LawCareers.Net Training & Recruitment Awards: the results

Merchant Taylor’s Hall in the City of London was crackling with excitement as representatives from over 70 top law firms convened to find out who would be the winners of the prestigious LawCareers.Net Training & Recruitment Awards 2016.

The LCN awards - a key date in the legal calendar for a decade and a half - set out to identify and laud those employers in the profession that do a great job in giving their trainees a flying start in the profession. These are the firms that tell the truth and play straight during the recruitment process, support and fairly assess trainees, and nurture their burgeoning careers. There is a huge variety in what trainees experience and it is crucial for the health of the sector that the good employers are held up as exemplars against which trainees elsewhere can benchmark their own experiences and hold their own firms to account. It also allows future trainees to identify the ‘hidden’ questions they need to ask when assessing firms for possible applications.

Matthew Broadbent, business development director of LCN, said: “The LCN awards are a real proving ground. With over 2,000 trainees and NQs surveyed, the awards paint a really accurate picture of which firms do a great job in recruitment and training. All the nominees should be congratulated as the competition across every category is fierce.”

Baker & McKenzie Best recruiter – Large City firm	Nabarro LLP Best trainer – Large City firm
Osborne Clarke LLP Best recruiter – National/large regional firm	Shoosmiths Best trainer – National/large regional firm
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP Best recruiter – US firm in the City	Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld Best trainer – US firm in the City
Forsters LLP Best recruiter – Medium City firm	Farrer & Co LLP Best trainer – Medium City firm
Taylor Walton LLP Best recruiter – Medium regional firm	Tees Law Best trainer – Medium regional firm
Mills & Co Best recruiter – Small firm	Zyda Law Best trainer – Small firm
Bird & Bird Best work placement scheme – City firm	Mills & Reeve LLP Best work placement scheme – Regional firm
Giles Chesher – Squire Patton Boggs LLP Best training principal – Large trainee intake	Ben Perry – Sullivan & Cromwell LLP Best training principal – Small trainee intake
Hogan Lovells Commendation for Diversity	Simmons & Simmons LLP Commendation for Diversity
Benjamin Jones – University of South Wales Law Lecturer of the Year

This year, in a unique situation, two firms were awarded the coveted Commendation for Diversity, Hogan Lovells and Simmons & Simmons. The award was judged by a panel that included Melissa Andrewes, director at Rare Recruitment, and Chris White, founder of Aspiring Solicitors. They commented: “Hogan Lovells and Simmons & Simmons have demonstrated impressive, consistent and innovative commitment to diversity and inclusion. Both law firms are committed to successful diversity initiatives/projects and have implemented excellent strategic diversity plans internally. Simmons & Simmons has totally overhauled its interview and selection process with diversity and inclusion the primary driver, and has also successfully delivered a diversity and inclusion board game throughout the firm. Hogan Lovells has implemented the Contextual Recruitment System to help provide objective social mobility data for vacation scheme and training contract applicants, and has also recorded a series of impressive increases of new hires from diverse groups across the firm, as well as setting bold senior targets and aspirations. What was clear to the judges from the submissions of both firms is that diversity and inclusion is being promoted from the top down and the bottom up. This combination is essential to increase diversity in the legal profession across all underrepresented groups.”

Here’s the full list of nominees:

Best Recruiter - Large City Firm

Allen & Overy LLP

Baker & McKenzie

Bird & Bird

CMS

Hogan Lovells

Macfarlanes LLP

Slaughter and May

 

Best Trainer – Large City Firm

Ashurst LLP

Charles Russell Speechlys LLP

Dentons

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP

Nabarro LLP

Reed Smith

Taylor Wessing

 

Best Recruiter – Medium City Firm

Bristows LLP

Forsters LLP

Russell-Cooke Solicitors

Mayer Brown International LLP

RPC

Travers Smith LLP

Wedlake Bell LLP

 

Best Trainer – Medium City Firm

Bircham Dyson Bell LLP

Farrer & Co LLP

Goodman Derrick LLP

Hodge Jones & Allen LLP

Kingsley Napley LLP

Marriott Harrison LLP

Withers LLP

 

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

Arnold & Porter (UK) LLP

Cooley (UK) LLP

Covington & Burling LLP

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

Shearman & Sterling (London) LLP

Weil, Gotshal & Manges

 

Best Trainer – US Firm in the City

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Latham & Watkins

Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy

Morrison & Foerster (UK) LLP

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (Europe) LLP

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

 

Best Recruiter – National/Large Regional Firm

Burges Salmon LLP

DLA Piper UK LLP

DWF LLP

Freeths LLP

Irwin Mitchell

Osborne Clarke LLP

Pinsent Masons LLP

 

Best Trainer – National/ Large Regional Firm

Bond Dickinson

Eversheds LLP

Shoosmiths

Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP

TLT LLP

Walker Morris LLP

Weightmans LLP

 

Best Recruiter – Medium Regional Firm

Mundays LLP

Roythornes Solicitors

Taylor Walton LLP

Thomson Snell & Passmore

Trethowans LLP

Wilkin Chapman LLP

Withy King

 

Best Trainer – Medium Regional Firm

Birketts LLP

Blandy & Blandy LLP

Coffin Mew LLP

EMW Law LLP

Foot Anstey LLP

Stevens & Bolton LLP

Tees Law

 

Best Recruiter – Small Firm

Atherton Godfrey

EC3\Legal LLP

Mills & Co

The Endeavour Partnership LLP

Thackray Williams LLP

 

Best Trainer - Small Firm

Clarkson Wright & Jakes Ltd

Curzon Green Solicitors

Maples Teesdale LLP

Wrigleys Solicitors LLP

Zyda Law

 

Best Work Placement Scheme – City Firm

Bird & Bird

K&L Gates LLP

Kennedys

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

Nabarro LLP

Olswang LLP

 

Best Work Placement Scheme – Regional Firm

Bevan Brittan LLP

Bond Dickinson

Burges Salmon LLP

Michelmores

Mills & Reeve LLP

Veale Wasbrough Vizards LLP

 

Best Training Principal (large trainee intake)

Ian Gascoigne – Eversheds LLP

Samantha Roberts – Reed Smith

Lynn Knight – Shoosmiths

Giles Chesher - Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP

Kirstie McGuigan – Taylor Wessing

Suzanne Todd – Withers LLP

 

Best Training Principal (small trainee intake)

Maria Mulroe - Herrington & Carmichael LLP

Peter Todd - Hodge Jones & Allen LLP

Nicola Hill - Kingsley Napley LLP

Ben Perry - Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

Tracy Harris – Taylor Walton LLP

Letitia Glaister - Tees Law

 

Commendation for Diversity

To be announced at the event.

 

Law Lecturer of the Year

Daniel Berger – University of Hertfordshire

Michael Gordon – University of Liverpool

David Hodgkinson – University of Derby

Caroline Hunter – University of York

Benjamin Jones – University of South Wales

Mary Lee – University of Sussex

Ryan Murphy – Aston University