Reed Smith LLP

Overview

Reed Smith is a global, full-service international law firm with a long commercial pedigree and an industry-focused approach. Founded in the 19th century, the firm combines multidisciplinary legal capabilities with sector expertise across Energy & Natural Resources, Financial Services, Entertainment & Media, Health Care & Life Sciences and Transportation. Reed Smith emphasises collaboration, pro bono impact and innovation (including a dedicated legal solutions/technology arm) and operates from a broad network of international offices to deliver coordinated cross-border advice.

• Founded: 1877
• Lawyers: 1,700
• Trainees: 24
• Offices: 31

Values & Culture

Practice Areas

• Energy & Natural Resources
• Media & Entertainment
• Financial Services & Regulation
• Healthcare & Life Sciences
• Transport & Logistics
• Banking & Finance
• Capital Markets
• Corporate & M&A
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation
• Employment
• International Arbitration
• Investment Funds
• Infrastructure & Projects
• Shipping & Maritime
• Technology & Digital
• Real Estate
• Regulatory & Compliance
• Private Equity & Venture Capital
• Insurance & Reinsurance
• Pensions
• Tax

Geographic Focus: Reed Smith operates a coordinated global platform with major hubs in London, New York, California (including Silicon Valley and Century City), Paris, Munich, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Middle East (Riyadh, Dubai, Abu Dhabi) and other gateway cities. The firm positions itself to handle cross-border transactions, regulatory work and international disputes, drawing on local market teams embedded in those jurisdictions and a centralised approach to industry-focused practice groups.

Training Contract

Reed Smith's training contract model offers multi-seat rotations (trainees typically undertake a series of supervised seats across practice and industry groups). Vacation scheme attendees experience practice/industry group seats and, if hired, trainees rotate through seats with an experienced supervisor and a trainee buddy. Apprentices and trainees rotate through four different departments at the later stage of apprenticeship/trainee programmes. The firm operates assessment centres, online assessments, written applications and on-demand video interviews as part of selection.

• Starting Salary: 5,000
• NQ Salary: 35,000
• Trainee Intake: 24
• Qualification Rate: 92%
• Academic Requirements: Minimum degree: 2:1 (the firm states it accepts non-law graduates and uses a potential-based assessment). No minimum A-level requirement is specified for most routes; solicitor apprenticeship entry requires ABB at A-Level (or equivalent) and seven GCSEs at grade 6 or above including Maths and English.
• Application Deadline: 2026-05-27

Seat Options

• Employment
• Transportation
• Global Commercial Disputes
• Financial Industry Group
• Corporate (Tax)
• Corporate/Competition
• Real Estate
• Entertainment & Media
• Energy & Natural Resources
• Labor, Employment & Benefits
• Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits
• Litigation & Disputes
• Regulatory
• Transactions

Sponsorship

Reed Smith will pay course fees for the GDL (if required) and the SQE; the firm also provides a maintenance grant of 3,000 (stated as 15,000 on site) to support trainees during qualification. Reed Smith explicitly sponsors GDL through BPP and SQE through the College of Legal Practice for those it hires prior to qualification.

SQE Support

Reed Smith sponsors trainees through the SQE and provides structured SQE preparation. The firm states it will sponsor SQE training with named providers and Reed Smith Academy works with regional providers (e.g., CLIP in the Middle East) to prepare candidates for SQE exams. The firm pays course fees for SQE training and supports Professional SQE placements.

International Opportunities

The firm highlights international secondments as a key feature of its early careers offering and advertises international office secondments. Supplementary data indicates chances of secondment abroad at approximately 8% for trainees; the firm also describes client and international secondments as part of development opportunities.

Client Secondments

The firm offers client secondments as part of its development programme. Supplementary data indicates chances of client secondments at approximately 25% for trainees. Trainees have historically done secondments with clients and at international offices as part of development.

Mentorship

Trainees are assigned an experienced supervisor in each seat and a trainee buddy for informal guidance. The firm offers mentor support via its Early Careers and Learning & Development functions and provides access to mentors through initiatives such as the Reed Smith Academy and trainee networks.

Apply on the Reed Smith LLP website →

Programmes & Schemes

Notable Matters

What Reed Smith LLP Looks For

Key Competencies

• Commercial awareness
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Resilience and adaptability
• Attention to detail
• Intellectual curiosity
• Client service orientation
• Strong communication and presentation skills
• Commitment to inclusion and pro bono

Evidence Signals

• Commercial or industry-relevant work experience (internships, paralegal roles)
• Pro bono or volunteering experience
• International experience or language skills for global practice
• Demonstrable teamwork (e.g., moot, societies, project work)
• Engagement with technology/innovation (for tech-focused seats)

Benefits & Wellbeing

• First year trainee salary: 5,000
• Second year trainee salary: 6,000
• NQ salary: 35,000
• Pgdl/SQE support: course fees paid for GDL and SQE
• Maintenance grant: 15,000
• 25 daysannual holiday
• Permanent health insurance
• Private medical insurance (option in flexible benefits)
• Dental insurance
• Life insurance
• Contributory pension scheme
• Season ticket loan
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounted gym membership
• Subsidised cafeteria
• Restaurant card
• Travel insurance
• Health screening
• Childcare vouchers (flexible benefits)
• Critical illness cover (flexible benefits)
• Staff introduction bonus
• Conveyance fees reimbursed for domestic conveyance
• Lifestyle discounts and concierge service
• Give as you earn (GAYE)
• Paid for work during Professional SQE placements

Wellbeing

Private medical and health screening options, access to contributory pension, lifestyle and wellbeing discounts, employee networks and events; the firm runs wellbeing and inclusion programmes and provides reasonable adjustments and recruitment-stage support for candidates with disabilities.

Awards & Recognition

• LawWorks Pro Bono Awards – Best Contribution by a Large Firm (2023)
• Legal 500 Asia Pacific – 19 practice area recognitions (2026)
• Chambers FinTech guide – Band 1 recognition for a Singapore partner (2024)
• Best Law Firms™ - France – 19 Tier 1 / Metropolitan Tier 1 recognitions (2025)
• Ranked in Chambers Global and Chambers UK across multiple practices and lawyers (2023–2026)
• FT Innovative Lawyer Europe – recognition for pro bono-related innovation (2023)
• Named among Best Lawyers® UK guide listings for multiple lawyers (2024–2025)
• Multiple pro bono awards and high rankings from Law.com (2023–2025)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Reed Smith commits to pro bono advocacy, sustainability initiatives and advancing inclusion; the firm publishes UK gender pay gap figures and additional diversity data for UK lawyers as required by the SRA and highlights targeted inclusion programming and accessibility adjustments in recruitment and development.

• Domestic Abuse Response Alliance (DARA)
• Rule 39 Pro Bono Initiative
• Refugee Protection Project
• Kids In Need of Defense UK (KIND UK)
• Prisoners' Advice Service project
• Refugee Rescue partnership
• Human Rights at Sea collaboration
• LEADRS (Disability Business Inclusion Group)
• Reed Smith pro bono strategy days and regional pro bono leadership

Pro Bono

70,000 pro bono hours contributed in 2024 (valued at over US$50 million). Around 600 individuals assisted annually; legal advice provided to over 300 charities/non-profits each year; 140 billable-credit pro bono hours available per lawyer annually. Headed globally by M. Patrick Yingling with regional leadership including Becca Naylor (Pro Bono Partner EMEAL).

Innovation

Reed Smith invests in legal technology and alternative delivery through Gravity Stack and Reed Smith Legal Solutions (including CLM and AI-enabled contract review services). The firm offers AI-powered extraction tools, CLM readiness and technology selection services, and positions legal engineering and technology exposure as part of apprenticeships and operational placements. Trainees and apprentices may gain experience with legal technology teams as part of rotations and placements.

• Gravity Stack (big law tech subsidiary)
• Reed Smith Global Solutions
• Reed Smith Legal Solutions (Contract Life Cycle Services)
• AI-powered contract review and CLM advisory
• Legal Business & AI Consulting and Forensics & Investigations tech work

Quick Application Angles

• Highlight recent cross-border transactions (for example, advising Tripadvisor on the proposed sale of TheFork) and explain what commercial legal issues you found most interesting about that type of deal.
• Emphasise commitment to pro bono and social impact—reference Reed Smith’s large pro bono output and awards (LawWorks recognition) and give concrete examples of your own pro bono or volunteering experience.
• Show commercial curiosity about an industry the firm focuses on (e.g., Financial Services, Energy, Media) and tie that to any relevant academic, internship or extracurricular experience.
• Demonstrate awareness of the firm’s training approach: mention the potential-based assessment, willingness to support SQE/GDL sponsorship, and the trainee-buddy/supervisor model when explaining why you’re a cultural fit.
• If applying for technology/FinTech or data roles, note the firm’s innovation initiatives (Gravity Stack, Reed Smith Legal Solutions, AI/CLM work) and briefly describe any practical tech experience or projects you have undertaken.