Baker McKenzie

There are some excellent client secondment opportunities too. Corporate locations include Unilever, Standard Chartered, The Guardian, TikTok and the British Red Cross, as well as the Royal Courts of Justice as a judicial assistant, or pro bono secondments. And if you’re really lucky, you might get to do a placement at Google’s Silicon Valley head office.

That being said, we bet Google doesn’t have floors made of chocolate like Baker McKenzie does. The firm’s digs at 280 Bishopsgate have floors literally made from chocolate. (Not really: they’re 99% linseed and 1% cacao, but it’s a nice selling point, and part of the firm’s broader efforts to make its living space as sustainable as possible.) All electricity is also said to come from renewable sources. Sustainable flooring isn’t the only thing impressing recruits, either. “Great communal spaces on all floors” and “standing desks” in every office have left rookies very happy with their abode, which also boasts a deal suite, client lounge, “quiet corners”, collaboration desks and a top-floor roof terrace with “great views across the City” and a bar (which trainees do wish was open more often).

The space was designed to encourage employees to hot-desk and have “spontaneous collisions” with people they wouldn’t usually interact with. Teams are split into “neighbourhoods” which act as a sort of headquarters, and current trainees can’t get enough of it: “As a trainee, I have really enjoyed this. Open-plan takes away the stress of approaching superiors. It also places less emphasis on rigid start and finish times, and more emphasis on collaborative working across departments. Very much a fan.”

One apparent sore point is the canteen which some BM insiders say is quite expensive with small portions. The inside scoop is that breakfast is better than lunch (£4 eggs benedict is surely one of the cheapest plates in the City), and free snacks are on offer after 7pm. Otherwise, trainees say the only highlight is the “pop ups” from vendors in Spitalfields market.

Whether you’re hot-desking, sitting in a quiet corner, brooding in the canteen or lounging on the rooftop, there’s always high-quality work to get stuck into at BM. A “great range of work”, “exciting clients” and “exposure from the get-go” is what trainees report. One insider told Legal Cheek, “I was treated as an NQ for most of the training contract,” whilst another added: “There was really good exposure to a variety of senior associates who are willing to take the time to explain the background of tasks. Good introductory training at the start of each seat gives an overview of the law relevant to the work done in the department. A good level of responsibility is given to trainees, even in their first seat.”

Recent London-led work highlights the sheer scale and international reach of the firm’s practice. Matters have ranged from advising FedEx on its acquisition of logistics giant InPost to acting for Virgin Media O2 on a long-term renewable energy agreement expected to supply around 15% of the telecoms company’s total energy consumption. Bakers has also advised on projects linked to the UK’s first full-scale carbon capture plant for energy-from-waste, alongside major sovereign and restructuring mandates including the Türkiye Wealth Fund’s $1 billion (£744 million) Eurobond issuance and Sri Lanka’s landmark $12.5 billion (£9.3 billion) debt restructuring deal. In short, trainees can expect exposure to some of the world’s biggest corporates, governments and financial institutions across everything from acquisitions and financings to restructurings and renewable energy projects.

“A real emphasis on training and up-skilling trainees” is how Bakers describes its approach, which in practice translates mostly into informal training from supervisors. “Overall, training is more of a ‘learn on the job’ style and you are expected to pick things up as you go along and quickly run workstreams yourself, with the appropriate supervision,” noted one trainee. There is a week-long induction in your first seat, as well as more formal training sessions during each rotation, but insiders told LC that this is “a high-level overview and not reflective of how things are carried out in practice, and you end up being told to scrap what you have been taught.” Luckily, supervisors are said to be “extremely hands on, often taking the time to sit down and explain concepts directly to you,” and another source notes there are also lots of “extra resources available through the BakerWorld intranet” to complement your learning. There are a few murmurs that “extra feedback” would be welcomed in some seats, but most report “excellent training and support.” One insider had a particularly nice story about their supervisor: “My supervisor, despite being the global head of one of the practice areas, has met with me every week to go through what I am working on and consistently includes me in his deals.”

Before you get too excited, don’t think this means you’ll avoid your mandatory trainee admin. Insiders describe “no shortage of run of the mill trainee tasks” at BM, though rookies told us that “if you do them well, and show a bit of initiative, it’s not hard to get involved in more interesting, substantive work.” Disputes is said to be particularly good for client exposure, whilst corporate gets a bad reputation for being admin-heavy when big deals are coming in. The lower-level work can sometimes act as a welcome breather from the stress of greater responsibility. One rookie reminisced about a recent brush with that pressure: “I found myself basically running a closing when the associate on the matter was on holiday. It was a little stressful to deal with as a first-seat trainee, but I think it was good for my overall professional development.” We bet they needed a holiday after that.

With more responsibility comes more work and longer hours. You’re likely to be in the office until around 8pm on average, according to LC sources. It’s hard to be too precise, though: how hard you work will depend a lot on the seat and what comes in, leading to some grumbles that “it’s hard to have a predictable routine.” Work/life balance apparently ranges from “very up and down” in transactional seats to “more balanced” on the advisory side. “Some weeks I’ve been working in the taxi home at 2:00 AM, waking up in the morning and not having any time to shower or change before starting it all over again. However, some weeks I’ve had very little on, so I’ve mainly worked on pro bono matters and administrative tasks, which are encouraged by the partners. Generally, people are understanding even in busy periods as long as you are communicative; being super responsive goes a long way,” shares one insider. Another rookie offers a more balanced take: “Generally pretty good. People are respectful and there is never a sense you are working long hours for the sake of it. People are always appreciative of your work, too. Obviously hours are long sometimes but that’s to be expected.”

In corporate departments, BM is said to show more of its true red, white and blue colours, with at least one recruit feeling that increased “messaging surrounding hours targets” isn’t what they signed up for: “The work/life balance is non-existent where you may as well be at a big American firm.” Fortunately, “work providers are generally very good at flagging where work can be done the next day,” and overall the work/life balance is described as “better than expected.” “There is some evening work and I know other trainees have worked on weekends, but the impression I get from my team is that they respect our time and want to avoid us working late where possible,” shared one junior lawyer.

Working from home has apparently helped with the work/life balance challenge. One rookie described their experience like this: “As time is not spent on travel I feel like I can log on earlier and work during what would otherwise be my commute. I can multitask when dialling into calls, whether that’s other work or exercise. I incorporate walking meetings into my week and find I am efficient at home.” Bakers allows its rookies to work from home as and when needed, within reason, though recruits feel the basic set-up of monitor, keyboard and mouse could definitely be improved upon.

Other tech-related complaints included “dropping of the internet in the office during townhall meetings” and “small iPhones that still don’t have face ID.” Rookies do appreciate the firm’s uptake of AI software such as Microsoft Copilot, and internal tools like BakerTranslate, but IT is generally not considered a strong point.

Luckily, it is an altogether happier story when it comes to the people. There’s reportedly a “sense of camaraderie among trainees” and generally “everyone is incredibly friendly and supportive.” One rookie enthuses: “Everyone in my intake is super nice, but they’re all also ambitious, smart and switched on. In casual conversations we often flip between discussing current events and market trends to just having a laugh.” Others echoed the collaborative atmosphere. “Doesn’t feel competitive; people are always eager to help,” said one trainee, whilst another added: “My peers are truly the best I could hope for. Sometimes we are too busy to look out for each other but generally we do a good job of offering each other support.” Standout events include the biannual Fluency Cup, which sees BM offices from around the world compete for coveted football bragging rights. Trainee socials don’t come in thick and fast, but spies at Bakers seem to prize quality over quantity, as those that do take place are said to be “well organised and generally quite well stocked with food and alcohol.”

Partners are “very kind, approachable and happy to answer questions.” The firm is said to place a “big cultural emphasis on coaching and mentorship,” and rookies report being able to “work directly with very senior members of the team from early on in my training contract, and they have been friendly and open to going over questions with me.” While there will always be the odd occasion where a superior is caught at a bad moment, this is described as “nothing horrendous and consistent with my friends in other firms.” Another insider adds: “You can approach partners here to discuss work issues, but also to talk about plans for the weekend or last night’s football match. It’s an office run by very down-to-earth and likeable people in the main.” Even if some mid-level associates do get a reputation for having “an inflated sense of self-importance.”

There are some fairly decent perks on offer, including a generous gym subsidy of £50 per month, a biweekly onsite GP, cashback and discounts through certain platforms, and the ability to work in overseas offices for a few days at a time, which is said to be handy for preserving precious annual leave. It’s not quite all bells and whistles, but there is also free food and taxis home after a certain (seemingly secret) time, if only trainees can figure out exactly when they’re allowed to start their Deliveroo order.