Bird & Bird

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.

Surprisingly, the firm’s own tech is a little hit and miss, according to some of our spies, with a running in-joke amongst TwoBirds lawyers being that they’re delivering solutions for tech clients from “barely usable” work-phones, at desks where they’re not allowed more than one monitor. There is obviously some advanced kit available – the Gen-AI offerings said to be “decent” (the firm operates a ring fenced version of GPT-4) and software like Microsoft Copilot is commonplace. A new partnership with collaborative AI tool Legora is also said to be “game-changing” and has left most feeling optimistic about B&B’s investment in this space.
When working from home, lawyers are provided with a laptop and phone and a one-off £250 allowance to go toward extras such as laptop stands, monitors, chairs or a desk. The firm-wide policy of trainees working from home one day per week whilst everyone else gets two days from home elicits grumbles from a few, but this policy is said to be fairly flexible and team-dependent.

For the other four days a week, Bird & Bird’s lawyers are ensconced in their sleek London eyrie on 12 New Fetter Lane. The office remains a highlight for new recruits, who laud the privilege of having the entire building to themselves, with “lovely views” of Parliament, the London Eye and even Elizabeth Tower if you take a pair of binoculars up to the eleventh floor. One ornithologist says their afternoons are spent: “Sitting in the canteen with views across Southbank and over to Westminster is very impressive — with a pair of binoculars set up pointing at the Elizabeth Tower to show off the view.”

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”. There’s also new electric sit-stand desks and soundproof booths for those all-important client calls — techy! The space itself is said to be “modern and bright” with a kitchen on each floor, a “fancy staircase” and “pretty swish toilets” according to the rookies we spoke with. 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”.

Chef Francis and co. are said to offer a “great selection of food” at the firm’s subsidised canteen although this is apparently less true if you’re vegan – the salad prices are “criminal” according to one, and another rates the spread at “2/10 if you’re vegan, 7/10 if you’re an omnivore”. That being said, at “£4.60 for steak” trainees “can’t complain too much”.

Regardless of your culinary preferences, there is always some meaty work to get stuck into — particularly in the IP team where trainees tell us they “deal with cases that are being widely reported in the media and so the work feels genuinely important.” A lot of the work on offer is said to be “quite niche and at the cutting-edge of technology and other sectors” so “even the boring stuff has an interesting component because of the bigger picture.” One trainee summed it up like this: “I’ve been given some really interesting and complex regulatory issues which I’ve had to research and draft advice memos on for clients. Teams are great at directly involving trainees in thinking about new developments and the impacts that can have both legally and commercially. Of course, sometimes you will get less stimulating admin work (e.g. proofreading, filing) but often that helps me understand the background to a matter and the general process of a transaction.” Another recruit praises B&B’s work in specialist areas, such as sport, which other City firms don’t offer dedicated teams for.

In fact, Bird & Bird’s sports team is so well tied-in that a good chunk of trainees enjoy spending time on a client secondment to Arsenal F.C. or the Football Association (FA) each year. Other client secondment destinations include equally big names such as Marriott Hotels, AirBnB and Google’s Flutter and one lucky rookie even got to spend three months at Warner Bros. Despite Bird & Bird’s 32-strong global office spread, international secondments seem to be out the window for now.
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”. Across the board, juniors report of “supervisors and teams who care about your development and will take the time to explain background, answer questions, and get you involved in areas of interest. One trainee adds: “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.”

As you might expect, trainees score their superiors very highly for approachability, and B&B lawyers receive some of the highest praise you can get in City law such as “everyone is normal” and “on the whole not many bad eggs”. Partners and associates alike are said to be “lovely people” and the consensus is that “most people are open to a chat and friendly.” As one inside source put it: “I often work directly with my supervisors and feel comfortable asking them questions (whether minor or silly questions, or more in-depth discussion questions) in-person or online. I also have regular catch-up meetings with them.”

Over the years Bird & Bird has also taken care to foster a strong internal culture amongst its rookie cohorts, and this year is no exception. “Trainees are great at helping each other and there is constant communication on group chats, and general opportunities to chat and catch-up over a coffee or lunch” was the review from one. “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,” added another. One humble source described B&B as a “firm full of very smart people who do not take themselves too seriously”, which is high praise indeed if they do say so themselves.

Bird & Bird’s social scene has reportedly taken a bit of a dip lately, though more informal meet-ups and post-work drinks are always at hand. Our sources tell us the firm “hosts annual Christmas and Summer socials which are normally at quite nice venues with lots of free food and drink” and “Early Careers host frequent socials for current and future trainees which are really nice.” In summer, recruits should prepare to form new friendships and reignite old rivalries at the legendary mini firm World Cup football tournament. The competition between teams from the firm’s international offices is held in a different city each year and as you would expect the footie is optional, with most just enjoying the opportunity to “meet international colleagues over a weekend of partying”.

As for work/life balance more generally, Bird & Bird is the place to be and most recognise that, compared to City competitors, “the firm has an excellent WLB”. This is caveated by the fact that business needs do demand some late hours during busy periods and the working culture can vary from seat to seat but on the whole people are said to “genuinely have respect for boundaries” meaning there’s not an “excessive amount of late nights or weekends”. One Birdee offered this personal experience: “Some departments work noticeably harder than others. Some departments have a ‘start late leave late’ culture, while others you can go in early and finish early. Even in my most busy seat, I was still able to leave around 6:30 — 7:30 (but I was starting at 8am most days). Actual late nights are very rare, only for deal closings/court submission deadlines etc. I have had to work on the weekend maybe 3 times in the whole training contract (I am 4th seat). People were very apologetic about it. Hearing from people at other firms I think we get a good deal overall.” The consensus is that, whilst the work-life balance on offer at TwoBirds is “not as good as it was a couple of years ago”, it is “still pretty decent for an international firm”.

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, free fruit in the office, 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 9pm and — saving the best until last — a free, barista staffed coffee bar. In the words of one overly caffeinated recruit: “Free coffee bar is the standout. The new coffee bar is really smart and offers pretty much every drink you could want. From standard flat whites etc., to matcha, to iced pistachio lattes, to iced tea. What more could you want?”

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.