Macfarlanes

Money matters aside, Macfarlanes continues to score extremely highly for its training in the Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey 2025-26. First-rate seminars and workshops are front loaded at the beginning of each seat, with monthly legal updates taking place afterwards. All of which “blends well with the hands-on training you get on the job.” One trainee shared this insight with LC: “In a more niche legal area for my second seat, I was given a crash course in the jargon and how the area of law works so I felt comfortable from the get-go. We are included in departmental training which is also excellent and the lawyers in the team all seem to be incredibly knowledgeable and at the forefront of developments in the field. The atmosphere is collaborative, with people enthusiastic to share their knowledge.” And it doesn’t stop there either. One junior lawyer adds that the “extensive training sessions” are an ever-presence even post-qualification, with NQs spending up to six hours a week learning. “Second to none”, another junior tells us, and “each department dedicates energy and time to ensuring its trainees are up to speed at the beginning of the seat, which enables us to contribute more and take on more challenging pieces of work”. The firm even has the former Lord Chancellor David Gauke as head of public policy!

Some of the work –– which is largely high-end M&A –– can be slightly “admin-heavy” but there are still some “really cool transactions” to get stuck into, according to our sources. Seniors are also said to be “willing to let you have as much responsibility as you feel comfortable with, meaning that you’re able to work on tasks that may only be completed by people who are more qualified at other firms. Litigation does catch some flack for making you “feel like a cog only responsible for a siloed workstream” but at least one recruit appreciates their routine rookie duties: “It is easy to see how these tasks fit into the ‘bigger picture’ and the teams I have worked with have made it clear that they appreciate me doing the less interesting work. They make an effort to include me in the interesting parts like client meetings, court hearings etc. so I can see the product of what I do.” Overall, the consensus is that “if you show initiative and are consistent in your work quality, you are given more substantive tasks” and “ultimately by the end of your seat you’re doing NQ work,” according to our sources.

It helps that you’ll be working for some of the biggest household names across a breadth of industries. Goldman Sachs, Reebok, and Paramount are just some of the names on the clientele list, and some recent deals to come out of London include advising on a £1.1 billion development of the British Library and helping Ferrari Group PLC on the English law aspects of its IPO and admission to listing and trading of its ordinary shares on Euronext Amsterdam. Macfarlanes will also provide legal services to Team England as an official partner for the 2026 Commonwealth Games cycle!

“Inevitably hard work, but that’s City law –– what do you expect?” –– was one sage rookie’s take on the work/life balance on offer at Macfarlanes. “Pretty good as far as City law goes. You can usually make plans in the evening and, in some departments, people even go to the gym in the middle of the day – it’s all about communicating, managing your own time and being sensible when you have deadlines,” were the wise words of another trainee.

On the whole, Macs trainees recognised that they have it pretty good compared to some of their City counterparts. “I have never had to cancel plans and when I have plans people are very happy to work around them,” said one socialite. There is no expectation for you to be in the office if you don’t need to be and weekend work is rare (though not strictly off the menu). Larger teams like litigation and M&A can expect to regularly burn the midnight oil, whilst one rookie in real estate claims the balance there is “generally good”. As expected, transactional seats “tend to have a more up and down work life balance” whereas advisory and contentious seats are “steadier”. An average leave time of around 8pm is not too shabby at all for high-end corporate law (and an NQ pay-packet of £140,000).

To sweeten the deal even further, trainees also get to spend one day a week working from home and our insiders tell us that “everything works seamlessly and is just as easy as working in the office in terms of accessing systems etc”. There’s a £500 budget at the start of the TC for agile-working equipment but it’s a bit of a sore point that this is all that is provided.

Inside the office, Macs fosters a “very collegiate atmosphere” between new recruits. “There is no sense of cutthroat competition or cliques, and everyone is always willing to help out (and plan trainee getaways together!)” one source told LC. “That’s not to say there aren’t rogue trainees who would happily use you as cannon fodder if it got them even a millimetre ahead, but on the whole everyone is super lovely, collaborative and smart. 10/10 great bunch.” Firmwide organised fun usually comes in the form of annual summer and Christmas parties but more casual trainee trips to the pub and other team events are said to be becoming more common, with some form of social on every week during the summer.

The firm’s open door policy cultivates good vibes across the legal food chain and we’re told “all seniors and partners are largely open to stupid questions and a pint down the pub!” The “majority are lovely and very easy to talk to”, said one of their superiors, “although it’s still a pretty hierarchical firm so there’s limits to that.” Several spies confessed that there are some superiors that are “a little intimidating” but, on the whole, we’re assured that everyone is “lovely”, “very supportive” and “encouraging”.

What you won’t get with a training programme at Macfarlanes is an international or client secondment, with the firm typically waiting until associate level before it sends lawyers abroad to a host of independent law firms with which it has close ties and/or client organisations. The thinking behind this is that six months away from the heart of the action at too early a stage undermines its training scheme.

There are, however, occasional opportunities to travel on particular pieces of business, with destinations including Jersey and the firm’s office in Brussels. Unfortunately for jet-setters, the more ESG-minded side of the firm “is actively exploring and encouraging partners and associates to use less flights, so everyone is encouraged to consider the events they are invited to and be more selective if it involves international travel (or explore non-flying options)”.

The perks are decent; the private health insurance is appreciated, as are the free dinners after 7pm, the free gym equipped with personal trainers, the subsidised canteen, and the Christmas gift cards. Free barista coffee from the Department of Coffee and Social Affairs is also (unsurprisingly) a big hit amongst Macfarlanes lawyers –– “never before has my caffeine dependency been so cheap” boasted one. The consensus is that the “firm is very generous with perks without being unnecessary with it”. As this money-wise trainee put it, “swanky freebies and extra days off are nice but I’d take that money in my bank account every month any day.”

The tech on offer at Macfarlanes has seen recent improvement, with the roll-out of AI software Harvey and new Surface Pros going down well with trainees, even if there are still some bugbears with iManage. One experienced junior said “people complain about it, but it’s as good as any of the other six City firms I’ve worked in. Macs is very big on AI and incorporating tech into your working patterns to make your life easier.” The Lawtech team are also said to be great at providing task and team specific tools and the firm also runs a separate LawTech graduate programme for all you computer whizz’s out there.

Macs primary office space is on 98 Fetter Lane, but client-facing operations remain in the old abode around the corner at 20 Cursitor Street. An ever-growing headcount has also seen the firm overspill into a spread of different office spaces, making the place feel “more like a campus” than a traditional office block. And, whilst some “rate the campus vibe” others feel slightly “fragmented”. At least one grumbles that “it would be a lot easier if we were all in one together” but the “shiny co-working spaces with big sofas” go some way to softening this blow. Unfortunately, beyond some oversized seating space, the reviews for the rest of the office are pretty lack lustre –– “fine but nothing special” and “very central but no frills” summarises how insiders feel about their current digs. At least there’s no more stories of trainees getting stuck in broken-down lifts.

The “sporadically great, generally average” on-site canteen suffers the same uninspired criticism, with opinions ranging from “bang average” to “very reminiscent of school dinners”. Luckily, some optimistic trainees appreciate the “fairly cheap” and “mostly high quality” subsidised food on offer. Free dinner is also available after a certain hour and the inside scoop is that “the cakes are always excellent!”