Becoming a trainee solicitor

Talking. Specifics.

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Overview

Our application process is refreshingly straightforward: just an online form, including a cover letter and details of your grades and experience - no psychometric tests or unlikely heroics required. We want to get to know the real you, so focus on sharing your motivation for a legal career and why you want to train at Travers Smith.

Apply online at Travers Smith | Careers for Training Contracts starting from September 2029 and onwards, with earlier start dates available. There are three routes to gaining a Training Contract at Travers Smith.

  • Winter Direct Training Contract Process
    Applications Open 18 September 2026 – 16 October 2026 (at midday) for Training Contracts beginning in September 2027. To be eligible to apply, candidates will need to have completed or currently be undertaking the SQE/LPC.

  • Spring Direct Training Contract Process
    Applications Open 16 October 2026 – 15 January 2027 (at midday) for Training Contracts beginning in September 2028 and onwards.

  • Summer Vacation Scheme Processes
    Applications Open 16 October 2026 – 15 January 2027 (at midday) for Training Contracts beginning in September 2028 and onwards.

At Travers Smith, our Summer Vacation Scheme and Direct Training Contract offer two paths that lead to the same destination. Whether you immerse yourself in the firm on a Vacation Scheme or apply directly through our Recruitment Days, your chances at securing a Training Contract remain the same. Take the time to consider which process best suits your circumstances; you’ll find all the details below to help you make an informed choice.

  1. Eligibility
  2. Routes to Training Contract
  3. Salaries

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Eligibility

Our minimum criteria is AAB at A-level or equivalent and a 2:1 undergraduate degree (or on track for this), however we take into account contextual information and mitigating circumstances.

The contextual information for an application is provided via Rare Recruitments Contextual Recruitment System (or CRS). This CRS highlights candidates to us who have achieved impressive results taking into account certain disadvantages they may have faced. 

We take law and non-law students for our Vacation Schemes and Direct Training Contract Processes, with genuinely no preference for one over the other.

Routes to Training Contract

Winter Direct Training Contract

  • Apply

    September / October

  • Virtual Interview

    November

  • Recruitment Day

    December

  • Final in-person Interview

    January

The Direct Training Contract process is more condensed than a Vacation Scheme. You'll begin with our usual online application and cover letter, before successful candidates are invited for a first-stage online interview. All interviews are held by Early Careers Recruitment Partners and Senior Counsel, and successful candidates will then be invited to the Recruitment Day.

The Recruitment Day will be one day in the office, where you get to experience the Travers Smith culture, as well as undertaking two assessments (one written and one group). Prior to the Recruitment Day you will also complete a different written assessment. Successful candidates will then have a final stage, in-person interview with the two co-heads of Early Careers.

Spring Direct Training Contract

  • Apply

    October - January

  • Virtual Interview

    February / March

  • Recruitment Day

    April

  • Final in-person Interview

    May

The Direct Training Contract process is more condensed than a Vacation Scheme. You'll begin with our usual online application and cover letter, before successful candidates are invited for a first-stage online interview. All interviews are held by Early Careers Recruitment Partners and Senior Counsel. Successful candidates will then be asked to undertake a written assessment before being invited to the Recruitment Day.

The Recruitment Day will be one day in the office, where you get to experience the Travers Smith culture, as well as undertaking two assessments (one written and one group). Successful candidates will then have a final stage, in-person interview with the two co-heads of Early Careers.

Summer Vacation Schemes

  • Apply

    October - January

  • Virtual Interview

    February / March

  • Vacation Schemes

    June / July

You'll begin with our usual online application and cover letter, before successful candidates are invited for a first-stage online interview. All interviews are held by Early Careers Recruitment Partners and Senior Counsel. Successful candidates will then be asked to undertake a written assessment before being invited to the Vacation Scheme.  

This year our Summer Vacation Schemes will run:

  • 14 June to 25 June 2027
  • 28 June to 9 July 2027
  • 12 July to 23 July 2027

The scheme will follow our internal programme, which includes a number of talks, workshops, a case study and a negotiating exercise. There will be department insights and close contact with Trainees, with the  two weeks designed specifically to give students an authentic taste of a City lawyer's work. There are also working lunches and informal evening events.

Vacation Scheme students are paid £750 for completing each week. However, you must complete all three assessments on the scheme to be eligible for payment.

If you are a visa candidate, please ensure your visa covers two weeks of paid work in London. For a student visa this may mean checking on your university term times.

If you need to apply for a visa to attend, we cannot sponsor these visas, however we would recommend companies such as BUNAC to help you acquire a visa.

Salaries

£55,000
First Year Salary
£60,000
Second Year Salary
£130,000
(basic) and discretionary bonus
NQ Salary

The process at Travers was refreshingly uncomplicated - no psychometric tests, just a straightforward CV and cover letter and an interview that felt engaging and conversational rather than intimidating. It gave me a real sense of the firm's culture from the very start.

Flora McAlister - Associate

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