The Legal Cheek View

Bird & Bird continues to fly high thanks to the tech boom, with the latest financial results showing a revenue increase of over 10% to £495 million. This follows another 10% rise the previous year and a 5.3% increase in the year before that — with this trend of positive growth reaching an impressive 31 years and counting! Profit per equity partner (PEP) also rose by a more modest 2% to £669,000 following an 11% jump in the previous year. Bird & Bird also celebrated its largest ever round of promotions with 48 lawyers elevated to the partnership.

And it’s not just the partnership that’s growing. The firm has also expanded geographically, opening a Dublin office in 2022 to focus on privacy, data protection, technology, life sciences, IP and corporate practices. This brings its total number of offices to 31. The London HQ is also under new leadership with Phil Sherrell, head of international media, entertainment and sport, taking over from Nick Perry — who has been with Two Birds since a trainee — last year.

Since 2016, Bird & Bird’s UK team has been ensconced in its sleek London eyrie on 12 New Fetter Lane. It continues to impress, with trainees extolling the “lovely views” of parliament and the London Eye. They speak fondly of the “fancy staircase” and “pretty swish toilets”. The first and 12th floors are dedicated client floors, but according to one trainee, “the best floor is floor 11 (the canteen and coffee bar) where all the coffee is free and there is a great balcony to get some fresh air”. As for the rest of the building, “the working floors are semi-open-plan (in pods rather than offices) and department heads are constantly coming up with new plans to make collaborative working easier”.

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The training depends on the team and matters at hand, “some seats have formal training programmes, but all the partners/associates take the time needed to explain things”. One trainee says: “Training can vary based on the department that you are in. The variety and quality of work, as well as the accompanying training that I have received during my time in our IP department has been outstanding.” Overall, rookies describe a nice blend of informative training sessions and “hands on learning on the job.”

The work itself “is cutting edge”, as one rookie explains “pretty much everything I’ve done somehow relates to NFTs and crypto”. Others note that there are “some typically trainee tasks such as reviewing documents but you have the opportunity to work on some great matters”, and “a large variety of work is given to trainees on a mix of large and small cases. The most interesting thing about the work is definitely the client”.

Eco-minded trainees praise the firm’s recycling of coffee grounds into the next day’s brownies, its efforts on recycling and energy-saving automatic lights across the building.

The rise of Bird & Bird as the cool tech-bro of the legal world is no piece of good fortune. In the early days of the internet, it became one of the first law firms to establish its own website, choosing the quirky domain name twobirds.com way back in 1995. Since then it has built out from its core of telecommunications, media and technology (TMT) work to widen its focus towards more standard corporate and finance instructions — with its top-ranked intellectual property (IP) practice a big draw for clients and aspiring lawyers alike. In 2017, the firm ventured across the pond to launch a base in tech paradise San Francisco.

As for the firm’s own tech, there is some appetite for improvement. “The tech that we offer our clients is very advanced, however the tech within the firm isn’t the best,” a Bird in training reveals. “I have often had issues with my laptop and sometimes the document management system runs very slow. The post and copy room are very efficient though, as is the document production team.” When working from home, lawyers are provided with a laptop and phone and given £250 toward extras such as laptop stands, monitors, chairs and desk. An insider reports WFH is fairly stress-free and it is “easy” to contact people over the firm’s messaging system.

Over the years Bird & Bird has taken care to foster a strong internal culture — and this year again scores highly for peer support and for partner approachability in The Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey. “We are an extremely close cohort and I can reach out to any of them if I need help with work or something outside of work,” says one rookie. “We often meet up socially out of work too.” The trainee intake is made up of “generally fantastic people to work with”, says another. The warm atmosphere extends up the ladder, with partners “generally very approachable and happy to take the time to help you and make sure you are ok. There are obviously some which are nicer than others but that often comes down to who you personally get on with more”. As an example, one trainee reports they “have a social coffee with a partner every week”. The semi-open plan office design helps keep hierarchies to a minimum.

Friendships have been formed at the legendary mini firm World Cup football tournament, an annual event which is “really good”. The competition between teams from the firm’s international offices is held in a different city each year, with Copenhagen selected to host last year — special shout-out to the UK team for bringing home the trophy! As you would expect, the footie is optional, with most just enjoying the opportunity to “meet international colleagues over a weekend of partying”.

Despite previous cohorts enjoying time in Two Birds’ global offices, international secondments seem to be few and far between. Around half of trainees do get the opportunity to do client secondments, however, and sports fans will be in their element here — recent examples include three months at the Football Association and six months at Arsenal F.C. Other typical secondment destinations include large banks, tech companies and global businesses like Marriot Hotels.

As for the fun side of life: “I make evening social plans, and I’ve only had to work on the weekend when busy,” says one trainee. “Everyone respects when you’re on annual leave and if you’re working late, people want to know why and if they can help.” Another Birdee says their supervisors encourage them to leave early during quiet periods although there have been some “very late nights and the weekends worked. This is the exception and not the rule though.”

The pay had elicited the odd grumble, although the firm seems to have addressed this recently by upping NQ rates to £95,000 as well as boosting trainee salaries by 4%: trainees in their first year now earn £47,000 moving up to £52,000 in year two. Plus, associate rates rise swiftly through the ranks for those who stick around.

Birdees also receive pretty “solid” perks — including private health insurance, 24/7 GP services, music lessons, cycle to work incentives, access to mortgage advisors, corporate gym rates, pop-up ice cream stalls, annual summer and Christmas parties and department socials (including monthly drinks on the snazzy 11th floor), Deliveroo and taxi budgets after certain hours and — saving the best until last — a free, barista staffed coffee bar. We’ve heard the hot chocolate is amazing!

Deadlines

Flying Start Programme

16 - 17 July 2024
Applications open 14/03/2024
Applications close 21/06/2024

Insider Scorecard

A
Training
A
Quality of work
A
Peer support
A
Partner approach-ability
A
Work/life balance
B
Legal tech
B
Perks
A*
Office
A
WFH
B
Eco-friendliness

Insider Scorecard Grades range from A* to D and are derived from the Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey 2023–24 of over 2,000 trainees and junior associates at the leading law firms in the UK.

Money

First year trainee salary £47,000
Second year trainee salary £52,000
Newly qualified salary £95,000
Profit per equity partner £669,000
PGDL grant £10,000
SQE grant £15,000

Hours

Average start work time 09:10
Average finish time 18:50
Annual target hours No targets
Annual leave 25 days

Average arrive and leave times are derived from the Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey 2023-24 of over 2,000 trainees and junior associates at the leading law firms in the UK.

Secondments

Chances of secondment abroad 0%
Chances of client secondment 50%

Secondment probabilities are derived from the Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey 2023-24 of over 2,000 trainees and junior associates at the leading law firms in the UK.

General Info

Training contracts 21
Latest trainee retention rate 83%
Offices 31
Countries 28
Minimum A-level requirement AAB
Minimum degree requirement 2:1

Diversity

UK female associates 54%
UK female partners 25%
UK BME associates 23%
UK BME partners 7%

Universities Current Trainees Attended

The Firm In Its Own Words