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TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2026-27
- Thread starter Abbie Whitlock
- Start date
Hello, I completed and passed the HSFK assessment last year so happy to share some advice. I appreciate these can be unnerving the first time and it definitely took me a while to start getting good at online assessments myself!
So on the HSFK website they have the following guidance for the online assessment: "Our online test will examine you in the following areas: situational judgement (SJT) and personality/behavioural traits. Questions are based on situations you’re likely to encounter as a trainee associate at HSF Kramer. The test can be completed at your own pace, but should take approximately 30-40 minutes."
Regarding the first aspect of the test which will be Situational Judgement, there was some super helpful advice for SJTs shared on this forum in the past few years. In particular, you may want to have a look at this thread (click here) which is a compilation of SJT advice that is still super relevant.
My really good friend @ZNadeem also shared some super helpful general tips for SJTs on this forum last year, which I will copy paste below:
General tips for SJTs:
-Recognise Your Role as a Trainee: As a trainee, you are not yet qualified to provide legal advice independently. Your work will require input and oversight from qualified professionals to ensure accuracy and compliance.
-Value Collaboration: Law firms operate as collaborative environments. While it’s essential to demonstrate initiative and a willingness to take on tasks, many projects will require teamwork and the support of others to succeed.
-Adopt a Risk-Averse Mindset: Law firms are naturally cautious about risks. Your decisions and actions should align with this approach to protect the firm and its clients.
-Prioritise Quality Over Speed: Delivering thorough, high-quality work is more important than rushing to complete tasks. Precision and attention to detail are critical.
-Optimise Your Time: As your time is billed to clients, it's important to work efficiently. If seeking guidance can help you complete a task faster and more effectively, don’t hesitate to do so—it benefits both you and the firm.
-Follow the Priority Hierarchy: Decisions should prioritise the client first, your colleagues second, and yourself last. While this may feel counterintuitive, it ensures that the firm maintains its commitment to service and teamwork.
-Balance Initiative with Responsibility: Taking on additional tasks can demonstrate your drive and determination, but ensure this doesn’t compromise the quality or timeliness of your existing commitments. Delegate, defer, or reorganise tasks as needed to maintain balance.
This should help you for the initial SJT element.
In terms of the second element, which will be Personality/Behavioural traits, these questions will likely feature some slider / ranking questions where they are basically gaging your personality and preferences. For this aspect I'd really recommend looking at the key skills the firm says they look for in future trainees. On their website they have the following description under "What we look for":
"We value people who are curious, collaborative, ambitious and resilient - and who are ready to play a part in work that shapes industries, economies and communities...We look for intellectual agility, personal impact, and a strong motivation to do work that matters. Whether it’s problem-solving, building trusted relationships, or staying curious about the world around you — we want to see your potential and ambition to grow."
This should give you a really good idea of what qualities they look for, and these are the ones you should keep in mind when demonstrating you are a good fit for the firm.
Finally, just remember that they have a recommended window of 30--40 minutes. Make sure you complete the test in this time and if you can complete it faster that may also help as some firms look favourably upon candidates who can complete assessments in good time.
I hope that helps! I wish you the very best of luck
Hiya,
While some assessments don't come into your inbox immediately, from my experience in last year's cycle they usually arrived the same day or within an hour. If it doesn't come through by end of the day, personally I would recommend contacting graduate recruitment and letting them know, especially given that you have a specific 3 day window to do it. Unless they've already stated in previous correspondence that you can expect a delay in receiving your assessment, there's no real harm in contacting them just so they are aware there's some delays and can fix it accordingly!
Best of luck for the assessment
Hi! I've just had a look at Dechert's website and it states that the assessment is the second stage in the recruitment process and is Critical Reasoning Test (CRT) & written exercise. If you submitted your application form over a week ago and still haven't heard from them, that probably just means they're still reviewing your application and making a decision as to whether they will be progressing your application to the next stage!
It's easy to get confused as to whether online assessments represent a selective stage of the process or not as many firms have started incorporating them at the initial stage, which is why you may be accustomed to receiving them almost immediately after applying. However, as far as I can tell, for Dechert, the assessment will not be sent to everyone and is reserved for those who progress beyond the application form.
Hope that helps, and best of luck with your application
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Hi, I've had a look on their website and they have a Frequently Asked Questions booklet that you can access here. The FAQ booklet states that the test is an "Online situational judgement and strength assessment", so I imagine there will be no critical thinking questions!
They haven't specified whether it is timed or not but you may get more information on this after submitting the application form if you haven't already. If you already have the online test invite and they still haven't stated a time limit, it is likely an untimed assessment, however from my experience last year I do recall some firms stating that applicants should aim to finish in a timely manner. In other words, complete it in one go and make sure you don't leave it open while you're not working on it.
If you'd like some advice for SJT and strength assessments, let me know and I'd be happy to point you to some different resources you can use to prepare!
Best of luck
Hi, I can totally resonate with this as I also struggled with getting accepted onto competitive open days in my first year of applying!
My advice would be to ensure that in your answers you demonstrate some solid research of the firm. In my personal experience, it's easy to mess up these questions because they can also expose a lack of knowledge on behalf of the applicant. For example, when I first began applying to open days, I had little to no knowledge of how different departments or aspects of corporate law worked (hence why I was applying to an open day) but my lack of knowledge actually showed in my applications which I believe is why I wasn't successful. For example, I often conflated a firm's high rankings in Life Sciences M&A to some kind of general focus on Life Sciences and related fields, so I would mention things like how I was interested in regulatory issues pertaining to life sciences. At the time I didn't realise that these were two separate areas of focus so the graduate recruitment team could likely see my lack of knowledge in my application. Make sure you have a grasp of what the firm's focus areas are and actually mean before specifying how this relates to you and your personal interests -- the most common issue at this stage is applicants not realising that their personal interests / examples actually have little correlation with the kind of work the firm does.
Beyond that, it's worth remembering that open days are just generally insanely competitive. From my time as a society leader I remember when we worked with firms to organise specific open days and there was almost always a real limit in terms of how many students could actually be seated in the office. If the firm can only host 20 students, it is not necessarily a fault in your application that is causing you to get rejected -- sometimes the process is in fact just super competitive due to limited numbers.
To circumvent this, I highly recommend finding other ways to meet with firms, such as non-competitive online webinars either hosted and marketed by the firm itself on their official website, or by attending virtual legal fairs like those offered by Legal Cheek. This is what helped me most as I actually never got accepted to a competitive open day and was still able to secure 5 assessment centres at top US and Magic Circle firms for whom I had never attended an open day. You may also attend a university that has specific open days which are often times way less competitive - for example, HSFK runs lots of open days like LSE Open Day just for LSE students, and I believe they have these for lots of universities in the UK so that might be a good option! Contact your university's main Law Society about this as they are the ones who collaborate with firms to organise these events. These also helped me tremendously.
I really hope this helps! Don't be too disheartened and just remember there are many other ways to meet firms if these applications don't ultimately work out. But keep your head up, you got this!
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does anyone know how strict firms like ff are now with changing tabs and using ai during the cappfinity assessments
Hey, having looked at the Pinsent Masons website, they actually have a page of advice here which even includes a link to some practice questions at the bottom of the page.Hey everyone. Does anyone have any tips for the Pinsent Masons online blended assessment that is part of the application? Would be so grateful for any insights!
Beyond that, I'd say pop over to the TCLA Wiki page here and look through advice for SJTs, written exercises and video interviews, as blended assessments will often combine these in the form of a job simulation with specific resources that you need to read carefully before proceeding to the round of questions for different scenarios.
Hope that helps!
Ashurst Perkins Coie is non-rolling, and everyone had until 5:30 pm today to complete the test. So, I’m guessing we might not hear back until the week commencing 5th October? Last year, they sent out the invites on October 7th.
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