Legal Cheek gives you the low-down
What exactly are the UK’s top law firms doing to keep their trainees and junior lawyers satisfied, despite the often high levels of stress and long working hours? We sifted through thousands of responses from The Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey 2025–26 to find out which firms offer the best, and the worst, perks.
The Magic Circle’s perks packages include the standard offerings: private medical insurance, subsidised gym memberships, Deliveroo or Uber Eats after a certain hour, taxis home when late nights strike, WFH allowances, and even the occasional wellbeing stipend.
Freshfields scores particularly well with juniors who rave about their “55 ClassPass credits per month”, a subscription service which lets them book everything from fitness classes to facials, alongside an annual “health MOT”. Clifford Chance boasts a “fully equipped gym”, its famous swimming pool complete with skyline views, a hairdressing salon and even an on-site dry cleaner. The firm’s planned 2027 move from Canary Wharf to the City may change some of these offerings, so stay tuned to Legal Cheek for more updates.
Juniors over at Simmons & Simmons praise the wellbeing allowance of up to £300 a year, while HSF Kramer does one better with an allowance of up to £750 for “wellness-related activities”. Macfarlanes’ insiders say the overall package is similar to other major City players, but delight in the free barista coffee, hot chocolates, matcha and iced drinks available all day every day. Meanwhile, Travers Smith offers free meals with its in-house restaurant, Braithwaite’s, in addition to on-site massage therapy, physio sessions and even music lessons!
When it comes to the top American firms, perks take on a distinctly more extravagant flavour. A junior at Latham & Watkins enthusiastically describes the firm’s private concierge service: “If you need something done or booked, you can ask them and they will take care of it”. They will even handle your dry cleaning, we are told. Juniors elsewhere highlight international trips, invitations to private events and free concert tickets. White & Case, for example, hosts its annual “World Cup”, an inter-office football and volleyball tournament, held in Madrid in 2024 and Munich this year. Weil hands out free tickets to exhibitions at the Victoria & Albert Museum and the National Gallery, as well as seats in the firm’s private O2 corporate box. Willkie juniors also enjoy a firm-wide subsidised ski trip each year, known as ‘Willski’.
And the office perks do not stop there. Kirkland & Ellis’ brand-spanking new 40 Leadenhall headquarters includes an in-house hair salon and sauna, while we’re told Paul Weiss hands out a hefty £200-a-month wellness allowance. On top of that, both Paul Weiss and White & Case serve free gourmet meals, a perk we covered in Legal Cheek’s culinary deep-dive, and one juniors seem genuinely grateful for.
But for many juniors at US firms, the biggest perk by far is the eye-watering pay. With NQs earning up to £180,000, plus the potential for hefty bonuses on top, the free outings and top-tier office facilities are simply the cherry on the cake.
Juniors at other City firms generally report having the staple perks such as private medical insurance, gym subsidies and the occasional modest WFH allowance. More premium benefits, such as free taxis home after a certain time, wellbeing budgets or free evening meals, appear far less common and usually reserved for the bigger firms.
But it is not all glitz and glamour. Juniors in the regions generally report fewer perks. One trainee, when asked what their firm offers, simply replied: “We get free fruit?” While this might sound bleak, many acknowledge that the trade-off is fair. City juniors regularly work late into the night, so perks like taxis, meal allowances and wellness budgets help soften the blow. In regional offices, where hours tend to be shorter and evenings are more commonly spent outside the office, many would argue that the biggest perk is a decent work-life balance.
