Trowers & Hamlins

Its recent work shows what all this looks like in practice. The firm advised the Ellison Institute of Technology on its £890 million acquisition of the West Side of Oxford Science Park, a major life sciences hub bought from Magdalen College, Oxford, and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC. Its housing credentials have also been on full display, with Trowers advising Southern Housing on a £2.38 billion capital investment programme, Settle and Paradigm on £1.55 billion of financing linked to the first stage of their merger, and the Church of England as it establishes and builds out its own affordable housing provider. So yes, there’s plenty of land law, but the kind that involves science parks, social housing, regeneration and some very chunky numbers.

Undoubtedly, though, Trowers & Hamlins’ biggest strength is its culture. From “supportive trainees” to “friendly and nice partners”, the people are the biggest draw to T&H. One trainee paints a picture of what it’s like: “Everyone is really approachable and friendly. We all want to do well but there is no feeling of competing against each other. People genuinely want to help each other succeed, which is a great feeling to come into work knowing.” Rookies here stay in touch with their “wonderful peers” for life, even when moving to pastures greener, and one LC insider reports that “the more experienced trainees are always a message away to help with tasks”, which is reassuring for any nervous newbies.

What sets Trowers apart, though, is that this praise is matched, if not bettered, by trainees’ praise for their superiors. “The partners are actually real people!” one rookie marvelled. “They are very down to earth and have a good laugh.” Junior fee-earners are noted as being “really helpful”, while senior associates and partners alike are described as “supernaturally friendly and welcoming” (spooky!). This praise goes right to the very top, as one adds that “senior partner Sara Bailey can often be seen wandering around the office to check in with people and is more than happy to stop for a chat.” Another in the London office had this to say on partner approachability: “My superiors are very approachable, and some senior equity partners even make the effort to pop into my office to say hello and see how things are getting along. I am in contact with partners most of the time, and while the odd partner is a little reclusive, most are very approachable and have a well-established open-door policy.”

And don’t be surprised to see your seniors joining in at the local. As one current recruit reports: “I frequently go to the pub with various partners, senior associates, associates and trainees in other departments. We usually all head down to our local on a Thursday and have a chat. It always feels like we are equals. I can always go to my superiors and ask them questions at any point, and we have an informal open-door policy, in that I always feel I can speak to anyone at any time.” As you might expect, the wider social scene is equally buzzing at T&H, with our sources telling us that “there are always socials and away days running in the departments, and trainees often get together to do things.” Insiders tell of “Trowers Together events where we all get together for drinks and nibbles”, and sporty trainees can get involved with five-a-side football teams and padel tournaments. Those outside the City still enjoy the firm’s annual Christmas and summer socials, though they admit there’s “room for improvement” in the regional social scene.

One thing trainees were enthusiastic about across the board was the “interesting and varied work” on offer at Trowers, and the “high level of responsibility” you’re given from day one of your training contract. One recruit provides this anecdote: “On my second day I was asked to go to a client meeting on a really large project! Work has been complicated, interesting and evolving. Not to say you don’t get some administrative tasks, as those just need to be done, but I would say the legal work far outweighs the administration. We are given real responsibility too: I am working on several elements of several matters, emailing senior associates and partners at other firms and senior figures within clients.” And don’t think this top-rate work is limited to London. As one South West recruit notes, “the combination of living in Exeter but working for first-rate clients both in London and in the South West on highly stimulating matters cannot be matched.”

Others note that, as always, the quality of work can be seat-dependent: “In smaller teams, I was assigned NQ-level work, while administrative tasks were handled by PAs and paralegals. In larger teams, administrative and repetitive tasks are unavoidable.” Overall, though, the verdict seems to be that the quality of work on offer is good, with relatively little admin.

Training also gets high marks for being “a good mix of classroom and team-based learning towards the start of new seats, and more informal, ad hoc (as and when needed) training as you progress.” Some supervisors were said to “provide a more hands-on form of training than others”, but at least one trainee claims: “I always get feedback on the work I complete.” As another LC spy describes it, “the training I have received has been very structured and has been delivered by some brilliant professional support lawyers who have clearly taken time to prepare and structure training sessions.” Insiders also claim that the training is “much more comprehensive than most other firms and not just on legal knowledge and skills”, a point bolstered by a semi-annual lecture from Professor Edwin Peel and “plenty of other training programmes for mindfulness, presentation skills and so on”.

Why most of Trowers’ lawyers are so nice can be attributed to all sorts of factors, but the “unbeatable” work/life balance surely plays a significant part in morale. As one gleeful rookie explains: “There are very few days where I am in the office past 7pm and there is no sense of presenteeism. If you are done for the day you can just go. I have never felt like I am missing out on life, and everyone at the firm is lots of fun too.” Another adds: “The work/life balance is really good. While I occasionally have an early start (usually 8) and can sometimes work quite late into the evening, if I have evening plans these are always respected by my superiors, and my weekends are always my own. There is never an expectation to work at the weekend, and if I am working at the weekend or in the evenings, superiors will usually message me to check everything is ok.”

Naturally, the hours fluctuate between offices and departments. London lawyers usually work a bit longer (although they do tend to start later) than their regional counterparts, while one rookie tells us things have stepped up a gear since moving from real estate into corporate. But when you can sometimes be out the door “even at 5:30pm”, a time we were starting to think lawyers didn’t believe existed outside the office, the odd later stint can be easily tolerated. “It does depend on how busy the team is at a given point, but there is never an expectation to be logged on late if you have finished your work, or to be available at any hour of the day”, one insider told Legal Cheek.

The offices themselves are mostly “solid”. The London hub reportedly upstages neighbour Slaughter and May with its glass-fronted, split-level reception, and those in Birmingham are happy with their upgrade to One Snowhill. Manchester, however, is said to be “quite dated”, and green-eyed rookies there bemoan that other firms in the centre have “much better offices”. The envy doesn’t stop there: regional recruits also begrudge the fact that their City compatriots benefit from an in-office canteen while they have to source their caffeine externally. That said, judging by the reviews, the “free coffee or discounted breakfast in the morning” is the highlight of the culinary experience on Bunhill Row, so regional recruits don’t have too much to be jealous about.

Around one in five trainees across T&H’s four UK offices secure an international secondment, with placements in Oman, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Bahrain. Those who go rate the experience highly, citing “a large amount of seminars, tutorial training sessions, one-on-one training” and “a great deal of genuine responsibility”, including managing their own caseloads and enjoying strong client contact. As one Dubai-based rookie explains, it’s “a fantastic way to experience the firm’s culture from across the globe, as I feel like I could be sat in the London office until I look out the window and see the Burj Khalifa!” Trowers also has two offices in Singapore and Malaysia, as well as desks in India and Korea, so watch this space, budding T&H trainees.

Trainees can work from home two days a week, and the policy is said to be generally flexible, with one recruit noting that “you can have informal discussions with your team about when is best to be in the office and when is best to be at home.” The firm also provides everything you could need for your home office, with a monitor, keyboard, mouse, wrist supports, a footrest, chair and laptop support all provided on request.

“Not brilliant but getting better” is the consensus on the tech offering at Trowers. New laptops, new AI tools (Avail, Kira) and new wireless keyboards and mice, as well as a felt push towards improving the innovation team, which trainees can enjoy a seat in, have kept insiders sweet for now, though there is an expectation that more “generative AI tools” will be implemented firm-wide soon.

Trowers’ freebies include a Vitality membership and gym subsidy. All trainees are invited to quarterly trainee-dos in London paid for by the firm, along with subsidised breakfasts at the office canteen and free tickets to the Royal Academy of Arts. Overall, trainees are underwhelmed by the relatively small number of perks on offer, especially outside the City: “I think they could do more to make employees feel valued,” one mole notes. But the work/life balance is said to be a massive perk in itself.