the DLA piper's open day, therefore I'd like to ask does anyone know whether their open days are rolling?

 

[aspringlawyer25]

Has anyone gotten their Gibson Dunn test report yet? Still haven't received mine and did the test 2 weeks ago.

 

[lawyersum]

In no more than 1440 characters including spaces (this is approx. 200 words), tell us how the skills and attributes you have developed to date will help you excel as a Clifford Chance lawyer. For this question, is it suitable to explain two experiences, each 100 words, that developed multiple skills/attributes? The wording of 'to date' has thrown me off slightly...Would appreciate your insights @Andrei Radu @Abbie Whitlock

 

[ZNadeem]

guys, I feel like 750 words for the NRF cover letter WITHOUT including a section dedicated to why law is way too much. without why law now I have around 600 words total(including first and last stenence) and I feel like anything more is pushing it/ they will not read. any advice??

Hi! If NRF haven’t set a word count for this cycle, then it’s fine to go slightly over a page—as long as it’s within about 1.3 pages. I’d suggest playing around a little with font size and margins to add space, but the key is to make sure every sentence earns its place and that you’re using the space effectively.

 

[dannyp123]

Hi everyone, I’m planning my answers for Addleshaw Goddard’s application before it opens and I’m a bit stuck on the first question: “What attracts you to a career in commercial law and why specifically at Addleshaw Goddard?”

I’m unsure whether to focus on the firm’s culture (e.g., high responsibility for trainees) or a specific practice area. At a Legal Cheek event a few weeks ago, Grad Rec suggested highlighting culture and values, but I’m skeptical since we haven’t worked there yet and generic statements might not stand out. Given that the other application questions already focus on AG’s work and commercial aspects, I’m leaning towards emphasising firm culture and values, but I’d love to hear others’ thoughts.

For context, the other three questions are:

1. Is technology and AI an opportunity or threat for Addleshaw Goddard and why? (2000 characters max)
2. Choose one of Addleshaw Goddard's practice areas or sectors and tell us about a major change in law or government policy that clients in that sector/practice area are facing and what opportunities that creates for us. (2000 characters max)
3. If you were in government, what one thing would you change to make it easier for UK businesses to succeed and why? (2000 characters max)

 

[e_turbo2]

Has anyone gotten their Gibson Dunn test report yet? Still haven't received mine and did the test 2 weeks ago.

I received mine about less than a week after the test I believe.

 

[abc124]

Is it still worth it to invest a lot of time in the Reed Smith application if they’re rolling and they opened on 3/09? I only today realised they’re weirdly aligned with my interests but if it‘s realistically too late to have a real shot I think I’d rather get it over with quickly lol

 

[Afuturetrainee]

Has anyone gotten their Gibson Dunn test report yet? Still haven't received mine and did the test 2 weeks ago.

I was about to ask this. They did say that there was an error on Cappafinity's end, and that we should get it soon. But still no update

 

[Afuturetrainee]

Is it still worth it to invest a lot of time in the Reed Smith application if they’re rolling and they opened on 3/09? I only today realised they’re weirdly aligned with my interests but if it‘s realistically too late to have a real shot I think I’d rather get it over with quickly lol

Definitely plenty of time. We are still in september