The Legal Cheek View
When John King established the firm now known as Moore Barlow in Lymington in 1797, all eyes were on the French invasion of Britain. After 200 years of steady growth, a complete re-engineering of its business model, a regional merger and some history-making of its own, it’s Moore Barlow that’s grabbing headlines now.
The firm has grown revenues an impressive 13% this year to a healthy £45 million, operates an all-equity partnership model and sets the standard with a 58% female partnership split. The corporate team alone completed over 30 deals in the last year, totalling over £200 million in deal value, with clients including NatWest, the British Heart Foundation and drinks company Rio, which the firm advised on its £12 million sale. The family team has also been innovating, recently devising ‘Accord’: a unique approach to divorce in which both parties use a single lawyer to reach a more harmonious and cost-effective resolution.
The firm specialises in top-end personal injury and high-value family cases, but as a full-service firm serving both businesses and individuals, trainees can expect seats across a broad range of practice areas, from rural property to data protection and privacy. Throw in six offices across the South East to rotate between (travel expenses covered, naturally) and no two days are the same.
Whether you’re in London, Richmond, Guildford, Woking, Lymington or the Southampton HQ, “very interesting” work is the consensus at Moore Barlow. Trainees speak of “solo completions,” “high profile cases” and being “given lots of responsibility early on.” MB’s strong regional presence means lawyers get first crack at some of the juiciest deals in the provinces, but the firm takes on plenty of national work too, and don’t be surprised if a few US acquisitions land on your desk in corporate.
The rookie experience bears this out. “Right from my first week I was given chargeable work billed to the client, no horror stories of being stood at the copy-machine for hours on end,” one first-seat trainee told LC. Another adds: “I’ve been given lots of responsibility and allowed to get involved in much, if not all, of the work that fee earners undertake. I’ve had the opportunity to take the lead on files and speak to clients unsupervised.”
Those rookie experiences speak to the firm’s ambition to be the career firm, where trainees arrive and never want to leave. Moore Barlow is more Ritz than Hotel California, though, at least according to those in the Richmond office. City trainees are equally effusive about the hub’s “brilliant location” at 60 Cheapside, while Southampton makes a strong play for best MB office on account of being the only one with a canteen, “which would score a strong 8,” according to one discerning critic. The quaint, historic Lymington office is “perfect for the area” and draws praise from employees and clients alike, while the “now slightly-dated” Woking and Guildford outposts are rumoured to be in line for an upgrade.
Trainees can expect to split time across these offices and home throughout their TC, with Moore Barlow described as “great at allowing flexible working.” LC sources report working from home one or two days a week depending on the team, though the absence of WFH equipment was a bugbear for some. Legal tech in the office is said to be improving as the firm upgrades its systems, though at least one recruit sees the upside of the current setup: “The only thing I don’t have is a work phone, but that can also be a good thing. Once my laptop is off, I’m not contactable.”
Not that trainees have much midnight oil to burn anyway. Work-life balance is “what MB is renowned for,” and pretty much every rookie LC spoke with reported standard hours of 9am to 5pm, barring urgent deadlines. Even at the busiest, 6:30pm appears to be the ceiling, and the weekend laptop stays firmly shut. Crucially, the story is consistent across all offices, so City trainees have no reason to feel hard done by.
On the social front, you’d be hard-pressed to find a tighter-knit trainee cohort. “The trainee and junior lawyer group are fantastic and host regular social events where we can all meet from the various offices and catch up,” one source told LC. A solid budget for trainee socials, regular firmwide events and well-regarded summer and Christmas parties keep the good vibes flowing, with Guildford earning particular plaudits as the liveliest hub.
The training itself is “hands-on” wherever you’re based, with sources emphatic that there’s “definitely no standing by the photocopier.” The firm has recently introduced a bespoke programme for trainees and NQs covering soft skills including communication, presentation and networking, but it’s the “incredibly knowledgeable, honest and kind” partners and senior associates who really make Moore Barlow a standout place to train. Partner approachability is, in the words of one trainee, an area “where Moore Barlow excels.” Another puts it simply: “No question is a silly question, and everyone is happy to put aside time to help you.”
Perks include private healthcare, a retail discount scheme and free travel between offices. But the standout? A hot air balloon ride. Well, technically a £200 voucher from the firm’s recognition scheme, which one resourceful trainee converted into exactly that. Still pretty hard to top.