Global powerhouse Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has a long and rich history, tracing its roots back to London’s legal scene of the 1700s. The firm, as it is known today, emerged in 2000 through a three-way tie-up between UK-based Freshfields, Germany’s Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund, and the Germany-Austria team of Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Löber.
The firm’s financial results demonstrate its continued growth and its status as one of the leading legal players in the City. However, gauging the firm’s size and profitability has become more challenging recently due to its decision to stop publishing annual financial results. The latest publicly available figures report revenues exceeding £1.8 billion and a profit per equity partner (PEP) of approximately £2 million.
Veteran LC readers might recognise the firm’s decision not to release its annual figures as an approach borrowed from Magic Circle compatriot Slaughter and May. However, Freshies’ top brass insist that the true measure of success is not in pounds and pence but in the “quality of business” it builds, and the client mandates it wins across the globe. Make of that what you will.
The bottom line is that Freshfields continues to perform strongly and rewards its juniors accordingly, having led the latest round of Magic Circle salary hikes. First year trainees earn £56k, increasing to £61k in the second year. If you stay on as a newly qualified (NQ) solicitor, which most do, you can expect to earn a substantial £150,000.
London trainees can also expect to enjoy “one of the best offices in the City” in Freshfields’ HQ at London’s 100 Bishopsgate, a glass-clad skyscraper which dominates the skyline. Rookies boast that the office is “one of the best perks of the firm.” It features stunning views across the city, standing desks, a moss wall in the canteen, top-of-the-line Hag Sofi chairs (“so comfortable”), and so much designer furniture that you feel like you “walked into a showroom”. Did we forget to mention that it comes equipped with “very modern, nice and spacious client rooms”, and a canteen which offers a “generally nice” breakfast, lunch and dinner menu – “with 50% off for all vegan/veggie dishes on Monday”? Although the portion sizes apparently leave a little to be desired, we’re told that the “french fries are very nice” and the all-important barista coffee is “excellent”. There’s also “lots of free snacks” for extra peckish trainees!
When it comes to training, quality of work and peer and partner support, Freshfields hits the level you’d expect for an elite firm.
Most trainees applaud the “excellent and consistent training” which takes place both formally through “well planned sessions” and informally, through peer review. “Many different lawyers (including seniors) have volunteered a significant amount of their time to go through their feedback on my work or to chat through the wider context to a deal,” one insider shares. Another rookie tells us that: “A good example is when I spent quite a few hours drafting something that ended up being unnecessary because of the client changing plans. Two associates still sat down with me for an hour to go through all my work and give me feedback and tips.” Freshfields stand out from the crowd by offering an eight-seat training contract (as opposed to the usual six by four method) giving trainees the chance to explore an even greater range of practice areas.
This all means that the work can be “incredibly tough and complex” with a lot of training happening “on the job”. But, in the end, the process is “rewarding” and there’s “very-high quality work” on offer for trainees who can prove they’re up to the task. As one insider puts it, “Trainees who earn the confidence of their team are given lots of responsibility, and the opportunity to have direct client contact and project manage matters.” Another source notes that, “From speaking to my friends at other firms, I typically get given a lot more responsibility. I also find that I am often liaising with associates that are a lot more senior than me at other firms — the team member in the opposing firm with an equivalent PQE level to me will often be less involved/less visible on external calls/emails.” Not to mention that the work itself is “usually high-profile stuff and often ends up in the news”.
Despite the fact rookies are “consistently trusted with associate level work”, there are unavoidable bits and pieces which are “deathly dull”. However, on the whole, less stimulating work is avoided as the firm sends “lots of the bigger tasks like first-level document review to the Hub in Manchester”. Indeed, Freshfields’ Northern operation is largely beneficial for London rookies, with the two offices so closely linked that a visit to the Manchester office is included as part of the London trainees’ induction. Further afield there’s also the Freshfields Lab, based in Berlin’s tech start-up hub, which is focused on developing new technology-based solutions. This leaves London trainees “expected to understand their matters inside out and be able to issue-spot rather than just being admin drones,” one source explains. Technology plays an even bigger role in this, as investment in automation has reportedly “really lowered the workload of contract proofing”, allowing trainees to spend most of their time “doing actual legal/commercial analysis rather than just proofing and cross-referencing”.
While young Freshies all receive top-of-the-range iPhone 15s, sources do still report encountering common tech issues such as crashed laptops and glitchy internal systems.
Legal Cheek understands that the vibe among the current cohort of trainees is “very supportive and collegiate”. Rookies have a “tight-knit group who look to support each other where possible”. There is also apparently no sense of competition, even around qualification, which is testament to the “great characters” that regularly fill the intakes — although of course in a firm the size of FBD there are “individuals” who buck this trend.
One rookie sums up the mood: “We have a great intake of trainees here who generally eat together at lunch (and tea most nights!) and help each other out with work, which is particularly useful at the start of a new seat when you have no idea what you’re doing!”. There are also “regular trainee socials” to help newcomers network and socialise, as well as JATNOs (junior associate trainee nights out) further down the line. The canteen also “turns into a bar on Thursdays which most people usually nip down to”. But expect fewer wild nights out and more “wild variation between teams” as the social life is said to be seat-dependent and somewhat less thrilling during periods when everyone has too much work to attend.
That being said, FBD’s feel-good vibes do continue at senior level, where almost everyone is said to be approachable. “It doesn’t feel hierarchical and I’m just as likely to have a chat by the coffee machine with a partner as with a junior associate” gleans one trainee. However, newbies are encouraged to “exercise common sense when people are busy”, especially in regard to more senior partners who are “somewhat in an ivory tower”, according to one insider. Overall, however, the consensus appears to be that the vast majority of people at the firm are “highly approachable, and happy to answer silly questions”, with some exceptions, as expected in any workplace.
Hours can be long and grinding, with late evening (or beyond) departures from the office being commonplace — although this is obviously seat dependant, with corporate and leveraged finance subject to more hectic patches while disputes maintains an even level of busyness. One LC mole says: “I’ve had periods where my work day begins in the evening, and I’ve been on standby for the whole day but of course you still have to be around at any moment for when work kicks in. Some teams can protect evening plans, but this is not always possible. Generally, when weekend work does kick in on busy matters, they respect plans made earlier and let you work around them. No one ever takes for granted how challenging this is for trainees and I believe they do notice the commitment but it’s an expected part of the job.” Although one insider assures us that the work-life balance is “not as horrific as I’d imagined”, we think this wise trainee said it best: “Can’t have interesting work without long hours”.
The firm’s vast overseas network (Freshfields has 29 offices in 18 countries) also means that Freshies’ youngsters have a good chance of enjoying an international dimension to their training contract — a secondment, either client or international, is compulsory in the final six months of the TC. A good chunk spend time abroad with the firm in locations such as Tokyo, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Vienna, Berlin, or New York (where the firm has moved into a brand-new office at 3 World Trade Centre). Client secondments are also popular with destinations including AstraZeneca and the Bank of England – one of Freshfields’ oldest clients.
It also helps that the firm has a very flexible work from home policy, with many doing just three days a week in the office. Whilst some grumble that “it still feels like the older generation think we’re not working unless we’re in the office”, others have taken full advantage of the policy: “Very flexible to come and go from the office… WFH in the morning for early calls and come in during the afternoon, leaving the office for dinner and logging back on at home,” details one. The firm offers basic home office equipment (a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and USB connector) and office chairs can be requested.
And the cherry on top of the Freshfields’ cake? The freebies: there’s an on-site pastry chef, two for one National Theatre tickets, after-hours Deliveroo and taxi service, health insurance and gym membership and even free pensions and mortgage advice. Oh and “great cycling facilities!”
