Survey Results - Trainee feedback on Macfarlanes

The lowdown - Trainees (in their own words) on Macfarlanes

Why did you choose to join this firm? ‘The firm’s growing focus on Lawtech was forward facing and reflective of an entrepreneurial spirit’, ‘I specifically wanted to do a seat in tax, and the breadth of the tax practice at Macfarlanes is unique’, ‘Perfect size not to be lost amongst 100 trainees but also still feels “big” as a firm’, ‘Strong lateral opportunities, high quality of work and training, early experience on deals from staffing structure’.

What is the best thing about your firm? ‘The nurturing and supportive culture’, ‘Macfarlanes teams operate with broad practice areas, translating into a variety of options and tasks in each seat’, ‘Mix of very intelligent and impressive lawyers you can learn from’, ‘Access to interesting work and responsibility at trainee level’, ‘The range of work’, ‘Interesting, high-quality work’.

What could your firm do to improve? ‘Trainees are sometimes just seen as a resource – encourage seniors to make more effort with trainees’, ‘Provide a more established channel(s) for regular upward feedback’, ‘It’s not quite walking the walk when it comes to diversity and inclusion’, ‘More transparency around the qualification and seat allocation process earlier on would be nice’, ‘Better facilities and benefits’.

What has been the best moment of your training contract? ‘Attending industry-changing court hearings’, ‘Completing a challenging piece of research and receiving good feedback from the head of the team, and having my summary copied directly to the client’, ‘Learning opportunities can be found everywhere, whether in an email from a supervisor or from a conversation you overhear’, ‘The satisfaction of seeing a deal I worked on in the Corporate and M&A department in the press’.

What has been the most challenging moment of your training contract? ‘Realising the wrong version of a document had been sent for signing – but I was thankfully able to resolve this with the help of the team’, ‘Juggling multiple tasks concurrently within a tight timeframe’, ‘Getting negative feedback after a 12+ hour day on very little sleep’, ‘Seat rotation into a busy team’, ‘having to learn complex tax concepts in a short period of time and distil them into a client-friendly note’

The Legal 500 Future Lawyers verdict on Macfarlanes

Macfarlanes’ is unique in offering ‘the opportunity to do top-tier corporate and advisory work, as well as private client work in the same place – no other firm offers the same’. An ‘excellent training programme and cohort size’, as well as ‘genuine trainee responsibility’ are also central to the London firm’s appeal.

Day to day, trainees describe ‘broad practice areas’ which offer ‘exposure to multiple strands of work within a single seat’. What’s more, lean deal teams mean that juniors are entrusted with real responsibility: ‘often trainees are responsible for the whole smaller workstream’. This translates into tangible work highlights, from ‘providing over-the-phone advice to clients’ to ‘completing a private equity deal after two full-on weeks’, and seeing ‘a deal I worked on in the press’.

Macfarlanes’ culture is a major selling point. Respondents describe a ‘nurturing and supportive environment’ thanks to supervisors who are ‘more than willing to teach’, and a collegiate atmosphere where ‘everyone is so approachable’. The trainee intake size is also a clear advantage: ‘it’s not so huge that you can’t get to know everyone, but big enough to have top-quality clients and work’.

The workload at Macfarlanes can be intense. Respondents spoke of ‘juggling multiple tasks concurrently within a tight timeframe’ and ‘long hours in the corporate and M&A departments’. Being ‘thrown into hard tasks with limited instructions’ was also stressful. Respondents find seat moves challenging, particularly when having to ‘adapt to different working styles’. And some trainees begrudged having been allocated seats ‘outside of their area of preference’, although often they surprised themselves by ultimately enjoying their time in the departments in question.

When it came to discussing improvements, respondents focused on pay, perks and infrastructure, calling for ‘better facilities and benefits’, ‘more free food…such as Deliveroo vouchers’, or simply for the firm to ‘pay more (of course)’!

As one respondent put it: ‘the Macfarlanes training contract is renowned for creating incredible talent. The firm’s high expectations coupled with access to many great names in the industry invariably fosters a culture of success’. For those seeking breadth and depth in a firm which boasts ‘uncompromising compactness’, Macfarlanes is a standout City option.

About the firm

The deals:  https://www.macfarlanes.com/news/

Senior partner:  Damien Crossley

Managing partner:  Luke Powell

Other offices: Brussels, New York

Who we are:  Macfarlanes is a pre-eminent law firm that serves a global client base in Private Capital, Private Wealth, M&A and Disputes. Personal connection, an entrepreneurial spirit and a commitment to excellence are at the heart of our firm. These values drive our ability to deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients.

We are big enough to undertake the most complex and demanding mandates yet small enough to know each other well and to be agile, adapting to the needs of our clients. Our entrepreneurial approach is shaped by a sense of genuine partnership and independence. We encourage both individual responsibility and collaboration, empowering our people to think creatively and to work together to find solutions for our clients.

We seek to strengthen the firm by recruiting talented people from all backgrounds who want to build long-lasting and impactful careers with us. Our culture is challenging yet supportive, creating an environment where individuals can thrive.

What we do:  Private Capital: Private Capital has been at the heart of Macfarlanes for decades. We deliver solutions to private capital managers across the full spectrum of their legal and broader commercial needs.

Private Wealth: We are one of the leading law firms globally in Private Wealth. We provide strategic counsel to entrepreneurs, trustees, family-controlled businesses and family offices.

M&A: We advise on complex and cross-border public and private transactions combining corporate expertise with leading specialist teams in finance, tax, competition and regulation.

Disputes: Our Disputes practice is renowned for its quality and breadth, advising on complex disputes and investigations where commercial, regulatory and reputational issues intersect.

What we’re looking for: We are looking for intellectually curious and driven people who want to build their careers at the highest level of Private Capital, Private Wealth, M&A and Disputes. We recruit people from all backgrounds. We are looking for:

  • “brainpower”, intellectual curiosity and a commercial mindset;
  • analytical and adaptable minds; and
  • ambition, collaboration, resilience and drive.

Above all, we look for the determination to build a long-term career with us.

What you’ll do:  About the programme

During the two-year Training Programme, you will rotate across four departments, experiencing high-profile deals and being trusted with responsibility from the outset. Our Training Programme combines hands-on experience with first-class education, ensuring you’re fully supported from your first day through to qualification and beyond.

Induction

Your training begins with a week-long induction. You’ll receive training from people across the firm to give you everything you need to know before starting your first seat.

Seat rotations

The two-year programme is made up of four six-month seats across a wide range of departments. These seats combine hands-on client work with seminars that are led by Partners and Senior Associates.

Every six months, you’ll be able to submit seat preferences and we do our best to place you in the areas that most interest you. In each seat you’ll be supported by two dedicated supervisors, while your Partner Principal oversees your training throughout.

Feedback and mentoring

We take your development seriously. You’ll have two formal reviews in each seat – a mid-seat review around three months in, and an end-of-seat review in your final weeks. These are designed to track your progress, highlight your strengths and identify any development areas.

In addition, you’ll be part of a small “constituency group”, giving you direct, regular access to a Trainee Solicitor Committee Partner. Alongside this, our Early Careers team, mentoring schemes and networking opportunities provide further support.

You may be surprised how quickly you feel part of the team – and how soon colleagues at all levels know your name and value your contribution.

Perks:  Flexible benefits package including life assurance, pension scheme and private healthcare, in addition to a discretionary performance-related bonus scheme, subsidised restaurant, season ticket loan and gym membership.

Sponsorship

The Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE)

We partner with BPP to deliver a bespoke programme that goes well beyond exam preparation. You’ll combine classroom and digital learning with business simulations and Macfarlanes-specific modules designed to prepare you for practice.

All elements, including the bespoke Macfarlanes modules, are paid for by the firm. We also continue to provide additional financial assistance in the form of a £20,000 grant during this time.

Regular firm-led seminars and social events help you build knowledge and your network before you join.

If you studied a non-law subject, you’ll complete the PGDL at BPP before the SQE. Fees are covered, and we provide you with a £ £17,000 grant.

Seat options

M&A and PCRE

Banking and Finance

Fund Formation and Sponsor Solutions

Real Estate

Derivatives and Trading

Financial Services and Products

Litigation

Private Client

Tax and Reward

Commercial

Competition

Employment

 

 

Tips from the recruiter

Thorough Firm Research

Go beyond the firm’s website by reading recent deals, news, and market commentary. Demonstrate a clear understanding of the firm’s clients, practice areas, and strategic focus, and explain why this aligns with your interests and aspirations.

Attention to Detail

Carefully review your application to ensure it is free from spelling, grammar, or formatting errors, and tailor each response thoughtfully. Attention to detail is an essential skill for all lawyers, and your application should reflect this.

Demonstrate Commercial Thinking

In online assessments and case studies, show that you understand the wider business context – how legal advice impacts client outcomes. Highlight your ability to analyse information, identify key risks, and prioritise commercial objectives.

Inclusion

Inclusion is one of our key priorities and it is a goal we are actively working towards. We believe that an inclusive, forward-thinking culture is intrinsically important and enables us to provide innovative solutions to our clients.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, bringing different perspectives and experiences, making Macfarlanes an exciting and stimulating place to work. We seek to recruit the best candidates, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, social or economic background, religion, disability, sexual orientation or any other characteristic.

Application blind and contextual recruitment

We want to recruit the best candidates regardless of their background or where they were educated. Most of our assessment processes for both our vacation schemes and our training programmes are scored application blind. We also use a contextual recruitment tool to understand each applicant’s achievements in the context they were gained. We understand that not every candidate’s achievements look the same on paper, and we are a firm that believes in fairness and diversity.

The Macfarlanes Bursary

We are committed to removing financial barriers for students aspiring to a career in law. The Macfarlanes Bursary provides financial support to socially-mobile undergraduates at any UK university.

We provide three types of grant:

Technology grant: support with essential technology such as laptops, WiFi or accessories.

Accommodation grant: a fixed payment to help cover London accommodation during our First Year Insight Scheme, Vacation Schemes or upReach Professional Experience Week.

Participation grant: support for students who would otherwise lose income by attending a Macfarlanes event.