Survey Results - Trainee feedback on Fladgate

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

Why did you choose this firm over any others? ‘Fladgate offered the opportunity to work in the practice areas that interest me the most, and also prioritise the work/life balance that is missing in so many city firms’, ‘friendly atmosphere’, ‘one office, mid-sized firm so you get to know everyone at the firm. Good pay in comparison to other mid-sized firms as well as an excellent culture’

Best thing about the firm? ‘Approachability of the team, especially senior team members’, ‘work-life balance, culture, good quality work/clients’, ‘the people. Everyone I have worked with thus far has been very supportive while offering the opportunities for me to undertake high quality work’

Worst thing about the firm? ‘Financial remuneration’, ‘long hours, dull work, lack of training and support from supervisor’, ‘no secondments’, ‘the technology’

Best moment? ‘Closing on one of the largest finance deals the firm has been instructed on’, ‘meeting the other trainees and paralegals’, ‘first completion in corporate seat’, ‘attending a 2-day supreme court hearing’, ‘spending 2 weeks with a billionaire client on a case’

Worst moment? ‘The last minute Christmas rush – late nights in the week before Christmas’, ‘interactions with my supervisor’, ‘seat rotations’, ‘period at the start of my training contract where there was very little work for me to do’

The Legal 500 Future Lawyers verdict on Fladgate

Fladgate’s “friendly atmosphere” and “partner-first approach” drew trainees in, alongside the promise of “good pay in comparison to other mid-sized firms” and a “mid-market, entrepreneurial client base.” With just one office, “you get to know everyone at the firm,” and trainees said they’re “exposed to client-facing work to a much more significant degree than trainees in other firms,” which has helped build confidence early on. One recalled “closing on one of the largest finance deals the firm has been instructed on,” while another spent “two weeks with a billionaire client on a case.” The balance is a big selling point too: “Fladgate offered the opportunity to work in the practice areas that interest me the most, and also prioritise the work/life balance that is missing in so many City firms.” That was echoed repeatedly: “greater work-life balance,” “more interesting work,” and “a good work environment.” Training can feel a little less consistent. “The people” are “very supportive,” but one trainee flagged “a lack of training and support from supervisor.” Hybrid working policies are “good” and “flexible,” although some want greater parity between trainees and more senior staff. There’s “no pro bono,” but plenty of CSR activity for those who want it — though visibility could be better. On the downside, “financial remuneration” and “technology” were the most common gripes. Even so, for those looking to do meaningful work in a supportive, sociable setting, Fladgate’s offering hits the mark.

A day in the life of... Lucy Crawley, third-seat trainee

Departments to date: Real Estate; Commercial, Sports and Intellectual Property

8.30am: I tend to arrive at the office at around 8.30, but the floor usually won’t be busy until 9.30. I’m lucky enough to be able to walk to work, sometimes stopping for a coffee on my way in. I am currently sat with our Commercial, Sports and Intellectual Property team (known as ‘CSI’) which is a Corporate sub-team dealing with a wide range of matters including the preparation and negotiation of commercial agreements (e.g. supply and distribution, hotel management and agency agreements), trade mark filing and disputes, sports receivables purchase deals, data protection advice and competition law.

8.45am:  I start my day going through my inbox, responding to anything urgent and writing up a to-do list for the day. Having some time in the office before the office gets busy allows me to prepare properly for the day ahead.

9.15am: Each day/week in our commercial team looks different. This morning, I am preparing an advice note for our client addressing GDPR compliance in relation to their direct marketing strategy. I attended a client meeting with a Partner via teams last week, so I review my attendance note to remind myself of our client’s instructions and the commercial considerations highlighted. It’s important in CSI that our advice is not only legally sound, but also that it involves the right amount of common-sense and is fit for purpose in the given context. I decide on the structure of the advice note, drop a quick line to the Partner to sign off on my proposed approach, and then get started on the research making use of the various resources available at the firm.

10.30am: The team meets at the start of each week to give an update on our workload, and for Partners/Senior Associates to hand out new work. It’s also an opportunity to catch up as a team, and flag any upcoming BD or social events, including those with the wider Corporate team. I volunteer to assist with a due diligence exercise on a Corporate transaction which has come in that morning.

11.30am: I finalise my advice note for the client and send this to the Partner to consider, along with an explanatory email I have drafted for the client. On another matter, I receive an email from a client approving the final draft of a manufacturing agreement, so I issue this to all parties for signing by DocuSign.

12.30pm: The trainees often eat lunch together. Being in the middle of Covent Garden means there’s a huge range of options – Atis being the latest favourite. It’s a good opportunity to socialise with colleagues outside your department and get some air with a wander round Lincoln’s Inn (weather permitting!).

1.30pm: Fladgate opens up department-specific training to all the trainees, so we’re encouraged to attend these and learn as much as possible about the work across the firm – this also means we’re better positioned for future rotations in our training contract. Today, there’s an external session delivered by a Barristers Chambers about Share Purchase Agreement claims, attended by our Corporate and our Dispute Resolution teams. As well as regular training, the firm hosts lunchtime yoga and weekly personal training sessions in nearby Lincoln’s Inn Fields.

2.30pm: I catch up with the Corporate associate regarding the commercial due diligence required. They give context to the wider transaction, explain the scope of work and give an indication of the pertinent deadlines in the deal. Our client is acquiring a hotel, which means the deal is a cross-departmental effort with Real Estate, FFR and Employment. My first job is to review the hotel management agreement, the key commercial document in the transaction. I prepare a detailed report of its terms, identifying any issues we deem to be a ‘red flag’. If I have any questions, I compile a list of these as I work through the document and then speak to the CSI associates for guidance. Fladgate has a very friendly culture and questions are always encouraged! Once I’ve completed my report, I send this to the Partner for review.

5.00pm: We run a trade mark ‘watching’ service for a number of clients. We receive daily email alerts, which the CSI trainee is responsible for reviewing on a weekly basis. I work through the alerts and identify a potentially infringing application, filed in the same goods and services classes as our client’s. I email the associate running the matter for their view on the mark, offering to prepare an email notifying our client.

6.00pm: I check in with my supervisor ask if there’s anything else I can help with. We agree to go for coffee the following day to catch up, check in on my workload and identify any tasks in my departmental trainee checklist I’m yet to tick off. I log off and go for a quick drink with colleagues at a pub nearby – we are spoilt for choice in Covent Garden!

About the firm

Introductory paragraph about the firm: Fladgate LLP is one of the UK’s top 100 law firms, with a strong reputation for both commercial and private client work. It delivers highly personal service for entrepreneurial, ambitious and fast-moving clients with complex needs that are often international.

List of clients: Pensée Foundation; Squarepoint Capital; London & Regional Properties; Alfred Equities; Scape; Catella APAM; Beyond Play; Dolphin Capital; Chopstix; and over 100 of the world’s influential families, leading entrepreneurs, celebrities, sports people and 80+ family offices.

List of deals/cases in which the firm has been recently involved: Our deep-seated focus in these markets has culminated in significant client wins and key deals recently, including: advising Pensée Foundation in relation to a claim brought against them, worth approximately US$41 million, with the total value of the claims accumulating up to US$1 billion; advised Squarepoint Capital in relation to a deal involving the lease of 280,000 sq ft of prime office space in the City of London; London & Regional Properties in connection with senior debt refinancing of London & Regional’s Atlas Hotel Portfolio, consistent of approximately 59 hotels across England and Scotland; Alfred Equities on the selling of freehold interest on 1 Portsoken Street, London which they acquired in 2018, worth £160 million; Scape on their student accommodation projects including Merrion Street, Leeds and 22 Kingsway, London with construction costs of £100 million to £150 million, respectively. We have also worked with several clients in support of their growth strategies, including Catella APAM with its launch of Catella Strategic Equities Fund 1, a real estate fund launched in 2024 aimed at investing in under-valued UK listed property companies; Beyond Play on their £22 million acquisition of FanDuel, the market leading online gambling company in America and subsidiary of the British gambling giant Flutter Entertainment; Dolphin Capital in their recent equity investment of £100 million into Zip World, an outdoor adventure company with locations across England and Wales and Chopstix on their strategic investment partnership with the Quick Service Restaurant Platform (QSRP), a leading European foodservice company managing a portfolio of fast-food and quick-service restaurant brands.

 Senior partner: Stephen Lewis

Managing partner: Grant Gordon

Who we are: Fladgate LLP is an innovative, progressive and thriving law firm which prides itself on its friendly and professional working environment. We are based in modern, attractive offices in London’s Covent Garden.

What we do: Fladgate has a broad skills base that covers a wide spectrum of legal services across the business lifecycle, and is shaped to operate collaboratively to move fast and flexibly:

  • Dispute resolution: includes regulatory, corporate governance and investigations, banking and financial services litigation, international commercial arbitration, insurance, contentious trusts and family, civil fraud and asset protection.
  • Corporate: including private capital, capital markets, M&A, tax, restructuring and employment.
  • Real estate: including planning, construction, real estate finance and real estate litigation.
  • Funds, finance and regulatory: including investment funds, private equity, fund managers, asset and investment managers, promoters, sponsors and investors; alternative finance providers, banks and debt funds, family offices, owner/manager businesses, private equity funds and corporate borrowers; FCA applications, advice on UK regulatory frameworks, fund-related advice. Our practice is varied and includes the full range of real estate finance, both for investments and developments, and we also have a number of sector specialisms within real estate finance.

What we’re looking for in a trainee: We look for the best. We value academic ability, previous work experience and relevant extra-curricular activities. We seek candidates who demonstrate high levels of commercial awareness and business acumen, enthusiasm and leadership potential while also understanding the value of teamwork and the importance of culture and inclusion. We value individuality and strive to create an environment where our employees can truly be themselves at work.

What you’ll do: Our two-year training programme is divided into six seats of four months and combines a first-class education programme with real hands-on experience and client contact. The nature of our business and small intake of trainees each year mean you will be given exposure to high-quality work with lots of responsibility from an early stage.

Perks (any perks available to a trainee, eg health insurance, travel loan, gym, etc): A generous holiday allowance of 26 days, staff introduction bonus, life assurance, group income protection, private medical insurance, employee assistance programme, free online GP service, contributory pension, season ticket loan, corporate gym membership loan via GymFlex, cycle2work, options for private dental cover, eye test vouchers and free weekly personal training and yoga sessions.

Sponsorship

Full GDL and SQE course fees sponsorship when studying with the University of Law. Maintenance grant of up to £7,000 for those studying a sponsored PGDL or SQE.

Seat options

Dispute Resolution; Corporate; Commercial, Sports and Intellectual Property; Finance, Funds and Regulatory; Private Client; Corporate Tax; Real Estate; Real Estate – Residential; Real Estate – Disputes; Construction; Family; Private Wealth Disputes

Tips from the recruiter

Be yourself; we want to get to know the real you! We run a very transparent, informative and collaborative recruitment process for our graduates and it’s important that your ability to be authentic shines through from the very beginning. Try to stand out for all of the right reasons.

Be diligent and thorough. Silly errors or typos can mean the difference between making it to the next round or not. Don’t fall foul of a simple spell-check or grammatical error. Perhaps ask a friend or relative to review your application with a fresh pair of eyes.

Be curious and creative. Simply regurgitating information on a website isn’t going to highlight your best qualities – and it is those qualities that are going to encourage us to hire you. Showcase your strongest competencies in sequence with telling us about our strengths (or weaknesses) and why you think Fladgate is a good fit for you and vice versa.

Diversity and Inclusion

At Fladgate we run our business in ways that promote equality of opportunity and respect for diversity. Ours is a business that thrives on bringing together people with different perspectives to address our clients’ challenges, so we value and encourage diversity, both internally and externally. Furthermore, the firm recognises the importance of the health and wellbeing of all our people and that it can play a part in promoting an environment which allows everyone to flourish and reach their full potential.

Promoting diversity and inclusion is a key element of our commitment to being a great place to work, enabling us to attract and retain the best talent, and we take our responsibility to this seriously. We will continue to strive for a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture, where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Our strategy is led by the Director of People and Culture on behalf of the Executive Board, who works closely with our Partner Lead for I&D and Senior Culture and Inclusion Manager. We also have employee and partner led networks across the firm who support and inform our inclusive culture at Fladgate. We are also proud to partner with a number of organisations working hard to improve access to the legal sector.

This includes the PRIME commitment, which aims to provide fair access to meaningful work experience within the legal sector for school-age students who may not otherwise have the opportunity. Following our work experience programme, we are proud to have seen these students filter through our graduate and apprentice pipeline.

We ensure equity within our recruitment processes and monitor the data to ensure that we are reaching a diverse range of candidates. We use RealRating when reviewing our trainee and apprentice applications. This is a feature developed by UpReach, a social mobility charity, to help us to understand academic performance in the context of factors such as type of school attended and background.

We also uphold a strong commitment to corporate social responsibility, dedicating fundraising to two nominated charities per calendar year.

We care deeply about the wellbeing of our people and have a strong commitment to employee wellness. Our wellbeing programme consists of four key pillars: physical health, mental health, financial health and social & CSR. As part of our programme we offer a range of benefits to staff and provide regular updates and seminars on health and wellbeing. Furthermore, the firm has run various physical and mental health seminars, led by internal champions and external experts such as Nutrable, Mind and LawCare, encouraging staff to feel comfortable to bring their whole selves to work. As part of our commitment to employee wellbeing, we also offer a wellbeing information session guiding our trainees and apprentices on ways to manage their wellbeing and how to access the resources we have available. We were delighted to be win the “Best Health and Wellbeing Initiative” entry at the People in Law 2020 Awards, recognising our efforts and commitment to encouraging and support the wellbeing of our people.