Payne Hicks Beach LLP

The Legal 500 Future Lawyers verdict on Payne Hicks Beach LLP

Payne Hicks Beach offers trainees a distinctive combination of top-quality work, a supportive culture, and a heritage steeped in private client excellence. Many are drawn to the firm’s reputation and practice areas, particularly in niche specialisms such as reputation management, alongside its full-service offering. The “fantastic working environment,” “sensible work-life balance,” and the “beautiful location” of the offices also contribute to why trainees choose PHB over City rivals. For those seeking a balance between high-level exposure and a more personal training experience, the firm holds strong appeal. The training itself is consistently described as “much higher quality”. Supervision is a highlight, with many citing the supportive culture and exceptional quality of learning. Compared to larger City firms, PHB stands out for its work-life balance and the ability to be meaningfully involved from day one, though some note that the firm’s IT systems and WFH policies lag behind competitors. The “quality of the work” is repeatedly identified as one of the best things about the firm, with trainees benefitting from the “exceptional client base” and gaining access to interesting, often high-profile clients. There is also a strong sense that colleagues “really care about the work they do and the service they provide.”. The drawbacks are relatively practical: lower NQ salaries compared to similar firms and technology that “is in need of modernisation.” Despite this, trainees emphasise that the standard of work and culture outweigh these shortcomings. Highlights of the training contract include preparing for and attending a five-day inquest involving a media personality, running matters independently, and working on a high-profile private mediation — experiences that provide both responsibility and excitement early on. The lows are less dramatic, with long hours and occasional weekend work described as the exception rather than the norm. On hybrid working, trainees report being encouraged to spend most of their time in the office, a policy many actually value for the “osmosis” it provides in terms of learning and supervision. Upon qualification, more flexibility is offered. For those who want high-quality private client work, early responsibility, and a supportive culture without sacrificing work-life balance, Payne Hicks Beach is a strong fit.

A day in the life of... Matthew Franks, trainee, Payne Hicks Beach LLP

Departments to date: Property; Private client

8.45am: I arrive at work. Normally I aim to arrive at about 9.00am, but today a training breakfast is taking place. Trainees are encouraged to be in the office as much as possible across the firm.

While my computer loads, I make a coffee and burrow in my desk drawers for any light snacks which I might have been kind enough to leave there for myself. Sadly, today I find only a stapler and some sticky notes. I then review the emails I have received since yesterday evening, making a note of new tasks arising from them.

9.00am: At the training breakfast we are given a brief history of inheritance tax and also, much to my relief, croissants. Many senior members of the firm have an academic appreciation of their specialisms, which helps add colour to the work we do as trainees.

10.15am: As nothing very urgent has come to my attention yet, I consider the note I made of a meeting yesterday with a client who would like us to draft her will. I have been copied in to all the emails with this client, and was asked to attend the meeting by a senior associate, so I feel well-informed and confident enough to draft her will. However, were a complicated issue to come up, I would feel very comfortable asking the senior associate, or indeed any associate in the team, for guidance on that point.

11.30am: Having sent a further few doses of caffeine hurtling through my bloodstream, and with the will’s provisions fresh in my mind, I also draft a covering letter to the client explaining the functioning of her will. Although everything I do will be checked by the senior associate (and any amendments explained to me), it feels meaningful to lay the foundations of the work we are doing for this client.

12.00pm: I receive a visit in my room from a partner who specialises in art law. The department has a sociable feel to it, and almost everyone is happy for me to waltz into their room for a brief chat, or to visit me themselves.

The partner asks me to produce a first draft of an exhibition loan agreement for one his clients. This piece of work is good practice for my drafting skills and requires strong attention to detail, as it is quite different to the other documents I have been drafting in my seats so far, such as wills and leases.

12.45pm: Narrowly avoiding a Tupperware spillage down the carpeted office corridors, I head out to lunch with the other trainees. As it is summer, we sit in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Ever the conscientious trainee, I remember 8.45am with a shudder and replenish my stock of edible office supplies.

2.00pm: I print off and tab up for signature some lasting powers of attorney which I have drafted for a meeting with a client.

3.00pm: I attend the meeting, noting the senior associate’s client-friendly explanation of the documents. I have already mastered the art of waiting until the client has left in order to eat the biscuits in the conference rooms. Clients do not want crumbs in their wills.

4.00pm: Returning upstairs to my desk, I tidy up my attendance note and prepare to send the LPAs out to the attorneys for their signatures. I also have an informal chat with my supervisor, who takes an interest in the work I have been doing and offers thoughtful advice.

5.00pm: A partner in the family department asks me to conduct some research, as a party to a divorce in which he recently acted has died, and he wishes to understand the consequences of the financial settlement for that party’s estate. One of the advantages of training in a firm of this size is that it is easy in each seat to establish working relationships with people across departments.

6.30pm: I record my time and log off. Although I am sometimes required to stay late in order to work on urgent tasks or catch up with my to-do list, today I have important business to conduct at the pub just outside the office.

About the firm

The firm: Payne Hicks Beach is a Lincoln’s Inn firm established in 1730 providing a full range of legal services to domestic and international private and commercial clients.

Chairman of the management board: Robert Brodrick.

Who we are: Payne Hicks Beach is a medium-size London law firm with a global reach, a 300-year history at the same location in Lincoln’s Inn and a thoroughly 21st-century approach to client service. The firm provides solution-led advice and legal services to domestic and international private and commercial clients including individuals, families, businesses and trustees. Much of the firm’s work has an international element, building on strong links with the US, Canada, Scandinavia, the Middle East and Far East, the main offshore centres, Switzerland and other European countries. Work is regularly handled in French, Italian, Danish and Arabic. The firm consistently ‘punches above its weight’ in the complexity of the clients it serves and matters it handles, and specialist advisers work in close-knit teams to deliver a seamless service across all its practice areas. Trainees invariably feel part of the team from the moment they arrive.

What we do: The firm’s reputation has been built on family and private client work as one of the few UK firms that provides these services at the highest level. Its commanding position in these areas is complemented by an excellent reputation for contentious trusts, dispute resolution, privacy and media law, company and commercial law, employment, residential and commercial property, and citizenship and immigration work. Despite its position in the market, Payne Hicks Beach’s lawyers pride themselves on the confidentiality and discretion with which they conduct their work, not least because the firm’s clients include many household names, as a result of which the firm is one of London’s best kept secrets.

What we’re looking for in a trainee: Applicants should have an excellent academic record (a 2(1) degree is a minimum), a high degree of drive and determination, and will need to demonstrate an ability to analyse problems accurately, to be creative in finding practical commercial solutions and communicating these clearly, as well as a flair for building relationships.

What you’ll do: Trainees spend time in each of four departments, with their preferences being taken into account in this rotation so far as possible. With only one trainee per department, they play an important role, with a high level of responsibility, real work and supervised client contact from the outset.

Trainees are subject to regular assessment, and engage in the required Professional Skills courses, as well as in-house training. However, with the firm’s team outlook and open-door policy they also have access to help and support from colleagues who are acknowledged experts in their fields.

Perks: Private medical insurance; permanent health insurance; dental cover; life assurance scheme; health assessment; contributory pension scheme; cycle to work scheme; season ticket loan; Gymflex; staff introduction bonus; holiday purchase scheme.

Sponsorship

Full GDL, LPC and SQE funding and a maintenance grant each year of study. BPP Law School is the firm’s preferred provider.

Seat options

Dispute resolution; family; employment; private client; property; citizenship and immigration; and corporate.

Tips from the recruiter

1. Steer clear of the generic; keep your responses concise; and make sure that you proofread them.
2. Take the time to research the firm: demonstrate that you understand its profile and ethos and why these appeal to you.
3. If you are selected to come for an assessment day, please be yourself: authenticity is very important at PHB.

Diversity and inclusion