The Legal Cheek View
Meet the firm at Legal Cheek’s upcoming November UK Virtual Law Fair on Tuesday 19 November 2024
“Cool, techy stuff is the norm” at Morrison & Foerster, where trainees work from their cutting-edge office in the Scalpel, an imposing sky scraper on Lime Street. The shiny abode vaunts sound-proof rooms kitted out with standing desks, “fantastic” views of Tower Bridge and even “an active art committee”, who display a rotating curation of work for the handful of lucky MoFo trainees.
With its headquarters in Silicon Valley, MoFo’s roster include some pretty big names in the tech space. MoFo also recently advised the board of Toshiba in a $15 billion take-private transaction, said to be the largest deal of its kind in the history of Japan. The firm has 17 offices across US, Asia and Europe, and has expanded on its US offerings in recent times with offices in Austin, Texas, and a merger with San Fran litigation boutique Durie Tangri, a move that brought 36 lawyers (including 12 partners) into the firm.
Rookies are known to cut their teeth on “great work” for some of the biggest US and Japanese companies in the world such as household name Nikon. “You are given responsibility as soon as you can handle it which means the tasks quickly become more exciting,” says one insider, especially in data privacy and tech transactions. Although MoFo’s smaller size means that mundane “grunt” work is still on the cards, it also means more responsibility with some trainees taking on “NQ-level/junior associate levels of work in their first seat”. Another positive of the firm’s small intake is that it “means no sharp elbows” and “no internal politics” — “we’re all very open with each other” and “try and get together for trainee socials as regularly as possible”. As one spy tells us, the firm has a dedicated “MoFo Mingle” budget for out of office networking drinks!
Accordingly, the firm’s training is “good” whilst being on the more hands-on end of the spectrum. One spy shares their view: “If there is more billable work then the departments are less concerned with providing high level training. However, that’s not to say that people are not invested in trainee development, and it goes without saying that even highly busy departments are grateful and aware when they should be attending to the needs and health of trainees”. Structured training is said to be better on the corporate-transactional and litigation side of things, but regular feedback from higher-ups is appreciated across the board.
The firm operates a pretty lean model as law firms go. Its most recent financial results saw revenues rise 6.2% to $1.34 billion (£1.04 billion). With partner head count remaining relatively steady, profits per equity partner (PEP) soared 17.4% to $2.73 million (£2.11 Million).
MoFo seems unusually friendly and non-hierarchical for a highly profitable US firm. “The firm is very friendly, and it is a standout feature of the firm” proudly exclaims one trainee who also lauds MoFo’s “very flat hierarchy”. Superiors are “incredibly approachable” and always available to answer questions, have a chat, and even duet classic ABBA tracks during firm karaoke sessions, as one insider tells us.
But it isn’t all Super Trouper and Dancing Queen. Though it might be as good as it can get at a US firm, trainees can expect to work hard. Weekends and holidays are generally respected, and the hours are not that different to what you might get at a Magic Circle firm, but “it’s not worth making plans on weekdays unless you’re quiet”. Although another source tells us that weekend shifts are “never without knowing well in advance”. Pay sits at £60k and £65k for first and second-year trainees respectively, with a big jump to $225,000 plus bonuses on qualification — a top-notch NQ salary for those who can make the grade.
Details about perks were thin on the ground, but one source told us the firm covers offers gym subscription benefits as well as the usual private health and dental cover. And although there’s no office canteen, there are communal kitchens and the firm supplies plenty of a “range of healthy and less healthy snacks”. There is an opportunity to do the odd client secondment with some of MoFo’s corporate London clients, with one source revealing they spent time with a data privacy and compliance firm.
The firm has outposts in Berlin and Brussels, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, as well as its nice US offices. Singapore and Brussels currently appear to be the go-to destination for rookies to jet off to if they get the chance.