TCLA Spring & Summer Vacation Scheme Thread 2026

[CharlesT47]

Hi all, are there any resources on research tasks? Does anybody have any examples of a Vac Scheme Research task that I could try to do for practise? Anyone want to collaborate and do one together on some random technical part of law where we can then compare/ comment on each other's work?

 

[lucky2]

Hi @Abbie Whitlock, hope you are having a nice day! How do you recommend preparing for a vac scheme and what are the typical tasks you will be asked to do? I am assuming some drafting and research? I am very worried about how to approach these kind of tasks. I am not even sure where to start. This is my first ever vac scheme so feeling a bit lost and doubting my capabilities

Are tasks generally time pressured like written exercises during ACs? I find that in ACs they give you a lot of information to go over in a short amount of time, which makes it hard to feel like you have fully completed something to the best of your abilities.

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

Hi all, are there any resources on research tasks? Does anybody have any examples of a Vac Scheme Research task that I could try to do for practise? Anyone want to collaborate and do one together on some random technical part of law where we can then compare/ comment on each other's work?

Hello!

This is a great question, and I always found that it is quite tricky to prepare for research tasks as there aren't many official examples or resources out there.

I've had a think about the tasks that I was given on my vacation schemes, and I remember receiving the following research tasks in these departments:

• Construction team: research into the Building Safety Act 2022 and how it affected "high-rise blocks of flats"
• Residential property team: research into bona vacantia and into the Duchy of Cornwall
• IP team: research into how AI is affecting things such as copyrights and trademarks, including recent legal cases (e.g. Getty Images v Stability AI)

Often, your supervisor will give you some specific questions that they would like you to address in your research. Therefore, if that is the case, I would structure your piece of work around those questions and ensure that you answer them all (if you can). If the task you are given is more general, then you can then practise structuring your answer along the lines of:

• Brief introduction and context
• Clear explanation of the law or issue
• Application to the scenario (if relevant)
• Conclusion

Therefore, in terms of practice, it might be helpful to take one of the topics above and prepare a brief document that answers a specific question, or research it more broadly and write a concise document that ties it all together. For example, you could turn it into something such as a fake task that states: "Could you do some research and write a brief note that I can use to advise a client on how the Building Safety Act 2022 impacts their obligations as a developer of high-rise residential buildings?". This way, you are practising both research and how you then apply that knowledge to specific questions.

Also, if you have access to platforms like Westlaw or Lexis, even just picking a topic and trying to pull together a 1-2 page note from primary sources can be really good practice too!

 

[Abbie Whitlock]

Hi @Abbie Whitlock, hope you are having a nice day! How do you recommend preparing for a vac scheme and what are the typical tasks you will be asked to do? I am assuming some drafting and research? I am very worried about how to approach these kind of tasks. I am not even sure where to start. This is my first ever vac scheme so feeling a bit lost and doubting my capabilities

Are tasks generally time pressured like written exercises during ACs? I find that in ACs they give you a lot of information to go over in a short amount of time, which makes it hard to feel like you have fully completed something to the best of your abilities.

Hello!

I am having a good day, thank you - I hope you are too!! Congratulations on the vacation scheme, that is amazing news!

In terms of preparing for the scheme, I would try not to worry too much about doing lots! The main things that I would focus on are:

• Having a solid understanding of the firm (e.g. their key practice areas, recent deals, commercial awareness of their specific sectors, etc.)
• If you know your seat, doing a bit of background reading so that you are familiar with key terms and concepts
• Thinking of a few questions that you'd like to ask / learn about during the scheme

You are not expected to come in with lots of technical legal knowledge, particularly as the scheme has to be accessible for non-law students. The scheme itself is designed for you to learn, so your approach matters far more! In terms of tasks, I would say that you are bang on and they are often things like:

• Research tasks (e.g. looking into a legal issue or recent updates and summarising it)
• Drafting (emails, short notes, sometimes basic clauses in a contract)
• Proofreading or document review
• Sometimes more commercial-style / business development tasks (e.g. preparing an article that discusses a recent legal case)

The most important thing is often how you approach them, rather than whether you get everything right first time. A few things that helped me with tasks during my vacation schemes:

• Make sure that you fully understand the task, and if anything is unclear, it is completely fine (and often encouraged) to ask clarifying questions. Your supervisor would rather you ask a clarifying question, rather than not fully address what they were asking for.
• Do focused research - don't try to include everything, just what is most relevant. At the start, I was including things that weren't directly relevant as I worried that it might be useful for my supervisor to have that information anyway. However, I would ensure that you only include things relevant to the question being asked, and you can always (+ probably should) include a list of sources that you used, so your supervisor can find this information if needed.
• Structure your answer clearly (e.g. intro -> main point -> conclusion) and keep it concise and easy to read. At the end of the day, they are delegating the task to save themselves some time, so you want to ensure that they have easy access to the information they need.

On timing, I personally found vacation scheme tasks had less time pressure than AC written exercises. ACs are designed to test you under pressure, so they often give you lots of information in a short amount of time. However, on a vacation scheme, you'll usually have more time and supervisors are generally more flexible (i.e. depending on the nature of the task, you might have a few hours or a couple days to complete it). The most important part is that you confirm the deadline when you receive the task, and always communicate if anything comes up that means you might not be able to complete it in time. They are usually happy for you to check in if you are unsure about timing or expectations!

A vacation scheme is a learning experience so, whilst you are being assessed and should produce the best work you can, it is much more about your thought process, effort, and how you take on feedback, rather than whether your work was "perfect". You aren't expected to know everything, and asking questions is a good thing and actively encouraged - try to learn as much as you can throughout the scheme to make the most of it!

You have already done incredibly well to receive the vacation scheme offer, and they definitely would not have picked you if they didn't think you were capable. It might feel overwhelming now, but once you get started, it becomes much more manageable. It is often the unknown that makes you nervous!

Wishing you the best of luck - I'm sure you'll do great!!

 

[lucky2]

Hello!

I am having a good day, thank you - I hope you are too!! Congratulations on the vacation scheme, that is amazing news!

In terms of preparing for the scheme, I would try not to worry too much about doing lots! The main things that I would focus on are:

• Having a solid understanding of the firm (e.g. their key practice areas, recent deals, commercial awareness of their specific sectors, etc.)
• If you know your seat, doing a bit of background reading so that you are familiar with key terms and concepts
• Thinking of a few questions that you'd like to ask / learn about during the scheme

You are not expected to come in with lots of technical legal knowledge, particularly as the scheme has to be accessible for non-law students. The scheme itself is designed for you to learn, so your approach matters far more! In terms of tasks, I would say that you are bang on and they are often things like:

• Research tasks (e.g. looking into a legal issue or recent updates and summarising it)
• Drafting (emails, short notes, sometimes basic clauses in a contract)
• Proofreading or document review
• Sometimes more commercial-style / business development tasks (e.g. preparing an article that discusses a recent legal case)

The most important thing is often how you approach them, rather than whether you get everything right first time. A few things that helped me with tasks during my vacation schemes:

• Make sure that you fully understand the task, and if anything is unclear, it is completely fine (and often encouraged) to ask clarifying questions. Your supervisor would rather you ask a clarifying question, rather than not fully address what they were asking for.
• Do focused research - don't try to include everything, just what is most relevant. At the start, I was including things that weren't directly relevant as I worried that it might be useful for my supervisor to have that information anyway. However, I would ensure that you only include things relevant to the question being asked, and you can always (+ probably should) include a list of sources that you used, so your supervisor can find this information if needed.
• Structure your answer clearly (e.g. intro -> main point -> conclusion) and keep it concise and easy to read. At the end of the day, they are delegating the task to save themselves some time, so you want to ensure that they have easy access to the information they need.

On timing, I personally found vacation scheme tasks had less time pressure than AC written exercises. ACs are designed to test you under pressure, so they often give you lots of information in a short amount of time. However, on a vacation scheme, you'll usually have more time and supervisors are generally more flexible (i.e. depending on the nature of the task, you might have a few hours or a couple days to complete it). The most important part is that you confirm the deadline when you receive the task, and always communicate if anything comes up that means you might not be able to complete it in time. They are usually happy for you to check in if you are unsure about timing or expectations!

A vacation scheme is a learning experience so, whilst you are being assessed and should produce the best work you can, it is much more about your thought process, effort, and how you take on feedback, rather than whether your work was "perfect". You aren't expected to know everything, and asking questions is a good thing and actively encouraged - try to learn as much as you can throughout the scheme to make the most of it!

You have already done incredibly well to receive the vacation scheme offer, and they definitely would not have picked you if they didn't think you were capable. It might feel overwhelming now, but once you get started, it becomes much more manageable. It is often the unknown that makes you nervous!

Wishing you the best of luck - I'm sure you'll do great!!

Thank you so much Abbie!