RPC

The Legal 500 Future Lawyers verdict on RPC

RPC attracts trainees with its distinctive culture, insurance focus, and a healthy approach to work-life balance. Several joiners had already worked at the firm before training, one noting: “Having worked at the firm as a paralegal, I found that the firm lived up to its culture and wanted to continue my career there.” The training experience is often described as “more relaxed and modern,” with trainees “trusted with managing [their] own workload, given a high level of support when needed and made to feel that [their] contributions are valuable.” The Bristol office benefits from a “great close-knit trainee cohort” thanks to its small intake, while others highlight “very high levels of responsibility and client contact.” But there are frustrations too. One reports: “We often work far longer hours than trainees at US and Magic Circle firms for a fraction of the salary.”  Another commented that “poor retention rates over the last few years make it stressful… you can be a great trainee and still not get an NQ role.” The best thing about RPC is, overwhelmingly, the people. “The culture,” one summarises, “there are a few scary characters like in any job, but the overwhelming majority are approachable and great to work with.” Others praise “really good quality of work given to junior employees” and a trainee cohort that is “by far the best thing about the firm.” The hybrid policy also wins approval: “It’s complete freedom to WFH whenever… you are treated like an adult and trusted to get on with your work.” On the downside, pay is a recurring issue. “The remuneration, particularly in Bristol,” one laments, “is getting increasingly worse, especially compared to comparable firms.” Others cite “NQ pay progression,” “long hours,” and “an extremely burdensome” qualification process. Trainees still find highlights in their work — from “attending a mediation which settled at the last minute” to “going to Hong Kong on secondment” and “negotiating a settlement that was 5% of the original claim.” Client secondments are called “very positive” and “invaluable,” offering “responsibility from day one.” Overall, RPC is a firm where culture, flexibility, and responsibility shine.

A day in the life of... Lydia Robinson, trainee solicitor

Departments to date: Professional and financial risks (insurance); Media

University: York

Degree: Law

As a trainee in the media team at RPC, no two days are the same. The below is a sneak peek of a typical Tuesday, the team’s ‘anchor’ day in the office. It highlights some typical trainee tasks, but each day has varied significantly over my six-month seat.

7.00am: I usually wake up around 7am on an office day. I’ve (thankfully) sorted my lunch the night before, giving me enough time to be out the door by 8am to avoid the rush on the Northern Line. I quickly check my emails before getting on the tube to see if anything has come in that needs to be dealt with in the morning and book my desk for the day (picking a window seat overlooking the Tower of London).

8.45am: I get to the office, grab a coffee and chat to people in my team as they come in for the day. I like to get in earlier so I’m ready to start working by 9am, but the working day ‘officially starts’ at 9.30am at RPC.

9.00am: I make a start on my first task for the day, which is researching case law on disclosure orders for some training the team are delivering to a client (particularly on ways in which a third party might be compelled by the court to provide documents they have that are relevant to an ongoing dispute). I feel confident on the points of law I need to pull out after a catch up I had with an associate in my team last week.

9.30am: The media team has its weekly capacity meeting on Tuesdays. We spend half an hour running through what we’re each up to and any developments on our matters. We spend the second half of the meeting discussing the items for this fortnight’s edition of Take 10, our fortnightly bulletin of recent media law updates, which I put together yesterday with the help of the team’s paralegal. I take notes of the wider team’s thoughts on the recent developments in media law ahead of drafting the stories later this afternoon. The team meetings are a great way to maintain awareness of developments in the law from people who have worked on the cases we’re discussing.

10.30am: After the capacity meeting ends, I get back to my research on disclosure orders. I summarise my findings and send it over to an associate for review.

11.00am: I join a client call where the partner is discussing the merits and next steps in a claim that’s recently been issued against our client. In the call, we go through a chronology of the case, ask questions to fill in any knowledge gaps and advise the client on next steps. I take a full note of what we discuss and am on hand in the call with any relevant documents. As a trainee you’re often asked to attend client calls to take a detailed note, meaning you get good exposure to clients and understand their key concerns. In a disputes team such as media, this helps you learn about different litigation strategies; for example cases are likely to differ hugely from pushing for a quick settlement or fighting them to trial.

11.30am: I take a quick break to chat to one of the associates in my team in the kitchen.

11.40am: I come back to my desk to make a start on my next task: creating a chronology of the underlying events of a matter I’m working on. We’re looking to understand the factual background of an article published by our client that’s subject to a pre-action complaint (this means that the complaint has not been formally issued as a claim in court and so the focus is often on understanding whether this is something that can be resolved before proceedings are formally issued). I start by reviewing other news reporting and social media posts from the relevant time to add to the chronology. Reviewing news reporting and social media posts can be a lengthy task but I’ve been given a helpful time indicator by the matter team to only spend an hour on this initially. Conversations like that are a helpful way of learning how to manage your workload as a trainee.

12.30pm: I head down to the Dockside Lounge, RPC’s multi-purpose event space, to meet the trainees for lunch. I can normally expect to find a group of the trainees there at lunch and chat about our weekends and our plans for the week.

1.30pm: I come back from lunch and make a start on drafting the articles for Take 10. I review my notes from our discussion this morning and make a start reading the first judgment for inclusion and writing a draft that picks out the key points.

3.00pm: A senior associate in my team asks for some help pulling together an exhibit for an application we’re making for a trial of preliminary issues on meaning. We have a quick chat about the background, and I collate the relevant documents before creating a bundle, a common trainee task which involves preparing documents for court.

5.00pm: The associate has reviewed my research on disclosure orders from this morning. We chat about next steps for creating client training slides.

5.15pm: I start my draft of the second article for Take 10. It’s a consultation Ofcom has released under its obligations under the Online Safety Act. I review the c50-page document and start summarising it into a client-friendly format. Take 10 becomes a great way of staying up-to-date with recent developments and after having read widely around key legal developments, you become a great source of information for the rest of your team.

6.30pm: I finish my work and prepare my to-do list for tomorrow. This helps me work out what my day might be like and means I have a better understanding of what my capacity might look like in case I get any last-minute work requests in the morning. I submit my time to our time recording system, pack up for the day and leave the office.

7.15pm: I meet some friends from university for a catch-up on my way back home. We chat about our days and share what we’ve all been up to. I head home shortly after before another day in the office on Wednesday.

I’ve really enjoyed my time in media due to the varied workload, the degree of responsibility given to trainees, a small and friendly team, but mostly the interesting cases that come in everyday and the legal context they’re set in. Media is a disputes seat, meaning most of my time is spent working towards a court deadline, but I’ve also enjoyed working on a range of pre-action complaints and advisory matters. My six months in the team has set me up well in the long term for a varied legal career, but also in the short term for my next seat in commercial and banking litigation, another of the RPC key disputes teams.

About the firm

List of clients: Google, Howden, ABInbev, LINK, EY, Financial Times, Fidelis, Newcastle United Football Club

• List of deals/cases in which the firm has been recently involved: Acting for Google in a series of high-profile collective proceedings before the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal concerning the Google Play Store on Android. The claims allege abuse of dominance in app distribution and in-app payment markets. Collectively, these proceedings involve tens of millions of UK Android users and app developers, with disputed damages exceeding £1bn. The cases are being case managed together and are scheduled for trial in October 2026. RPC is leading Google’s defence, including coordinating international strategy across related litigation and regulatory investigations in the US, Australia, Israel, Portugal, and the Netherlands. Lead Partners, David Cran, Chris Ross and Rathi Thiagamoorthy.

 

• Defending the Financial Times in a libel claim brought by former hedge fund manager, Crispin Odey, over two articles reporting on allegation that Odey sexually assaulted or harassed more than 20 women between 1985 and 2021. Odey seeks claiming reputational damages, including special damages of £79m, one of the highest value defamation claims to be brought in this jurisdiction in recent years. Lead Partner, Alex Wilson.

 

• Acting for Professor Carolyn Roberts as the proposed Class Representative in the first environmental competition collective action in the UK. The claims allege that six major water companies abused their dominant market positions by under-reporting pollution incidents to regulators, resulting in overcharging of household customers. Following the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s refusal to certify the collective proceedings, we successfully obtained permission from the Court of Appeal to appeal the decision, with a hearing now pending. Lead Partner, Zoe Mernick-Levene.

 

• Representing Fidelis in complex litigation arising from the retention of leased aircraft in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. The claims, brought by the world’s largest aircraft lessors under Contingent/Possessed Aviation Insurance Policies and operator policies, span multiple jurisdictions. RPC is defending Fidelis in the English Courts while coordinating strategy on related international claims. The case involves intricate issues around war-risk coverage, Russian law, state actions, and extensive expert evidence. Lead Partner, Naomi Vary.

 

• Acting for Newcastle United Football Club in relation to a multi-faceted dispute with HMRC stemming from an enquiry into agents’ fees that started with a dawn raid. This matter has included advice on the dawn raid and criminal investigation (which HMRC later dropped), a judicial review of the legality of search warrants, substantive appeals in relation to VAT, NICs and PAYE liability and litigation related to the ability of HMRC to retain and use seized documents from a criminal raid for other purposes, which is currently before the Supreme Court. Lead Partner, Adam Craggs

 

• Advised Greenpeace, Greenpeace International and nine Greenpeace activists against a claim in unlawful means conspiracy issued by Shell UK Limited and Fluor Limited seeking c.$1m in damages, one of the largest legal threats Greenpeace has faced to date and impacting its fundamental Article 10 and 11 ECHR rights. Lead Partners, Rupert Cowper-Coles, Jake Hardy.

 

• Advised MOH Nippon plc on its admission to the LSE Main Market, MOH is the first Japanese company to list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).  We advised on all elements of the listing including ensuring full compliance with UK listing regulations, preparing necessary documentation and filings and advised on governance structures. Lead Partners, James Channo and Nigel Collins supported by Janice Chan (Senior Associate), Hadrian Leung (Associate), Rachel Stanley (Associate).

 

• We acted on the disposal by the administrators of a partially completed 30-acre development site in Cheshunt, home to the former Tesco HQ, with an estimated development value of £620m. The Cheshunt development was intended to contain 1,725 homes, schools and public transport links, but the builder went into financial collapse during the redevelopment. Kroll stepped in as administrators, with RPC representing them on all aspects of the interim management and sale of the site. Lead Partner, Liz Alibhai, supported by Ben Malone (Senior Associate)

 

• Advised Howden, the global insurance and employee benefits intermediary, on its agreement to acquire Barnett Waddingham, one of the UK’s leading professional services consultancies specialising in risk, pensions, investment and insurance. The acquisition will double the size of Howden’s employee benefits business, with around 4,000

Other offices: Bristol, Hong Kong, Singapore.

Who we are:

 At RPC, you can be you. In an environment that’s real. Strikingly real.

Do you want a career in a firm that values personality as much as professionalism? For us, business success comes from building human relationships and thinking creatively to achieve the right outcomes.

So, if you value character over conformity, the unique over the uniform, and ambition over apathy, let’s talk.

RPC is here to help you really thrive.

What we do:

Our lawyers are market leaders. Our clients are often household names. And together we achieve award-winning results. Results that have seen RPC regularly voted amongst the best for commercial advice across our sectors of specialism.

Our business is built on mutual respect and trust. That’s where you come in. From day one, you’ll collaborate with our Partners; you’ll have contact with clients; and you’ll be given real responsibility. As a Trainee, you could be assisting with large-scale global disputes, or offering business-critical commercial advice.

What we’re looking for in a trainee:

Although proven academic ability is important (we require a 2.1 degree or above, not necessarily in law) we value personality, diversity, flexibility, commitment, energy, collaboration and commerciality just as highly.

What you’ll do:

As a Trainee, we believe you’ll deliver your best if you’re free to be you. And that means being able to ask questions openly, being supported to develop your strengths, and having the right opportunities to grow. Our offices are non-hierarchical and open plan which means you’ll be sitting alongside or close to our Partners and Associates. What’s more, our dynamic working principles empower everyone at RPC to shape how they split their time working in and out of the office; balancing their own preferences, supporting each other and delivering exceptional client service. Whether you’re handling complex insurance claims, resolving large-scale global disputes, or providing commercial advice and transactional support, your opinions will be listened to and respected.

Perks :

Along with a competitive annual salary, you’ll be offered a creative and comprehensive package of benefits.

We’re all unique. And that’s why RPC’s benefits package is too. We respect we’re all real people with passions, families and lives away from our desks. We encourage that. So, we offer you the chance to tailor your benefits, giving choice and flexibility to everyone who works here.

Our benefits package covers almost everything, from wellness festivals and social events to extra annual leave, and family and wealth-related rewards.

Sponsorship

Postgraduate Diploma in Law (only if you are a non-law graduate).  Funding: fees and SQE paid, plus up to  £12,000 maintenance.

Masters in Legal Practice at the University of Law.  Funding: fees and SQE paid, plus up to £12,000, London (£10,000 outside of London) maintenance.

Seat options

Construction, Professional & Financial Risks , Property & Casualty International, Property & Casualty, Medical and Life Sciences, General Liability, Cyber & Data Privacy, Commercial, Banking & Litigation, Media, IP & Technology, Commercial Technology & Outsourcing, Corporate, Employment, Tax, Restructuring & Insolvency, Tax, Investigations & Financial Crime

Tips from the recruiter

1. Be authentic in your application; we want to see the real you.
2. Thoroughly research the firm to tailor your application – specific, well-informed applications stand out far more than generic ones.
3. Carefully proofread your application multiple times; attention to detail is crucial for an aspiring lawyer.

Diversity and Inclusion