TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2026-27

[yellowbirds008]

Can anybody that attended Paul Weiss’s open day pls pm me!

 

[alanshore]

FF stage 2!, also is HLC test automatic for Lift Off?

 

[thedonnabrief]

FF stage 2!, also is HLC test automatic for Lift Off?

I applied for Lift Off a while back but havent been sent any test. When did you apply?

 

[alanshore]

I applied for Lift Off a while back but havent been sent any test. When did you apply?

Can't have been more than a week and a half ago

 

[rose06]

FF stage 2!, also is HLC test automatic for Lift Off?

Hi, congrats on ff stage 2! My friend applied to lift off and she thinks it's automatic

 

[Cristiano Ronaldo sui]

Do we have to submit a Cover Letter for Cleary too?

 

[helloseoul]

I’m a bit confused about the weighting of written applications vs online assessments. Does grad recruitment generally view VIs and SJTs with greater weight than the applications?

 

[wooliewoo]

What's a good amberjack score out of 36?

 

[FutureLawyer_]

What's a good amberjack score out of 36?

It’s really dependent on each firm, some are higher but some firms have lower thresholds

 

[Jaysen]

Invitation received for L&W stage 2 video interview. I’ll be prepping for that in the next day or two. Good luck to anyone else who got the email!

Well done Will!

 

[Jaysen]

Has anyone heard from Willkie? It's rolling right?

I spoke to the firm on this one and thought I'd share if it's helpful to anyone else: they don't recruit on a rolling basis and prefer applicants to submit applications when they are ready rather than as early as possible.

 

[Jaysen]

does it look bad to email a law firm and ask for an extension for one of the online tests? I'm on holiday and it would be better to do it when i'm back. any advice appreciated ! @Jaysen @Antoni Trochimowicz @Abbie Whitlock

This is just my personal view, but I wouldn't recommend asking for an extension unless you really need to.

 

[e.jy336]

I spoke to the firm on this one and thought I'd share if it's helpful to anyone else: they don't recruit on a rolling basis and prefer applicants to submit applications when they are ready rather than as early as possible.

Thank you!

 

[WillKitchen]

L&W VI complete.

I was rejected at this stage last year, but even if that happens again, at least it was great practice.

I've led dozens of webinars for classes of MA students and was once interviewed for a faculty job by a panel of 15 members of university staff, but I still find law firm pre-recorded VIs uniquely challenging experiences!

 

[EdiLawStudent]

Does anyone have any tips for Gibson Dunn's OA? Is it just SJT + WG?

Yupp, it was long, I took about 90 minutes to finish. Its SJT, WG and proof- reading. The proof reading exercises were the most time consuming for me

 

[EdiLawStudent]

Has anyone heard anything from DLA piper after submitting the application?

 

[user55998384]

L&W VI complete.

I was rejected at this stage last year, but even if that happens again, at least it was great practice.

I've led dozens of webinars for classes of MA students and was once interviewed for a faculty job by a panel of 15 members of university staff, but I still find law firm pre-recorded VIs uniquely challenging experiences!

congrats will! i was just wondering in the intiial application form - did you have to upload a cv as well as fill in the work exp section i cant quite work it out

 

[dyingforaTC]

I’m a bit confused about the weighting of written applications vs online assessments. Does grad recruitment generally view VIs and SJTs with greater weight than the applications?

Hey, I'm not Antoni but in my experience, for most of the firms that have both application questions and assessments, they usually use the assessment as a filter to reduce the amount of applications they need to read. So you'd have to pass a specific "benchmark" (which is firm-dependent) in order for them to read your application. In this case, I think your application is more important to nail (so long as you can pass their assessment benchmark).

Usually, the VI's come after the 'first stage' (whether that's application questions or first stage assessment), and so in these cases, I believe VI's are "weighted" more.

However, don't quote me on this! This is just what I've realised applying in the last couple of years