Weightmans

Weightmans now boasts more than 1,500 lawyers spread across its UK bases. The two-state-of-the-art premises in London’s Square Mile and Manchester’s ultra-swish Spinningfields financial district are still well-rated by recruits, whilst Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Newcastle, Manchester and a Liverpool HQ make up the rest of the spread. Those in Leeds rate the “floor-to-ceiling windows” and “large social hub”, which is used for events and coffee breaks, with the boardroom there said to have a “lovely view of the river and Elland Road”. Newcastle rookies, meanwhile, have a “lovely open plan office” which comes equipped with a mini cherry blossom and a live moss wall! Weightmans’ resident Brummies are also bedding down in their eco-friendly premises on 103 Colmore Row, a site which offers a host of emission reducing benefits. The space vaunts , ergonomic furniture, a social hub, an innovation space, and bespoke client suites kitted out with the latest video conferencing tech. Glasgow has had a similar move to the sustainable Ink Building which does its refurbishments with mineral paint and boasts solar PV and heat pump installations (as well as wellness amenities for its residents). Recruits down south seem to have the worst of it, with the working spaces there said to be a bit “outdated and stuffy”. Apparently “all the nice offices are up North.”

There’s no such discrepancies with top 40 firm’s recent financials. Net revenues sit in excess of £140 million whilst profits are understood to sit around the £18 million mark. Weightmans profit per equity partner (PEP) comes in at around £390,000, and the top brass aren’t the only ones racking it in as all staff pocketed a £3,000 bonus this year.

Though a national firm at its core, Weightmans has also built a global network of foreign firms through international networks. These include the invitation-only network of top-tier independent law firms Legalink and Insurance Law Global, which has bases in more than 30 cities across six countries. Unfortunately, this hasn’t translated into international secondment opportunities yet but there is a chance of a client secondment, with clients including the Financial Conduct Authority, NHS Trust, Whittington Hospital and London Ambulance Service.

A “comprehensive and fulfilling training scheme” is what you can expect from a TC here. All the trainees Legal Cheek spoke with praised the supportiveness of the early careers team and an innovation training programme designed to increase legal tech skills. One insider details the process and their experience: “A training plan for each seat is agreed with an emphasis on training targets over hours targets (though this is team dependent to some degree). That training plan is reviewed monthly and weekly check-ins (subject to team) are a good way to check-in on capacity and training needs. Different teams offer differing levels of responsibility. A claims seat will offer more freedom (especially if you have a background in claims) over other seats. I have completed a diverse range of admin and fee earning tasks. When doing fee earning, feedback is often given, and colleagues always have time to talk through a piece of work. I have attended client meetings and court hearings. Colleagues will often give you a task with learning in mind as opposed to business need and capacity. In claims seats, you can run your own files if you feel confident enough.”

A couple of rookies report that the level of training can sometimes vary from department to department, but the general consensus seems to be that the firm offers a well-structured programme of development for its newbies. One junior adds that “general training sessions within the firm are relatively frequent — one or two every quarter”, although these are “not the most understandable” for newcomers.

Equally, the quality of work “varies from seat to seat but [is] mostly positive. “In some departments you can be given really high-quality work and in others it can be more administrative”, insiders say. Examples include “attending conferences and talking to clinicians in healthcare” and “running a couple of small claims matters to trial”. Though the reality of being a trainee comes with “some pretty mundane tasks”, there is “no photocopier in sight”. One insider offers this experience from the frontline: “I have done a seat with the Police team and every case had an interesting set of facts. A lot of responsibility is also given in dealing with counsel, drafting documents and taking on your own caseload depending on the type of work. However, in other insurance-related seats, the set of facts will be very interesting but the work you get involved in might not be as hands-on.”

The firm’s 250+ partners are said to be “more than willing to call in to explain anything”, and one trainee notes: “I often find myself chatting to partners at the monthly office socials (sometimes without even realising how senior they are!)” This is unsurprising as the firm scores consistently well for partner approachability in our latest Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey. According to one trainee, “there is a genuine interest for you to progress and to stay with Weightmans if they can make it happen”. Another trainee says the partners they have encountered so far during their TC are “extremely approachable” and “always willing to give their time to discuss things”, caveating “you do have to be proactive though”.

Junior lawyers and trainees receive equally high praise, with our sources telling us that “everyone is happy to help whenever I ask for it and encourage me to push myself out of my comfort zone.” Trainees are said to rely on each other for the unwritten rules and helpful hints during seat rotation, and another trainee joins in the love train, adding: “My peers are always very supportive, which is especially valuable because I am in a top-heavy seat with very few admin/secretarial staff.”

On top of all this, the work/life balance is apparently “really good”: words that don’t often grace LC reader’s ears. The firm was one of the first to introduce agile working across its offices, and rookies note that “there is a general consensus that as long as you get the work done and hit your targets you are not expected to work late or on weekends.” Another adds that it is “Very odd to be logged on after 6pm” and at 6:30pm you’re usually “encouraged to go home and enjoy your evening.” In fact, there are apparently no formal hours targets, although one spy reports that departments like claims “will often give you something to work towards”.

The flexibility to work from home three days a week helps support this balance and rookies are impressed with the firm’s agile working offering, which includes a keyboard, mouse, two monitors, and £300 to spend on a desk and chair.

Tech-wise, there are complaints about an “outdated” case management system and glitchy software but rookies do appreciate the IT team who are “great at communicating at what issues they are working on and keeping everyone updated on progress”. There’s also an innovation team, which trainees can do a seat in, but judging from the current reviews of the tech, we’re not sure many are jumping at the bit. That being said, our sources do note that Weightmans is developing its AI usage: “Software that can bulk process documents are used and the innovation team is producing a bespoke litigation management system to make routine cases easier and more profitable to run,” explains one trainee. Embracing technology has also helped with becoming more environmentally conscious to match the firm’s “drive to comply with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals”.

Salary and perks are “probably a bit on the low side compared to similar sized firms”, according to our sources. Weightmans does offer a “performance-based” cash bonus scheme to boost take-home pay, but trainees are a bit miffed that no-one seems to have received anything this year. Perks are limited to “discounts at various retailers, gyms, health assessments, mobile network providers” and, of course, “monthly pizza lunches”. But this does not seem to bother rookies, who value their 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays, the social events on offer (such as the summer party at London’s Oxo Tower) and the strong camaraderie they’ve built with their peers, over anything else. As one trainee put it: “Law firms with perks tend to strike me as a bit gimmicky and usually using the perk to hide a more deep-seated problem (such as poor work/life balance).”

Besides the move to sustainable offices in Birmingham and Glasgow, Weightmans’ eco-credentials include a roll-out of more sustainable laptops to all staff across its offices, a (mostly) paper-less policy in all its offices and a dedicated ESG committee. Trainees also get two CSR days a year “to go and do things like litter picking or a charity hike”.