The Legal Cheek View
Howard Kennedy has gone through some pretty major changes in recent years — and seems to have emerged in good shape, proving the doubters wrong. The product of a 2013 merger between sensible corporate outfit Howard Kennedy and the slightly quirky media law-slanted Finers Stephens Innocent, the combined outfit initially seemed an unlikely jumble of practice areas and personalities. But a successful consolidation has led to some fairly solid financial results, with the latest figures showing firmwide revenues increased 15% this year to £74 million. Profit per equity partner (PEP) enjoyed an even greater rise of 21%, up to £362,000 from £300,000 last year.
Howard Kennedy’s financial services and real estate departments have led the growth charge; tech and media work, led by high profile co-founder Mark Stephens, adds glamour to the mix. Stephens has represented the likes of James Hewitt, who is said to have had an affair with Princess Diana, Vernon Unsworth, the British diver who brought legal action against Elon Musk, and Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks. The real estate and arbitration teams were strengthened in recent years by the firm’s acquisition of the construction boutique Corbett & Co, which brought in seven lawyers, including three partners, to join the firm’s ranks.
More recently, notable deals include acting for financial services company Lendhub on a £13 million refinancing deal and the buy-back of Pandora Jewellery’s UK franchised business in real estate. The firm is also known for advising Zelda Perkins (former assistant to Harvey Weinstein), and acting for the British Humanist Association and Witchcraft and Human Rights Information Network on a £500 million claim lodged against them by a preacher.
A move out of the West End several years ago — where both legacy firms had been based — to swanky 1 London Bridge overlooking the Thames and the City is symbolic of Howard Kennedy’s ethos. Instructions are increasingly coming in from banks, companies and start-ups across the river.
What all this means for rookies at the firm right now is a reasonable combination of decent work upon which to cut their teeth and a “really good” work/life balance. “Back in time for Antiques Road Trip,” quips one trainee. Another junior lawyer provides this insight: “I’m out the door by 7pm absolute latest — the partner once apologised to me for putting in a call from 6.30-7.30pm, calling it a ‘late one’. Everyone respects commitments you have outside of work and it’s noticeable that the firm adapts to what people need, especially working parents.”
Offering their own take on the balance on offer, one source tells us: “It can depend, but overall the work-life balance is very good. Your team members are generally very conscious of capacity. So long as you as a trainee are upfront about capacity levels then, save where in the rare times when it’s ‘all hands-on deck’ to meet an imminent deadline, you are not expected to work excessive hours simply because someone has asked you to do something”. Our spies do, however, acknowledge that “the nature of life in a City law firm [means] that you will occasionally work a late night”, specifically noting that “some seats are worse than others—the obvious ones, M&A—when you near completion on a deal—[which] has long hour”.
However, when the long hours do come calling, juniors are at least engaged in top-quality work. “No matter what seat I have been in, the entire team has been keen to get me involved where they can,” one source tells us. “I have been given management of a transaction and my own caseload”. Naturally there’s the odd bit of admin work that falls on rookies laps, but overall the balance appears to be about right.
The training experience is generally solid, with insiders reporting plenty of “hands-on experience” thanks to “regularly being taken to client meetings, mediations and court”, as well as “a broad variety of work with different types of clients and direct client contact”, according to our sources. Senior lawyers are said to “create an environment where it is easy to ask any questions and seek guidance” but they’re also “very good at making sure that I get out the door at a decent time on a regular basis”. Partners take an interest in trainee development, even when working remotely, as one insider details: “From the first day my supervisor encouraged me to pick up the phone and speak to seniors across different teams. Cameras are always on, on team calls, and partners sit in the open plan office, which creates a non-hierarchical atmosphere.” “It’s a collaborative rather than competitive environment,” another rookie summarises.