Start your journey with TSP

Graduate Recruitment

• Why apply for a training contract at TSP?

  TSP considers trainees to be vital for the future of the firm. We’ll ensure you are properly trained, supported and have the right experience to emerge from the process as a well-rounded solicitor. We very much see our trainee programme as a route to a long -term career with the firm and not just a route to qualification. We have very successful retention of our trainees with many staying to progress their career at TSP, with some going on to become Associates and Directors at the firm.

  Applications for our 2026 training contracts have now closed and we will be in touch with candidates regarding next steps. Applications for our 2027 training contracts are open so please submit using our portal.

• The Trainee Solicitor Role at TSP

  Our approach to our Training Contract is very flexible and we currently have trainees who completed their LPC before joining us and others who are undertaking their studies alongside their work at the firm.  TSP gives the trainees who are studying a designated study day each week and their training contracts are extended accordingly to reflect that study time.

  We are partnering with Datalaw to provide next generation training and support throughout the SQE process, using their graduate solicitor apprenticeship programme to give our trainees the best possible opportunity to succeed in the SQE.

  TSP will fund the SQE route for any candidates who have not yet completed this qualification. However, please note we do not fund any conversion courses for non-law graduates and would expect any prospective non-law candidate to have successfully completed a conversion course /GDL before they join us.

   

• The recruitment process for 2027

  The Recruitment Process for training contracts for 2027

  We are seeking applications for a training contract from those who have achieved or are predicted a degree of 2:1 or higher and applications are open to those wishing to qualify via the SQE route or those who have previously successfully completed their Legal Practice Course or SQE.

  Applications received from 1 October 2024 onwards will be considered for our Training Contract Assessment Days to be held in January 2026 for our 2027 trainee cohort and any received after 30 September 2025 will be taken into account for our Assessment Days for our 2028 cohort.

  Our Training Contract Assessment Days for our 2026 trainee cohort will take place in our Colchester office in January 2025, with successful candidates being invited back for an interview in February 2025. We aim to recruit two trainees each year.

  Please submit applications using our portal.

  Vacation Scheme

  We hold a week long vacation scheme each July which is open to university students in their second year of study (or beyond) who are predicted (or have already achieved) a 2:1 or higher. This gives students an excellent opportunity to experience what it is like to work at a law firm and to decide if TSP is somewhere they might wish to train.

  Work Experience

  We do not currently offer work experience to for 12 – 18 year olds; however we are in the process of creating a schools outreach programme which will offer school pupils a flavour for a legal career at a top regional law firm.

• Training Contract Seats

  Training Contract Seats

  Our Training Contract usually consists of four core seats of six months duration each, although this arrangement can be flexible as mentioned previously. These seats can be in either our Colchester or Clacton office.  Each trainee will usually complete a seat within the following departments:

  • Corporate and Commercial;
  • Dispute Resolution;
  • Wills and Estates;
  • Property;
  • Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury;
  • Agriculture (part of our Commercial Property team);
  • Employment; and
  • Family.

  We ask the trainees their preference for their final seat and do our best to match them with this practice area, wherever practicalities and business need allows.

• Support and development

  Support and development

  Our trainees meet frequently, both as a group and individually, with our Training Principal and we have a comprehensive feedback and review system in place so that trainees are well supported during their Training Contract.  Trainees are actively encouraged to get involved in all aspects of life at TSP, including networking, business development and charity initiatives in the community.