£750 to cover week’s expenses
Travers Smith has increased pay for students on its vacation schemes by a whopping 67%, Legal Cheek can reveal.
The outfit confirmed lawyer hopefuls will receive an improved £750 to cover expenses on the week-long summer and winter programmes. Candidates previously received £450 per week.
The hefty uplift means those lucky enough to secure a spot on this year’s programmes will be among the best paid work experience students in the City.
“Payment will be given upon completion of the scheme and is designed to allow participants to cover the costs of travel and accommodation during that week”, a spokesperson for the firm said.
The level of financial support provided by firms can vary, with US outfits offering work experience seekers around £500 per week and large international firms dishing out between £300 and £450. It’s also worth noting that programmes vary in length too, with some running for a week and others for two to three weeks.
The boost follows yet another year of crazy salary hikes across the City. Trainees can now earn as much as £65,000 a year (yes, trainees!), while their newly qualified counterparts can command salaries upwards of £150,000 with lucrative performance bonuses on top. And with many law firms, including Travers, recruiting heavily from their vac scheme programmes, it’s perhaps unsurprising we’re now witnessing a significant boost in work experience pay too.
Travers also confirmed that it hopes to get students back in the office after shifting its vac schemes online in response to the pandemic.
“We anticipate that each scheme will take place in person in our office, rather than virtually, and will run for a week (rather than two weeks, as was previously the case for in-person schemes),” the spokesperson said. “The scheme participants will attend a variety of presentations, complete written work and take part in various workshops and social events.”
