TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

[hxnnahrobinson]

Well done on the Bevan stage! What office did u apply for IM? Can I ask as well if you were offered any more feedback then the generalised one we had?

Which IM office did you apply for? Was it London?

 

[florrrrnnn76]

Anyone have any tips for a telephone interview? I have one today and I’ve never done one before! It’s the BJ one

I’m wondering if I should keep my responses much more brief in comparison to a VI especially considering the interview is only 15 mins

Hi!

You will get some hurdle type questions at the start, make sure you dont spend any time at all on them (like what team would you like to experience or what other office than your main preference), they will let you know when the 'real' questions start.

For the main questions, there is about 5, I would suggest about 2 minutes for each, just because for me and some other people I know they do stop you if you are spending too much time on one question.

Hopefully this helps, good luck!

 

[Donna Paulsen]

Hi!

You will get some hurdle type questions at the start, make sure you dont spend any time at all on them (like what team would you like to experience or what other office than your main preference), they will let you know when the 'real' questions start.

For the main questions, there is about 5, I would suggest about 2 minutes for each, just because for me and some other people I know they do stop you if you are spending too much time on one question.

Hopefully this helps, good luck!

Thank you so so much, this is really helpful!

 

[Legalfreak212]

Anyone heard back from SPB post AC yet?

 

[Bridget1130]

Which IM office did you apply for? Was it London?

No Sheffield

 

[hopingforamiracle]

is anyone having problems submitting the BM app?

 

[CupOfTea17]

Anyone have any tips for a telephone interview? I have one today and I’ve never done one before! It’s the BJ one

I’m wondering if I should keep my responses much more brief in comparison to a VI especially considering the interview is only 15 mins

Hi! Good Luck today! The interview was super chill and the questions are very typical! I would say the first question is quite long (dw v common q) and after I finished I apologised for speaking so long and they did say most ppl spoke for a long time and that it would be best to try be quicker on my next answers.
The interviewer was really lovely though!

 

[CupOfTea17]

Got an invite to BB TI this morning! Super happy!!
Can anyone tell me if there is a stage after this (i.e. AC)? I seem to think there isn't but maybe i'm just being optimistic!

(London office, Vacation scheme)

 

[TCchaser]

@Abbie Whitlock Hope you're doing well!

For behavioural style assessments, if you get questions with sliders, should you always move the slider to the very end, or is it ok to sometimes have them more leaning towards 1 side but not fully at the end? How can we determine when to move it to the very end or when it's fine not to? Hope that makes sense, thank you in advance!

 

[Donna Paulsen]

Hi! Good Luck today! The interview was super chill and the questions are very typical! I would say the first question is quite long (dw v common q) and after I finished I apologised for speaking so long and they did say most ppl spoke for a long time and that it would be best to try be quicker on my next answers.
The interviewer was really lovely though!

Ahh thank you so so much! That’s super helpful

 

[Donna Paulsen]

Got an invite to BB TI this morning! Super happy!!
Can anyone tell me if there is a stage after this (i.e. AC)? I seem to think there isn't but maybe i'm just being optimistic!

(London office, Vacation scheme)

Pretty sure it’s final stage! congrats

 

[Mikeross750]

@Abbie Whitlock thank you so much for your insight on my previous question!

I have one follow-up. I just found out that the firm assesses vac schemers for a TC based on two components: a presentation and supervisor feedback.

Have you completed presentations like that during one of your vac schemes? If so, I would be super grateful if you could share your experience and if you could advise on the best things to do / not to do for them.

Thank you!

 

[SpanishSolicitor]

Hi new account here! Has anyone applied to the BBVA Corporate Investment Banking Legal Internship in previous years and knows the application process? If so could you please message me?

 

[DennyCrane]

anyone still waiting on a browne jacobson response?

 

[florrrrnnn76]

anyone still waiting on a browne jacobson response?

by what date would they get back? they mentioned it in the TI but i dont remeber

 

[co1004co]

mofo vac scheme offer!

 

[summersun]

mofo vac scheme offer!

congratulations !!!

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

hi @Abbie Whitlock! not sure if you’ve addressed this before but what type of written exercise do you think we can expect during vac scheme?this was part of my AC as well and it was more advisory so not so sure what to expect during vs thanks so much!

Hey!

I would say that the written exercises don't tend to be too dissimilar from the written exercises that you would get at AC stage. In my experience, they are usually still quite commercially focused - for example, something such as acting for a PE firm and putting together a short report on which company to invest in from a range of options, based on the information you have been given. Usually, the way that you do well is by explaining your thought process and backing up the points that you make with the evidence provided - there isn't usually a right or wrong answer!

The main difference I found was the timing, and my VS written tasks were often slightly longer than AC ones - most of my AC exercises were around 30-45 minutes, whereas on a VS they were more like 1 to 1.5 hours. That extra time usually means that you are expected to go into slightly more depth or structure your answer a bit more clearly, rather than being a quick fire task under pressure.

Overall, if you are comfortable with AC-style written tasks, I'd say you'll be in a really good position going into the VS! Best of luck!!

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

Hi @Abbie Whitlock , please can I ask for your help on a question for White and Case’s app process? It asks you to discuss a deal that they have advised on in last two years. I am going to choose an M&A deal, but do you think this needs to be one where they advised a buyer rather than a seller? I ask as one deal I am interested in is the latter rather than former.

Thank you

Hello!

I would say that it doesn't need to be a deal where they advised the buyer - choosing a seller-side deal should be absolutely fine. The question is really testing your understanding of the strategy and complexities of the deal, rather than which side White & Case was on.

If anything, a deal where they advised the seller can give you just as much (if not more) to analyse, such as:

• The seller's strategic rationale (e.g. raising capital, focusing on core business, etc.)
• Valuation and negotiation dynamics
• How risk was allocated between the parties
• Any regulatory or jurisdictional challenges.

As long as you can clearly explain the deal and show some commercial insight, the side that they acted on won't disadvantage you at all - so I would definitely go with the deal that you are most interested in!

I have also quoted below a previous post that @Andrei Radu has made on this question, which is a useful reference point! Best of luck with your application!

Hi @berocca567 my advice would be to read about several deals the firm advised on while looking proactively for mentions of the elements the question asks about. Afterwards, I would divide my answer in separate parts to ensure I have a clear structure and that my points are easy to understand:

Paragraph 1: Introduction and strategic considerations:

I would discuss the rationale for the transaction - why did the buyer (assuming this is an M&A deal) look to acquire the target company? Was it to increase general market share, to achieve synergies, to scale, to grow in particular new geographies, to expand in new sectors/sub-sectors, to acquire specialist expertise, or perhaps sought after IP, improve band reputation, or maybe to enter into a regulated market easily and without requiring approvals? Likely the rationale included a number of these considerations, which gives you some space for discretion in your analysis. Here, you can also mention any strategic risks the company was taking, such no regulatory approval of the transaction, or problems integration and talent retentions.

Other paragraphs: Complexities + what the firm did to address them

Complexities: here, you need to look for aspects of the deal that would have likely made it more difficult to execute. Perhaps the transaction was highly leveraged, or involving a distressed target which required restructuring, or involved liasing with multiple institutional shareholders with different goals that had to agree to the sale. Or maybe it involved a consortium of investors that entered the transaction, with W&C only advising one or the group - which would add to complexities of negotiations between the investors; maybe it involved a competitive bidding process with lots of turnarounds in terms of what the leading offer was, which meant W&C had to consistently analyse what terms other bidders were offering. Perhaps it involved a target company which was in a highly regulated sector, or which had ongoing reputational/legal issues, or which had internal governance difficulties with tensions between executives and shareholders? Or maybe the target just had many businesses across a variety of countries in different economic sectors, which made a huge tasks getting regulatory approvals everywhere and ensuring every part of the business is properly scrutinised to mange risk.

These are just some of the many types of complexities involved in an M&A transaction: to identify them, the key is to constantly ask yourself what could be an issue or pose a risk when researching the deal.

How the firm addressed them: In terms of structure, after the introductory paragraph, I would write 2-3 following paragraphs which would each discuss one type of complexity and also how the firm can address it. In looking at that, I would describe both:

• How complexities of that nature are generally dealt with and by what teams in the firm - i.e. an ongoing legal proceeding against the target would be addressed via an indemnity clause in the SPA, which the corporate team would draft with some limited input from the disputes practice; and
• How complexities of that nature can be best addressed by White & Case in particular: here, you can look at particular strengths W&C has in delivering a good client outcome - i.e. if it has many international offices it is well positioned to deal with cross border deals touching on many jurisdictions, if it has good regulatory teams it is well positioned to deal with complexities having to do with regulatory approvals etc.). I would perhaps also look to see who are the particular practitioners working on the deal and mention them in the answer (while perhaps also making mention of their relevant past expertise and market recognition).

Pro tip: To make very easy for the recruiter who reviews your application to understand that you have addressed each part of their question, beyond this useful structure try to use their specified terms ("strategic considerations" and "complexities") often.

 

[co1004co]

congratulations !!!

Thank you so much!