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📩 Vacation Schemes and How to Get One

📩 Vacation Schemes and How to Get One

If you’re doing a lot right but it’s still not landing, this might help you spot what’s missing.

Alin George Ilinca
January 18, 2026

Hey there

We know how frustrating applying for vacation schemes can be. You do the firm research, prep answers, keep up with the news, and still… after 20, 30 applications, nothing. Or you finally reach an assessment centre and it still doesn’t convert.

That’s exactly where Andreea was.

Before she secured her vacation scheme at an international firm, she went through eight assessment centres. Each one was a learning experience, and each rejection taught her something new about what recruiters actually want.

She put everything she learned into a short guide. Here’s what you’ll find inside:

How to make your written application feel personal and specific (so it doesn’t sound like it could be copy-pasted to any other firm)
Picking the right examples from your life (even part-time jobs or uni societies) and showing exactly why they matter for legal work
Nailing competency questions — and, more importantly, choosing stories firms actually care about, including the awkward ones like “tell us about a time you dealt with conflict”, without sounding fake

If you’re still applying and want a clearer approach, you can access the guide by signing up below:

📄Research for your applications
Access over 20 law firm profiles, complete with breakdowns, seats, secondments, and other requirements.
💼 Virtual Work Experience
Explore free virtual internships and DIY vacation schemes. Build real-world skills you can showcase on applications.
📚 Studying
First Class LLB Notes, Problem Question Model Answers, Essay Structures and more tips to ace your degree.
✍️ Application Writing & Tests
Application tracker, CV & Cover Letter guidance, psychometric tests guidance, interview answering guidance and more.
🏆 Personal Development
Resources to boost your confidence, communication, and professional skills.

18 January 1884 — Dr. William Price was arrested for cremating the body of his infant son, Iesu Grist (the Welsh for Jesus Christ). He was arrested and put on trial by those who believed that cremation was illegal in Britain. However, he successfully argued that there was no legislation that specifically outlawed it, which paved the way for the Cremation Act of 1902.

19 January 1983— Apple announced the first personal computer with a graphical user interface and a computer mouse. This marked a turning point in how technology was used and eventually led to legal discussions and legislation regarding software patents, copyright and digital rights.

20 January 1265 — England’s First Parliament holds a meeting at Westminster Hall in London.

21 January 1976 — The first commercial Concorde flight.

22 January 1972 — The Brussels Treaty of Accession was signed, paving the way for the UK to accede to the EU on 1.1.1973

23 January 1899 — Lord Denning was born. He developed the doctrine of Promissory Estoppel and other famous judgements.

24 January 2006 — Disney announced the purchase of Pixar Animation Studios. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom represented Disney in the all-stock deal with Pixar.

By Dylan Anton, Future Trainee @ Clifford Chance

Two interesting stories worth considering this week:

1) The Rise of Coffee Rivals

The Update

Big name cafe chains are struggling to keep their revenues amidst the rise in popularity of smaller rivals like Blank Street Coffee and Black Sheep Coffee. The number of coffee shops in the UK rose by over 2% last year, with most of these new coffee shops falling under the smaller rivals category.

Coca-Cola had recently attempted to sell Costa Coffee, Starbucks last year closed some of its UK stores, and Pret A Manger wrote down £553 million in goodwill (an accounting confession that the company’s brand/reputation is no longer worth as much).

The Implications

Larger cafe chains are failing to keep up with the trends that engage a younger population with coffee places. An example is how Blank Street introduced matcha to its menu back in 2023, subsequently then promoting this more heavily in 2024. It was not until last week that Costa introduced an equivalent nationwide matcha offering.

What does this mean for the hospitality industry?

Higher prices at larger coffee chains leads consumers to buying at independent coffee shops that propose similar prices with a more unique experience
Consumers that still want cheap coffee are increasingly turning to fast-food places like McDonald’s and Greggs
The coffee shop industry will likely become more fragmented with consumer preferences for certain chains varying per region.

How to Use This

The coffee shop industry in the UK has historically been seen as one run by incumbents like Costa and Starbucks, however even this industry can be shaken up by new players. It is worth also thinking about how small players are abandoning their specialty of remaining small in favour of upscaling to face up to the likes of Costa and Pret.

2) Retraction of Private Credit

The Update

Private credit investors withdrew over $7 billion from major funds like Ares and BlackRock in the last few months of 2025. Private credit funds are pools of money allocated to business lending in place of typical bank loans. This followed concerns arising from two major corporate bankruptcies that occurred in late 2025 - those of First Brands and Tricolor.

The failure of these two companies, whilst not having been financed by private credit funds, spooked investors that believe private credit funds might be facing similar issues. For example, the tech fund of a capital markets company called Blue Owl saw a 12% rise in investments being sought back by investors.

The Implications

The two headline corporate failures mentioned above have damaged investor confidence in private credit funds, as investors now worry that the corporate borrowers of this private credit might also face bankruptcy (impacting returns for the private credit fund they are invested in). At the same time, the US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates, which means less of a return for the private credit funds that way too.

What are the implications of this?

The trillion dollar private credit industry is for the first time facing uncertainty after its rapid rise in popularity
The failure of one company can have widespread negative impacts, even reaching into unrelated industries
Fund managers are choosing to honour investors requesting their money back, perhaps signalling confidence that private credit will pick up again

How to Use This

This story presents a disconnect between actual fund performance and investor confidence - despite no immediate threats to the private credit industry (barring rate cuts by the Federal Reserve), a number of investors have chosen to pull out. Law firms will have to support private credit funds in carefully considering how to deal with large volumes of investors pulling out, as a lot of the investors’ initial investments will be tied up in debt (illiquid investments that are hard to then pay back on demand).