TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[Afraz Akhtar]

I have to submit a written exercise for a boutique law firm, and they require me to write a 500-word paragraph on an assigned topic. I need suggestions on structuring the answer and whether I am required to connect it to the firm, as the topic for the written exercise is rather generic. @Abbie Whitlock and @Andrei Radu would love your insights, too.

Hey @WeGotThis! for written exercises, a bulk of the assessment goes into your abilities to write clearly, concisely, stay professional in tone and language and cater your answer to your audience. Without much info on what the nature of the written exercise is, it'll be difficult to say for sure whether you'll need to link back to the firm or not but traditionally you don't need to. Additionally, if it is an opinion piece, all the more reason why you wouldn't be expected to link it back to the firm. Are you able to share more information on how the question is presented so we can think of a structure together?

 

[shays]

Their website says they send tests on a rolling basis but ac invites are sent after all applications have been reviewed! You might have to wait considering some of us got the stage 2 today

On that note, do you have any tips for stage 2 and is the vi part of it competency motivational or commercial or a mix of all? Thank you

Wasn't the test automatic? The Watson Glaser/SJT (tbh I dont remember) just asking cause now I'm confused lol

 

[Afraz Akhtar]

Does anyone have any general video interview tips?

Hi @EfficientBag123 I think the following post provided good tips for general tips in relation to VI's - Erin on preparing for video interviews - let me know if this is helpful!

 

[WeGotThis!]

Hey @WeGotThis! for written exercises, a bulk of the assessment goes into your abilities to write clearly, concisely, stay professional in tone and language and cater your answer to your audience. Without much info on what the nature of the written exercise is, it'll be difficult to say for sure whether you'll need to link back to the firm or not but traditionally you don't need to. Additionally, if it is an opinion piece, all the more reason why you wouldn't be expected to link it back to the firm. Are you able to share more information on how the question is presented so we can think of a structure together?

Sure! So, the written exercise question is 'If you could change any law, which one would you change and why?' I believe it's an opinion piece; however, I am unsure how to structure it for 500 words.

 

[Bree]

Hi, when did you do the first stage test and when were you invited to the stage 2 test?

Hey I did Stage 1 on 17th of December and got invited today

 

[Jennifer2003]

Hi!

Applied for Summer for every VS and have NOT heard back at all post-application except the automatic stages. Is this normal?

I applied to 6/7 summer vac schemes and haven't heard back either after application or after doing wg/sjt if that helps! I think if they're somewhere that does spring and summer, they probably get spring ACs out the way first (could be wrong lol)

 

[cookedlawstudent]

Hey I did Stage 1 on 17th of December and got invited today

Oh....I did it on the same day

 

[Afraz Akhtar]

Hi : ) I had a question on written exercises if anyone might have an idea.

I understand how people keep saying tailor your format to the assignment, but I'm wondering if anyone had any practical tips on the difference between stuff like if they ask you to write an internal/client email or a memo/note or something else. Besides not using fancy language for clients, I'm not really sure what differences there would be formatting wise. Does anyone have any tips or know of any exemplars?

Also, ik that TCLA did a written exercise workshop in December, but I couldn't attend. Is there a recording on that anywhere by any chance 🥺

Thank you in advance for your help < 3

@iklawapps the key distinction between different types of written exercises is how you cater your writing to your audience. Although it seems like an obvious one, you'd be surprised how many times people have bulked up an "email to a client" thinking more words meant more marks, when in reality it meant failing to understand your audience. So, first thing to think about when you have a written exercise, whether that be an internal memo, email to a partner, letter to a client, think about the audience. If it is a memo, you can afford to keep it brief and bulleted, if it is for a partner (dependent on the topic) you can break it down to make it easily digestible for them to read without compromising on commercial points, as for the client you can break it down even further to get straight to the point without going into to much detail on rationale. Once you have your audience in mine, you will understand the structure and how much time/detail needs to go into that portion of the task. Hope this helps

 

[futuretraineeihope]

anyone heard from Dentons post VI for ACs? their email said their first AC is on the 13th jan.

 

[Maria56]

I did stage 1 HL on 19th of December and received an invite for the Job Stimulation today. Any insights would be greatly appreciated! I can give insights into Milbank stage 1, Latham stage 1 and 2, Weil and MB VI.

 

[radssss]

Wasn't the test automatic? The Watson Glaser/SJT (tbh I dont remember) just asking cause now I'm confused lol

First test wgt and sjt was automatic the one after that isn’t. You need to pass the first one to get the second test which entails vi as well!

 

[Afraz Akhtar]

Hi everyone, I had an issue with my assessment yesterday and am now losing sleep over it.

The assessment was timed, and on the very first question, the software moved on to the next one before I clicked “Submit.” After that, during the third and fourth questions, I noticed that the time counter was skipping 3–4 seconds at a time. At this point, I was about to have a heart attack, honestly.

I reported the issue via the Help Centre link, but then came the worst. They acknowledged the issue and explained that this can occur when using Safari (which was my case) or an outdated version of another browser. They concluded the email by saying: “We are sorry for the problem you have encountered and appreciate your patience in this matter.”

I am not sure whether I should contact them again or reach out to the firm, or whether it is better to stay quiet and wait for the final result.

@Abbie Whitlock @Afraz Akhtar @Andrei Radu, any advice, please?

Hey @TS.Law I would reach out to the firm (flagged as important) and explain the issue that you faced, asking for another opportunity to sit the assessment or rectify the issue. Don't worry yourself with coming across "annoying" you'd be surprised how many technical issues these assessments bring, which is why graduate recruitment have a person manning the inbox to begin with, so that they can rectify any issues that persist during the application process.

 

[DoNotRedeem]

I just got the Dechert Written Exercise does anyone know if this is selective or most people get it?

 

[Harvey Specter]

I just got the Dechert Written Exercise does anyone know if this is selective or most people get it?

It’s selective so not automatic, huge congrats! Can I ask when did you apply to Dechert and was this for their Spring or Summer VS?​

 

[Jack Falahee]

Anyone heard Taylor Wessing written exercise for Summer Vacs. Said they'd hear send notification on tests by the end of December. So just wondering.

No, it's quite ambivalent just like spring scheme, everyone being told to hear back mid December when got the test invite, and then end Nov once you completed the test. I'd assume the same for summer, apparently late month is for the rejection post WG, whilst WE invite is by mid of month. Last time ppl got WE invite on Monday 2/12 (earlier than the estimation), I thought we'll be hearing back sooner by today as the first Monday of month if they use the same timeline. Idk maybe it because of holiday so we'll be hearing back in mid Jan like the initial information.

 

[Afraz Akhtar]

Sure! So, the written exercise question is 'If you could change any law, which one would you change and why?' I believe it's an opinion piece; however, I am unsure how to structure it for 500 words.

Ah, an opinion piece @WeGotThis! Although this does not need to be linked back to the firm, I think it's wise to identify a law that's relevant to the firm, its practices or at the very least its clients. Regardless, this question is more about seeing what makes you tick, and your assessment will be based on your commercial understanding of the challenges with certain laws, your ability to analyse the situation, and back up your answer with a detailed explanation. I would therefore suggest the following structure:

1. Introduce a certain challenge behind a current law catered to a specific demographic, whether that be the wider public, businesses, or if you want brownie points, then a particular industry (preferably one the law firm tend to deal with). Explain what this is, and more importantly what the impact of those challenges are.
2. Suggest your change to this law - be mindful that you don't come across unrealistic and those changes are tangible
3. Explain why you think that change would be beneficial to the demographic it is currently presenting challenges for, it would be great if you could go into detail as to how this change mitigates against those specific challenges you previously identified
4. Think about what other changes may be required to solidify this change in law, sometimes its not just the law change itself, its about education, regulation, observance etc - don't be afraid to highlight some minimal weaknesses in your proposed change, that you can show you've already considered and have presented mitigations for.

 

[DoNotRedeem]

It’s selective so not automatic, huge congrats! Can I ask when did you apply to Dechert and was this for their Spring or Summer VS?​

Thanks! I applied on December 30. This is for Spring.

 

[radssss]

Foot anstey assessment invite - is this automatic?

 

[WeGotThis!]

Ah, an opinion piece @WeGotThis! Although this does not need to be linked back to the firm, I think it's wise to identify a law that's relevant to the firm, its practices or at the very least its clients. Regardless, this question is more about seeing what makes you tick, and your assessment will be based on your commercial understanding of the challenges with certain laws, your ability to analyse the situation, and back up your answer with a detailed explanation. I would therefore suggest the following structure:

1. Introduce a certain challenge behind a current law catered to a specific demographic, whether that be the wider public, businesses, or if you want brownie points, then a particular industry (preferably one the law firm tend to deal with). Explain what this is, and more importantly what the impact of those challenges are.
2. Suggest your change to this law - be mindful that you don't come across unrealistic and those changes are tangible
3. Explain why you think that change would be beneficial to the demographic it is currently presenting challenges for, it would be great if you could go into detail as to how this change mitigates against those specific challenges you previously identified
4. Think about what other changes may be required to solidify this change in law, sometimes its not just the law change itself, its about education, regulation, observance etc - don't be afraid to highlight some minimal weaknesses in your proposed change, that you can show you've already considered and have presented mitigations for.

Thank you so much! This is really insightful.

 

[jamieclarke]

Foot anstey assessment invite - is this automatic?

I believe so even tho there are written app questions.