Withers

What’s more, the firm boasts its own tech and venture capital spin-off — Withers Tech — which acts for a diverse spread of clients including SoundCloud and fashion brand Christopher Kane.

It should come as no surprise to learn that representing the rich and successful pockets you a pretty penny. Firmwide revenues sit at around $380 million (£280 million) with average profit per equity partner (PEP) estimated to be in the region of £670,000. In Cambridge and London, where the firm generates around half of its total revenue, income rose 9% to a healthy £162 million, up from £148 million last financial year.

Cambridge is a smaller hub, which focuses on life sciences and hosts only a handful of lawyers (not including any trainees) but the London HQ remains the beating heart of Withers’ operations. With over 600 lawyers and support staff, the City hub sees around 13 trainees through its doors each year.

Overseas, the firm has a smattering of international offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Switzerland, Italy and the US, alongside a range of alliances elsewhere. Unfortunately, this hasn’t translated into any recent secondment opportunities though past cohorts have reported enjoying a seat in Milan.

Luckily, we’re told that the work back at base “offers exposure to a wide variety of fascinating (and sometimes crazy!) clients and matters”. One source told us that “working in small teams (generally no more than one partner and one associate) means you are given quite a bit of exposure to interesting work early on in the training contract”, though trainees were quick to point out that this was very seat dependent — “some teams you’re almost running whole matters on your own while in others it’s mostly admin/repetitive tasks” bemoaned one. “It’s vaguely annoying how often partners ask trainees (rather than secretaries/admins) to do stuff like managing their diaries, and how much of your time you spend looking for documents on the systems and opening Russian doll layers of emails attached to emails because some partners don’t save attachments to files” added another rookie.

Litigation is said to be particularly juicy, with “frontline” tasks including “drafting documents and attending trial”, but beware of “the more boring tasks like bundling”. The firm’s large family law practice — think million-pound divorces, some featuring celebs and lots of media coverage — is “paper-heavy” but often very stimulating.

Although newcomers inevitably end up with some “less exciting” and “less stimulating” admin work, superiors “tend to be apologetic” for dishing it out and, as one wise recruit noted, “even if it’s the dullest task, the calibre of clients that work is completed for keep things interesting”.

Training is fairly structured, with partner or senior associate-led sessions at the start of each seat specific to a department, and “team-wide training” offered to keep trainees in tune with the latest legal updates. One recruit summarised that “training is always informative with handouts included to cut down on note taking, associates/partners giving the training are always open to questions”. “Decent levels of responsibility and strong client engagement” accompanied by “regular catch-ups to check how trainees are progressing” and “clear feedback” is another junior’s review.

Some feel that supervisors can be “a little hands off” with the firm occasionally treating “training related stuff as expendable” but otherwise Withers’ newbies rate the training here as excellent. “I think the training is really great overall,” one rookie reports. “I have been given just the right balance of early responsibility and support to enable my development.”

Recruits rate their superiors as being “very approachable in terms of being friendly and kind”, even if some are a little pre-historic in their “reluctance to engage with digital documents.” Not only does this rub resident green-fingered recruits up the wrong way with the amount of paper waste from senior staff but some even tell us that “trainees may end up working late to compensate for superiors that won’t embrace modern/efficient methods.”

Nevertheless, partners — nearly half of whom, remarkably for the legal profession, are female — are said to be “very approachable, encouraging and happy to make time to talk things through and be generally supportive.”The firm’s non-hierarchical vibe is felt through its hot-desking system, which (in normal times) sees rookies often sat with various partners and associates throughout the week — allowing trainees to “get to know departments as a whole”.

Trainees also share good relationships with their peers. One gushes: “The two current trainee cohorts are supportive and close knit, I couldn’t ask for better colleagues. The junior associates likewise are always there for questions and conversations around work. Some teams chat more than others in the open plan, but generally, the firm has a sociable and friendly atmosphere across all teams”. Aside from “a few game players” trainees say their cohort is “non-competitive, where everyone is actually friends” — a rarity for a City law firm.

When not discussing law related matters, the trainee group chat gets used to set up socials, many of which happen at the downstairs bar in 20 Old Bailey. Some teams are more social than others, with many preferring to take advantage of the work/life balance on offer to head home at a reasonable time, but the firm is said to make an effort at hosting.

The newly qualified salary straddles the private client/City divide, standing at £95,000. First year trainees take home £47,000, rising to £52,000 in year two. For this, you’ll pay with a similarly fluctuating work/life balance: “Longer hours than the firm likes to project externally but still far better than many firms” is the verdict from one. Another tells us they are “very happy with my work/life balance. Some late nights but get out by 7:30pm/8pm normally. Have worked weekends a few times, but it is strongly discouraged by supervisors.” The consensus is that hours are team-dependent, with corporate being the most unpredictable and arbitration apparently being “infamous for long hours, with many very late nights (3am or later) and often weekend work too”. That being said, most of the trainees we spoke to report being out of the office by 7pm and there is “generally not a culture of having to show ‘facetime’”.

One trainee offered this insight: “with the meatiest work comes the difficulty of some long hours. This is an entirely personal choice, and if you want the work, it is there to be completed, but equally, you can opt for an easier ride and decline to push yourself, depending on the team you’re in”. Another reports on “rarely work[ing] late, often finishing before 7/7.30 pm”, with supervisors being “appreciative” and “clarifying the urgency of the task, to make sure that when you do stay late, it’s necessary”.

The culture is definitely still City law — which is reflected in the firm’s choice of headquarters, located on the edge of London’s financial district in a “swanky” glass and steel construction at 20 Old Bailey (opposite the infamous ‘Old Bailey’ aka Central Criminal Court). “Looks a bit like a hotel”, quips one trainee, but “there are comfy booths to work from with lots of agile working spaces”, and early birds who manage to bag a window seat can expect “an amazing view of the Old Bailey”, explains another. The star of the show is the modern client lounge which receives regular praise from passers-by — though trainees have apparently been sworn off popping down to use the swanky loos!

Themed meals for different holidays are actually a thing in Withers’ “great subsidised canteen”. Trainees also delight in the “special meals for Eid al-Fitr and 4 July” which are “fun and impressive”. We hear the canteen cookies are “excellent” and one thrifty trainee praises the “Great porridge/granola bar in morning for only £2.50 — fruit, compote, peanut butters, yoghurts, different granola types, nuts, seeds. It’s self-serve so you can have really generous portions!!” Rookies can also dine at the panini bar, weigh & pay salad station or pick from a wide variety of hot and cold meals “including healthy and not so healthy options”.

As for perks, Withers’ lawyers enjoy flexible working, a free barista coffee every day, discounts on Shop+Save, cycle-to-work scheme, a gym subsidy, access to an interest free loan for travel cards, private healthcare, monthly theatre ticket draws, the occasional free health check and/or massage, as well as paid-for dinners and taxi rides home beyond a certain time if you’re still in the office. The firm also gifts a £150 John Lewis gift voucher for any of its employees who tie-the-knot (we’re yet to confirm if a workplace romance gets you double). It appears, however, that trainees seeking better benefits must root out hidden gems. “We do have access to a number of discounts, but I don’t think they are well-utilised, and a lot of people don’t know about them, although they are probably quite good if you do go looking,” reveals one respondent.

Despite the firm’s specialist tech team, insiders say this is one area the firm is “struggling to catch up” with “plenty of tech” apparently available which the firm are “a long way from being able to implement”. Trainees and new joiners do get a £250 WFH allowance to “kit out their spaces, and generally, people are flexible with the approach you take to splitting your time between home and office”. In fact, at least one current recruit scolds that there’s too much flexibility – “it would actually be better if more people were in the office more often as it would make learning easier” — we guess you can’t win them all!