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SolicitorsLC.N Award Winners
Launched in 2004, the LawCareers.Net Training & Recruitment Awards aim to recognise the best recruiters and trainers among law firms. The awards results are based on an extensive yearly survey of trainee and newly qualified solicitors. The survey respondents are asked to frankly assess their own experiences and score the firm they work at on a number of criteria related to the recruitment, training, work placement scheme and training principal. In 2007 we introduced the Commendation for Diversity, which is awarded to a firm that goes to great lengths to ensure that its workplace is representative of the community it serves. The Commendation for Diversity is aimed at ensuring that beacons of good diversity practice are visible and spur on the rest of the profession. Below you will find information about the firms that have excelled and taken home one of the coveted LC.N awards.
2013
LawCareers.Net Recruitment & Training Awards 2013
May 2013 saw the LawCareers.Net Training & Recruitment Awards (TARAs) celebrate their 10th year. As ever, the TARAs honoured the firms and individuals who offered their recruits the best possible start to their legal careers. Over 2,200 trainees and newly-qualified solicitors responded to our survey assessing firms on their recruitment process, the training they offer and the quality of their work placement schemes. Respondents were also asked to put forward their training principal for the Best Training Principal award. The Law Lecturer of the Year trophy was awarded to David Hodgkinson of the University of Derby.
Alan Edwards & Co
Best training principal – Graham French
Graham French is very committed and provides regular guidance and encouragement. He ensures that we are up to date on relevant changes in the law and considers the additional internal or external training we might need.
Atherton Godfrey
Best recruiter – Small firm
Excellent recruitment process. The firm's website provided all the information I needed to ascertain the type of work the firm did and also how I should apply.
Baker & McKenzie
Best trainer – Large City firm
There is an open-door policy and people are very welcoming, friendly and approachable.
Burges Salmon
Best recruiter – National/large regional firm
The attention to detail and regular contact of the recruitment team was what set this firm apart from the rest during the recruitment process.
Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLP
Best work placement scheme – City firm
During the vacation scheme, everyone went out of their way to provide me with interesting and varied work and to ensure that I felt like a valued member of the team.
EMW Law LLP
Best trainer – Medium regional firm
Lots of client contact and responsibility, while always knowing that you have the safety blanket of your supervisor there or another fee earner to ask questions of.
Farrer & Co LLP
Best trainer – Medium City firm
The training in each seat has been immaculate. I have felt like every supervisor has had a real desire for me to learn and grow in confidence.
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
Best trainer – US firm in the City
The time given to you as a trainee and as an NQ from senior associates and partners is quite amazing.
Macfarlanes LLP
Best training principal – John Hornby
A fantastic training principal. John Hornby dedicates so much time, energy and thought to the training experience at the firm, all the way from application to NQ appointments, and does the utmost for each and every trainee at the firm.
Nabarro LLP
Best recruiter - Large City firm
Challenging, enjoyable and engaging recruitment process.
Nockolds
Best recruiter – Medium regional firm
I feel this was a great process as the firm really got to get a good sense of you as a candidate and you got a good sense of the firm.
Penningtons Solicitors LLP
Best recruiter – Medium City firm
Excellent contact after recruitment, invitations to internal training events and trainee evenings - felt very much part of the firm before joining.
Reed Smith
Commendation for Diversity
What really made Reed Smith stand out was the breadth of its diversity initiatives: from ethnicity and gender, to disabilities, mental health, sexual orientation and religion, the firm had schemes, programmes and projects to attract and support an impressively wide range of diverse applicants and employees.
Shoosmiths
Best trainer – National/large regional firm
The firm is incredibly friendly and welcoming, and the work has been challenging, interesting and varied.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP
Best recruiter – US firm in the City
Both personnel and the systems in place allow candidates to appreciate exactly the nature of the work, the workers and the workload.
Tees Solicitors
Best work placement scheme – Regional firm
I was given access to a broad range of work areas, had direct involvement with client files and was introduced to clients in meetings.
2012
LawCareers.Net Recruitment & Training Awards 2012
The ninth annual LawCareers.Net Training and Recruitment Awards took place in May 2012. The awards, which recognised the best recruiters and trainers among law firms, were based on a large survey of over 2,300 trainee and newly qualified solicitors. 2012 saw the introduction of two new LC.N awards; the Best Training Principal award and the Law Lecturer of the Year award.
We prepared exclusive award winner profiles of some winners for publication in LawCareers.Net Best in Law: Making good candidates excellent. These profiles can be read below.
Baker & McKenzie
Best trainer – Large City firm and Commendation for Diversity
My supervisors have been excellent, They really spent a lot of time ensuring that I had access to interesting and varied work, and without exception took the time to go through work.
Burges Salmon
Best recruiter – National/large regional firm
Excellent communication throughout the process, very quick responses to all queries, no complaints at all. The recruitment team and HR department are extremely hardworking and efficient.
Cobbetts LLP
Best training principal - Richard Webb
Richard Webb is friendly and approachable and exceptionally good at his job and as such provides the perfect role model to those embarking upon their career in law.
Farrer & Co LLP
Best trainer – Medium City firm
The recruitment team put a staggering amount of effort into ensuring all seat preferences are catered for - spending weeks carefully orchestrating each of the seat changes to make sure everybody is content. They genuinely care about each individual trainee!
Ince & Co LLP
Best work placement scheme – City firm
They gave me real work to do, for which I needed to liaise with solicitors and partners on the cases. It was a real week of being a trainee and showed me the exact type of thing I would be doing as a trainee.
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
Best trainer – US firm in the City
The quality of work is brilliant - there's always enough good work to be shared around the trainees. There is very little mundane work.
Osborne Clarke
Best work placement scheme – Regional firm
The fee earners went the extra mile to make me feel welcome and genuinely wanted to know about me. They took me for lunches even if they weren’t scheduled to.
Pannone LLP
Best trainer – National/large regional firm
The firm has exceeded my expectations. The training I have received here has been second to none. You are given a lot of opportunity to deal directly with clients with appropriate supervision.
RPC
Best recruiter – Medium City firm
I found that the firm's recruitment process brought the best out of me, gave me an excellent impression of the firm (which hasn't changed, so wasn't a misrepresentation of the culture here) and I felt informed throughout.
SJ Berwin
Best recruiter - Large City firm
First-class graduate recruitment team: approachable, responsive, well informed and genuinely interested in you.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP
Best recruiter – US firm in the City
Really good at communicating and answering questions, but perhaps most importantly is pretty fast at responding to applicants once they've had an interview.
Thomson Snell & Passmore
Best trainer – Medium regional firm
I am always thanked for the work I do and I have always feel appreciated. This positive attitude of the fee-earners and secretaries in the firm ensures that trainees are more positive, willing and dedicated.
Veale Wasbrough Vizards
Best training principal - Tabitha Cave
Tabitha Cave is an exceptional lawyer who displays talents across numerous sectors. She is approachable, friendly and takes an active interest in all trainees.
2011
LawCareers.Net Training & Recruitment Awards 2011
June 2011 saw the eighth annual LawCareers.Net Training and Recruitment Awards. Once again we conducted a huge survey with a fantastic response rate. Nearly 2,500 trainees and newly-qualified solicitors responded with their thoughts on the training and recruitment experience, and on how they felt their firms had performed. Based on these replies we selected the winners of our awards.
We prepared exclusive award winner profiles of some winners for publication in the LawCareers.Net Best in Law magazine. These profiles can be read here.
Allen & Overy LLP
Best recruiter - Large City firm
I was struck by how enthusiastic, open-minded and genuine everyone seemed to be, and how willing the partners were to talk to people they may never see again.
Arnold & Porter (UK) LLP
Best trainer - US firm in the City
The quality of work and the responsibility given to trainees from the start of the training contract is superb; I immediately felt part of the team and had worked with most of the lawyers from NQs to the managing partner within the first year.
Baker & McKenzie
Best trainer - Large City firm
We’re a firm that allows people to play to their strengths and appreciates the fact that different people have different skills to bring to the table.
Burges Salmon
Best recruiter - National/large regional firm
Candidates should come here because we have fantastic work, fantastic lawyers, and they can fit into our collaborative culture and help strengthen the team.
DLA Piper UK LLP
Commendation for Diversity
We’re a massively broad firm in terms of geography, practice areas and clients, whom we can't service to the best of our ability unless we have a diverse workforce. So that has to be central to recruitment.
Farrer & Co LLP
Best recruiter - Medium City firm
Trainees are not made to feel like just 'the trainees'; they’re regarded as a vital part of the firm and are consulted on matters you wouldn’t imagine they would be.
Goodman Derrick LLP
Best trainer - Medium City firm
Most trainees sit with a partner who is there to provide support and supervision. Monthly trainee meetings provide an excellent opportunity to hear about the experiences of other trainees and also to raise any problems or queries. There are also regular appraisals and frequent training sessions.
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
Best recruiter - US firm in the City
With a small group of trainees, you are likely to be the only trainee on a deal - perhaps even the only trainee in a department. As a result, the level of work that you are going to get will be head and shoulders above that of friends or colleagues in other City firms.
Mills & Reeve LLP
Best work placement scheme - Regional firm
The scheme is basically a training contract condensed into two weeks. Everyone will get four training contract-style 'seats', so that they experience four completely different areas of law.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP
Best work placement scheme - City firm
I think [the scheme] mirrors what they would be doing on a training contract and shows them what they would be doing if they were to join us.
Thomson Snell & Passmore
Best trainer - Medium regional firm
The training at the firm is excellent. You are given as much responsibility as you feel comfortable with and this really gives you the chance to develop your skills.
Wragge & Co LLP
Best trainer - National/large regional firm
People who come to Wragge having worked in other firms and organisations are surprised to find that our culture is genuinely different – people here really do think this is a great place to work.
2010
LawCareers.Net Recruitment & Training Awards 2010
Bond Dickinson
Best trainer - National/large regional firm
Our trainees are working with partners who are leaders in their field; they're learning from the best people.
Burges Salmon
Best recruiter - National/large regional firm
I think the investment that we make in our staff and the business as a whole stands out.
CMS Cameron McKenna LLP
Best recruiter - Large City firm
We are deliberately quite open with candidates – we want them to find out about us, and about the firm, because in a sense if they do join us, it is better that they are well informed.
Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLP
Best work placement scheme - City firm
Coming on the scheme gives students a more realistic picture of what to expect and a greater awareness of the part trainees can play in the work we do.
Farrer & Co LLP
Best trainer - Medium City firm
What we pride ourselves on, more than anything, is trying to make the trainees feel as though they are part of the firm from the moment they walk in through the door.
Mills & Reeve LLP
Best work placement scheme - Regional firm
Although we do put on talks and run social events, for the bulk of the time being a placement student here is essentially what you could expect to be doing if you were to get a training contract.
Reed Smith
Best trainer - Large City firm
Our objective is to help our trainees to become the best lawyers they can be.
Robert Meaton and Co Solicitors
Best recruiter - Small firm
There’s always support – you can work alongside colleagues or be as independent as you’d like.
Shoosmiths
Commendation for Diversity
We do a lot to promote diversity. What we can do, we will do – we're very proactive.
Tees Solicitors
Best trainer - Medium regional firm
We give trainees as much responsibility as we assess that they can handle and, when we’re comfortable that they’re capable, they will be seeing clients.
Travers Smith LLP
Best recruiter - Medium City firm
I can honestly say that I've never got up in the morning and thought ‘Oh God, I've got to go to work’.
2009
LawCareers.Net Recruitment & Training Awards 2009
Ashurst LLP
Best recruiter - Large City firm
I was looking for a large City firm with international prospects and with a high profile and impressive client base.
Burges Salmon
Best recruiter - National/large regional firm
The seat rotation is one of our selling points and one that trainees consistently say is a key reason why they choose to work at Burges Salmon.
Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLP
Best work placement scheme - City firm
We are able to offer a very personalised training contract that allows trainees to really make their mark. The summer scheme represents a distilled version of that.
Government Legal Service
Best recruiter & trainer - In-house/public sector
The work our trainees do is all real work, alongside qualified lawyers on the major projects of a department.
Hogan Lovells
Best trainer - US firm in the City (Hogan Hartson) and Commendation for Diversity (Lovells)
Mills & Reeve LLP
Best work placement scheme - Regional firm
irst and foremost, our vacation scheme gives students the opportunity both to discover whether a career in the law is for them and to show us what they can do.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP
Best recruiter - US firm in the City
2008
LawCareers.Net Recruitment & Training Awards 2008
Allen & Overy LLP
Best trainer - Large City firm
While we have lots of excellent formal training in place, I think it is the day-to-day training that trainees receive from everyone around them that sets us apart.
Blandy & Blandy LLP
Best trainer - Medium regional firm
On the one hand, every partner knows the names and faces of every trainee, and that translates into really hands-on experience; on the other, we have a wide range of highly rated departments, which means that the work the firm takes on is top notch as well.
Burges Salmon
Best recruiter - National/large regional firm
We've got bright lawyers and it's a very friendly firm and a nice environment to work in. Candidates see that straight away.
Covington & Burling LLP
Best recruiter - US firm in the City
The single most important thing we do is make sure we hire the right people... We also want them to be certain that we are right for them. It's really only by meeting us that people can be certain of the firm's culture.
Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLP
Best work placement scheme - City firm
ife at the firm has definitely lived up to my expectations. The scheme gives you a realistic picture of the way the firm operates and the way people work so well together."
Farrer & Co LLP
Best recruiter - Medium City firm
It's about supporting our lawyers, at all levels, in becoming the best solicitors they can be.
Mills & Reeve LLP
Best work placement scheme - Regional firm
We have a very diverse practice and we simply try to show students as much of it as we can so that they can form a proper impression.
Nabarro LLP
Best recruiter - Large City firm
There isn't a standard person Nabarro looks for. There are people who have had other careers, who haven't been to Oxbridge, who've had different backgrounds... You don't get that at many other firms.
Palmers
Best trainer - Small firm
We're a broad-based practice, so can offer training not just in traditional high street work, but also corporate, insolvency, employment and other areas.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP
Best trainer - US firm in the City
It's fantastic to sit with some of the City's pre-eminent solicitors talking about what they've been working on, the problems or disputes and how they've got round them. It's good to see what you're aspiring to.
Travers Smith LLP
Best trainer - Medium City firm
You can learn a lot sitting with someone who's right at the top. It's the best way to learn.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Commendation for Diversity
One of Weil's key attributes is that we're never keen to rest on our laurels.
2007
LawCareers.Net Recruitment & Training Awards 2007
Ashurst LLP
Best recruiter - Large City firm
"It's good to feel you're learning quickly and making a contribution, and the partners go out of their way to make you feel part of the team."
Baker & McKenzie
Best trainer - Large City firm
"We try to encourage trainees to go to an overseas office which offers exposure to an area of business that they are particularly interested in and potentially want to qualify into."
Burges Salmon
Best recruiter - National/large regional firm
"You've got to make sure that your recruitment process is fit for purpose because it is the future of the firm. We have an excellent record of trainees progressing through to partnership."
Jones Day
Best recruiter - Medium City firm
"We're looking for people who will help to develop the practice."
Mills & Reeve LLP
Best work placement scheme - Regional firm
"There was a lot of interaction and a very good relationship with the people you were working for."
RPC
Best work placement scheme - City firm
"We place emphasis on people who are not just good lawyers, but those with relationship skills. We realise it can be daunting - but we're seeing a lot of competent people coming through."
Shearman & Sterling LLP
Best recruiter - US firm in the City
"We're never going to be set in our ways. We are a growing business, an expanding business, and we need to attract the right people to support that."
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP
Best trainer - US firm in the City
"Culturally, trainees aren’t put in a separate category - they are junior lawyers, with responsibility from day one."
Speechly Bircham LLP
Best trainer - Medium City firm
"It's work you can learn from rather than a two-year academic course where all you do is research. There's always a place for a trainee in any deal that's going on."
Stevens & Bolton LLP
Best recruiter - Medium regional firm
"I really like that the firm gives you the autonomy to deal with clients. You're always supervised but you’re able to get on with your own thing as well. The firm trusts you, which is nice."
2006
LawCareers.Net Recruitment & Training Awards 2006
Ashurst LLP
Best recruiter - Large City firm
"You know whether people are nice and feel whether they will fit into the firm. We want personalities - people who will enrich the lives of those already here."
Baker & McKenzie
Best trainer - Large City firm
"This is going to sound like a cliché, but aside from the high quality of work, I genuinely think we are friendlier and less hierarchical than many of our competitors."
Burges Salmon
Best recruiter - National/large regional frm
"A quarter of our partners and a third of our associates trained with us and have moved up through the ranks."
Cobbetts LLP
Best vacation scheme
"If we give the students a feel of the firm, that's where we're going right - I don't think that's us being clever, it's simply the people who are here."
Knights Solicitors LLP
Best recruiter - Medium regional firm
"Our philosophy definitely is about overall career development and progression for the trainee."
Wragge & Co LLP
Best trainer - National/large regional firm
"We want to make sure that all our trainees have responsibility. We don't want them to be in competition with one another. By limiting our intake we can ensure that all our trainees have access to great-quality work."
2005
LawCareers.Net Recruitment & Training Awards 2005
Baker & McKenzie
Best trainer - Large City firm
"I was clear that I wanted to work in an international environment and that Baker & McKenzie would provide that."
Covington & Burling LLP
Best trainer - Medium City firm
"Our philosophy is we want to challenge [trainees] but not overwhelm them. We want to give them opportunities to develop their skills with appropriate projects and at the same time provide the support that they need to really accomplish that."
Mills & Reeve LLP
Best vacation scheme
"The main thing that we're looking for is people who can work well within a team and be confident enough to ask the right sort of questions, make the right sort of noises, without being overconfident. It's a sort of sensible confidence."
RPC
Best recruiter - Medium City firm
"The whole object of our recruitment is to recruit future partners - so we have to make sure we get the right people here and now."
Stevens & Bolton LLP
Best recruiter - Medium regional firm
"We're keen to nurture people's careers and allow them to progress. Taking on the very best in trainees is the start of this."
Taylor Wessing
Best recruiter - Large City firm
"I had always thought that partners would be quite remote... but they're a very approachable lot and always have time to answer your questions."
Thomas Eggar
Best trainer - Medium regional firm
"It's a very friendly firm and everyone's approachable, which encourages people to be happy working here."
2004
LawCareers.Net Recruitment & Training Awards 2004
Ashurst LLP
Best recruiter - Large City firm
"We believe that when you give a person responsibility, their progress is much more pronounced. We show faith in our trainees and they rise to the challenge."
Baker & McKenzie
Best trainer - Large City firm
"Jet-setting and pay cheques aside, the quality of both the training and pastoral care is second to none."
Burges Salmon
Best recruiter - National/Large regional firm
"You've got the quality of clients without the London hours... Here you can really get to know people, and work together with other trainees as there is a 100% retention rate. As a trainee you do feel valued and an integral part of the firm."
Cobbetts LLP
Best vacation scheme
"[The vacation scheme] was the shortest one I did, but it was so well structured and the experience was so good - it really stood out as compared to the bigger firms in London."
Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLP
Best trainer - Medium City firm
"Two factors single us out from other London firms, namely the level of involvement that trainees have, and the level of support that they receive from day one."
Maples Teesdale LLP
Best trainer - Small firm
"The quality of work is better than any trainee or solicitor will get in the City, while the level of expertise is second to none."
Stevens & Bolton LLP
Best trainer - Medium regional firm
"Everyone's got an open-door policy and you can stick your head round for help. You get to see the top-level people in action."
Wragge & Co LLP
Best trainer - National/large regional firm
"I wanted to go somewhere where there was emphasis on life outside of work and where you were not expected to turn into some kind of lawyer clone."