Linklaters

The praise continues when the trainees are questioned about how approachable their superiors are. While many use terms such as “most” and “on the whole”, for an office as big as Linklaters’ London HQ, this is to be expected. Some more higher-ups, “through no fault of their own” are very busy and “don’t have much time for trainees” but “there are far more who are relaxed and happy to help.” Insiders also mention that “there is no strict hierarchical feeling in the office. There is an open door and inclusive culture”.

The culture clearly translates into a positive learning environment for the junior lawyers. “Training is top-class and enables you to do well,” one rookie enthuses. Another gives this detailed breakdown of the training at the firm: “The training here is fantastic, there are weekly training seminars on a variety of topics and each session is recorded for anyone to watch at a later date. The precedents are excellent and always include detailed drafting notes or annexures, as well as extensive memos on a variety of precedents, clauses, issues and legal concepts. Trainees and associates are encouraged to complete pieces of knowhow alongside their chargeable work, so the internal resources are constantly being updated. The associates and partners are very approachable and always prepared to answer question and sit down and run through documents with you. We are also given training on non-legal topics ― such as D&I, which are fantastic.”

Of course, as with anything, the level of training will differ between teams ― as will the type of work afforded to the newbies. However, the latter invokes slightly less praise from the trainees than the former: “The work is generally highly stimulating, but there are definitely administrative tasks that are not, like maintaining trackers or processing billing. There are also tasks given to trainees that should definitely been given to paralegals or LPM teams, so it feels like a waste of time and resources,” one mole tells Legal Cheek.

As for the quality of work, rookies can cut their teeth on massive deals such as the landmark bond offerings for the Republic of Chile, or the sale of Unilever’s tea business. Other clients include Goldman Sachs, and British Airways, alongside some of the world’s largest banks, corporates, and a healthy sprinkling of governments.

But whether you’re “researching (and occasionally presenting) advice on a complex and untested legal issue which could influence the outcome of a multi-billion-pound matter” or “slogging away amending billing narratives”, you may as well do it with a view. And come 2026, this will be the case for the Linklaters crew when the firm moves just up the road to a brand-new home on Ropemaker Street. Until then, the firm continues to be based right next to the Barbican Centre on Silk Street, which has been its home since 1996. Unfortunately for the current cohort, this shows ― our spies describe the current office as “a bit dated” and “in need of a facelift”. “Let’s just say the move to Ropemaker Street can’t come soon enough!”, another rookie adds. Couldn’t have put it better ourselves ― with an auditorium and not one, but two, roof terraces, we’re certainly looking forward to seeing the new office!

If you’re looking to spend some of your TC in a different office while on secondment, then the stats look promising. The impact of the pandemic on international secondments seems to have eased, with over a quarter of the junior lawyers surveyed having completed one. Destinations include Dubai, Amsterdam, Singapore and Madrid. With 31 offices across 21 countries, there’s certainly a lot of choice! Client secondments are less common, but several rookies had the opportunity to cut their teeth at corporate giants such as Nestle and Credit Suisse.

In terms of Links’ approach to agile working, we are told that trainees are only allowed to work from home 20% of the time ― though this goes up to between 20%-50% for associates. And the offerings from the firm regarding a WFH set-up don’t impress rookies much: “They gave us a £200 budget when we first joined the firm, but have not given any top-up since. Budget was enough just to buy a keyboard, mouse and monitor (we were given free headsets), and we were not allowed to buy printers with the budget,” one insider explains. The tech itself doesn’t inspire much joy either ― the laptops and phones reportedly have “lots of bugs” and even where the firm has “advanced” legal tech, it is “not always used by everyone (probably because they aren’t aware of it)”. The firm has started hosting tech “know-how” sessions in an attempt to change this.

But the biggest drawback of working at a Magic Circle firm is, of course, the work/life balance. The reports of a lack of this are exactly what you’d expect from a firm dishing out an NQ salary of £150k. As one mole puts it, “it’s the price you pay for working at a Magic Circle firm”. “Unpredictable” is a term used a lot by the rookies when describing their workload, and it seems the greater flexibility offered to superiors when it comes to working patterns only causes further problems for the juniors: “An unfortunate consequence for many trainees is that they will always be on call right through the evening in order to accommodate the different working styles of their superiors.” Saying that, some teams are apparently better than others, and “where you flag that you have plans in advance, people generally try to respect that”. But, as one newbie explains, “if you’re looking for a 9 to 5, Linklaters is not for you.”

Luckily, the firm makes up for its demanding nature with some of the perkiest perks the City has to offer. There’s an in-house gym and fitness centre that is completely free ― though there are reports that “you can hardly ever use it”. If it proves too busy, there’s always a gym membership subsidy too. But if you can get a spot, it’s worth it ― we’ve heard it has boutique hotel standards of towels and toiletries, and even hair straighteners. Speaking of hair, how many offices do you know that have their own onsite salon? Mind you, the Amsterdam office apparently offers massages, so anything less will be a comedown after a secondment there. A firm doctor and dentist, meanwhile, is on hand to see to employees’ health needs. The canteen — called ‘Silks’ — is the sort of upmarket food hall more usually associated with lunching in Chelsea or Beverly Hills. And if you’re working late, there’s a Deliveroo allowance. A new scheme also allows workers to swap out up to three bank holidays for another day in the calendar year. And there are always the numerous “office trips and team away days”. So just a few perks, then…