Travers Smith - Graduate recruitment (summer schemes 2026)

In turn, we will provide ample opportunities for learning and growth and give you the support you need. If you want to be intellectually stretched and join, learn from and contribute to a firm that will support and celebrate you, we look forward to hearing from you.

We are looking for people who take their work, but not themselves, too seriously – our partners of the future.

Two things define Travers Smith: outstanding client service and our inclusive, supportive culture.

Our clients know that we treat their business as our business, their dispute as our dispute, their challenges as ours. They know that wherever in the world their ambitions lie, we will work as part of their team to get things done. And they know that we do so in a straight-talking, open way. Clients can expect this service thanks to our independence: we are a true partnership free from outside influence, where every voice is heard. It helps that every single one of our lawyers is hugely driven - excellence is expected across the board. That excellence comes from our success in recruiting, retaining and promoting high-performing, exceptional lawyers.

Travers Smith is a collaborative and inclusive firm where the most talented people, from diverse backgrounds, can feel at home, enjoy working, and prosper. This goes beyond just ticking a box: we want everyone to be themselves here and we recognise that celebrating our differences helps make the firm a special place to work.

We believe the quality of our training is second to none.

First things first, there’s the formal training. Most departments run a series of sessions at the start of every seat which are delivered by partners, associates and knowledge counsel. These will introduce you to new areas of law, help you to become familiar with concepts which were previously unfamiliar and give you the necessary tools to throw yourself into the team’s work right from the off. This is underpinned by ongoing department-wide seminars, where members of the team share points of practice or their experiences on recent matters.

But there’s only so much you can learn in the classroom. That’s one of the (many) reasons why we operate our room-sharing system. As a trainee, you will share an office with a partner and at least one associate – enabling you to learn by osmosis. You’ll hear how the partner handles a difficult fee discussion with a client, how the associate deals with someone on the other side who is being very aggressive. You’ll find that, just by overhearing conversations around you, your technical expertise improves leaps and bounds. And, most importantly, you’ll always have a wise old head nearby to answer any questions and provide you with the support you need to flourish.

The firm has historically been known as a corporate powerhouse, but our award-winning Dispute Resolution team has grown rapidly over the last five to ten years and is now one of the largest standalone departments. Over the course of the two years, you’ll spend at least six months in one of our corporate teams and six months in one of our contentious seats (dispute resolution or employment). The other two seats will be spent in your choice of our other departments, ranging from finance to funds, commercial to competition and real estate to regulatory. There is always one trainee in our Paris office.

Application process

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 story and your motivation for joining Travers Smith.

Apply online at Travers Smith | Careers for Training Contracts starting from September 2028, with earlier start dates available. There are two ways to gain a Training Contract at Travers Smith.

• Direct Training Contract Process – applications open on Friday 3 October 2025 and close on Friday 7 November 2025 (at midday)
• Summer Vacation Scheme Process – applications open on Monday 3 November 2025 and close on Wednesday 14 January 2026 (at midday)

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 are keen to consider the potential offered by such candidates so the above academic requirements are a guide only.