The Legal Cheek View
Cripps is a firm on the up. With bases in Tunbridge Wells, London and Horsham, it’s been busy expanding in recent years. First came a 2019 merger with Pemberton Greenish, followed by a swift tie-up with PDT Solicitors, adding a Horsham office and boosting its corporate, insolvency and real estate offerings. A more recent merger with private client specialist Michelmores looked to be on the cards, but talks fell through. Still, with its deal-making track record, don’t be surprised if this growth-hungry South East player makes another move soon.
Cripps thrives in the private client, and ESG and sustainability fields, and has recently become one of the largest law firms to be awarded with B-Corp certification. Recruits report of “frequent net zero / environmental talks and groups available to join” and everyone at Cripps is said to be “really conscious about our impact on the environment and community around us.” Financially, the latest publicly available figures show the firm’s revenues sit at around the £47 million mark.
Work-wise, trainees enjoy the “wide variety of work” on offer here, as the clientele ranges from blue chip corporates to high net worth individuals. Some more commonly known names include Deliveroo, Formula One and Harrow School. As one trainee puts it: “Cripps is great at giving me a good amount of responsibility and pushing me to be the best I can whilst also ensuring that I feel like I am supported and can ask for advice or guidance.”
“I have been provided the opportunity to lead matters with guidance and to get involved in large transactions which has been exciting”, another insider tells us. “This has been stimulating because it makes the work I am contributing feel purposeful and clients recognise my involvement as being part of the team even as a trainee.” Not bad for a rookie!
As for the admin that typically comes along with trainee or junior status, fear not: “We are involved in the matter, often leading or being the client’s main point of contact. Admin based tasks are completed by support staff and therefore first drafts of all documents are usually prepared by trainees.” In fact, the only complaint from our insiders was that, during the quieter months, there’s not always enough work to go around and trainees are sometimes left competing between themselves and solicitor apprentices for the juicy stuff.
Formal training sessions given by professional support lawyers are supplemented by day-to-day training and support from supervisors which is nothing short of “excellent” according to our sources. “Training has been very detailed at Cripps” with regular knowledge development sessions alongside internal team training”, says one rookie, noting that “there is always the opportunity to sign up to external training sessions, and this is really accommodated and supported by the teams”. Another newbie raves about a “two-week intensive training at the beginning of the TC and then ongoing training within the seats”. “I always have responsibility, always felt trusted and guided when needed,” says another, talking further about “great client contact”. What more could a budding solicitor want?
With around ten trainees per cohort, they’re a close bunch over at Cripps. A typical review of your fellow trainees sounds like this: “Everybody I have worked with has been so supportive and helpful. This includes people from all areas of the firm and in all job roles. The group of apprentices here is really great and we all support each other as we are all in the same boat.” Whether its supervisors, fellow recruits, pastoral managers or equity partners, everyone at Cripps “wants you to succeed and will provide support to each other”, one mole told LC.
Whilst Tunbridge Wells might not have the most exhilarating nightlife, Cripps recruits make the most of their trainee social budget with quarterly drinks, end of year events, and firmwide Christmas and summer parties all touted for raising morale and rallying the troops.
It’s not just the peers who offer a helping hand; partners, supervisors, and all other lawyers are just as supportive according to our insiders. “Everyone in my team at all levels are very approachable, the meaning that there is ‘no silly question’ really is applicable and provided you have carried out work to the best of your ability, I have found all my superiors from associate to partner level have been more than willing to assist and provide the time to give guidance,” one trainee explains. Almost every trainee we spoke with mentioned the “lack of hierarchy” at Cripps — “even equity partners take the time to talk to you and help and there aren’t any unapproachable partners” noted one.
The environment and structure of the firm also lend a hand in this department. “As the office is open plan, and we hot desk, one day you may be sat next to a partner and another day you could be with another trainee. Working is very collaborative.” Trainees are generally expected to be in and hot-desking every day, as the firm doesn’t currently offer a WFH policy for its new recruits. A basic at-home set-up of “laptops and support items (mouse, monitor, chair, wrist support, laptop prop up devices)” is, however, still provided.
On the tech front, reviews are mixed. Whilst some teams are touted as being “really interested in tech and always looking for new ways to adapt it”, others are said to be “in the ‘dark ages” and slow to use it.
As for office perks, highlights include “free tea and coffee, plus a complimentary fruit bowl” and “food vouchers if we stay at the office after 8:00pm”. Birthday leave, discounts for local shops, a gym subsidy, private healthcare and a ‘be the difference’ day — which allows trainees to take one paid day a year to help support local charities and causes — makes up the rest of the perk-package.
By far and away the best perk at Cripps, however, is the work/life balance on offer. Expect consistent 9am-6pm working hours without the obligation to work late or sacrifice weekends. “I very rarely have to work late, and can count on one hand in two years that I have worked late. Compared to most firms this would be normal hours. Cripps really encourage a work/life balance and you are not expected to work ridiculous hours. As long as you get your work done and are productive you are fine” one insider source told LC. In a statement that would horrify many City trainees, another added, “I am comfortably able to make plans with my friends and family outside of work, provided I get the work I am assigned complete, I am able to leave the office most days at 5:30.” Of course, in return, Cripps recruits can expect less remuneration than some of their other counterparts with NQs in Tunbridge Wells taking home £60,000 and those in London netting £72,000.
There are no international secondment opportunities, though the firm does have specialist Franco-British and Middle Eastern investment teams. One client secondment is offered to one trainee each year, with the rest having to make do with trips to the London office. This might be more of a perk than it sounds as the “modern and swish” London digs receive high praise from rookies. That being said, we’re not sure it beats the “modern and comfortable” abode at Tunbridge Wells, which comes equipped with its own sky-lounge and a roof terrace that plays host to a bee-hive from which Cripps’ lawyers enjoy their “own supply of honey”.