The Legal Cheek View
Having begun life in 1982 as a boutique breakaway from Norton Rose Fulbright’s shipping practice, Watson Farley & Williams’ (WFW) raison d’etre remains all things maritime. The firm has expanded and now specialises in three main sectors — energy, infrastructure and transport — with aviation finance and renewables work some more recent fortes.
The work is highly international, and around half of WFW’s staff are based overseas. As such, all WFW trainees are required to do an international secondment of at least four months. Popular destinations include Athens, Singapore, Paris, Dubai, Frankfurt, and Bangkok. As well as these locations, and the HQ in London, the firm also boasts offices in Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Madrid, Milan, Munich, New York, Sydney, Tokyo, Seoul and Rome.
An 11% rise in global revenues marks back-to-back years of double digit growth for WFW, with global income now sitting pretty at £238 million. Average profit per equity partner grew a more modest 1.5% to £593,000, in part due to 6% rise in the firm’s equity partnership. Managing partner Lindsey Keeble expects to “see more growth coming” as the firm’s investments — such as its hiring the now defunct Ince’s maritime and finance teams in Piraeus and Athens — pay dividends.
One area that is already reaping rewards is the “excellent” training programme on offer at WFW. Comprehensive training is provided at the start of each seat which includes “the fundamentals of that practice area, key terms, types of trainee tasks and key contacts”. One recruit notes that this is “a very helpful jumping off point when you may feel out of your depth starting fresh in a new area of the law you have not previously encountered”. Although we’re told the more formalised sessions could do with being “more frequent and better targeted to juniors,” trainees informed LC that “the ‘on-the-job’ training is very good at the firm”. Supervisors are praised for going out of their way to ensure that more informal training is always on hand, even if this can mean “learning by trial and error rather than clear guidance”. Overall, the training programme receives green ticks across the board for offering “a large amount of responsibility and good supervision”.
As with many firms, trainees find the quality of work to be highly seat-dependent — “different strokes for different folks,” as one sage recruit said. Work in disputes is notorious for being “admin-heavy, laborious and dry” and finance “can be overly-procedural and monotonous”. On the flip side, however, “advisory seats are very interesting,” according to one, “and corporate involves a lot of problem solving”. Trainees also get involved in a lot of “international and complex” matters involving “high calibre clients” so there’s “rarely a dull day in the office,” according to LC sources.
One recruit offered this personal insight, “Trainees will always have to do more mundane tasks but these are generally balanced out with the opportunity to draft documents, speak with clients, conduct novel research and assist on each of the key stages of a transaction or dispute. Whilst a trainee may not get to action tasks in connection with all matters, we definitely have great exposure to the associates and partners undertaking this work”
It’s a good job then that rookies at WFW ranked their superiors as being “very approachable for the most part”, with trainees getting close partner contact through the two-person offices shared with their supervisors. “The senior associates and partners are a very friendly, normal, down-to earth group of people. They are of course often busy and so choosing a suitable moment is expected but over the course of six seats, I have rarely felt unable to ask questions on both the immediate work and the wider practice areas” summarised one trainee. Bar a few bad apples, many clearly feel that their supervisors are really something to write home about: “Some excellent supervisors who really take the time to teach you” and are “a clear highlight of the firm.”
There’s also a nice vibe among trainees, who are known for meeting up together on Fridays for drinks at one of two local bars and pubs close to WFW’s offices near Liverpool Street station resulting in the odd night out every now and then. “The trainee cohort is extremely supportive and we have a tight-knit group. Trainees interact across both years, and we’ve formed genuine friendships, especially where trainees are moved to our international offices together”, says one. “Every team I have sat with has been extremely welcoming and supporting. I have not had a single bad experience with people during my time at the firm” added another. Relatively slim deal teams means trainees get to work closely with other junior lawyers and the firm is said to be good at putting on events and socials for trainees to get to know each other across the entire firm. Highlights include inter-office football tournaments, annual Christmas and rooftop summer parties, ping-pong tournaments, an “escape room” away day, sporting watch-a-longs, office quizzes and the occasional Thursday drink trolley!
Other perks include your standard City package of a cycle to work scheme, healthcare package, a salary sacrifice programme, well-stocked drinks fridges and a £250 contribution towards a sports club membership.
Pay levels (see below) are seen as reasonable in view of the fairly good work/life balance offered by the firm. As one trainee concisely sums it up: “Working past dinner — uncommon, working at night — rare, working weekends — very rare.” Here’s a slightly longer take: “Typically very good. In some seats and during some busier times the late nights can stack up, but it’s a city firm with an international client base so such periods are expected. Aside from the above cases, late nights are not expected – presenteeism is not common and weekend working is very rare indeed.” Supervisors are also said to be “very good at noting your workload and will try to protect you from being overloaded which is appreciated when they themselves are really busy”. (And, if you’re still unsure, make sure you pick an advisory seat over a transactional one).
A “flexible” approach allows trainees to work from home two days per week, but this isn’t unified across departments. Trainees did have a bone or two to pick about the lack of WFH equipment or budget provided but this might soon change along with the firm’s attempts to improve its legal tech. Currently a common response from WFW trainees when asked about their technological offering is “We have legal tech?” but some more observant juniors have noted that the firm has been pushing to implement new technology over the past year or so. The firm is said to use Legatics, an “extremely helpful” tool to manage conditions precedent processes.
Perhaps the higher-ups at WFW are waiting until 2026, when the firm is packing up its digs at 15 Appold Street and moving to pastures new, although the exact destination in the City is yet to be confirmed — at least publicly anyway! Trainees describe their current office as “OK” but praise the “very impressive client floor” and the highly acclaimed open-plan office space. However, for some, the move can’t come soon enough, as they find the heavy use of grey and the ban on sticking things on the walls makes the space feel “a bit pokey” and “a bit claustrophobic”.
On the bright side, we’re told the canteen offers an “excellent choice of food: healthy salads, full hot meals — all of which is subsidised.” What’s more, it’s all served in a beautiful atrium dining room with fresh food cooked every day by Italian chefs — trainees only wish that it was open later!
Environmentally conscious students might be keen to learn that the firm does a lot of work in renewables, including advising on a £1 billion cross-jurisdictional energy green financing deal which should enable nearly two gigawatts of solar storage assets to be utilised across Europe. The London office recently managed to reduce its energy usage by 24% at the end of last year.