Travers Smith LLP
Overview
Travers Smith is a London-headquartered city law firm known for advising publicly listed and private companies, financial institutions, private equity players and alternative asset managers on complex, often cross-border transactions, disputes and regulatory matters. The firm blends a partner-led approach with sector specialism in areas such as private capital, asset management, pensions and ESG, and markets itself on combining commercial pragmatism with deeper industry knowledge. Travers Smith has a compact international footprint centered on its London base and a Brussels office, and is regularly instructed on large-scale fund, finance, pensions and corporate matters.
- Headquarters: London, 3 Stonecutter Street
- Partners: 40+
- Trainees: 35
- Offices: 2
Values & Culture
Practice Areas
- Corporate & M&A
- Private Equity & Venture Capital
- Investment Funds
- Banking & Finance
- Capital Markets
- Financial Services & Regulation
- Pensions
- Tax
- Employment
- Intellectual Property
- Technology & Digital
- ESG & Sustainability
- Real Estate
- Dispute Resolution & Litigation
- Insolvency & Restructuring
- Competition & Antitrust
- Infrastructure & Projects
- Regulatory & Compliance
- Commercial Contracts
- Fraud & Investigations
- Sports Law
- Environment & Planning
Geographic Focus: London-centred UK firm with a Brussels office and a cross-border practice. The firm acts for UK and international listed companies, private equity and alternative asset managers and lenders on matters spanning the UK, mainland Europe and international markets; its work frequently involves cross-border fund, finance and M&A transactions and EU/UK regulatory issues (notably in funds, pensions and ESG).
Training Contract
Direct Training Contract (Summer 2026)
- Starting Salary: £55,000 (Year 1); £60,000 (Year 2)
- NQ Salary: £130,000
- Trainee Intake: 35
- Qualification Rate: 75%
- Academic Requirements: Minimum degree: 2:1. Minimum A-level requirement: AAB (insider data)
- Application Deadline: 2026-05-29
Sponsorship
PGDL/PGDL grant: £13,500; SQE grant: £20,000 (insider data)
SQE Support
SQE grant: £20,000 (insider data)
International Opportunities
0%
Client Secondments
6% of trainees undertake client secondments (insider data: 6%)
Programmes & Schemes
Firm runs a vacation scheme as part of its early careers recruitment (award-winning scheme recognition listed on the firm's pages).
Solicitor apprenticeship route to qualification; the firm lists solicitor apprenticeship as an early careers route and provides a contact email for apprenticeship queries.
A free online training programme led by experts from across the firm, designed for clients and close contacts to build ESG capability; registration available for participants and the firm uses the programme to convene an ESG community.
Notable Matters
Advised Bain Capital Credit on the $1.5 billion closing of its third CLO Captive Equity Fund. The transaction represents a major capital raise/closing in structured credit and demonstrates the firm's capabilities on large-scale fund closings and structured finance arrangements.
Investment Funds
Advised lenders to Arcus Infrastructure Partners on the financing for Wifinity. The matter involved infrastructure finance and debt structuring for an infrastructure-backed investment.
Infrastructure & Projects
Advised Stifel in relation to Mortgage Advice Bureau's move from AIM to the Main Market, covering aspects of capital markets, admission documentation and regulatory compliance associated with a market transfer.
Capital Markets
Acted for corporate brokers Peel Hunt and Stifel on Young's transition from AIM to the Main Market, supporting equity capital markets and listing processes.
Capital Markets
Advised Cerberus Capital Management on the acquisition of Lendco Limited, supporting private equity transactional execution and related commercial, regulatory and financing matters.
Corporate & M&A
Advised Investec on the final closing of Investec Private Debt Fund II, demonstrating expertise in private credit fund formation and fund finance work for institutional asset managers.
Investment Funds
Advised the Trustee of the British Steel Pension Scheme on a series of insurance transactions that resulted in insuring scheme liabilities up to £7.5bn—among the largest pension risk transfer/de-risking transactions and a major pensions-sector mandate.
Pensions
Advised Greenfield, the investment vehicle of Andrea Radrizzani, on the sale of their stake in Leeds United FC to 49ers Enterprises, combining sports-sector, corporate and governance advice on a high-profile club ownership transaction.
Sports Law
What Travers Smith LLP Looks For
Key Competencies
- Commercial awareness and interest in clients' sectors (private equity/asset management/funds)
- Teamwork and collaborative approach
- Attention to detail and technical rigour
- Resilience and professionalism under pressure
- Commitment to pro bono, ESG and social impact
- Strong communication and client-handling skills
- Academic excellence (minimum 2:1 and AAB at A-level as indicated by entry requirements)
Evidence Signals
- Relevant commercial work experience (funds/private equity/finance/commercial contracts)
- Pro bono or volunteering experience
- Experience or interest in ESG / sustainability work
- Client-facing internships or secondments
- Strong academic record (2:1 degree and AAB A-levels)
- Demonstrable teamwork (e.g., mooting, societies, group projects)
Benefits & Wellbeing
- Trainee salary: £55,000 (Year 1) and £60,000 (Year 2) (insider data)
- NQ salary: £130,000 (insider data)
- PGDL grant: £13,500 (insider data)
- SQE grant: £20,000 (insider data)
- Annual leave: 27 days (insider data)
- No annual target/billable hours (insider data: 'No targets')
- Firm accredited Living Wage Employer
- Stonewall Top 25 employer recognition (top 25)
- Level 3 Disability Confident employer accreditation
- Average typical start time: 09:07; average finish time: 19:30 (insider data)
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
- Impact on Society - Pensions Management Institute (PMI) Pinnacle Awards 2022
- Innovation in Responsible Business - Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Europe Awards 2022
- Firm of the year 2022 - Legal Cheek Awards
- Best Vacation Scheme and Most Sustainable Recruitment Campaign - AllAboutLaw Awards 2022
- Best AI Product - LegalCogX Awards 2022
- Ranked as one of the Top 15 most innovative law firms in Europe - FT Innovative Lawyers Report 2021
- Pensions Law Firm of the Year - Pensions Age Awards 2025
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Accredited Living Wage Employer; Government Disability Confident Level 3 accreditation; Stonewall Top 25 employer recognition; long-term charity and pro bono partnerships; founding pro bono panel membership of the Impact Investing Institute (and multiple formal charity partnerships).
- Domestic Abuse Response Alliance
- Refugees at Home (RaH)
- The Chancery Lane Project
- WWF-UK (pro bono relationship)
- Green Tech Legal Collaborative (member)
- JUSTICE (longstanding partnership)
- GiveOut
- Just Like Us
- Foundervine
- STRIVE
- Colours Caribbean
- Travers Smith Foundation
- Corporate social responsibility programmes (community engagement, paid work experience and widening access)
Pro Bono
Dedicated Pro Bono Department led by Sam Cottman (Head of Pro Bono) and Priya Bansal (Senior Associate). Firm pro bono pillars: Climate, environment and sustainability; Diversity, inclusion and social mobility; Vulnerable groups; Rule of Law. Key facts: pro bono hours have quadrupled over the past 4 years; provided advice on 100 pro bono matters in 2025; 65 lawyers recognised in the 2025 Pro Bono Recognition List; firm has delivered major projects such as the large-scale JUSTICE racial justice research project (over 3,500 hours from 70 lawyers producing five reports totalling 712 pages). Pro-b
Innovation
Travers Smith invests in knowledge tools and practical tech-enabled solutions (ESG Toolkit, ESG timeline, ESG Academy) and has received industry awards for AI/tech products. Insider data rates the firm A* for legal tech, indicating strong internal investment in technology. The firm combines legal-technical expertise with tools and client-facing resources to support ESG, funds and alternative asset clients.
- ESG Toolkit
- ESG Academy
- ESG and Impact Library
- ESG timeline
- Green Tech Legal Collaborative (membership/support)
- Firm-awarded AI/legal tech products (award recognition for AI products)
Quick Application Angles
- Reference the firm's sector focus (private equity, funds, pensions) — mention a recent deal such as the Bain Capital Credit $1.5bn closing or Investec Private Debt Fund II to show you’ve researched its transactional strengths.
- Highlight commercial experience and ESG or pro bono engagement — Travers Smith runs high-profile pro bono work (e.g., the JUSTICE racial justice project) and an ESG Academy, so emphasise relevant pro bono, sustainability or impact work you’ve done.
- Stress partner-ready client mindset and collaborative examples — the firm is partner-led and rated highly by insiders for partner approachability and peer support, so give examples where you worked directly with senior stakeholders or led parts of a project.
- If applying for a funds/asset management role, evidence technical knowledge of fund structures or private credit and demonstrate awareness of regulatory and capital markets issues the firm handles.
- Note the firm’s training investment (PGDL and SQE grants) and competitive trainee package — showing understanding of training support and referencing the firm’s A* training and legal tech grades can help your application stand out.
Apply to Travers Smith LLP with Confidence
Use YourLegalLadder's AI-powered TC Application Copilot to decode Travers Smith LLP's questions and generate firm-specific, evidence-backed outlines.
Start Your Application Free