The Legal Cheek View
With roots stretching back more than 200 years, Freeths has come a long way from its beginnings as a humble Nottingham outfit. From Birmingham to Bristol, Liverpool to Leeds, and London to Manchester, what was once a regional practice has grown into a full-service national firm with more than 1,300 lawyers and staff across 12 UK hubs.
And the map is still getting busier. A few years ago, Freeths opened in Glasgow, marking its first move outside England, while continuing to bulk up areas including corporate, disputes, restructuring and insolvency, real estate, employment, environmental and energy work. It has since moved into larger offices in Bristol and Liverpool, refurbished its London base and continued bringing in new partners and directors across the business, suggesting there is still plenty of fuel left in the expansion drive.
According to the latest financial results, turnover climbed more than 14% to a record £166.8 million, while overall profit rose a healthy 13% to just shy of the £60 million mark. That follows more than five consecutive years of average annual turnover growth above 10%, putting Freeths among the faster-growing players in the national market. Staff are cashing in on some of that growth too, sharing a record £4.3 million bonus pool.
For TC seekers, one of Freeths’ biggest draws is just how much is going on under one roof. Rather than being pigeonholed into one corner of the legal market, trainees can find themselves exposed to a genuinely broad mix of commercial, contentious, public sector and private client work.
On the commercial side, Freeths covers much of the usual national firm spread, including corporate transactions, banking and finance, commercial contracts, employment, restructuring and insolvency, IP and technology. But that only tells half the story. The firm also has sizeable private client, family, agriculture and public sector practices, meaning rookies can end up doing something rather different depending on where they land. Its client roster is similarly broad, with household names such as Aldi, Mercedes-Benz UK, Tarmac, Experian and Lloyds Bank sitting alongside entrepreneurs, privately owned companies and growing businesses.
Recent corporate matters give a decent flavour of the action. Freeths has advised Inflexion on its majority investment in Ranger Fire and Security, PayCaptain’s shareholders on the payroll company’s sale to Citation Group and YFM Equity Partners on an investment in engineering consultancy BE Design. Its lawyers have also worked on the University of Birmingham’s spin-out of health-tech business Dexter AI and Core Group’s sale to US-listed NV5 Global. So while private equity and M&A are certainly part of the diet, there is plenty else to get stuck into, from venture capital and university spin-outs to international transactions.
Real estate is another big part of the Freeths operation, covering everything from commercial property, development and investment to construction, planning, environmental law, property disputes and social housing. The different strands often come together on larger projects, which should give trainees the chance to see how a development moves from an initial proposal through planning, infrastructure and environmental hurdles before anything actually gets built. The practice is growing too, with Freeths’ planning team increasing from 18 lawyers in 2024 to 24 in 2026.
There is plenty beyond deals and development work as well. Freeths advises more than 200 public sector bodies, including schools, education providers and NHS trusts, while its private client, family and agriculture teams act for individuals, families, business owners and landowners on everything from tax and succession planning to trusts, divorce and rural property. For rookies who have not yet decided whether they fancy a career buried in transaction documents or something a little more personal, having that kind of breadth under one roof is no bad thing.
And then there is the Post Office Horizon litigation, which put Freeths firmly in the national spotlight. Led by disputes partner James Hartley, the case secured landmark victories for 555 subpostmasters and helped expose the failings of the Horizon system, with Hartley later portrayed in ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
As for getting through the door, Freeths does things a little differently. Its direct entry route is aimed at first-year and penultimate-year students, taking candidates from an insight day through to a legal placement and, for the strongest performers, a place on the traineeship. Final-year students and graduates can instead apply for the six-month Legal Graduate Programme, joining a specific department and supporting trainees, lawyers and partners. A training contract is not guaranteed, with Freeths deciding at the end of the programme who progresses. Successful candidates receive SQE1 and SQE2 preparation through the University of Law before completing two years of qualifying work experience, with no minimum grade requirement.
Once the traineeship itself gets underway, rookies complete four six-month seats over two years, with no compulsory rotations. Depending on office and business need, trainees can spend time across Freeths’ mix of commercial, contentious and private client practices, with a supervisor in each seat and a separate trainee mentor providing another source of support. For those still trying to work out whether corporate, litigation, property or something more people-focused is their thing, the lack of compulsory rotations should leave a decent amount of room to test the waters.
Culturally, Freeths seems keen to keep things fairly down to earth as it grows. The firm talks up flexible working, mentoring and progression, while its work with the Sutton Trust and Birmingham Black Lawyers, plus the fact that almost half of employees attended non-Russell Group universities, points to a broader-than-usual approach to recruitment.
There is also a responsible business angle. Freeths became a B Corp in 2024 and has since continued to build out its ESG credentials, while recent investment in generative AI, cybersecurity and internal systems suggests tech is moving up the agenda too.
All told, Freeths offers a broad national-firm training experience for students who want to keep their options open. With corporate deals, disputes, property, public sector and private client work all under one roof, there is plenty to get stuck into without defaulting to the usual Square Mile suspects.