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Overview
The firm - or, rather, firms - that came to constitute the national legal practice Pinsent Masons have had an eventful few years. Pinsents, which is most often benchmarked against nationally-spread rivals such as Eversheds, DLA Piper and Addleshaw Goddard, has been through a string of sometimes difficult mergers and also faced redundancies, senior departures and flagging profits. The cumulative effect had looked in danger of damaging the position of practices that - as their legacy constituents - would once have been regarded as near the top of the tree.
Likewise, Pinsents has frequently suffered from criticism that its City and international ambitions were suffering because much of its management was based in Birmingham. However, the firm - in 2009 the UK's 14th-largest law firm by fee income - appears to be well into a sustained revival. Some attribute that in part to the influence of senior partner Chris Mullen, who took on the top management role in 2005. The state of that revival was been underlined by the firm recording double-digit turnover growth for three consecutive years, with revenues rising 11% in 2008 to hit £213m, while average equity partner profits were up 6% at £500,000.
However, the market downturn in 2008-09 saw that growth come to an end, as the firm recorded static turnover growth, while partner profits fell by 36.2% to £310,000.
History
The backbone of Pinsent Masons was formed through the 1995 tie-up between Yorkshire practice Simpson Curtis and Birmingham's Pinsent & Co, at the time two of the most respected corporate firms operating outside of London. However, despite looking good on paper the marriage was to prove a difficult union of two equals, as a turf war broke out between two culturally distinct firms. A related issue saw a group of senior lawyers in 1996 quit the firm in Leeds for the local arm of accountancy-tied practice Garretts, which robbed the firm of some of its best up and coming partners.
Matters were not helped when the firm entered abortive merger talks with Birmingham rival Edge Ellison, while Pinsents also struggled during this period to get traction in London despite investing heavily in its City arm in the late 1990s. In response, the firm in January 2001 secured a takeover of London practice Biddle. The 29-partner Biddle gave Pinsents more mass in London, though some argued the firm's strength in pensions and media were not naturally aligned to Pinsents' ambitions in corporate, tax and banking.
The following years were to prove challenging as commercial markets slowed. In this background, the firm hunted for a new London merger, initially talking to the legacy Nicholson Graham & Jones in 2003 only for the talks to collapse in January 2004. Later that year Pinsents entered talks with the London practice Masons, which was best known for its market-leading construction practice and its profile in the IT and outsourcing sectors. Masons had faced problems of its own having made two rounds of redundancies and cut lawyer salaries in 2003. The firm has also lost a number of partners in the run-up to the Pinsents discussions.
Given the differences in their practices, news of the talks caught rivals by surprise (see analysis). However, Pinsents claimed the deal - the largest UK legal merger since the 2000 tie-up between Denton Hall and Wilde Sapte - would give the two firms critical mass and allow Pinsents to cross-sell corporate to Masons' client base. Initially, the omens were not positive after a period in which profits stagnated, morale plainly suffered and evidence of the promised cross-selling was thin on the ground. However, by 2006 Pinsents achieved a sharp rebound in performance (with partner profits rocketing by 71%). This has been matched by a period of stability, some notably client wins and continued growth that has apparently seen the firm deliver on more of the promise of its merger. At present, the firm has more than 270 partners and over 1,000 fee earners in total.
Culture
A bit of a mish-mash given that the firm is the product of so many mergers. The firm is generally regarded as one of the most old-school, gentlemanly partnerships in the UK, particularly in its Birmingham heartlands. Has a reasonable reputation for treating its staff well, though perhaps is still not one of the most open and communicative firms.
Key departments
Still to a considerable extent a corporate-driven firm, Pinsents is nonetheless a full service practice that has gained breadth as it has grown. Tax, employment and property were historically regarded as strong teams, while the Biddle deal further upgraded the firm's pensions practice. Since, the 2004 Masons tie-up, the firm has one of the leading construction practices and is also well represented in IT and outsourcing.
Pinsents is currently structured into the following departments:
- banking and finance;
- corporate;
- dispute resolution & litigation;
- employment;
- insurance & reinsurance;
- international construction & energy;
- outsourcing, technology & commercial;
- pensions;
- projects;
- property;
- tax; and
- UK construction & engineering.
National/international coverage
The national giant is a truly UK-wide concern, with offices in all the major regional markets - Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Bristol - plus offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh, in addition to its City base.
"They seem very quiet on corporate work in Manchester," observes 'Rival'. "While they have spent money on bringing in big-name partners, Pinsents haven't appeared on any of the major deals in the local marketplace."
Internationally, Pinsents operates something of patchwork. The firm has its own offices in Beijing, Brussels, Dubai, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The firm also recently expanded its international capability by spearheading the launch of PMLG, a European-based network of law firms. The group covers Austria, France, Germany, Hungary and the Baltic region.
However, Pinsents in 2007 ended its formal joint venture with US practice Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steinwer, presumably to widen its pool of US referral partners.
Key clients
Clients include Lend Lease Europe Holdings, Alfred McAlpine and Arden Partners. Has arguably the top-tier UK practice in construction, with a string of bluechip clients including John Mowlem & Co, Taylor Woodrow, Shell, Haliburton, AMEC and United Utilities.
Banks the firm has acted for include Barclays, HSBC and Nationwide, while major IT clients include LogicaCMG and Aviva. The firm is also a substantial commercial adviser to Whitehall, with places on the Office of Government Commerce's commercial and PFI/PPP panels.
Leading partners
Career prospects
The firm made up eight partners in 2009, with two in London and one each in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Salaries
"Pinsent Masons do seem to be a 'tight' bunch," says one contributor - apparently not alluding to a sense of close-knit bonhomie among its staff. "Salaries at their regional offices are below Eversheds and DLA [Piper]."
However, newly-qualified lawyers in the City now receive £64,000, which is near to what equivalent lawyers at top London firms receive. Pinsents has been reported to have one of the least generous bonus schemes among its peer group.
Recruitment
Work-life balance
In the middle - there are plenty of worse firms in terms of hours but it is still not a lifestyle firm. Operates an annual billing target of 1,400.
Diversity
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COMMENTS (TOTAL 25 COMMENTS)
Pinsent Masons do seem to be a 'tight' bunch. Salaries at their regional offices are below Eversheds and DLA.
Birmingham rival -05 Jun 2007 | 10:38
They seem very quiet on corporate work in Manchester. While they have spent money on bringing in big name partners, Pinsents haven't appeared on any of the major deals in the local marketplace.
Rival -22 Jun 2007 | 08:27
This firm needs to see more collegiality among its partners. There is a lot of client-grabbing and a lot of pressure to bring clients in as the firm has very few institutional clients. They need to work harder at cross-selling and establishing an instititional client base. At present the firm consists of a group of partners all out for themselves and the resounding mantra of client partner billings is ever present. If it is not your client, you don't care and that's why there is so little cross selling.
Insider -22 Nov 2007 | 21:04
Great reputation for Construction, but also growing reputation in many other departments such as IT/IP, Projects and EPT (Employment, Pensions and Tax). This makes them different to national rivals, who have the masses but not necessarily the quality in leading areas.
Anonymous -03 Mar 2008 | 17:26
Shame about losing the NGT work. What will they do now? Quality is a very questionable concept when the clients obviously don't agree. Join Pinsents when your other options have run out seems to be the order of the day - otherwise join a decent truly national firm!!
Angel of Addleshaw -13 Mar 2008 | 20:47
Genuinely an enjoyable place to work: good client base, interesting work, approachable people. Bonus scheme has now also been introduced.
Anon -09 May 2008 | 18:00
Steady as she goes, three years of solid, if unspectacular growth in turnover. In contrast to some other firms which are not so broadly based such growth is likely to continue. Much better run than in the past and the merger is now bearing fruits. Doubt Pinsent Masons will ever grab the headlines, but that sums the firm up. Solid and steady growth ahead.
Pinsent Masons -31 May 2008 | 18:50
Profits down 36 percent, possible cash call on partners, redundancy programme undertook.
We will see if the Salans alliance is third time lucky on the international strategy.
Interesting times.
Anonymous -09 Aug 2009 | 21:42
mr
Overall a pleasant place to work, but partners far too protective about own billings/clients which leads to weak cross-selling (as of course happens elsewhere). Certain parts of the firm are very mediocre though, EC & Competition being one. Decidedly average partners who got in when times were "easy" need booting out for new blood...
anonymous -20 Aug 2009 | 09:20
A decent firm with some excellent fee earners. Some teams are clearly premier league - others would struggle even in the second division. I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the better quality teams walking to greener pastures.
Anonymus -10 Sep 2009 | 15:06
Its not the most happy of places at the moment, but that's not particularly unusual amongst the large national firms, given recent job cuts. Pinsent Masons has probably had an easier ride in the press than the other nationals, whether that is deserved is open to debate. Agree with the comments above, there are some excellent lawyers in the firm, well known for construction law, IT law and a leading AIM practice, but some other practice areas could be at best described as of mixed quality. The quality of the practice fluctuates across the firm quite a lot.
Anon -27 Sep 2009 | 12:49
All sounds familiar. Morale is plummeting in some areas. That said, the firm did pretty well overall on a rollonfriday.com survey some time ago. Nevertheless, what is worse currently - particularly for those binned and picked up by others above - is that there are some dire "old school" partners in some key positions and areas mentioned above with chronically poor management, business development and interpersonal skills who are ill-equiped for the downturn. Some brave decisions are needed...!
Legal Force -14 Oct 2009 | 21:46
To quote from above by another poster:-
'I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the better quality teams walking to greener pastures.'
Martin Membrey's departure is a big blow for the firm. He provided an in not only for the insurance team, but all practice areas into many of the larger insurers.
Anon -13 Mar 2010 | 22:30
Work life balance
I felt it necessary to make a comment on here for all those students looking for a training contract with Pinsent Masons. Make sure you are prepared to give up a vast majority of your life to work what they view to be 'normal' working hours... for the avoidance of doubt this may include working through the night or even a few nights in a row! If this is your bag then Pinsents is definitely the firm for you. For those of you seeking a more normal and balanced life... I would avoid like the plague! High pressure but not high life considering the recent pay cuts they have made. It is easy to do the maths.
Newbie -06 May 2010 | 09:05
Preposterous comment from "Newbie" just above. I have been at PM for years, only recently qualifying, and so have recent experience of the firm's working practices. As with all City firms, there are times when a particular team is very busy on a matter which will require lawyers and trainees to work longer hours. To suggest this is common place at Pinsents is nothing other than complete and utter tosh. Generally the work/life balance at the firm is correct, and indeed comparing experiences with other junior lawyer colleagues in other firms it would seem life at PM sits at the better end of the scale. As with all firms, sometimes resourcing is not leveraged properly (due to a multitude of reasons - billing restrictions, holidays, sickness etc) leading particular lawyers to have to put in a few more hours then perhaps necessary. I would suggest "Newbie" has perhaps had a bad experience in this vein. To tar the firm with this brush is however not only wholly unreasonable but also out of touch. Sour grapes anyone?
NQ -24 May 2010 | 13:02
None
NQ - Why don't you come back when you've been a proper lawyer for more than a few days. And who taught you to talk like that?
None -16 Jul 2010 | 14:06
Pinsent Masons is a national firm with a London office and a growing international network - it is not as NQ describes a 'City firm'.
Therein lies the problem. In the regional UK offices especially you are expected to work long hours comparable to those in the London office for less pay than London - that's not a problem unique to Pinsents amongst the 'nationals', but is definitely not preposterous as NQ makes out. As the poster below states maybe when NQ has worked a few years he/she can come back and comment and also be slightly more respectful for the original poster who presumably was once a fellow trainee in the same firm.
The Sage -18 Jul 2010 | 09:54
Why was the trainee retention rate at Pinsent Masons so low this year? I see it was reported as 55% and the average for the top thirty firms this year was 80% and seems it was below average the year before as well according to Legal Week?
Augustus -11 Aug 2010 | 09:36
Avoid
Over-priced, over-rated and a thoroughly unpleasant working environment. Micro-management and a plethora of talking-shops ensure inefficiency. How to survive? Talk loudly and repeat the last sentence spoken. You're a PM genius!
Glad to be gone -12 Aug 2010 | 08:38
I suspect the last comment may be something of an overstatement...
Anonymous -12 Aug 2010 | 10:56
Not a great feeling for all the trainees starting this year who were offered training contracts back in 2007 and have deferred by a year. By the time they qualify they'll have devoted five years to their legal career at the firm and retention figures like that in the face of massive growth in PEP will be very demoralising. Especially when when other comparable firms such as Addleshaw Goddard have posted strong retention figures.
Anonymous -12 Aug 2010 | 18:02
What's wrong?
With regards the comments from 'Legal Force -14 Oct 2009 | 21:46' it appears Pinsents have fallen down the rankings in the RollOnFriday survey for 2011. The ranking for 'development' ain't great, fifth from bottom in the 'development ranking' of all the firms listed.
Clarence -09 Jan 2011 | 16:31
I heard with dismay today that Pinsent Masons, in a bid to make all employees seem equal, are in their new building going to full open plan. Even heads of departments and senior partners will be sitting in the fray, with nothing blocking their conversations from being overheard by secretaries and junior lawyers. This is a confidentiality risk. When I call a senior partner at a law firm, or when my CEO or FD calls such a partner, we don't expect our telecon to be overheard by all and sundry. We don't expect to hear background noise and we don't expect the senior partner to say 'please call back when I can find a meeting room to have a proper discussion'. Law firms need to be real about open plan. Sure, as clients we understand that you want to keep costs down, but sticking your senior people in the middle of a legal trading floor simply compromises the service you offer us. Even investment banks have their senior people in offices off the trading floor. Pinsents, this needs a rethink.
senior in house counsel -04 Mar 2011 | 18:03
Avin a laff
Clearly senior in-house counsel is an insider who is afraid of change. Get with the programme matey - you are going open plan along with everyone else. No in-house counsel would make such a ridiculous one-sided posting. Penny to a pound you are aged over 45!
Sinnik -18 Mar 2011 | 21:15
Approach with caution
Would agree with Legal Force's comments above on where some problems lie. Whilst you can't tar an entire firm with one observation, the competition (less so procurement) part of the firm is in real trouble. If you are thinking of joining; ask for an explanation on lawyer churn. Long overdue clearing out of partner dead wood has started but abysmal management and business dev skills remain at the top and the quality and quantity of work just not there and won't ever be. So,.. approach with caution.
M -07 May 2011 | 22:07
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