TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[maylawwww]

would really appreciate insight into the mishcon first stage test! never done an amberjack so kind of nervous lol

also is the first test automatic?

first test is not an amberjack- its an ai chat-based interview suuper hard to explain its has written answers on motivation, your work exp, commercial awareness etc. i would say no crazy qs but just give yourself enough time (also ur recorded and there is 1 short VI)

 

[BealMcAlly]

Simmons sjt/vi completed

Scored:
High verbal
High numerical
7,7,8 (out of 10)

Fumbled the vi soo bad I just stopped and said ‘sorry you have to watch this’ half way through 😭 kill me now.

Those who progressed what did you get? I understand I’ve left it rather later to apply given there have been ACs already

I reckon they will like the honesty!

 

[BealMcAlly]

The first stage is the AI interview which is automatic. The second stage is the Amberjack which you have to be shortlisted for

The question is, how selective are they being this year? 🥵 worried the new process has got them scrambling a little and making everyone do the Amberjack to see what the benchmark will be.

 

[boots pharmacy]

I'd really love some advice on how to navigate this process. This is my first cycle and I have no idea what to expect. HSF was my dream firm, I attended an open day and I felt like it was my strongest application so now i'm anticipating all round defeat. Their feedback being based on academic achievement and extracurricular performance hit me pretty hard. As I mentioned, I got a first in my first year law exams at Oxford. I interned with a major charity as a legal intern for 6 weeks, I also did a week in house. Throughout college I worked in hospitality. I volunteer for a legal clinic working with asylum seekers and I recently reached the semi-finals of a national moot, competing against students who had completed the bar course. I'm part of the drama society and i'm welfare officer for another club. I'm not from your typical oxford background, far from it. My mum didn't get any GCSEs and raised me alone. i'm super worried about not getting a graduate job as I won't have any support financially after I graduate and I really want to make money so I can move my mum out of social housing. I know the world doesn't owe me anything and this isn't supposed to be a sob story, but it's so hard feeling like this will be impossible and I feel like there's a lot of pressure on me!!! How many rejections should I expect without getting worried. I've done 11 applications... should i do more?

You sound like a resilient, clever and capable individual. Most importantly, you are rational and level-headed, unentitled and realistic. Unfortunately, the simple nature of the game is that even the strongest applicants are bound for rejection after rejection. I have had more than one cycle, and I know plenty of people with TC's, many of whom were offered multiple, some with 4 or more. Every single one of them had at least a 40% rejection rate. 70-90% rejection rates were most common.

The most frustrating thing is that rejections can seem arbitrary and random. A firm you pour your heart and soul into may reject you at the first stage despite positive reviews from current trainees, a killer CV, and having attended plenty of events with them. Simultaneously, you might find success with other firms you applied to on a whim, or other firms you thought you didn't have a chance with; a close friend landed the Paul, Weiss vac, then the TC offer, after being rejected for their open day in the same cycle. That ended up being their only offer.

It is a numbers game, I cannot stress this enough. You must make as many high quality, tailored, detailed applications as possible. Simultaneously, despite getting to know a firm well, going to their events, speaking to their grad rec, deeply researching their deals/history/senior management/etc. you must not get personally attached to any firms you apply to.

This is not easy. As communitarian creatures, human beings are not built to withstand that sort of repeated emotional whiplash; simultaneously, it is absolutely reasonable to feel yourself gaining an attachment and building up hopes toward an entity you have (up to the point of rejection) only ever had positive interactions with. When making applications, it is therefore natural to feel drained, discouraged, frustrated and confused.

Is it possible that you might try your best, do all the right things, work to the bone, and still end up without a TC? Absolutely. Luck matters more than people care to admit. Does that mean that the pursuit of a TC is any less worthwhile a goal? That's up to you to decide.

Following that train of thought, it is up to you to figure out how many high quality applications you're able to send out. How hungry are you? I get the impression that you're capable of far more than 11.

Persevere. You only need 1 offer.

 

[TCtoothfairy]

Hey guys super random, and idk if this is normal, but I applied to the Mishcon spring vac scheme last month and still have time left to do the first assessment.

However, I got an email today saying that I have passed that stage and I am invited to take the SJT..... But I haven't taken the first assessment yet lol?!

Has this happened to anyone else?!

 

[TCtoothfairy]

Okay i'm mortified... at the bottom of the email it told me to complete Assessment 1 within 7 days of receiving it, but I completely skipped past that and saw the 'Please note that this invitation will expire on 26/12/2025'......

But I guess I passed that without sitting it???

I'm so confused ?!!!!!

 

[BealMcAlly]

Hey guys super random, and idk if this is normal, but I applied to the Mishcon spring vac scheme last month and still have time left to do the first Amberjack assessment.

However, I got an email today saying that I have passed that stage and I am invited to take the SJT..... But I haven't taken the first assessment yet lol?!

Has this happened to anyone else?!

Amberjack is the SJT.

You mean you haven't done the chat based interview yet and received the invite for the SJT/amberjack assessment?

 

[Amgrad]

Do you have any tips for it? Would be very appreciated x

Just standard WE, for someone who did TW & Skadden's WE, they said it was pretty standard compared to those.

 

[Amgrad]

@Amgrad Did u hear back for next stage from SH already??

Yeah if you have question about SH just DM me! I'll be attending their OD in January.

 

[Donuttime]

Okay i'm mortified... at the bottom of the email it told me to complete Assessment 1 within 7 days of receiving it, but I completely skipped past that and saw the 'Please note that this invitation will expire on 26/12/2025'......

But I guess I passed that without sitting it???

I'm so confused ?!!!!!

So does that mean everyone who did the AI interview got shortlisted for the SJT? Because that’s insane you didn’t even do the AI interview.

 

[TCtoothfairy]

Amberjack is the SJT.

You mean you haven't done the chat based interview yet and received the invite for the SJT/amberjack assessment?

Yes, my bad. I corrected my original post.

I haven't done the chat based interview and received an invite for the SJT!!

 

[BealMcAlly]

Yes, my bad. I corrected my original post.

I haven't done the chat based interview and received an invite for the SJT!!

That's bonkers. What are they doing over there?!?!?!

 

[Donuttime]

So makes me thing MISHCON AI interview isn’t that heavily weighted?

 

[TCtoothfairy]

Lol no clue... I'm hoping it isn't a mistake and it's an early christmas present, but it most definitely is something that has gone wrong

 

[Donuttime]

Lol no clue... I'm hoping it isn't a mistake and it's an early christmas present, but it most definitely is something that has gone wrong

When did you submit your application?

 

[Harvey Specter]

Yes, my bad. I corrected my original post.

I haven't done the chat based interview and received an invite for the SJT!!

Maybe they realised the chat based interview was a complete flop and they’ve decided to bin it and so now they’re gna use their amberjack to do all the filtering work for them. Baso yous were made to do that AI assessment for nothing? Idk that’s what seems to be the case with this. I do rem seeing ppl post that Mishcon were trialling the AI thing and grad rec said it at one of their open days I’d gone to.​

 

[TCtoothfairy]

Someone definitely was meant to press reject on my application but pressed Stage 2 instead 🤣

 

[Donuttime]

So makes me thing MISHCON AI interview isn’t that heavily weighted?

If that’s the case that’s kinda nuts.. I spent almost 2 hours or more haha

 

[Kakaboo]

Any insights to the Mayer Brown test?

 

[Lord Sumption]

How about we just set up our own firm? TCLA LLP has a nice ring to it. @Jaysen as Managing Partner, @Abbie Whitlock and @Andrei Radu as Senior Partners, and the rest of the community as trainees and a mix of associates depending on rankings in the forum.
A neat little international law firm specialising in Private Equity 🥹🥹