Travers Smith LLP - True Picture

Travers Smith training contract review 2025 

The Firm 

“The most common thing you hear about Travers Smith is its reputation for good training,” said one trainee right off the bat when asked about their reasons for choosing the firm. It sounds almost trivial – after all, the ‘training contract’ name kind of gives it away – but it’s something that applicants should seriously consider when picking where to kick-start their career. And, at Travers, interviewees certainly felt they were in safe hands. Much of this is down to the firm’s room-sharing system, where trainees share a room with several senior lawyers, usually including a partner, senior associate and a more junior associate. Training principal Louisa Chambers notes how “it’s a really lovely way of working. Rather than putting on your headphones and getting to work, you get to know and build up little traditions with a small group. It’s one of the best ways to support each other at work.” From the trainees’ perspective, meanwhile, it “humanises the partners,” opening up opportunities for extra training and mentoring while “breaking down barriers between seniors and juniors.” 

This means that newbies get a first-hand look into the work that Travers does, which interviewees described as “a dual engine of corporate and disputes” that offers “a real range of experience.” Indeed, Chambers explains that “Travers has always been a corporate powerhouse and has been known for that kind of work for decades.” As such, the corporate work was a big draw for many trainees, but it’s by no means the entirety of the firm’s practice. As Chambers outlines, “the dispute resolution practice is also thriving,” and Travers is also “becoming increasingly known for our pragmatic and business-focused advice on compliance and regulatory matters,” particularly within financial services. 

“You get to work on interesting, high-profile matters but can still have a life outside of work.” 

This reputation is backed up by the firm’s presence in the Chambers UK guide, where it gets top marks for its London corporate/M&A and pensions practices, as well as its national commercial contracts work. The firm is also recognised in environment & climate change and a range of financial practices, such as banking & finance, capital markets and regulatory financial services. The Chambers Europe guide has given its gold stamp of approval to Travers’ mid-market corporate/M&A practice, too! Needless to say, trainees are certainly surrounded by some of the crème de la crème that the City has to offer, but still found that “you don’t have a horrendous life here working all hours of the day. You get to work on interesting, high-profile matters but can still have a life outside of work.” If this all sounds up your street, read on… 

The Seats 

Before starting their training contract, newbies are asked to rank around five seat choices, which they can update with each round of seat allocation. “You have the chance to express a strong preference for certain options if you want,” one trainee assured us. “People are happy with the system on the whole. I didn’t get my top choice this time around but I’m still really, really enjoying it – it’s worked out well!” Out of the options available, all trainees must do a corporate seat and a contentious seat, such as dispute resolution or employment. One international secondment is also available in each rotation over in the firm’s Paris office for trainees looking to try some corporate work overseas. 

“Exposure ranges from smaller million-pound matters to multibillion-dollar deals.” 

The firm’s corporate offering for trainees spanscorporate M&A andequity capital markets(CME), and private equity and financial sponsors (PEFS). Trainees who had done a seat with the capital markets team explained that the matters are “very fast-paced and the stakes are high, so there’s plenty of supervision.” However, there are still opportunities for trainees to blossom in this seat, as we heard that “people want you to learn, and they don’t want to just give you admin stuff.” So, alongside classic due diligence tasks, trainees are also kept busy drafting ancillary documents, handling signature pages and coordinating signing processes. Some more “interesting” work might see trainees travelling across the UK to submit documents before a midnight deadline! Overall, trainees appreciated the variety of deals flowing through the team, telling us about how “exposure ranges from smaller million-pound matters to multibillion-dollar deals.” For example, Travers recently advised Zegona Communications on its €300 million equity fund-raiser for its proposed €5 billion acquisition of Vodafone Spain. 

Private equity and financial sponsors is one of Travers’ core practices, and the team works on all sorts of transactions. To give you a flavour of the type of work, Travers advised private equity firm Inflexion on its £342 million takeover of global law firm DWF. Such large-scale matters are commonplace in the team, and newbies mentioned that “it’s a really good seat for trainees. You’re involved in everything that happens and get to learn a lot really quickly.” On their deals, trainees typically draft ancillary documents, help with due diligence, manage signing checklists and carry out know-your-client workflows. When not swept up in the drama of a closing matter, trainees handle the transfer of shares within companies that clients have already acquired. 

In financial services and markets, trainees reportedly “feel like a real lawyer because you’re actually looking at law and regulations, and clients are asking for your legal interpretation of them.” As such, this seat comes with plenty of advisory work, often with asset managers who have questions about the impacts of new legislation. A large part of the department’s recent work has involved advising clients operating in the EU on compliance with the disclosure requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Recently, lawyers in the department assisted RTGS.global in tackling the legal and regulatory issues associated with its new cross-border payment system. According to trainees, this side of the law is “very complex” and one trainee “was reliably told when I first started that it would be one of the hardest departments to work in as it’s so technical!” So, newbies who are up for the challenge can make the most of “getting out of my comfort zone – that’s how you learn, after all.” For example, trainees are invited to in-person client meetings, but also assist with drafting, putting together presentations and checking disclosure agreements. 

“… you might find yourself running matters on your own.” 

Trainees in finance split their time between fund finance and leveraged finance. In the former, trainees mostly draft and review ancillary documents, and conduct due diligence on funds companies. Work is similar in leveraged finance, but “in a different context and is especially process-driven,” so newbies are kept busy drafting facility agreements and working with specific ancillary documents. You’ll find plenty of household names in the list of clients here, and the team recently assisted HSBC with the financing for Horizon Capital’s acquisition of an environment consultancy. As it’s such a fast-paced seat with closings happening left, right and centre, insiders found that responsibility also came quickly. One source advised that “organisation is key as you might find yourself running matters on your own.” There’s supervision, of course, but trainees appreciated being given “a lot of ownership of matters, and being trusted to handle things like signings on your own. It’s one of the best things about the team.” 

Though Travers might be better known for its corporate work, its dispute resolutiondepartment has been making the headlines recently. For example, the team represented Craig Wright in a series of disputes against the Crypto Open Patent Alliance concerning the true identity of Bitcoin’s pseudonymous founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, and the associated IP rights. Additionally, Travers was commissioned by NatWest to produce multiple incident reports into the ‘de-banking’ of Nigel Farage and the potential breach of confidentiality relating to his private information. As such, trainees in this seat can certainly get an insight into “some of the more interesting and quirky work Travers can do.” This means that newbie tasks are “endless, so there’s no limit to what you could be helping with!” Interviewees had the chance to help with legal research, draft letters and work with barristers, and some even got to attend hearings at the Supreme Court. 

Trainee Life 

When it comes to the firm’s culture, one trainee boldly stated, “I’m not going to tell you a bad story because I haven’t got one. All the teams I’ve been in have been great.” This was a sentiment shared by many of our interviewees, one of whom added, “I don’t get the Sunday scaries! I enjoy coming in.” Overall, trainees were relieved that Travers doesn’t fit the stereotype of a big, scary law firm, and is a place where “people don’t look down on you,” even when you’re at the most junior stage of your legal career. There are also regular socials which are generally organised by trainees and individual departments. The finance team got a special shout-out here for its “work hard, play hard” vibe, welcoming its trainees with plenty of socials! 

Hours can typically vary across departments, but trainees reckoned that an average working day starts at 9am and finishes at around 7pm. Finance in particular reportedly comes with longer hours, but interviewees valued the team effort nonetheless, even going so far as to say “late nights can be enjoyable!” Newbies in the PEFS team, for example, explained that “you stay on until a deal is done. That can mean finishing anywhere between 2 and 4am sometimes.” Despite this, insiders were generally satisfied with the salary, noting how “it’s enough to live and have a good time in London. It would be ridiculous to ask for more as a trainee because we’re paid really well for the amount of work we’re asked to do.” 

“Breakfast, lunch and dinner are free… and delicious.” 

Trainees have to be in the office four times a week, but insiders assured us that “they don’t die by that rule. They’re understanding about the odd day here and there.” There are certainly enough perks for those who do come in, however, but we heard that the best is “undoubtedly the food! Breakfast, lunch and dinner are free… and delicious.” The office space also allows for day-to-day socialising as people will often sit together in the canteen for meals and coffee catch-ups. Interviewees appreciated the firm’s more unusual benefits, too, such as partially subsidised music lessons in the office and the option to have a massage at your desk – we’ll try not to be too jealous of that one! Travers is also scheduled for an office move at the end of 2025 to Stonecutter Court between Farringdon and Blackfriars. 

We heard that the firm’s pro bono practice is “very active” and “can be trainee-led.” Trainees can take part in legal clinics, andpraised the experience for helping them connect with people across the firm and develop as budding lawyers. Interestingly, the firm’s director of pro bono, Sam Cottman, founded the Domestic Abuse Response Alliance, which works with firms across the City to provide legal support for victims of domestic violence. There are also opportunities on the CSR side, such as helping schoolchildren with their reading. 

When it comes to supervision and appraisals, sources explained that Travers takes more of a formal approach. There’s no shortage of reviews, and trainees sit down with their supervisors during and at the end of every seat, and again with the training principal between rotations. Trainees are typically supervised by the partner with whom they share an office, and most of their work comes from that partner or another associate in the room. On top of this, however, trainees had plenty of praise for the training on offer. Again, there are lots of formal sessions, some of which are trainee-wide, while others are hosted by dedicated knowledge lawyers in individual departments. 

“Most people have trained here and stayed here.” 

Trainees should “express their enthusiasm” to the departments they’d like to join before submitting a ranked list of preferences for qualification. There’s no formal application, but HR and departments together decide on NQ allocation based on trainees’ performance throughout the TC. We heard that the firm makes an effort to pair trainees with the departments they want – “almost like a dating app!” one source quipped – in an effort to retain as many trainees as possible. In 2024, Travers retained 26 out of 34 qualifiers.When it comes to long-term retention, on the other hand, insiders had noticed that Travers partners have been particularly popular in the wider lateral recruitment market, and were quick to note that “there’s a reason all these firms want our partners.” Despite the hot competition, trainees were reassured by the fact that “most people have trained here and stayed here.” 

How to get a Travers Smith training contract

Direct training contract process deadline: 1 November 2024

Summer vacation scheme deadline: 16 January 2025

Travers Smith has up to 40 training contracts on offer and typically recruits most of its trainees through its vacation schemes. However, this year the firm is also running a direct training contract process.

The application for both the Direct Process and the Vacation Schemes begins with a covering letter and CV-style information, and the firm generally receives around 3,000 of these each year. “There are no psychometric tests or any of that rubbish,” one interviewee told us. Historically, prospective trainees needed a minimum of AAB at A level and a 2:1 degree (or 2:1 grades to date) to get a look in, but the firm told us that, while grades remain important, they use contextualised recruitment software and take into account mitigating circumstances, so this is no longer a hard requirement.

Those whose applications impress – generally around 130 – are invited to a one-on-one partner or senior counsel interview. According to our sources, "the firm looks for people who can display structure and logical thinking, hold a debate and show they can think on their feet."

From here, the firm chooses its vac schemers, who attend workshops, talks and also get to network and socialise with partners, senior counsel, associates, trainees and graduate recruitment at various lunches and evening events.

A recent trainee had this advice for impressing during the vac scheme: “Relax into the atmosphere and try to be enthusiastic." Another said: “Show that you're bright, ambitious and calm under pressure, but don't take yourself too seriously.”

Those who still want to pursue a training contract after their scheme can resubmit their application for consideration where they are evaluated on their performance during their placement.