TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[zonnonomo]

Hi everyone!

My name is Afraz, I’m a future trainee at Travers Smith and I’ll be supporting @Abbie Whitlock and @Andrei Radu as a Community Assistant over the festive period.

A little bit about me. I previously graduated with a Law degree from the University of Salford in 2020 with a 2:1 and although I loved my time there, it was unfortunately my clearance option after I received BCC at A Level (but hey, I got an A in general studies). As you can probably gather already, my legal journey was not as clear-cut as moving from one stage to the other. There were (as I’m sure has been the case for many of you) a lot of challenges, hurdles, and constant rejection – which for me, felt like it was made worse by what I had to offer academically.

However, resilience is truly a powerful thing. Following a break from the TC process, where I spent a year working in graduate recruitment with Clyde & Co, ending my tenure on delivering my own vacation scheme, I sought out new ways to enter the legal field and this started with Slaughter and May’s Innovation Competition. For me, this removed the need to “apply” for something and instead showcase my capabilities first-hand, and ultimately, I won (and the prize was £1,000 and a 1-2-1 week-long internship with various talent across the firm). I would say this achievement snowballed my success, as it has since led to my joining the University of Oxford for an AI research project, the role of an innovation specialist paralegal at Freshfields and most recently an in-house position with Blackstone.

As such, I wanted to join TCLA to help and give back to the community that I too once turned to for support when I began doubting myself. Your journey may look different from everyone else’s, but that doesn’t mean you won’t reach the same destination.

Aside from your general queries, I would also say I am in a strong position to answer queries on:

• Navigating the process with what some may consider less “desirable” academic grades and institution backing.
• Understanding what firms are looking for in an application, assessment centre and vacation scheme and general office etiquette.
• Understanding how the process really works – to place a humane touch on what appears to be a very robotic and mysterious process.
• Generally how to build on your work experience to bulk up your CV and skillset.
• How to be the best version of you in any interview.

If you have any questions, on the above or anything more generally that think I could help with, please let me know.

LET’S GET YOU SOME TC’S!!!!

love hearing stories like yours, reminds me that there's another side to this process and we aren't simply shouting into an abyss that turns and makes fun of us with their abyss friends

big up afraz!

 

[radssss]

btw how did you get a year's experience at a SC firm as a law student?

I did a placement year with them in my third year for the full year

 

[Harvey Specter]

Idk if this is gna make any sense but what’s the diff between applied intellect (verbal and numerical) in the amberjack compared to the applied intellect pillar in the SJT? They both have the exact same label and it’s super confusing to me. What does applied intellect mean in both cases?​

 

[Ay__n05]

so sorry to hear - was this post test?

Thanks, post test and interview last week. DLA PFO too, Merry Christmas! 🫠

 

[Bbhu19]

That makes sense. Unfortunately I'm the hill they're trying to level out with this approach. All I have is work experience going for me 😭 too much of it to cram into 2 minutes awkward VI

I can relate a bit my experience is also my highlight but I think as you have so much you still have a slight advantage as you have a lot to choose from😅

 

[Bbhu19]

Legit same. I didn’t refer to my work experience at all in any of the questions lmfao. I linked back to Weil and all my interactions with them but that’s about it. Now I’m refreshing my email inbox every 2 mins like a melon waiting for a PFO. This is gna be Weil to us after they watch our VIs:

Oh wait I didn’t mean to cause a panic 😂😂😂 if you linked it back to you in anyway that should probably still be fine, I didn’t explicitly say “ at this job I “ for half the questions

 

[Mikeross750]

Thanks, post test and interview last week. DLA PFO too, Merry Christmas! 🫠

I'm very sorry to hear this, also PFO from DLA and yet to hear back from Fieldfisher. May I ask how you found the interview and if anything stood out?

 

[floral.tcla]

Legit same. I didn’t refer to my work experience at all in any of the questions lmfao. I linked back to Weil and all my interactions with them but that’s about it. Now I’m refreshing my email inbox every 2 mins like a melon waiting for a PFO. This is gna be Weil to us after they watch our VIs:

ok this makes me feel slightly better
nah bro you never know, politely, I rebuke this energy🧙‍♀️🧙‍♀️🧙‍♀️

 

[Pearl3181]

Hi everyone!

With several firms preparing to open applications for their winter, spring, and summer vacation schemes, we are launching this dedicated thread for the 2025-2026 application cycle.

Please use this master thread to discuss anything related to vacation scheme applications. This can include everything from application and interview queries to news from particular law firms. As ever, the strength of this forum lies in its thoughtfulness and collegiality. Please continue to share your insights and to engage constructively with each other.

Finally, last year’s thread can be found here: TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2024–25. Later today, I will post a consolidated list of firms with their respective deadlines, to assist those planning their approach for the year ahead.

Wishing everyone the very best as the new cycle begins.

Ram

Hi trainees!

I’m working on the Farrer VS application, which asks: “In what ways have your academic studies, qualifications, and work experience equipped you for a legal career?”

I've already described my professional experiences in the work experiences section of the application (1. content redesign project at HuffPost, 2. product marketing role at a tech company, 3. communications coordinator at a literary non-profit) in standard CV point form that details my day-to-day tasks and results. For this application question, I’m unsure whether it would be better to:

1. Expand on those same roles, focusing on specific instances where I demonstrate transferrable legal skills (have it drafted and ready to go) or
2. Introduce different experiences not on my CV, such as:
   • My PGDL studies, where I managed eight subjects over eight months and achieved distinction -- hoping to demonstrate time management / resilience here
   • Founding a student start-up, EasyWaste, leading a team, developing an MVP, and pitching to investors -- this would demonstrate motivation and drive
   • My freelance content design practice in San Francisco, where I redesigned small business websites and worked closely with clients -- this would demonstrate client-facing communication skills and analytical skills.

Would it be more effective to go into legal-specific detail on my professional roles, or to bring in new experiences here?

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

 

[lillypad321]

I applied to Mishcon the day of the deadline and haven't received anything, it's so over

 

[floral.tcla]

Hi everyone!

My name is Afraz, I’m a future trainee at Travers Smith and I’ll be supporting @Abbie Whitlock and @Andrei Radu as a Community Assistant over the festive period.

A little bit about me. I previously graduated with a Law degree from the University of Salford in 2020 with a 2:1 and although I loved my time there, it was unfortunately my clearance option after I received BCC at A Level (but hey, I got an A in general studies). As you can probably gather already, my legal journey was not as clear-cut as moving from one stage to the other. There were (as I’m sure has been the case for many of you) a lot of challenges, hurdles, and constant rejection – which for me, felt like it was made worse by what I had to offer academically.

However, resilience is truly a powerful thing. Following a break from the TC process, where I spent a year working in graduate recruitment with Clyde & Co, ending my tenure on delivering my own vacation scheme, I sought out new ways to enter the legal field and this started with Slaughter and May’s Innovation Competition. For me, this removed the need to “apply” for something and instead showcase my capabilities first-hand, and ultimately, I won (and the prize was £1,000 and a 1-2-1 week-long internship with various talent across the firm). I would say this achievement snowballed my success, as it has since led to my joining the University of Oxford for an AI research project, the role of an innovation specialist paralegal at Freshfields and most recently an in-house position with Blackstone.

As such, I wanted to join TCLA to help and give back to the community that I too once turned to for support when I began doubting myself. Your journey may look different from everyone else’s, but that doesn’t mean you won’t reach the same destination.

Aside from your general queries, I would also say I am in a strong position to answer queries on:

• Navigating the process with what some may consider less “desirable” academic grades and institution backing.
• Understanding what firms are looking for in an application, assessment centre and vacation scheme and general office etiquette.
• Understanding how the process really works – to place a humane touch on what appears to be a very robotic and mysterious process.
• Generally how to build on your work experience to bulk up your CV and skillset.
• How to be the best version of you in any interview.

If you have any questions, on the above or anything more generally that think I could help with, please let me know.

LET’S GET YOU SOME TC’S!!!!

congratulations and welcome!!

 

[jojo23]

Some firms seem really slow on it... e.g. I did my HL stage 1 test like 7 weeks ago at this point and people have already gone onto stage 2 ages ago, but I've not heard news, good or bad, from them since 😭

It's defo a PFO though, I just wish they'd send it on so I can close that door completely

Oh boy let me tell you about simmons...its been 48 days
Yes, im counting because im petty💅

 

[abc124]

Hi everyone!

My name is Afraz, I’m a future trainee at Travers Smith and I’ll be supporting @Abbie Whitlock and @Andrei Radu as a Community Assistant over the festive period.

A little bit about me. I previously graduated with a Law degree from the University of Salford in 2020 with a 2:1 and although I loved my time there, it was unfortunately my clearance option after I received BCC at A Level (but hey, I got an A in general studies). As you can probably gather already, my legal journey was not as clear-cut as moving from one stage to the other. There were (as I’m sure has been the case for many of you) a lot of challenges, hurdles, and constant rejection – which for me, felt like it was made worse by what I had to offer academically.

However, resilience is truly a powerful thing. Following a break from the TC process, where I spent a year working in graduate recruitment with Clyde & Co, ending my tenure on delivering my own vacation scheme, I sought out new ways to enter the legal field and this started with Slaughter and May’s Innovation Competition. For me, this removed the need to “apply” for something and instead showcase my capabilities first-hand, and ultimately, I won (and the prize was £1,000 and a 1-2-1 week-long internship with various talent across the firm). I would say this achievement snowballed my success, as it has since led to my joining the University of Oxford for an AI research project, the role of an innovation specialist paralegal at Freshfields and most recently an in-house position with Blackstone.

As such, I wanted to join TCLA to help and give back to the community that I too once turned to for support when I began doubting myself. Your journey may look different from everyone else’s, but that doesn’t mean you won’t reach the same destination.

Aside from your general queries, I would also say I am in a strong position to answer queries on:

• Navigating the process with what some may consider less “desirable” academic grades and institution backing.
• Understanding what firms are looking for in an application, assessment centre and vacation scheme and general office etiquette.
• Understanding how the process really works – to place a humane touch on what appears to be a very robotic and mysterious process.
• Generally how to build on your work experience to bulk up your CV and skillset.
• How to be the best version of you in any interview.

If you have any questions, on the above or anything more generally that think I could help with, please let me know.

LET’S GET YOU SOME TC’S!!!!

Omg what an inspiring journey, we're so lucky to have you here!!

 

[anon78365222111]

NRF just really holding back VI’s rn 😭tryna get all my VI’s out the way

 

[ninarosee]

Trying again - does anyone know how long you get to prep and answer for Kirkland's VI? i see that in previous years the time seems quite short, but is that still the case?

I’d say it’s still quite short because you get about 15 seconds to prepare and 1 minute to answer. Hope that helps!

 

[Bbhu19]

NRF just really holding back VI’s rn 😭tryna get all my VI’s out the way

They aren’t sending them till after new yrs

 

[BobThebIlly]

Got 6662 in Weil’s SJT

That aside, I would've gotten rejected for my VI alone (I literally just started at the camera for one qs before moving on)

Bye bye weil it was fun while it lasted

 

[alphabravocharlie]

Does anyone know when Kirkland send out AC invites?

 

[BealMcAlly]

Idk if this is gna make any sense but what’s the diff between applied intellect (verbal and numerical) in the amberjack compared to the applied intellect pillar in the SJT? They both have the exact same label and it’s super confusing to me. What does applied intellect mean in both cases?​

So applied intellect tests the below behaviours:

1.Emotional intelligence
2.Social awareness
3.IQ (this is where it maybe spills into verbal intellect)

Verbal intellect tests:

Your ability to understand abstract, explicit and implicit content. You get given a passage - usually for Amberjack it comes in the form of a client email - and you have to pick up on the details and give the right answer.

 

[BealMcAlly]

Reed Smith amberjack and VI invite finally.