Upbeat comments by Swindon law firm Withy King’s trainees have put it among the country’s legal elite in a unique online guide.
The Lex 100 is based on comments made by trainee solicitors in a comprehensive nationwide survey which gauges their satisfaction – or otherwise – with their firms in 10 areas spanning job satisfaction, quality of work and social life.
The guide is considered an invaluable reference tool for all those considering a career in law.
Thousands of graduates apply to law firms across the UK every year for training contracts – but it is difficult for them to find out which treat their trainees well and develop their skills, and which use them primarily for photocopying and tea-making duties.
Withy King, which also has offices in Marlborough, London, Bath Oxford and Abingdon, scored highly in five categories – job satisfaction, meeting expectations, quality of work, client contact and friendliness.
The firm ranked fourth for its quality of work behind the UK offices of major international firms Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Bingham McCutchen, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
According to the Lex 100, Withy King trainees do lots of ‘productive work’ and are happy that they are treated like ‘everyone else’ and not like the office lackey.
Withy King came seventh for client contact, 10th for job satisfaction, 12th for friendliness and 15th for meeting expectations.
The firm’s managing partner Graham Street said: “This is great news for the firm – one of our key values is being an employer of choice. We are totally committed to our trainees and ensuring that Withy King lives up to their expectations, now and in the future. Our employees are fundamental to delivering our vision of creating lasting relationships by putting our clients’ interests first.”
Comments put forward by Withy King trainees include: “friendly and relaxed atmosphere”; “brilliant one-on-one partner interaction”; “more involved in business development and networking activities”; “much more valued”; “work/life balance is far better” and “secretarial and support staff are great”.
The Lex 100’s overall comments on the firm were: “If you are looking for a firm where there is a very real sense that everyone is pulling in the same direction and there is a focus on quality training then investigate Withy King without delay.”
Some 141 firms took part by distributing the survey questionnaires to their trainees. More than 3,400 completed responses were received back, making it Lex’s biggest survey of trainee views to date.
