The Legal Cheek View

Linklaters isn’t for the faint-hearted. But there are few more prestigious places to begin a legal career. The firm consistently scores well for training in the Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey, but it can be a demanding environment. Such standards are likely why the firm recorded yet another year of record revenues, which are up 7% to £1.9 billion. Profit per equity partner fell 4% to a little under £1.8 million, but this drop comes in the context of a challenging high-inflation environment as well as the loss of Links’ Moscow office — which it shuttered in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sticking with the numbers, Links recently settled on an improved NQ rate of £125,000 – a six-figure sum which, for now at least, matches that of several Magic Circle rivals. The firm posted a retention rate of 94% in their latest round, and as the City’s second largest TC provider (recruiting around 100 trainees annually), Linklaters can always afford to shed a few newbies who have their heads turned by the bright lights of flashier firms.

This high retention rate becomes somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy, with trainees citing it as one of the reasons why the culture at the firm is so good. “Due to the firm’s high retention rates, there is no competitive atmosphere in the firm and trainees are encouraged to work together and help each other,” one rookie explains. Obviously, the larger intake size means there are always going to be a few bad apples, but it also means that “you can easily make new friends”. And a lot of these friendships are formed even before the trainees officially start, during their legal studies ― because what doesn’t bond a group of people together like giving them a crushing workload to complete in a short space of time? But this does do the job of preparing the rookies for life at a magic circle firm, and the bonds formed between the junior lawyers mean that help is always to hand on a late-night slog: “I’ve had chunky late evening work requests where a fellow trainee has volunteered to split the work with me of their own volition, knowing that I will return the favour when they are under the cosh.” Though we’re not sure one junior’s enthusiasm to “#BleedMagenta” is going to catch on…

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The praise continues when the trainees are questioned about how approachable their superiors are. While many use terms such as “most” and “on the whole”, for an office as big as Linklaters’ London HQ, this is to be expected. Some more higher-ups, “through no fault of their own” are very busy and “don’t have much time for trainees” but “there are far more who are relaxed and happy to help.” Insiders also mention that “there is no strict hierarchical feeling in the office. There is an open door and inclusive culture”.

The culture clearly translates into a positive learning environment for the junior lawyers. “Training is top-class and enables you to do well,” one rookie enthuses. Another gives this detailed breakdown of the training at the firm: “The training here is fantastic, there are weekly training seminars on a variety of topics and each session is recorded for anyone to watch at a later date. The precedents are excellent and always include detailed drafting notes or annexures, as well as extensive memos on a variety of precedents, clauses, issues and legal concepts. Trainees and associates are encouraged to complete pieces of knowhow alongside their chargeable work, so the internal resources are constantly being updated. The associates and partners are very approachable and always prepared to answer question and sit down and run through documents with you. We are also given training on non-legal topics ― such as D&I, which are fantastic.”

Of course, as with anything, the level of training will differ between teams ― as will the type of work afforded to the newbies. However, the latter invokes slightly less praise from the trainees than the former: “The work is generally highly stimulating, but there are definitely administrative tasks that are not, like maintaining trackers or processing billing. There are also tasks given to trainees that should definitely been given to paralegals or LPM teams, so it feels like a waste of time and resources,” one mole tells Legal Cheek.

As for the quality of work, rookies can cut their teeth on massive deals such as the landmark bond offerings for the Republic of Chile, or the sale of Unilever’s tea business. Other clients include Goldman Sachs, and British Airways, alongside some of the world’s largest banks, corporates, and a healthy sprinkling of governments.

But whether you’re “researching (and occasionally presenting) advice on a complex and untested legal issue which could influence the outcome of a multi-billion-pound matter” or “slogging away amending billing narratives”, you may as well do it with a view. And come 2026, this will be the case for the Linklaters crew when the firm moves just up the road to a brand-new home on Ropemaker Street. Until then, the firm continues to be based right next to the Barbican Centre on Silk Street, which has been its home since 1996. Unfortunately for the current cohort, this shows ― our spies describe the current office as “a bit dated” and “in need of a facelift”. “Let’s just say the move to Ropemaker Street can’t come soon enough!”, another rookie adds. Couldn’t have put it better ourselves ― with an auditorium and not one, but two, roof terraces, we’re certainly looking forward to seeing the new office!

If you’re looking to spend some of your TC in a different office while on secondment, then the stats look promising. The impact of the pandemic on international secondments seems to have eased, with over a quarter of the junior lawyers surveyed having completed one. Destinations include Dubai, Amsterdam, Singapore and Madrid. With 31 offices across 21 countries, there’s certainly a lot of choice! Client secondments are less common, but several rookies had the opportunity to cut their teeth at corporate giants such as Nestle and Credit Suisse.

In terms of Links’ approach to agile working, we are told that trainees are only allowed to work from home 20% of the time ― though this goes up to between 20%-50% for associates. And the offerings from the firm regarding a WFH set-up don’t impress rookies much: “They gave us a £200 budget when we first joined the firm, but have not given any top-up since. Budget was enough just to buy a keyboard, mouse and monitor (we were given free headsets), and we were not allowed to buy printers with the budget,” one insider explains. The tech itself doesn’t inspire much joy either ― the laptops and phones reportedly have “lots of bugs” and even where the firm has “advanced” legal tech, it is “not always used by everyone (probably because they aren’t aware of it)”. The firm has started hosting tech “know-how” sessions in an attempt to change this.

But the biggest drawback of working at a Magic Circle firm is, of course, the work/life balance. The reports of a lack of this are exactly what you’d expect from a firm dishing out an NQ salary of £125k. As one mole puts it, “it’s the price you pay for working at a Magic Circle firm”. “Unpredictable” is a term used a lot by the rookies when describing their workload, and it seems the greater flexibility offered to superiors when it comes to working patterns only causes further problems for the juniors: “An unfortunate consequence for many trainees is that they will always be on call right through the evening in order to accommodate the different working styles of their superiors.” Saying that, some teams are apparently better than others, and “where you flag that you have plans in advance, people generally try to respect that”. But, as one newbie explains, “if you’re looking for a 9 to 5, Linklaters is not for you.”

Luckily, the firm makes up for its demanding nature with some of the perkiest perks the City has to offer. There’s an in-house gym and fitness centre that is completely free ― though there are reports that “you can hardly ever use it”. If it proves too busy, there’s always a gym membership subsidy too. But if you can get a spot, it’s worth it ― we’ve heard it has boutique hotel standards of towels and toiletries, and even hair straighteners. Speaking of hair, how many offices do you know that have their own onsite salon? Mind you, the Amsterdam office apparently offers massages, so anything less will be a comedown after a secondment there. A firm doctor and dentist, meanwhile, is on hand to see to employees’ health needs. The canteen — called ‘Silks’ — is the sort of upmarket food hall more usually associated with lunching in Chelsea or Beverly Hills. And if you’re working late, there’s a Deliveroo allowance. A new scheme also allows workers to swap out up to three bank holidays for another day in the calendar year. And there are always the numerous “office trips and team away days”. So just a few perks, then…

Insider Scorecard

A*
Training
A
Quality of work
A
Peer support
A
Partner approach-ability
C
Work/life balance
B
Legal tech
B
Perks
C
Office
B
WFH
B
Eco-friendliness

Insider Scorecard Grades range from A* to D and are derived from the Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey 2023-24 of over 2,000 trainees and junior associates at the leading law firms in the UK.

Money

First year trainee salary £50,000
Second year trainee salary £55,000
Newly qualified salary £125,000
Profit per equity partner £1,800,000
PGDL grant £12,000
SQE grant £20,000

Hours

Average start work time 09:18
Average finish time 20:33
Annual target hours No targets
Annual leave 27 days

Average arrive and leave times are derived from the Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey 2023-24 of over 2,000 trainees and junior associates at the leading law firms in the UK. In addition to 27 days annual leave, solicitors at Linklaters also get birthday leave.

Secondments

Chances of secondment abroad 96%
Chances of client secondment 96%

Secondment probabilities are derived from the Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey 2023-24 of over 2,000 trainees and junior associates at the leading law firms in the UK.

General Info

Training contracts 100
Latest trainee retention rate 82%
Offices 31
Countries 21
Minimum A-level requirement No minimum
Minimum degree requirement 2:1

Diversity

UK female associates 54%
UK female partners 27%
UK BME associates 24%
UK BME partners 12%

Universities Current Trainees Attended

The Firm In Its Own Words