Forsters

The firm certainly has come a long way since it was founded in 1998 by ten partners as a breakaway from one of the UK’s oldest law firms, Frere Cholmeley Bischoff, after it opted for a merger with Eversheds. Forsters takes its name from John Forster, one of the founding partners of what was to become Frere Cholmeley Bischoff in 1770. 

Alongside private clients, the firm is also big in real estate, and has been expanding its corporate and banking teams as well. The working culture remains one where reasonable hours are the norm. According to this year’s Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey the average time to start work is around 9am and the average leave time is around 6:30pm. 

“I would have given it a 10 out of 10 [for work/life balance] but had to cancel a couple of dinners — in three years, so that’s still a good percentage!” one junior associate tells us. Another says that they are “actively encouraged to pursue extra-curricular weekday activities”. Our survey also shows that Fosters rookies get on well and often help each other out with over 80% of respondents giving their peers top marks for supportiveness.

In return, there are no MoneyLaw salaries, but the £64,000 newly qualified rate works out pretty well on a per hour basis. Nor are there the sort of perks you find in the Magic Circle, or even any qualification leave for trainees at the end of their training contracts (which has been a major gripe among the firm’s rookies in recent years). International secondments, meanwhile, are not a thing — having said that, it is relatively common to take trainees on business trips. But to some the upsides of ploughing a different furrow across town in West London will no doubt override such considerations.