TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2026-27

[QuillandCounsel]

Rejection from dla discovery days but received test for their vac scheme.... fair enough I guess

Is this for London?

 

[jojo23]

Y

Is this for London?

Yep

 

[Sky]

Y
Yep

Congrats! When did u submit CRS?

 

[jojo23]

Congrats! When did u submit CRS?

I think either last week Wednesday or Thursday
Initial application was submitted 22nd

 

[Jaysen]

Hey everyone! I’m delighted to welcome @Minhee, our new community assistant at TCLA. Please feel free to tag her if you have any questions.

And a shoutout to @Antoni Trochimowicz for his help over the past month.

 

[Novaa]

Rejection from dla discovery days but received test for their vac scheme.... fair enough I guess

A win is a win!!

 

[addy2004]

Bird & Bird virtual trainee day invite!

 

[rain2801]

Hi, would appreciate any insights on the following:

(1) do firms look at your prior applications if you apply in a new cycle as well (for example, would my training contract application for 2025-26 have any bearing on my training contract application for 2026-27 for the same firm, specifically those such as Slaughters and W&C?);

(2) would including another set of results or different results from an earlier application be viewed negatively? (Basically I shifted universities after year 1 due to a better course and location I got in my next attempt, but hadn’t disclosed the grades I got from my year 1 university in any prior applications since I genuinely forgot about them as they were never considered for anything, even including applying for jobs even in my home country. I’d like to include them going forward since I realise it can be considered academic dishonesty as per UK standards, but would like to understand how much firms compare your prior applications to new ones especially when additional information is included); and

(3) In my new university’s year 1, I had to retake a module due to a huge discrepancy in difficulty levels between two sets of the same paper administered on different dates (we could choose one of two dates for this exam as this was our first physical exam post COVID, and the majority of the batch chose the later date and got the harder question paper set), to the extent that everyone who received the harder set (around 4/5th of my cohort) failed (this can be verified with the university). This led to an internal academic inquiry wherein it was found that the difficult set contained out of syllabus questions and was disproportionate to the content we were taught in lectures. This exam was re-held and students were given the option to retake this exam free of cost (usually we are charged a retake fee), but this was true only for those who sat the exam on the later date (ie those who received the harder set). My university hasn’t provided clarity on whether the scores from the harder set were preserved (making this a retake) or whether the harder paper was cancelled (which would make it a first attempt). I’m still awaiting my final transcript, but I’d like to disclose this regardless in my future applications. My question is how much would it affect my applications for firms which value grades a lot, like Slaughter?

Thanks in advance for any pointers! @Jaysen

 

[jojo23]

A win is a win!!

Taking whatever I can get

 

[Minhee]

Hey everyone! I’m delighted to welcome @Minhee, our new community assistant at TCLA. Please feel free to tag her if you have any questions.

And a shoutout to @Antoni Trochimowicz for his help over the past month.

Hi everyone! Thank you @Jaysen for the introduction and @Antoni Trochimowicz for all the past help. I’m Minhee - I’m a future trainee at Jones Day. It’s lovely to meet you all

A little about me: I previously lived in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but moved to the UK with my family for sixth form. I didn’t grow up with any personal connections to the industry and was not at all familiar with the application process or commercial law generally, so I completely understand how daunting this can feel from an applicant’s perspective!

My applications: During my first year at uni, I received First-Year Scheme offers from Linklaters, Latham & Watkins, and Freshfields. During my second year, I received Vacation Scheme offers from Linklaters, Latham & Watkins, and Jones Day. I received Training Contract offers following all my Vacation Schemes, and am very happy and grateful to have signed with Jones Day!

I owe a lot of that to my friends and mentors, who were so open and willing to support me and share their experiences (I actually found some of them through my university’s TCLA mentorship scheme, so it’s a bit of a full-circle moment for me!) I am keen to pass down the advice and kindness I received, and am open to answering any questions, however big or small! In case it is helpful, I have listed some of the steps / resources I used when applying, and specific areas where I might be able to assist, but feel free to ask anything!

Resources for firm research + general commercial awareness

• Firm websites: An obvious but important starting point! What practice areas do they offer? What jurisdictions do they operate in? How is their TC structured? Etc.
• TCLA Workspace (http://workspace.thecorporatelawacademy.com/research): Great place to get an overview of the application process and find further information about each firm. You can also consult sites like Legal Cheek, Chambers Student, Legal 500, etc. Do keep in mind that some statistics might not always be completely up-to-date. If you have questions, firm website and Grad Rec should be your first point of call.
• Firm social media (LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.): What does the firm emphasise? Is there a particular deal / practice area their posts tend to focus on? DEI / pro bono initiatives?
• Events: I found these to be the most helpful in getting in-depth knowledge. Open Days are great but can also be competitive and time-consuming to apply to (I did not attend many, so while they can be useful, I wouldn’t say they are generally necessary / I wouldn’t feel discouraged if you haven’t had success here). TCLA does a lot of free and open-access virtual events with firms (https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/events/)! You can also look at sites like AllAboutLaw, Bright Network, Legal Cheek, etc. If you are a university student, it might be worth checking with your Law Society to see if there is anything running. Some firms also host their own campus visits / pop-ups / virtual sessions.
• LinkedIn: If you are not having success with events, you can always try cold-messaging someone at the firm on LinkedIn. Many of these people are busy, so do try to be mindful of their time. I would start by approaching future trainees or trainees. Keep your messages polite, short, and personal. Make sure your questions are specific to the individual and not something you can find online. I would limit to 1-2 questions until the person indicates they are happy to respond to more. Don’t be discouraged if they don’t get back either / if it takes some time!
• FT News, FT Daily News Briefing, Non-Billable, TCLA newsletters: I found all of these helpful in staying up-to-date with the news. You don’t need to track all stories going on at any given time. I would usually begin by browsing headlines or a newsletter to get a general sense of what was happening, then finding articles and podcasts on topics that I thought were relevant and interesting.
• Technicals: Different people use different methods for this! TCLA does crash courses. I started by attending open-access, free workshops with my university’s law society on topics like ‘Intro to M&A’, ‘Intro to Financing’ etc. I recognise this isn’t a possibility for everyone - going to virtual events can be an equally helpful alternative (see ‘Events’ above). I supplemented this by doing further research online, using sites like Investopedia. I used a word doc to jot notes. I would google topics, getting more and more specific, until I felt comfortable speaking on them. E.g. ‘What’s a merger? What’s an acquisition? —> What are the different types of acquisitions? —> What’s a hostile takeover? —> What are defences against hostile takeovers?’ ‘What is equity financing? What is debt financing? —> What are the pros and cons of each? —> What are the different types of debt financing? What’s the difference between bonds and bank loans? Pros and cons of each? —> What are the different types of bonds? What’s a convertible bond? —> Different types of loans? What’s a syndicated loan? What does a loan agreement look like? —> Any trends in this space (e.g. how have recent interest rates affected appetite for bank loans)?’ You don’t need to go in-depth into everything, and some of what I researched did not actually end up being tested at ACs, but making detailed notes made me feel more comfortable going into interviews.
• Generally: If you are struggling to understand something (I found bonds difficult to get my head around), you can use AI to explain the concept in simpler / beginner’s terms.

Areas where I might be able to help

• Preparing for online tests (specifically, Watson Glaser and Situational Judgement)
• Preparing for video interviews
• Preparing for virtual and in-person interviews (specifically, competency and motivational)
• Improving commercial awareness through events and online resources
• Preparing for case studies (specifically, M&A or Financing-related, though I have done Litigation case studies too).
• If you are hoping to cold-message a future trainee or trainee on LinkedIn, happy to do sense checks or give tips on how I tried to approach this without being too intrusive on others’ time.

I wish you all the best of luck on this year’s cycle and look forward to meeting you all Don’t be afraid to reach out!

 

[alanshore]

pretty sure i fumbled the dla neurosight. no1 pick gone, onto the next!