Travers Smith

Training Contracts at Travers Smith

At Travers Smith there are only 25 training contracts available, so competition is extremely fierce. As a more diminutive firm, Travers Smith looks for people who will fit into its close, friendly and collegiate culture. Moreover, current solicitors advise that candidates need to be ‘bright, interesting and interested self-starters. You need to be able to communicate your point of view well and stick up for it to fit in here’.

Travers Smith is ‘not a place for shrinking violets as everyone is expected to get involved from an early stage.’ Trainees ‘tend to be drawn from the more academically respected institutions’ and successful candidates will most likely hold a minimum 2:1 degree from a good university. However, stuffy types should leave their pretentions at the door – Travers Smith looks for people with a sense of humour who ‘take their work, but not themselves too seriously,’ one solicitor tells us. Soft skills are also really important as the firm needs to trust trainees to deal with clients on their own. The firm is definitely interested in candidates who enjoy ‘a variety of things and are not one dimensional’ so any extracurricular activities will surely spice up your application!

Successful applicants will be able to benefit from excellent training opportunities which a Travers Smith trainee says is ‘highly prioritised and always well-tailored to meet the demands of the department’. Training sessions run throughout the four six-month seats. Trainees need to complete a corporate seat and then have a choice between banking or property, between employment and litigation, and a final ‘wild card’ choice. If your French is up to scratch, you may also be able to do your corporate seat in Paris.

Fortunately, the application process is straightforward: just apply online via the firm's website. Two rigorous interviews are the rewards for successfully negotiating this initial hurdle, the first with one partner and the second with two. These interviews are designed to determine character and reactions to questioning. ‘Interviews are very tough... The partners are notorious for wielding the axe ruthlessly’, one trainee commented, but as long as you stay confident and focussed there should be nothing to worry about! The first interview is likely to last around 30 minutes, whereas the second will be one hour. In the second interview ‘some of the questions are commercially focussed, but most aim to examine the way that you think and whether you can think laterally and have the ability to back up your opinions and arguments’. There won’t be any assessment days, so don’t be shy during the interviews and sell your skills!

Vacation Schemes

Travers Smith offers a two-week vacation scheme in the winter and runs two two-week schemes in the summer. If you’re a law student or graduate you will be able to apply for the latter whereas non-law students can sign up for the winter vac scheme. During the vac scheme you’ll be able to sit in two different departments and attend workshops that should get your legal skills going. With places filling rapidly, you’ll have to come armed with more than good grades. To get a place on one you’ll have to master an interview with a graduate recruitment partner. These interviews are described as ‘relaxed’ and ‘general in scope’ with less of a focus on legal questions, instead centering on current affairs and your strengths, weaknesses and interests.

Apply Now

Travers Smith Graduate Recruitment Info

Contact:
Germaine VanGeyzel
Graduate Recruitment Manager
Tel: +44 (0)20 7295 3546
Email: graduate.recruitment@traverssmith.com

Application Deadlines: Training Contracts: 31st July 2012

When to Apply: For the September 2014 training contract, the deadline is 31st July 2012.

Salary: Our current starting salary for trainee solicitors is £38,000, rising to £42,000 in the second year of training.

Vacancies: We recruit 25 trainee solicitors each year.