Withers

The firm also boasts its own tech and venture capital spin-off, Withers Tech, which acts for clients including SoundCloud and fashion brand Christopher Kane.

It will come as little surprise that representing the wealthy pays well. Firmwide revenues at Withers rose 11% to £357.5 million in the last financial year, with profits soaring 29% to £83.6 million and average profit per equity partner up an equally hefty 26% to £903,000. Over the past two years, revenue has climbed 18% and PEP has risen over 50%. With the firm also entering a new era of leadership, having appointed Ceri Vokes as CEO in the first such appointment in 25 years, it seems like an interesting time to join.

Cambridge is a smaller hub focused on life sciences, home to just a handful of lawyers and no trainees, but the London HQ remains the beating heart of Withers’ operations. With over 600 lawyers and support staff, the City office takes on around 12 trainees each year.

Internationally, the firm has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Switzerland, Italy and the US, alongside a range of alliances elsewhere. This has translated into a small amount of secondment opportunities, with one insider having enjoyed a seat in Milan.

Back at base, trainees say the work offers exposure to a wide variety of fascinating and sometimes eyebrow-raising clients and matters. Working in small teams, typically no more than one partner and one associate, means trainees tend to get meaningful exposure to interesting work early on. That said, the experience is seat-dependent. Some trainees find themselves almost running matters independently, while others report spending more time on admin and repetitive tasks. A recurring gripe is being asked to manage partners’ diaries or chase documents buried in chains of emails, tasks that trainees feel should fall to secretaries or admins.

Litigation is regarded as particularly rewarding, with trainees taking on frontline tasks such as drafting documents and attending trial, though the more mundane work like bundling is an inevitable part of the package. The firm’s large family law practice, which handles million-pound divorces and the occasional celebrity split, is paper-heavy but often compelling.

When less stimulating admin does land on trainees’ desks, supervisors are said to be apologetic about it. As one recruit put it, even the dullest task feels more bearable when the clients involved are as high-calibre as Withers’.

Training is fairly structured, with partner or senior associate-led sessions at the start of each seat and team-wide updates to keep trainees across the latest legal developments. Trainees speak positively about the quality of sessions, noting that handouts are provided and that those leading the training are open to questions. Regular catch-ups, clear feedback and genuine responsibility are also highlighted as strengths. Some feel supervisors can be hands-off at times, and there is a sense that training can occasionally be treated as an afterthought, but on balance, trainees rate it highly. “I’ve been given just the right balance of early responsibility and support,” summarised one rookie.

Partners are widely described as approachable, encouraging and generous with their time. The firm’s non-hierarchical culture is reflected in its hot-desking setup, which sees trainees sat alongside partners and associates throughout the week, a practical way of getting to know different departments. One tension worth noting: some senior staff remain reluctant to work digitally, which not only generates significant paper waste but can occasionally mean trainees staying later to compensate.

Notably, nearly half of Withers’ partners are female, a remarkable figure for the legal profession and one that speaks to the firm’s culture.

Trainee cohorts are described as close-knit and genuinely supportive, with one recruit going so far as to say they couldn’t ask for better colleagues. The atmosphere is notably non-competitive, something of a rarity in City law. Socials are a regular fixture, often centred around the bar downstairs at 20 Old Bailey, though plenty of trainees are equally happy to head home at a reasonable hour and make the most of the work/life balance on offer.

On that note, newly qualified solicitors earn £95,000, with first-year trainees taking home £47,000, rising to £52,000 in year two. Hours vary considerably by team. Corporate is the most unpredictable, while arbitration has something of a reputation for punishing hours, with very late nights and regular weekend work. Most trainees, however, report finishing by 7pm, and there is little culture of presenteeism. The consensus is that those who want challenging, time-intensive work can find it, but those who prefer a more manageable pace can generally find that too.

The office itself sits on the edge of London’s financial district in a sleek glass and steel building at 20 Old Bailey, opposite the Central Criminal Court of the same name. One trainee likened it to a hotel, and not without reason. Comfortable booths, agile working spaces and, for early risers, a view of the Old Bailey make it a pleasant place to spend the day. The client lounge is particularly well regarded, though trainees have reportedly been gently discouraged from using the facilities down there.

The subsidised canteen is a genuine highlight, with themed meals for holidays including Eid al-Fitr and the Fourth of July going down well. The cookies have achieved near-legendary status among staff, and the granola bar, a self-serve spread of fruit, yoghurts, nut butters and seeds for £2.50, has its devoted fans. Hot meals, paninis and a weigh-and-pay salad station round out the options.

Beyond the canteen, the benefits package includes flexible working, a daily barista coffee, a cycle-to-work scheme, gym subsidy, interest-free travel card loan, private healthcare, monthly theatre ticket draws, occasional massages and health checks, and paid dinners and taxis home for those working late. There’s also a £150 John Lewis voucher for employees who get married. A number of additional discounts are available through the firm, though trainees admit these tend to go underutilised simply because not enough people know about them.

On the tech front, despite having a dedicated specialist team, insiders say Withers is still catching up. There is apparently plenty of technology available that the firm has yet to fully implement. Trainees and new joiners receive a £250 working from home allowance and generally have flexibility over how they split their time between home and office, though at least one recruit feels the pendulum has swung too far, suggesting more in-person time would actually benefit learning. As ever, you can’t please everyone.