“The pay per hour in an investment bank is undoubtedly much better than in a City law firm,” concedes David Cheyne, senior partner of Linklaters. “It all turns on whether you’re going to find it interesting here. Remember, 80% of the work is not about law. It’s about the ability to draft, the ability to negotiate and the ability to give advice.”
While investment banks are fast losing their glamour — or going out of business — law firms such as Linklaters can offer graduates one significant edge: relative job security. Yet many young lawyers start their working life at commercial law firms with a heavy heart, recognising that the quid pro quo for good money and excellent training is very long hours.
So where are the firms and individuals that break the mould of traditional legal practice? And does being a lawyer automatically mean becoming a grey-suited clone or is there room for genuine originality?
Slaughter and May is the most profitable, and arguably the most prestigious, City law firm. But sit down for a chat with Chris Saul, the firm’s urbane 53-year-old senior partner, and you’re in for a few pleasant surprises. First up is the merits of the gig he went to last night: Scouting For Girls at the Hammersmith Apollo. Then he describes the varied working life at Slaughters in
Indie bands and, indeed, the word ‘funky’, rarely feature in the conversation of senior partners. However, Saul does not appear to be the only one in his firm with a taste for the unconventional. One mischievous post on the Legal Week Career Clinic stated that: “Slaughters seems to have a weird collection of ageing rockers.”
Even at firms without such tendencies, there is a feeling that they need to evolve in order to remain competitive. Last month in a frank announcement, Clifford Chance (CC), the world’s largest law firm, conceded that its public image must improve — “which means being more socially responsible” — if it is to continue attracting the best young lawyers.
The admission appears in CC’s first corporate social responsibility (CSR) report. The report reveals a series of initiatives designed to improve the City giant’s wider reputation, including cutting reliance on non-renewable energy sources and increasing the amount of free legal advice it provides.
One prominent example of this is CC’s work on behalf on Jack Alderman, the longest-serving prisoner on death row in the
Shiny, happy fee earners
Significantly, only one magic circle firm, Linklaters, made this year’s Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list — and it only came in at number 93. Such lists provide marketing value in attracting young talent even if in reality they are pretty rough guides to actual working conditions. Because it is the first time a magic circle firm has been ranked in the table, Cheyne is excited.
“We’re slightly more friendly than our competitors,” says the Linklaters senior partner. “I am very pleased to be on the list. Yes, we work people very hard, but we don’t want to be seen as an unpleasant place to work.”
Linklaters’ ranking reflects the effort put in by managing partner Simon Davies, who has made a significant push to address work-life balance issues for its lawyers. A resounding 84% of staff are — apparently — proud to be at the firm.
For those long evenings spent in
All very congenial, but is it truly mouldbreaking?
To find firms that are really serious about looking after employees, it helps to get away from
“Unlike many City firms our culture is about providing a nurturing environment and a place where people care about other people — feeling valued is very important,” says Lee.
“It’s about encouraging ambition and energy, but with a lack of arrogance. And having that sort of culture is a good way of marking us out from our competitors — it is sustainable differentiation.”
CSR is core to Addleshaws’ operation. More than 150 staff sit on teams linked to diversity, the environment and community engagement, actively shaping the firm’s policy in these areas.
Lee aims to appeal specifically to generation Y, which he regards as unique: “Young trainees and the newly-qualified have a remarkably different mindset,” he says.
“There is something special in this generation — their connectivity, their preparedness to question authority, their care for the planet, their care for each other, their speed of communication.”
There is, notes Lee, a particular enthusiasm for involvement in community projects. All employees gets two days’ paid time off to do voluntary work. As part of their bonding, trainees spend a week building orphanages in
So, are law firms behind the curve in CSR and looking after staff? “Well there aren’t many of them in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies list, are there?” responds Lee. Addleshaws has improved its ranking this year from 83 to 40. “It is quite simple — if you look after your people, you have a better business.”
At the forefront of the movement to keep staff happy is another
The firm’s tone was set by left-leaning founding partner Rodger Pannone, who made a point of focusing on work-life balance and diversity, with Pannone traditionally containing a high percentage of women at all levels.
Under current senior partner Joy Kingsley, the firm has more than trebled in size, from 200 to 700 staff. Kingsley says she encourages the equal treatment of all staff, regardless of whether they are partners, assistants or secretaries.
“It is easier to have a consistent atmosphere if you are a single-site firm,” she says, but also attributes Pannone’s success in this area to other factors. “Lawyers get lots of responsibility early here, but it’s not a long hours culture — we accept that our people do have another life.”
The contrast with the experience of a young City lawyer who Kingsley recently interviewed is stark: “She’d had only two weeks’ holiday in the past three years and worked until 10pm at night as a matter of routine. That would come as a huge shock to anybody who worked here,” says Kingsley. “This sort of working routine is unhealthy, and I would guess, unpopular. But the average young City lawyer wouldn’t leave to come to Pannone, although we have taken litigation lawyers from Herbert Smith.”
Kingsley believes that a high satisfaction rating among young lawyers is very important because, “you pay a lot of money to get good lawyers and then train them for two years”. She adds, “Why on earth would you want them to go off elsewhere?” pointing out that only “very rarely” do Pannone lawyers leave at the end of their training contracts.
Small is beautiful
Founded in 1997, 50-lawyer strong Kemp Little has become an established niche player in technology law.
“We have a number of things that set us apart from the competition,” says founding partner Richard Kemp. “One is that we are a small entrepreneurial business that’s grown through hard work and effort.”
Kemp believes the small size of his firm enables it to do things differently: “We were the first firm to become a limited liability partnership as soon as the enabling legislation arrived in June 2001. People thought it was a fad which wouldn’t last; now it’s in the mainstream.”
Kemp Little was also the first firm to put out a work-in-progress extranet to enable clients to see what was on the clock real-time. “We did this at a time when law firms were famously reticent about billing practices,” says Kemp.
“It strengthens the lawyer-client relationship, rather than hiding behind lawyers’ gobbledegook. When you’re young and in a crowded marketplace, being open and flexible helps you stand out.”
Kemp believes that “you have to put yourself in other people’s shoes and think what they would appreciate.” He continues: “A lot of law firms seem to work on control of information — unnecessary control. We’ve always been open and have widely distributed our monthly business management accounts. It’s the right thing to do and it gives staff a good business understanding.”
Installing a mini-Bar
Murray Rosen QC is a guy who isn’t afraid to do things differently. In April 2005, Rosen and his colleague Ian Gatt QC joined the London office of Herbert Smith in order to establish a dedicated advocacy unit — the first, and to date, only such unit in a City law firm. The recruitment of two leading Queen’s Counsel, both from 11 Stone Buildings, came as a shock to many in the legal world. Today, the unit has integrated and grown to four partners and four associates.
“We have established ourselves as a viable component,” says Rosen. “We’ve achieved our original aim: to be specialist advocates while integrating into the life of the law firm — we are not an ivory tower, nor just a bit of
How did Rosen adapt? “At the Bar,” he says “you are in court or preparing to be in court. At a law firm, there are other things to do. It took me a while to learn the structure and the relationships. The firm is much more collegiate, there is a more collective ethos. In chambers, if a colleague knocks on your door, you give them a minute. There’s a friendship there and you want to help, but that’s it. In a law firm, however, when someone wants your help, then it’s a priority. There are so many things to do other than just your own advocacy.”
One of Rosen’s principal aims is to develop talent and skills in others. It’s very difficult, he suggests, to put advocacy at the top of a young lawyer’s list. The firm has more than 60 lawyers with higher audience rights. But he concedes that they are not in court very often.
Which option would Rosen suggest to law students — the Bar or the City? “I would advise starting at a law firm: it’s a more sensible course. If you really want to specialise in advocacy, try to do it within a law firm.
“If you’re not satisfied, then think about the Bar. That’s easier for various reasons: entry into the profession, the sort of training you get, financial considerations. And you would be likely to find that the route you’ve taken would be looked on favourably by barristers’ chambers, if you did decide you wanted to move across.
Starting out at the Bar is perfectly valid, just harder. There are many barristers who want to make the move because the Bar is so volatile.”
Law is one of the most traditional, conservative professions around. But as Pannone, Kemp Little and even Linklaters prove, there is room for self-expression and having a life outside the office. You may have to wear a suit, but you don’t have to be a clone.