The Official Vacation Scheme Thread 2017!

Hey all - I've been lucky enough to already secure a TC for 2019 at Clifford Chance, but I'll hang around this thread to share my experiences of interviewing successfully at CC, Slaughter and May and Pinsent Masons + try to answer general app questions. The 2016 thread was super useful to me so I'll try my best to help people where I can - just quote me!

Congrats again on the TC!! Was it from the Vacation scheme or a direct TC application? Just wondering what type of work experience and extra circulars did you have when you applied?

What was your experience with the assessment day (probably dreading that the most with a non law background)?

It was off the back of a vacation scheme. I had no legal work experience prior to applying for vac schemes, no experience in an office either - most of the work I had done was volunteering + mentoring for access schemes and initiatives. My extra curriculars were similar apart from a role as the editor in chief for a university publication. To demonstrate a legal interest I went to a few open days and went to as many law firm presentations as I could hosted by firms at my uni, and I also talked to a lot of trainees. It's not specifically about what work you've done but more about the skills you've gained across any work experience and extracurriculars and how those skills could pertain to law.

I'm also a non-law student (studying English) so I was a bit concerned about the challenge of the assessment day, but I enjoyed it tbh and you don't need specific legal knowledge, only general commercial awareness of law firms as a business. You may or may not know this but it's split into a competency interview (the big question here for you would be 'why law' as a non-law student, and you need a solid answer) and a case study interview. A lot of people found the case study pretty difficult, but it's a matter of thinking through the information given to you as logically as possible - if y is the case, does it make sense for us to continue to represent x client?

Much like Dlaiden and Conzy. I found the previous year's thread incredibly useful and have equally attained a TC at NRF, having competed vac schemes at Skadden, NRF, Macfarlanes and Jones Day.

As the aforementioned have said I would be happy to answer any firm questions, app questions or questions regarding general interview stuff.

The best advice I can give is: get your applications off early, tailor them, network during any presentation events on campus and finally, spell check the hell out of your applications.


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Hey!

For your Jones day cover letter, did you structure it as why commercial law, why Jones day and then why you?

Thanks in advance and congrats on your offer!


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Hey,

Yeah I started with why me, then did why commercial law, why Jones day.


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Thanks! How early did you apply?


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End of September/Early October from recollection.


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Determined to get a vacation scheme this winter. However, I am slightly concerned about balancing this will full-time employment (albeit in the legal sector). Would I be disadvantaged if I did a week, rather than a two-week, vacation scheme?

Do you mean if you apply for vacation schemes that are only one week long and are disadvantaged when applying to other firms? Or do you mean applying for a 2 week vac scheme but asking if you can only do 1 week and are disadvantaged with that firm?

The latter. I think in that scenario I would probably opt to leave my full-time employment to experience the entirety of the vacation scheme as they are a great means by which I could secure a training contract.

Determined to get a vacation scheme this winter. However, I am slightly concerned about balancing this will full-time employment (albeit in the legal sector). Would I be disadvantaged if I did a week, rather than a two-week, vacation scheme?

Congrats on your TC I'm just wondering, as a non-law student, how did you approach the "why a legal career" kind of questions? I always feel like my answer to that question is a bit general and unconvincing and more to do with why I would be suited to a career in law. I don't really know what kind of responses most firms are looking for.

How are people choosing which firms to apply to? Do people take into consideration the financial health of a firm? I won't name any names but obviously certain firms aren't doing too well financially at the moment, would that put you off applying?