The Legal Cheek View
Founded in 1770, Payne Hicks Beach boasts a rich history and a prestigious client list. Nestled in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, surrounded by trees, tennis courts, and top law firms and chambers, the firm handles a broad mix of private client and commercial work.
Renowned for representing high-net-worth individuals, its specialisms span estate and succession planning, citizenship and immigration, family, children, divorce, surrogacy, landed estates, senior executives, and entrepreneurs. The commercial practice shares that individual focus, with lawyers working on employment, family offices, corporate immigration, and entrepreneurial matters alongside more typical corporate, commercial, dispute resolution, and property work.
Regardless of practice area, rookies will be learning from leaders in their field. The firm is particularly celebrated for its high-profile family and divorce work, and new recruits in this department might even find themselves learning under Baroness Shackleton of Belgravia, LVO. The barrister who handled the divorces of the Prince of Wales (now King Charles III) and Princess Diana, Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills, and Claire and Thierry Henry is just one name on an extraordinary roster. More recently, the firm represented Georgia Harrison in a landmark case against disgraced reality star Stephen Bear, securing damages for the illegal distribution of a sex tape.
All that headline-making work is clearly paying off. The firm’s latest financial results show a 16% jump in revenue to £44 million, with profit per equity partner estimated at in excess of £700,000, though this figure isn’t formally disclosed.
Trainees complete a standard four-by-six training contract, choosing from six core practice areas: private client, family, company and commercial, property, dispute resolution, and citizenship and immigration. The firm seeks to accommodate preferences where possible.
The quality of training and supervision at PHB is described as “excellent.” One rookie told us they “have always felt well supported and encouraged”, with trainees given “a significant amount of work and responsibility” backed by the support of more senior staff. With just four recruits taken on each year and typically only one trainee per department at any given time, it’s hardly surprising that the lucky few are handed real responsibility early. “People make an effort to involve juniors,” adds one recent recruit.
Throughout the training contract and beyond, juniors can expect “highly interesting work”, with only the occasional tedious task interrupting a caseload that “tends to be varied and interesting.” As one happy recruit put it plainly: “I am not sure you would get better work anywhere else.” That high-calibre diet stems, according to another rookie, from the firm’s reputation. “The firm’s reputation means that it receives interesting work from interesting clients. Particularly in the family department, there is rarely a dull day.” A fellow junior agrees: “The quality of work is the highlight of our TC.”
Given the firm’s location, that’s a bold claim to make and yet it feels entirely believable. Situated in the heart of London’s historic legal quarter, just a short walk from the Royal Courts of Justice, PHB is based at 10 New Square in Lincoln’s Inn, an area defined by its collegiate Tudor and Georgian architecture. With quiet squares, cobbled paths, and immaculately preserved buildings, it feels more like an Oxbridge college than a typical London office, and has even served as a filming location for productions including Downton Abbey and The Sandman.
It’s little surprise that trainees describe the surroundings as “a big pull factor”, with many actively enjoying their office days. There are the usual gripes – a canteen or dedicated social space wouldn’t go amiss, and a few rooms could do with some TLC – but the overall verdict is positive, particularly regarding the firm’s “well-designed and professional meeting rooms.” The absence of a canteen is partly offset by a staff lunch every Thursday, described as offering “good food.”
The people, it seems, are just as much of a draw as the postcode. “We all really root for one another,” says one rookie of his fellow trainees, who unanimously describe their cohort as “extremely supportive”, “friendly”, and “particularly close.” Crucially, juniors say they “don’t feel in competition” with one another, with plenty of work and opportunity to go around.
That collegiate spirit has clearly rubbed off on supervisors and partners too. “Partners always make time to discuss work and answer questions” and are, overall, “very approachable.” One junior goes as far as to describe their superiors as “friendly and down-to-earth”, a stark contrast to some of the stories you hear from elsewhere in the City. The one gap in an otherwise strong offering is the absence of a formal mentorship scheme to pair recruits with more senior lawyers.
Underpinning the supportive culture is a lively social calendar. Whether you prefer cricket, tennis, sailing, wine tasting, or quiz nights, the firm has something for everyone, aided by its own PHB Sport Committee dedicated to keeping things buzzing.
Despite the exciting workload and clientele, rookies report a “very good” work-life balance. While there are “occasionally some long days”, the average recruit leaves the office between 6 and 7pm, and extra hours are always appreciated rather than expected. As one junior summarises: “As long as the job is getting done and we come in for the three days a week, we are trusted to manage our time.”
It isn’t all picturesque views and inspiring clients, of course. Insiders note that while perks and technology have improved following recent investment, there is still room to grow. The same applies to the working-from-home setup. That said, one enthusiastic rookie points out that trainees don’t work from home at all, which they consider “a good thing.”