BCLP

CEO Steve Baumer cited BCLP’s litigation and investigations practice as a key driver of growth this year, but geographically, it is the firm’s UK bases in London, Manchester and Southampton that have stolen the show, with domestic revenues up 12% to $265 million (£196 million). The firm predominantly works out of its London office but there’s also a handful of training contracts on offer in Manchester for aspiring recruits.

And whether you’re in the City or the regions, one thing that remains the same at BCLP is the importance of quality training: “There are weeks of structured technical training sessions at the beginning of each seat rotation, as well as continuous soft skills training throughout the TC delivered through cohort meetings. This is all in addition to regular mandatory department specific-training and optional sector-specific training.” On top of this, recruits cite being invited to hear “leading professionals in their area (lecturers, clients, analysts etc) to give a talk on a current topic” and the firm’s knowledge lawyers are said to be “extremely helpful in answering any technical/procedural questions relating to a deal, which you may not want to ask a fee earner.”

“The level of responsibility given to you is great. By the end of my seat in real estate I was leading small transactions and carried out my own completion. I felt supported however if I needed help from my supervisor” was the happy review from one current recruit.

The quality of the work on offer received more mixed reviews. At its best, “high quality work with some of the world’s largest organisations” is what is on offer at BCLP but trainees do note that this is very seat-dependent. Some departments are said to give “trainees a lot of responsibility whilst in other departments there is somewhat of a trainee glass ceiling”. The inside scoop is that advisory and disputes seats tend to be where some of the more juicy law is at, whilst transactional seats “can be quite repetitive”. That being said, our sources are unified in their conviction that “the quality of the drastically improves the more you can prove to the team that you can handle it and are keen to take it on” so the fun stuff like client engagement, and the chance to run with smaller matters and be exposed to complex cross-border deals that are “really engaging and high profile” is waiting for new recruits in their later seats!

This should really come as no surprise when the firm is regularly advising clients such the Crown Estate on £24 billion joint ventures or securing million dollar funding arrangements from the UK Space Agency for digital satellite payloads.

If JV’s and satellite funding don’t sound exhilarating enough, there’s also the possibility of going on a client secondment, with past recruits enjoying stints at companies ranging from Goldman Sachs to giants Dr Martens. One insider described their experience at a client firm as a “really good opportunity to get stuck in and develop so many interpersonal and legal skills”.

But, here at Legal Cheek, we suspect those in London are less keen to spend too much time away from their worms. That’s right, worms — in what we’re sure is a law firm first, the London office is now home to 70,000 earthworms in the form of an on-site wormery, creatively called… ‘the wormery’ which is said to process around 325 kilograms of food waste each month. Metal straws, reusable coffee cups and recycling-only bins are a few of the other (less impressive) environmental schemes the firm employs and one recruit boasts that “our office building is known as the most efficient in the whole City”.

And that’s not all the 125,000 sq ft Governors House building at 5 Laurence Pountney Hill is known for — trainees also rave about its aesthetic: “The outside is a very grand-looking, old, traditional building, and really does look impressive to clients and people visiting for the first time. The inside is sleek, and the atrium in the middle by the spiralling stairs is especially aesthetic. The piano on the ground floor has a beautiful sound that travels up this atrium whenever anyone is playing. It is also really cool to work in a building with only your firm — we do not share with any other company.” Fancy! The worm-less trainees in Manchester also have praise for their digs though some do bemoan a “lack of sunlight on the lower floors”.

The canteen in the City is said to be “lovely” with “a lot of variation, although there are some random food pairings at times.” Rookies get the scintillating choice of “something with meat, something veggie, a salad bar, some kind of soup, in addition to a sandwich bar where you can either buy pre-prepped sandwiches or make your own.” The staff are also said to be “incredibly friendly and positive” though a common complaint is that the closing time of 2:30pm is far too early.

When working from home, which trainees can do one day a week at BCLP, the set-up is said to be “good” with the firm providing “two monitors, a keyboard and mouse” and potentially office furniture on request.

Expect a good level of camaraderie among the intakes too, where “everyone is really willing to help each other out”. New recruits are paired with a partner mentor and a trainee buddy from day one and the graduate recruitment team receive plaudits for being “always on hand to offer support or solutions to problems.” Another rookie says: “I’ve found my cohort of trainees to be so supportive, it makes the job more fun to have a bunch of people going through it all at the same time as you and is also a life saver in tougher moments. Even through the recent qualification process, there’s been no sense of competitiveness — we’re friends and everyone genuinely wants the best for each other”. This supportive atmosphere extends to trainees doing the apprenticeship route, which is offered in Southampton and Manchester, with newbies there praising the “supporting and understanding” teams and “very approachable” supervisors.

On the social side, recruits enjoy regular socials hosted either by the firm or within their teams and there is said to be “a fine balance between organised fun events such as bake-offs and sporting tournaments and more serious charity events”. The monthly bar night (which includes both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options) in the London canteen is touted for bringing the troops together and you can expect regular Thursday night events, especially in corporate.

Partners receive equally high praise, with one going so far as to say they “are often the most approachable people in the team”. The open-plan office space is said to be a massive help to this and, though there are still a few bad eggs, this is out-weighed by stories of senior partners taking trainees for a monthly breakfast (good eggs)! This was the review from one: “I’ve had superiors across different teams actively go out of their way to help me, so I feel confident saying my experiences are reflective of the wider firm culture. From helping with my work to supporting my career progression, I’ve always had positive experiences when I’ve asked for help.” Another had this to say about their higher-ups: “All of the partners I have worked with or sat near in the office have been very friendly, down to earth and very interested in you and your career journey. Of course, work, deadlines and pressure may influence how talkative/approachable a partner may be but for the most part I feel comfortable enough to ask questions and raise any concerns with partners.” The graduate development team receives another shout-out for its ability to judicially select higher-ups: “The Emerging Talent team does a great job of picking supervisors who will genuinely care about helping their trainees through the two years.”

For prospective applicants, it’s worth noting that BCLP has developed a deserved reputation for innovation. One rookie reveals that “innovation is a big thing at the firm, they really value progressing legal tech solutions”, another adds: “new trainees get the new technology which is great (iPhones, laptops etc). The tech team is very supportive and always has an open door if you need IT or admin support.” The firm is said to be “constantly piloting new technologies”, including experimenting with AI uses, and the firm offers its own ‘innovation’ seat for tech-minded recruits.

Perks include private healthcare, a subsidised canteen and coffee bar, a free £20 dinner and taxis if working past 9pm, an on-site masseuse and doctor, and a certain amount of “benefits” to spend each October on things such as Apple products, wine deliveries and the gym.

While such freebies are not seen as stellar, they perhaps don’t have to be as they’re not compensating for crazy hours. With the exception of commercial real estate, finance and corporate (all of which have reputations for late nights) the work/life balance is very good for City law. One junior lawyer neatly sums this up as “definitely better than plenty of City firms, but definitely not 9-5 (except maybe on a Friday).” Our insiders report finishes of around 7pm most evenings though there are some horror stories of consecutive 5am finishes coming at deal closings or other important moments. Even when you are burning the midnight oil, recruits report that “teams are really supportive and will question and check in if you are consistently working late nights.”

As one insider puts it: “Work life balance varies from seats and teams. Overall working in a commercial law firm you expect not to work 9 to 5 and that, on occasion, the hours will be long. The firm is understanding of this and every team has ‘capacity talks’ to ensure no one is feeling overwhelmed and to ensure the work is shared out evenly. Also, the firm understands that you have a life outside of work and as long as you let people know you have dinner plans no one will be upset if you log off at 7 to meet friends!”

Another comments: “For a City law firm the hours are very reasonable. The latest I have stayed is 11pm and I am mostly gone by 8pm with the occasional later finish in a busy period. I generally don’t have any issues making weekday plans and am always out on Friday for a drink with the other trainees.” The firm’s netball, hockey and football teams are also said to be a great excuse to get out of the office on time (and of course a great way to socialise with colleagues outside of the office as well).