The Legal Cheek View
Location, location, location, is the name of the game for global giant Greenberg Traurig, which has opened a new office almost every year since its inception in 1965. Originally founded in Miami, GT has now stamped its name in 16 countries across the US, Latin America, Europe and Asia, with the latest additions coming in the form of bases in Munich and Sao Paulo.
Across the board, it’s been another good year for Greenberg Traurig. A 14% increase in revenues makes this the firm’s thirteenth consecutive year of growth, with the bottom line up from $2.3 billion (£1.7 billion) to over $2.6 billion (£1.9 billion). Profits per equity partner took an equally healthy jump up 10% from $2.4 million (£1.7 million) to over $2.6 million (£1.9 million). This increase comes despite the addition of 20 new partners to its equity tier this year.
CEO Brian Duffy has said that Greenberg Traurig’s London office is comparable to one of its U.S. counterparts because of how much work the firm is seeing there, and from their towering position in the Shard, the London office’s relatively smaller contingent of around 140 lawyers have been concentrating their efforts on the titan’s varied practice areas. Around one-quarter of the work GT does in the City involves disputes –– something which makes this US firm’s London shop quite distinct from its transactional compatriots’ –– but trainees can also get their teeth stuck into seats ranging from banking & finance, to real estate, insolvency & restructuring, tax, capital markets, data protection & privacy, employment, funds, IP, regulatory, and private equity. Just to name a few!
In order to handle all of this work with such a streamlined roster, the London office has been on the hunt, poaching talent from top targets from City competitors such as Clyde & Co., Pinsent Masons and Reed Smith in the past year. And with top lawyers comes top clients, so it should come as no surprise that Greenberg’s clientele is a checklist of big names in the music, banking, tech, business and entertainment industries.
On offer for prospective recruits are around eight training contracts annually, providing the select few with two years of “good training from talented supervisors”. In typical US fashion, trainees are expected to do a lot of “learning on the job”, but we’re told that the firm is making a conscious effort to increase team-wide training. What’s more, the sessions that are on offer are said to be top-draw: “The team is excellent at explaining the background to tasks and providing detailed feedback on almost every task. The more structured training has substantive and useful content, even if these sessions are often delayed due to how busy the teams are”, one Legal Cheek insider revealed.
Another had this to say on the training at GT: “The firm’s precedents are at the top end of the market. Most partners come from Magic Circle or other leading Big Law firms, so we benefit from exceptional industry knowledge. We regularly work with major investment firms and banks, which means our work product must be cutting-edge. The small trainee intake allows for broad exposure to different practice areas, often at a high level of responsibility for those willing to take it on. Lean teams mean direct contact with both partners and clients, so you start learning real, substantive work from day one; if you’re willing to take the initiative.”
There are no international secondments on the cards, but at least one current recruit reports “regularly collaborated with our international offices, in New York, Miami and Milan during my Corporate and Finance seats.” Client secondments to multinational companies are much more common, with around a third of the trainees we interviewed reporting doing one.
As part of every trainee’s right of passage, you can be expected to pick up the odd “less stimulating” administrative task, but “overall trainees are given a lot of responsibility and opportunities to carry out interesting work” and we’re assured that the majority of the work carries “real responsibility”. As one source reports, “The work and clients are high profile and teams are small in size so if you make yourself available you can quickly find yourself in the thick of a transaction, negotiating documentation and handling communications with clients and opposing counsel. Supervisors can be playful and encourage trainees to take on more responsibilities, but are ready to jump in and give direct feedback. Mistakes are fine but it is important that you can always demonstrate you are trying to produce work to the highest standard and pay attention to all of the details.”
In no time, trainees could find themselves working on a cross-jurisdiction deal on a billion-dollar Taiwanese wind farm or supporting a Supreme Court case involving a dispute of Russian ownership of property in London.
If all of this stardom and graft is at all intimidating, fear not, we’re assured that those at Greenberg Traurig are actually a pretty nice bunch. “The trainees are very supportive of one another and often help each other out when needed. We also have a buddy system to help new trainees settle in” said one. All insiders scored their peers well and were quick to praise their “highly supportive cohort!” There are quarterly team socials, regular trainee meet-ups and the occasional firmwide event thrown in for good measure, all of which contribute to the “pretty good” social life at GT. Superiors were also said to be “in the main, highly approachable and happy to provide assistance”, even if some partners at the firm were “understandably less so” in light of their busy workloads.
Situated on the eighth floor of one of the City’s most iconic buildings –– the Shard. Although not all are as dazzled by the slightly “underwhelming” interior which is also said to be a little “small”, there’s no qualms with the “amazing location” –– “It’s The Shard –– need I say more?” quipped one smug trainee. Despite the lack of a canteen, the firm’s proximity to Borough Market seems to keep most recruits satiated.
Indeed, it seems to be this environment that is keeping the rookies happy in spite of what can be very long office hours: “In the busier seats and during certain time periods, it can be really difficult to make time for exercising, socialising or even basic household admin” reveals one LC insider. Another remarked that work life balance can be “very seat dependent, but work is always a priority over personal plans (as to be expected at trainee level).” That being said, rookies at GT do see the silver linings to these late night with one adding that “when I am required to work late I am never doing it on my own, the entire team is collaborative and working together” –– not to mention the £50,000 starting salary, which rises to £55,000 in the second year of your training contract.
If that wasn’t enough, a space in London Tower Bridge also comes with its own perks as GT employees receive discounts at exclusive designer sales and various restaurants. Alongside this, the firm also offers private health insurance and free Deliveroo and taxis after a certain time.
When working from home, which trainees are able to do one day a week, GT’s facilities team are praised for being “great at getting us whatever we need, whether it be a desk, monitors or an office chair”. It seems even when rookies leave the Shard, the luxury experience continues.
Other points of note include the firm’s carbon neutral status and its use of 100% renewable energy for its 35 US offices. This social good is in addition to a strong pro bono practice, assisting non-profit organisations, families and children, immigrants, refugees, the LGBTQ+ community, veterans, and taking on a variety of human rights cases and issues as well as criminal work.