Baker McKenzie

There are some excellent client secondment opportunities too. Classic corporate locations include Unilever, Standard Chartered, The Guardian, TikTok, British Red Cross, and 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. That’s right, the firm’s digs at 280 Bishopsgate have floors literally made from chocolate. (Not really, they’re 99% linseed and 1% cacao) but still it’s a nice selling point which is part of the firm’s larger efforts to make its living space as sustainable as possible. All electricity is also said to come from renewable sources. And sustainable flooring isn’t the only thing impressing recruits. “Great communal spaces on all floors” and “standing desks” in every office has left rookies very happy with their new abode, which also boasts a new deal suite, client lounge, “quiet corners”, collaboration desks, and a top floor roof terrace equipped with “great views across the City” and 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 who they wouldn’t usually interact with, according to London managing partner Ed Poulton. Teams are split up 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 and open plan takes away the stress of approaching superiors. It also places less emphasis on rigid start and finish times, and places more emphasis on collaborative working across departments. Very much a fan.”

One apparent sore point of the move has been a downgrade on the canteen, which BM veterans have said is “far more expensive, with smaller portions and poorer selection” than their cafe at 100 New Bridge Street. 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, but otherwise, trainees say the only highlight is the “pop ups” from vendors in Spitalfields market.

Whether you’re hot-desking, sitting in the quiet corner, brooding in the canteen or lounging on the rooftop, there’s always some high-quality work to get stuck into at BM. A “great range of work”, “exciting clients” and “exposure from the get-go” is what you can expect, according to the trainees we spoke to. One insider told Legal Cheek, “I was treated as an NQ for most of the training contract” whilst another noted that they often find themselves “dealing with associates and senior associates on the other sides of deals (especially where the other side is a Magic Circle firm)”. Recent highlights from the London office include advising Rubicon Carbon on a carbon removal credits framework agreement with Microsoft and securing a win for Vodafone in its recent Court of Appeal case against EE.

“A real emphasis on training and up-skilling trainees” is what you’ll get from a Baker McKenzie training contract, which appears to translate mostly into informal training from supervisors: “Overall, training is more 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. There is a week-long induction in your first seat, as well as more formal training sessions during 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 spy assures that 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 generally most report of “excellent training and support”. This insider has a particularly nice story to tell about their supervisor’s training: “My supervisor –– who 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 all means you’ll avoid your mandatory trainee admin as insiders describe “no shortage of run of the mill trainee tasks” at BM. That being said, 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 rep for being admin-heavy when big deals are coming in. Although, the lower-level stuff can sometimes act as a welcomed breather from the stress of being given more responsibility. One rookie reminisces about a recent brush with the stress of the job: “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. In fact, 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 –– the proximity of nose to grindstone will depend a lot on the seat and what work 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.

In corporate departments, BM is said to show more of its true red white and blue colours, with at least one recruit there feeling that the 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 work/life balance at the firm is described as being “better than expected”. “There is some evening work and I know other trainees have worked on the 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 conundrum. One rookie described their experience like this: “As time is not spent on travel I feel like I can log on earlier/work where I would otherwise be travelling. I can multitask when dialling into calls –– whether that’s work or exercise, I incorporate walking meetings into my week. I find I am efficient at home.” Bakers allows its rookies to work from home as and when is needed –– within reason of course –– 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 having “small iPhones that still don’t have face ID”. Rookies do appreciate the firm’s uptake of AI software, such as a Microsoft Copilot and internal tech like BakerTranslate, but overall IT is not a strong point.

Luckily it is an altogether happier story when it comes to company in the workplace. 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, switched on. In casual conversations we often flip between discussing current events and market trends to just having a laugh.” Other standout events include the biannual Fluency Cup, which sees BM offices from all over the world compete for the coveted football bragging rights. Trainee socials don’t come in thick and fast but our spies at Bakers seem to prize quality over quantity as the socials 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 bad rep for having “an inflated sense of self-importance.”

There’s some fairly decent perks on offer, with a very good gym subsidy of £50 per month, a biweekly onsite GP, cashback/discounts through certain discount sites and the ability to work in offices abroad for a few days at a time which is said to be handy for saving that all-important 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 when they’re exactly allowed to start their Deliveroo order!