Travers Smith LLP

Overview

Travers Smith is a leading City law firm focused on high‑quality, partner-led advice across transactions, disputes & investigations and complex advisory matters. The firm positions itself as a trusted adviser to ambitious organisations, offering deep technical expertise combined with a collaborative, non‑hierarchical culture (including a distinctive room‑sharing model and no chargeable hours targets). Travers Smith emphasises long‑term client partnerships, strong specialist practices (notably in private capital, pensions, ESG and funds) and significant engagement on cross‑border and international matters.

• Headquarters: London
• Trainees: 35
• Offices: 2

Values & Culture

Practice Areas

• Corporate & M&A
• Private Equity & Venture Capital
• Investment Funds
• Banking & Finance
• Commercial Contracts
• Intellectual Property
• Technology & Digital
• Employment
• Pensions
• Tax
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation
• ESG & Sustainability
• Environment & Planning
• Real Estate
• Regulatory & Compliance
• Fraud & Investigations
• Infrastructure & Projects
• Financial Services & Regulation
• Sports Law

Geographic Focus: The firm is London‑centred with a strong UK focus while regularly working on cross‑border and international mandates. Travers Smith acts on multi‑jurisdictional matters and maintains close alliances with independent firms overseas to support global transactions and disputes.

Training Contract

Two‑year training contract consisting of four seats (rotations) across different departments. All trainees must complete one rotation in a Corporate department; the remaining rotations are spent across a spread of other departments. Seats are typically arranged to give broad commercial exposure and trainees work alongside partners and associates through the firm's room‑sharing model. Training includes partner‑led inductions at the start of each seat, ongoing seminars and Essentials to Practice (EFP) courses run with the firm's training provider.

• Starting Salary: Year 1: £55,000; Year 2: £60,000
• NQ Salary: £130,000 (basic) and discretionary bonus
• Trainee Intake: 35
• Qualification Rate: 75%
• Academic Requirements: Minimum A‑level requirement: AAB (or equivalent). Minimum degree requirement: 2:1 (or on track). The firm operates contextual recruitment via the Rare Recruitment CRS and considers mitigating circumstances.
• Application Deadline: 2025-11-07

Seat Options

• Corporate & M&A
• Private Equity & Venture Capital
• Investment Funds
• Banking & Finance
• Commercial Contracts
• Intellectual Property
• Technology & Digital
• Employment
• Pensions
• Tax
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation
• Real Estate
• Financial Services & Regulation
• Incentives & Remuneration
• Investigations

Sponsorship

PGDL/PGDL: firm pays all course fees for the PGDL (for non‑law students) and provides a maintenance grant of £13,500 (paid over three instalments). SQE: firm pays all SQE course fees (including exam costs) and provides a maintenance grant of £20,000 (paid over four instalments).

SQE Support

BPP is the firm's training provider for SQE / EFP courses. Travers Smith pays all SQE course fees and exam costs and provides a firm SQE programme (Essentials to Practice), with protected study time as outlined for trainees and apprentices. SQE financial support is provided (see sponsorship figures).

International Opportunities

International work is a core part of the trainee experience and trainees are exposed to complex cross‑border matters and collaboration with overseas firms.

Client Secondments

6% (chance of client secondment)

Mentorship

Trainees have dedicated supervisors for day‑to‑day guidance, a buddy system for junior support, HR and Learning & Development support, and regular contact with partners via the room‑sharing model. The Early Careers team and co‑heads of Early Careers provide recruitment and pastoral support.

Apply on the Travers Smith LLP website →

Programmes & Schemes

Notable Matters

What Travers Smith LLP Looks For

Key Competencies

• Commercial awareness
• Academic strength and intellectual rigour
• Clear‑headed judgement and practical sense
• Teamwork and communication
• Resilience and adaptability
• Motivation, curiosity and a positive, down‑to‑earth attitude
• Attention to detail and written skills

Evidence Signals

• Demonstrable commercial awareness (deal or sector knowledge)
• Relevant work experience or meaningful extracurriculars (legal or non‑legal)
• Pro bono or CSR engagement
• Experience or interest in ESG and sustainability
• Evidence of teamwork (e.g., group projects, societies, sports)
• International or cross‑border experience for transactional roles
• Use of legal tech or interest in innovation

Benefits & Wellbeing

• Trainee salary Year 1: £55,000
• Trainee salary Year 2: £60,000
• Newly qualified salary: £130,000 (basic) plus discretionary bonus
• PGDL maintenance grant: £13,500 (paid over three instalments) and firm pays PGDL course fees
• SQE maintenance grant: £20,000 (paid over four instalments) and firm pays SQE course fees and exam costs
• No chargeable hours targets / no annual billable hour targets
• Paid Summer Vacation Scheme: £750 per week
• Apprentice one‑off support payment: £3,000 (relocation or pre‑employment costs)
• Award‑winning, fully subsidised on‑site café (Braithwaites)
• Partner‑led training sessions, seminars and structured learning
• Comprehensive HR, Learning & Development and wellbeing support

Wellbeing

The firm emphasises wellbeing and personal growth: dedicated HR support, Learning & Development resources, a market‑leading benefits package, an award‑winning subsidised café to foster community, and firm‑wide wellbeing initiatives and support networks.

Awards & Recognition

• UK Pro Bono Initiative – Legal 500 ESG Awards 2025
• Pro Bono Initiative of the Year – The Lawyer Awards 2023
• Local Impact Award – PILnet Global Forum Awards 2023
• Innovation in Responsible Business – Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Europe Awards 2022
• Best AI Product – LegalCogX Awards 2022
• Firm of the Year 2022 – Legal Cheek Awards
• Pensions Law Firm of the Year – Pensions Age Awards 2025
• ESG Practice: Client Service prize – Legal ESG Awards 2025
• Various ‘Highly Commended’ and category awards across 2023–2025 (Corporate, Pro Bono, ESG and Innovation categories)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Firm is accredited under the UK Government's Disability Confident employer regime (Level 3 as stated on candidate support information). The firm emphasises social mobility, contextual recruitment via the Rare Recruitment Contextual Recruitment System (CRS), and a broad CSR and pro bono commitment across climate, diversity & social mobility, vulnerable groups and rule of law.

• Domestic Abuse Response Alliance
• Refugees at Home (RaH)
• JUSTICE (law reform and human rights charity) partnership
• GiveOut
• Just Like Us
• Foundervine
• STRIVE (social mobility programme)
• Colours Caribbean
• Green Tech Legal Collaborative (member)
• Travers Smith Foundation
• The LLP (LGBTQ+ leadership programme participation)
• Longstanding charity partnerships including Little Village and London Wildlife Trust (2025–2027)

Pro Bono

The firm has a dedicated Pro Bono Department. Key facts: pro bono hours have quadrupled over the past four years; the firm provided advice on 100 pro bono matters during 2025; Travers Smith led its largest pro bono project for JUSTICE comprising over 3,500 hours contributed by 70 lawyers and resulting in five reports (712 pages). The Pro Bono practice has won multiple industry awards and 65 lawyers were recognised in the 2025 Pro Bono Recognition List.

Innovation

Travers Smith invests in knowledge, legal tech and innovation to support client work and internal training. The firm runs practical toolkits (ESG Toolkit), client academies (ESG Academy) and has been recognised for AI/legal tech products. Insider ratings assign top marks to the firm's legal tech capability, indicating strong internal adoption and trainee engagement with technology and innovation initiatives.

• ESG Toolkit
• ESG Academy 2025 (free online training for clients)
• Green Tech Legal Collaborative (member; pro bono support to green tech startups)
• Awarded for AI/Legal tech products (LegalCogX / CogX recognition)
• Firm Knowledge & Learning programmes and integrated use of legal tech across practice areas

Quick Application Angles

• Reference the firm's room‑sharing model and no chargeable hour targets in applications or interviews to show you appreciate their collaborative culture and trainee learning style.
• Demonstrate commercial awareness of a recent Travers Smith deal (for example Tomoro / OpenAI or other recent private equity and funds work) and explain the practical commercial issues you see in that transaction.
• Highlight pro bono or social‑impact experience (especially in ESG, social mobility or vulnerable groups) given the firm's award‑winning pro bono programme and partnerships with JUSTICE, Green Tech Legal Collaborative and others.
• Mention interest in legal tech and innovation—trainee ratings give Travers Smith top marks for legal tech—link any technical or project experience to how it could add value to the firm.
• If applicable, reference the firm’s training support (PGDL/SQE funding and maintenance grants) and explain why a structured, partner‑led training environment with early responsibility suits your development.