Thomson Snell & Passmore

TS&P’s work spans quite a lot of ground. On the commercial side, the firm advises owner-managed businesses, entrepreneurs, family companies, SMEs, UK subsidiaries of international businesses, charities, schools, colleges and larger corporates. On the individual side, it acts for private clients, high-net-worth individuals, families, vulnerable clients and people dealing with life-changing injury or medical negligence claims. This blend of business and personal work gives the firm a broader practice mix than many regional outfits its size, and for trainees it means the chance to sample both sides before making those all-important qualification decisions.

The corporate and commercial team has been particularly busy of late. Recent mandates include advising longstanding client Nurture Group on its acquisition of Tivoli, a deal that created Britain’s largest integrated landscape and grounds maintenance business, with combined annual revenues of around £245 million and a workforce of more than 4,400. The firm has also advised on the sale of The Collective yoghurt brand to Yeo Valley, JR Pet Products’ sale to AlphaPet Ventures, and A. Duda & Sons on the cross-border joint venture acquisition of Tozer Seeds, one of the UK’s best-known independent vegetable seed companies. A mixed bag, then, but in a good way. For trainees, it means exposure to corporate work spanning buy-side and sell-side M&A, private equity-backed growth, founder-led businesses and family-owned companies.

Real estate is another major pillar, with the team ranking among the largest in the South East. Close to 50 fee-earners cover development, commercial property, real estate finance, planning, construction, agricultural land and property disputes, and recent growth has been supported by a number of appointments, including planning and real estate disputes hires. For trainees, that means exposure to the sort of property work that underpins local economies: development land, commercial premises, finance, landlord and tenant issues, and disputes when things go south.

Some of the work carries a strong community flavour too. In one recent matter, TS&P helped the Kings Head Community Benefit Society buy The King’s Head pub in East Hoathly after hundreds of locals raised funds to save it from potential redevelopment. It may not be a billion-dollar US tech acquisition, but there’s something rather satisfying about advising on the legal mechanics that keep the last pub in a village alive. For trainees who want to see how law affects local communities, that sort of work has obvious appeal.

TS&P’s private client credentials are just as central to the firm’s identity. The firm advises on wills, probate, estate planning, trusts, tax, family investment companies, agricultural estates, digital assets, family law, residential property and wealth protection. Its clients include private individuals, families, directors, entrepreneurs and sports and media personalities. This offers trainees something a little different from the classic City training contract: the chance to develop commercial instincts while also seeing the human consequences of legal advice up close. Moving between business clients, family wealth, vulnerable individuals and personal disputes should help rookies build a more rounded skill set than they might get in a narrower corporate environment.

Court of Protection work stands out as a particular strength. TS&P is recognised as having one of the largest Court of Protection practices in the country by number of cases and value, advising on property and financial deputyships, welfare issues, contentious cases and personal injury trusts. This is the kind of work that calls for not just legal knowledge but judgment, empathy and attention to detail. Alongside the firm’s clinical negligence and personal injury teams, it also gives trainees exposure to matters involving serious injury, vulnerable clients and long-term care arrangements.

The firm has also been investing in its own people. Recent promotion rounds have seen lawyers move up across almost every practice area, and the firm has made targeted senior hires in areas including banking and finance, planning and real estate disputes. The message is clear enough: TS&P may be independent and regional, but it is not standing still.

Training contract-wise, this is a classic regional firm proposition: small intake, broad practice mix, close senior contact and plenty of scope to work directly with fee-earners. The programme is based in Tunbridge Wells and the firm takes on around five trainees a year. Trainees can expect exposure across both commercial and private client departments, giving them a handy chance to work out whether their future lies in corporate transactions, real estate, disputes, employment, private wealth or one of the firm’s more specialist personal legal services teams.

Current recruits have plenty of praise for the training itself. “The initial onboarding was excellent, but the best part has been the ongoing department-specific training programme,” one trainee reports. “This has been carefully tailored to my specific needs and delivered by experts.” Another says the firm has a “well-established culture of involving trainees in active matters and client-focused work”, adding that a combination of varied matters, close supervision and client-facing experience enabled them to make “a well-informed choice of qualification area”.

Responsibility also appears to arrive early. “Very stimulating,” was one recruit’s assessment of the work, pointing to “many opportunities to have hands-on work and involvement in client meetings”. Another reports being given a broad range of matters from the outset, spanning “real estate finance, commercial real estate, development and agricultural matters”, while a private client rookie went as far as to say: “I couldn’t ask for better work. We regularly compete with London firms for work.” As ever, experiences vary somewhat between departments and supervisors, but the broad verdict is that junior lawyers are trusted to work independently with appropriate oversight from an early stage.

Culture is a big part of the TS&P pitch, with the firm describing itself as friendly, supportive and “relaxed but business-like”. Hybrid working is in place, and trainees are encouraged to get involved in ESG, charity, sports and social initiatives. Close senior contact is helped along by the open-plan office, which trainees say makes it easier to learn by osmosis and ask questions as they crop up: “You are encouraged to speak with fee earners and professionals at differing levels in their careers and I think the open plan office assists with that. I’m sat next to my supervisor’s partner and I can often share information with him or ask questions. There is no barrier because you’re a paralegal or a trainee.”

The latest crop of insiders backs this up. “Every firm talks about its culture, but here I do genuinely think we have a supportive, collaborative culture,” says one. “No one will ever have a go at you for asking ‘silly’ questions, and everyone in the office wants the best for each other.” There is also said to be “excellent camaraderie” between the trainees themselves. Partners receive a similarly positive write-up, with one junior telling LC: “The partners are very supportive and approachable. The firm has a great culture in this respect.” Another says that, helped by the open-plan layout, they have never had any concern about walking up to an equity partner, or even the senior partner, to ask a question.

The firm’s Heathervale House HQ, meanwhile, puts trainees in one of the country’s most attractive spa towns, with London still within commuting distance and the South East client base on the doorstep. For those after high-quality work without sacrificing quality of life, Tunbridge Wells has plenty to recommend it, from independent shops and cafés to leafy walks, historic architecture and a more relaxed pace than the City. The office itself was refurbished in recent years, with a modern, open-plan layout.

Insiders describe Heathervale House as a “very nice, sleek building” whose open-plan design works to its advantage. Its location also earns points: the office is close to Tunbridge Wells train station, opposite a large car park and within walking distance of the town centre and its lunch options. The culinary offering inside the building is somewhat less exciting, however. Recruits report a couple of vending machines and free tea and coffee, but no subsidised food, drinks or snacks.

The work-life balance more than makes up for any canteen shortcomings. “Very occasional late nights” can occur, but recruits stress that these are a rarity rather than an expectation. “Most teams do not expect you to go beyond your normal hours unless client need demands it,” one explains, while another notes that it is rare for them still to be working at 6:45pm. The social scene is a little more mixed. Juniors are said to be good at arranging things among themselves and there are “semi-regular social events”, although one source would like to see more firm-funded activities specifically for trainees.

Legal tech is another area where the reviews are less glowing. One recruit says TS&P invests in “the bare minimum to keep moving forwards”, while another describes technology as “a weakness of the firm”, citing its historically slow adoption of legal tech and AI. A 450-year-old firm was perhaps never going to be first out of the blocks, but trainees clearly think there is room to quicken the pace.

Overall, Thomson Snell & Passmore offers the chance to train at a firm with a genuinely unique history, a strong South East reputation, serious private client and Court of Protection firepower, and a growing commercial practice advising on everything from food brands and pet products to property, employment and family businesses. If you want a training contract with breadth, client contact and a little Elizabethan legal trivia thrown in, TS&P could be one to watch.