Ashurst Perkins Coie

Geographically, the fit is just as neat. Perkins Coie brought major US firepower, particularly on the West Coast, but had historically kept a limited footprint outside the States. Ashurst, by contrast, was long the more internationally spread of the two, with strength across Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Australia but a comparatively smaller US presence. Together, Ashurst Perkins Coie is now a top-20 global firm with particular depth in the sectors shaping the next decade (technology, energy and infrastructure, and financial services), plus the boots-on-the-ground coverage to serve clients across much of the globe.

Ashurst went into the merger with a very healthy set of financials. The firm had chalked up a decade of consecutive revenue growth, with turnover rising 11% in its final pre-merger year to £1.15 billion and profit per equity partner jumping 15% to £1.59 million. UK revenue grew 12%, helped by a particularly strong year for disputes, investigations and advisory work, where revenue leapt 21%. Perkins Coie’s last set of standalone figures saw gross revenue up 2% to around $1.28 billion (roughly £965 million) and average profits per partner rising roughly 5% to just under $2 million (around £1.5 million).

As you might expect, a London training contract here is likely, at least initially, to follow the legacy Ashurst model, which means working within one of the firm’s key industries: banking, energy, infrastructure, private capital, real estate and technology. Trainees tell us this means working with “top tier clients in global markets (think the biggest investment banks in the world) with exposure to clients right from the off”. The Perkins Coie merger has only sharpened that sector focus, particularly on the technology and US-facing side of the practice.

The legacy Ashurst practice gives a good flavour of the work the combined firm now handles. On the energy side, it advised the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the UK Atomic Energy Authority on a £20 million cornerstone investment in Starmaker One, a British fusion fund. In real estate, it has been guiding the Greater London Authority through the £3 billion regeneration of Royal Albert Dock. Its fintech credentials are just as strong, having acted on eToro’s US$620 million NASDAQ listing and Lloyds Banking Group’s acquisition of digital wallet platform Curve. And on the tech front, it advised Inception Artificial Intelligence, a G42 company, on its AI product partnership with Kore.ai.

The legacy Perkins Coie London office was younger and smaller but adds a complementary flavour. Recent work has included advising Highview Power on a £130 million raise for a long-duration energy storage facility in Scotland, Com Laude on its $450 million acquisition of brand protection specialist Markmonitor, and AI-powered private markets platform TomNext on a funding round spanning fintech, wealth management and digital assets investors. In short, the Ashurst side brought scale in finance, infrastructure and real estate, while Perkins Coie added an extra shot of US tech, IP and innovation know-how.

Rookies say the work “is usually very high quality with lots of opportunities to try new things”, and process-driven tasks are typically handled by the wider legal delivery teams in Krakow, Glasgow and Brisbane. The advisory teams earn extra plaudits for “making a concerted effort to provide engaging tasks for trainees”, whereas disputes can apparently “be dry with lots of bundling and admin”. “There will be a certain amount of ‘trainee’ tasks that are slightly more admin-focused but essential for learning how things work,” one TC veteran explains, though that doesn’t stop “some of the biggest and best deals in the market” landing on newbies’ desks.

Another rookie offers this lowdown on the day-to-day: “The work is really interesting and super diverse, none of my days are the same, which is great. The associates and partners are great about fully explaining the matter before assigning work so that you have context, which makes the more admin tasks interesting too. It isn’t uncommon to be working on something and then see it in the news soon after, which is really exciting. Disputes (corporate crime) is a growing area of the firm, so I get involved in lots of BD work, like helping with our podcast series and drafting regulatory updates, all of which have been really great for my development.”

On the office, trainees have no complaints. Ashurst moved into its current home in the London Fruit and Wool Exchange back in 2019, so it makes sense that Perkins Coie, whose London office has only around 20 lawyers, has moved in alongside them. One happy rookie says: “It’s the best firm office I’ve seen and in the least boring bit of the City.” A stone’s throw from the delicacies of Spitalfields Market, the “unique” office space is “a privilege to work in”, according to the insiders we spoke to. “Stunning terraces on multiple floors with views over Spitalfields Church, in-house exercise studio, on-site GP, wellbeing suite with physiotherapy and counselling rooms”. What more could you ask for? Well, perhaps some “really nice tea and coffee stations and social spaces” alongside “spacious, quiet and light” office space. Just try to avoid a finance seat on the first floor in winter, where trainees report feeling “like you can go weeks without sunlight”. Luckily, on the rare occasion that happens, the office even has on-site “fancy hotel bedrooms, complete with complimentary toiletries/toothbrush etc.” that staff can use if they’re working late or starting early.

The training programme itself looks very bright. “First class training in every seat, both on the job and classroom-style. If you show an interest, the team makes an effort to give you more opportunities to develop your skills,” said one. Insiders praise the two-week induction at the start of the training contract, which covers “lots of basics”, as well as the “department-specific classroom learning, which has been so beneficial for professional development”. More formal sessions are delivered at the start of each seat, with the length of training varying by complexity. Global Markets, for instance, is said to run training for several weeks. Trainees were also full of praise for the informal teaching delivered by supervisors, with one sharing that “supervisors are very mindful of the high level of training at the start of seats and try to ease you into the day-to-day work accordingly”. That often means direct contact with partners, though the quality can be department-dependent; as one sage recruit notes, “just because someone is a good lawyer does not mean they are a good teacher”.

Happily, supervisors and senior lawyers alike are said to be “by and large very approachable, with occasional exceptions”. One spy claims they “can’t imagine the partners at a major commercial law firm being more approachable than ours”. Seniors are “genuinely available on deals” and make an “effort to find out how you’re finding your time”. “No big egos, and everyone is approachable and down to earth. More importantly, they really want to listen and understand any concerns you have.” One TC vet even reports meeting their supervisors for drinks after each seat rotation.

The love-in continues at trainee level, with many recruits praising their peers as “the best part of the training contract” or “the best group of people in the City”. One gushed: “I’ve felt nothing but support, encouragement and friendship from my peers, and they are one of the best things about working here.” Another agrees: “We have quite a big trainee cohort, so we’re able to really support each other through all the various learning adjustments and changes we go through. Everyone is really friendly and compatible, so it makes for a great environment to learn and grow.”
Thursday drinks and regular trainee socials help foster a cordial vibe, and trainees are even said to have lunch together most days. There’s also an annual ski trip and a September ball for trainees and new joiners. On social life, one junior offered this: “Pretty good overall. The social committees try to vary the type of socials, so it’s not always based around drinking. There’s been a recent focus on more active socials (run clubs, yoga at the in-house studio or on the terrace, rugby, netball, driving range).” And if that doesn’t tickle your fancy, how about a summer party at Gordon Ramsay’s pan-Asian robata grill, Lucky Cat?

It isn’t five-star fusion every day, mind. The office canteen is said to “excel only at being decidedly average”. There’s a salad bar, various hot and cold options and even a make-your-own-pizza station, but grumbles about portion size and quality have led to mixed reviews. One kinder trainee-critic summed it up: “Free lunch Monday is a nice encouragement to come into the office, and the menus regularly have fun themes and tons of options at a subsidised price.”

Beyond free-lunch Mondays, other perks include subsidised gym membership with free in-house classes at lunchtime, free drinks on Thursdays, an on-site GP and physio, access to wellbeing apps like Headspace, free dinner and a taxi home when working late, the odd bottle of champagne in finance seats, and health insurance. Sizeable discounts on healthy food at Waitrose and on holidays through lastminute.com are also appreciated.

Work/life balance is “as you would expect from a City law firm”, with “predictably long hours” and weeknight plans Monday to Thursday “generally unrealistic”. That said, the spies we spoke to were unanimous that weekend work is relatively rare. As one put it: “I have worked one weekend so far in almost 18 months, and that was only half of a Sunday. I usually log off by 8pm, and most teams are respectful of your plans.” Another offered more detail: “Hours are very team-specific and depend on your own organisation and time management. The flexibility of working from home also helps: many trainees leave the office at a reasonable time to go to the gym or for dinner, then log back in later in the evening. Trainees are trusted to be autonomous and responsible with their time, and supervisors are genuinely relaxed provided work gets done well and on time. All my supervisors have emphasised the lack of ‘face-time’ culture, and I’ve been told to go home at 5pm many times once I’d finished for the day.” Recruits noted the balance is better in some of the smaller teams, with larger areas like finance and corporate offering more predictably unstable hours.

Legal tech is another area where Ashurst Perkins Coie makes a conscious effort to stay “ahead of the curve”. For a couple of years now, generative AI tool Harvey has been available to all staff. The firm’s NewLaw arm, Ashurst Perkins Coie Advance, has also been central to its innovation push, combining legal project management, process improvement and tech-enabled delivery to help lawyers work more efficiently. The results show the approach is paying off: the NewLaw division delivered an 11% rise in global revenue last year, including more than 50% growth in AI and technology-enabled services. Recruits say it “is not just an isolated, external-facing project but has also expanded within the firm to influence the tech we use day-to-day and the tech available to improve the way we work”. Juniors concede there is still work to be done, but they get the sense “this is an area the firm is pushing to improve in”, with staff encouraged to submit efficiency-boosting ideas.

And the cherry on top of the APC cake? The range of international secondments, which just under a quarter of trainees enjoy each year. Hong Kong, Madrid, Tokyo, Paris, Brussels, Singapore and Dubai are just a few of the destinations on offer, and with the firm’s newly expanded US network, those opportunities are set to grow. On the client side, trainees have spent time at Goldman Sachs, BP, Barclays and Credit Suisse. The firm also has some “great policies and external pro bono initiatives in place” on the environmental front.