The Legal Cheek View
When the merger between Beachcroft and Davis Arnold Cooper was announced some 13 years ago there were high hopes that we were about to see an ABCD LLP. Sadly, it wasn’t to be. And the more sensibly named DAC Beachcroft came into being instead.
Since that UK mega-merger, DACB has been on a path of total globalisation, merging with established outfits in Scotland, Chile, and Columbia and forming associations in Malaysia, Brazil, Sweden Norway, Finland, Singapore, Germany and China. The past few years have also seen office openings in Miami, Paris, Belfast, Milan, Rome, Buenos Aires, Peru and — the most recent addition — Hong Kong.
Growth isn’t just the name of the game geographically for DAC Beachcroft — the firm is also upsizing financially. A 9% uptick has taken firmwide revenues to £327 million in what is now the firm’s tenth year of consecutive growth. Profits grew an equally healthy 15% to £71 million whilst average profits per equity partner (PEP) broke the £700,000 mark.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, around 15% of the firm’s total revenue this year came from its international operations. Managing Partner David Pollitt has cited this as evidence that DACB’s strategy of focusing on core sectors and continuing to internationalise the business is beginning to pay off. But what exactly are Beachcroft’s core sectors? Well, insurance work is still the firm’s bread and butter, but health and real estate are also big practice area strengths. Technology and financial services make up the remaining key sectors and the firm also boasts expertise in the aviation, charities, construction and engineering, and education industries.
DAC Beachcroft is larger than many realise, with 11 UK offices, including a “very swish” City of London HQ in the iconic Walbrook Building and locations in Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, and Newcastle. Beyond the international outposts already mentioned, the firm also has an office in Madrid and a presence in Canada through its local law firm alliance ‘Legalign Global’.
Work-wise, rookies across the board report being given good amounts of responsibility on “highly stimulating” projects. One insider reports: “I have worked on some of the biggest matters that the firm has had through the door in the last year and have been able to contribute to all pieces of work”, with another rookie relieved to relay that: “In each team, I have been trusted with important aspects of some very big projects. It hasn’t just been admin!”
There certainly are plenty of high-profile matters and clients on the books at DACB. Rookies here can cut their teeth on large remits involving the Post Office in their pre-action disputes amidst the Horizon scandal or helping the Metropolitan Police Service with the continued servicing and maintenance of its light commercial vehicles. Nectar-points collectors might also be happy to learn the firm was also recently appointed to Sainsbury’s legal board.
One trainee offered this insight into the work on offer here: “In my first two seats I have certainly felt that the quality of work given to me is at a level equivalent to the work carried out by NQs. Where partners are working on really interesting matters, I have felt that they have made every effort to get me involved in some way.”
Partner approachability is another key strength for the firm with one rookie praising “extremely approachable” superiors. DAC Beachcroft has opted for an office sharing policy in which partners, associates and trainees sit side by side. This has gone down particularly well with juniors, one of whom told us: “All the partners and senior associates are very approachable. Because we all sit in the same area, we can just walk up and ask them questions.” Although one trainee confessed, “It can be difficult to get a hold of some partners on a particularly busy day”, the “fantastic” peer support at the firm is evergreen: “everyone wants to help and support you in succeeding.”
Work/life balance is “great”, with DAC Beachcroft boasting very decent hours which are at the lower end of the corporate scale. “I am able to fully enjoy my weekends as I rarely have to work”, reports one recruit. Another tells us that any long hours are merely “one-offs and case specific” with seniors “regularly checking in on trainees” and “encouraging taking time back where possible”. Trainee social lives are helped out by a generous working from home policy which only demands two days in the office each week — cutting out the commute makes it that much easier to enjoy weeknight plans.
Data from the Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey shows that a good portion of recruits take up the opportunity of a client secondment, most ending up at insurance giants like AIG and AXA UK, although a healthy number of seconded rookies also gain experience with health and social care clients, from NHS Trusts to independent healthcare companies.
There have been some grumblings over the state of the firm’s legal tech, however. Frustrated rookies have revealed that the firm relies on some “pretty rubbish” and “outdated” software. However, more cup-half-full recruits noted that “the firm is looking at better options” and even “actively involved in developing new legal tech”, so it seems DACB has taken complaints on board.
Newbies are generally satisfied with the DAC Beachcroft offices which they describe as “nice” and “relatively modern”. The canteens get a particularly glowing write-up, one rookie reports: “The bistro has a good ambience and it overlooks a small garden”. “It is cheap and the food is good”, says one hungry recruit whilst another bereaved junior told us, “I miss the salad pots!!!”
Social life seems to be booming at DACB where rookies report: “There are firm-wide drinks every month and different departments and teams organise their own drinks regularly on top of client drinks.” To top all this off the firm puts on an annual Christmas bash and summer soirée. There are also some quirky social traditions thriving on a team level, as an insider told Legal Cheek, “One team has a monthly pie night.” There’s also perhaps the best selection of trolleys of any firm in corporate law: a drinks trolley at the end of every month on Fridays at 4pm, an ice lolly trolley during hot weather, occasional doughnuts and fruit platter trolleys, and a prosecco trolley for end-of-year financial results.