Foot Anstey

The firm focuses on seven core sectors: charities, developers, energy & infrastructure, private equity, private wealth, retail & consumer, and Islamic finance, with the lattermost of these areas getting a special shout-out for offering “great supervision and training”. FA also has an associated specialist medical negligence, personal injury and mental capacity firm, Enable Law, and the real estate and corporate teams receive high praise for “hosting sessions for trainees on key topics” and running “weekly bitesize training sessions”. Training elsewhere in the firm is said to be very hands-on, but recruits report that supervisors are “receptive, eager for you to learn and keen to challenge you whilst recognising varying levels of experience”.

“Plenty of variety in workload, including dealing directly with clients, negotiating with the other side and managing your own matters” seems to be the offering wherever you end up, though the inside scoop is that litigation and private client is where the most juicy stuff is at right now. There’s still the odd administrative trainee task to cut your teeth on, but overall trainees report being impressed with the quality of work on offer at FA. As one details: “I have had the opportunity to work on some really interesting matters, including supporting on a complex £180 million sale involving teams across the firm. I have worked for impressive national clients as well as collaborated with smaller independent businesses, both interesting and stimulating in their own ways. I have also spent a fair amount of time on more banal tasks such as drafting COI letters, writing research notes for supervisors rather than for client work, proof reading documents, drafting land registry forms and taking attendance notes in calls. But that is the life of a trainee and we are still grateful for it!”

Foot Anstey counts Santander, Ministry of Sound and Netflix among its notable clients, and its recent work includes advising Bahrain-based real estate investment firm Blacksand on the sale of Leazes Terrace to Newcastle United and its acquisition of the Morrisons distribution centre in Glasgow. The firm has also advised Gülermak Renewables on a power purchase agreement for a solar project in Essex. On the disputes side, the firm has launched a dedicated supervising solicitor service in Manchester, helping other lawyers navigate imaging orders, search orders and other court-led processes involving digital evidence. Elsewhere, Foot Anstey has struck a long-term partnership with Bristol Bears, becoming the rugby club’s principal partner and preferred exclusive legal services provider.

What really sets Foot Anstey apart, though, is that this top-quality work doesn’t come at a cost. The work-life balance on offer here is described as “excellent”, with one trainee reporting that they are “rarely working after 6pm” and have “only had to log on for a couple weekends so far”. There is some variation between seats, as one rookie details: “In Islamic finance and asset management I worked 9am to 5.15pm most of the time, in commercial and corporate my hours were more consistently 9am to 7pm with a handful of late nights, with one 2am finish on a Friday night in the office! But on the whole, I have had a good work life balance at FA with an average 9am to 6.30pm work day.” Other recruits even speak of being “encouraged to prioritise making time to get outdoors, exercise and look after my mental health”. That sound you’re hearing is jaws hitting the floor over in the City.

The trade-off is you’re not going to trouser sky-high City salaries. First year trainees can expect to earn £41,000, rising to £42,500 in their second year, while NQs take home £66,000 a year.

A relatively small trainee intake of around 12-15 each year makes for close-knit cohorts where “everyone is supportive and really friendly”, though the latest feedback suggests the social scene remains “quite team dependent”, with fewer firm-wide events than at some rivals. A trainee social committee now organises junior events, which the firm pays for or subsidises. Some teams do make the effort, though, and one rookie reports completing a “fundraising week, involving splitting into teams and walking/running/cycling 306 km each, a great way of building team morale and getting the step counter up”. There is also appreciation shown for the fact that the firm makes a positive effort to ensure “social events don’t only revolve around drinking”, such as the firm’s biweekly cycling club where members “go for a ride and coffee before work every other week”.

Although most superiors are described as “very approachable”, it’s worth noting that not all are cut from the same cloth, with some a bit more challenging to gel with. Another trainee jokes that the partners range in approachability from “curtsying in their presence to limited banter”, but mostly it’s a good vibe. “Supervisors and senior colleagues are extremely friendly and approachable. Despite often being very busy, they are always willing to make time for questions and provide guidance when needed. There is a strong open-door culture,” said one young lawyer. Some higher-ups might even join you down the pub on a Friday night, a mixed blessing, potentially, but definitely works if they’re buying.

Foot Anstey also receives praise for its perks, and there’s one particular perk that’s on top of everyone’s list: Lifestyle Hour, an hour a week on firm time to do whatever you like. “I like to use mine to leave early on a Friday”, one trainee told us while sipping a mojito in her hammock. Another uses it to get a surf in before work on a Friday morning! Health-conscious trainees are also buzzing about the regular deliveries of fresh fruit and the option of standing desks, while other popular perks include birthday days off, two corporate social responsibility days each year and “great team lunches”. Trainees now receive private medical insurance too. The firm has also committed to investing at least 1% of its net profits in responsible business activity, including through a three-year partnership with Young Enterprise, while new parents can now take six months’ leave on full pay. But really, as one trainee puts it: “the best perk is not having to work silly hours”.

Office-wise, the firm’s hubs are unified in their “open plan layout”, which one rookie tells us is “actually a great way of networking with people at all levels”. The Bristol office, situated by the river on Glass Wharf, is said to be particularly “swish”, while Plymouth is said to have “good views”. The firm’s Exeter team has also moved to a new purpose-designed city-centre office at Broadwalk House, with recruits praising its upgraded equipment, booths and quiet rooms, and one adding that “the seats are super comfy”.

Luckily, flexible working opportunities are excellent, and you can buy and sell annual leave days. One rookie even speaks of the ability to swap some annual leave for flexible hours, which can be used in up to two-hour chunks, “a useful way to keep active during the week”. Trainees are generally expected to spend two or three days a week in the office and are provided with a monitor, keyboard and mouse for working from home, with one describing the set-up as “barebones but functional”. Internally, the tech offering remains something of a work in progress, although Copilot has now been integrated into Word and teams use specialist tools including Kira, Avail, Orbital Witness and Definely.

International travel is saved for those who go on to qualify, but client secondments to a range of big-name businesses are an option: Lloyds Banking Group, Pizza Hut and IKEA, to name a few. The firm also has its ‘Virtual Trainee’ programme, where rookies provide up to five hours per week of additional legal support, at no cost to the client, adopting the role of an in-house legal adviser. One recruit describes the scheme as “great”, praising the “proper work” and client contact it offers.