RPC

Beneath all of this are traditional foundations. The firm was first established in the Strand in 1903 by Nathaniel Reynolds and has a longstanding reputation in its core practice areas of commercial, corporate, litigation and insurance. This year has seen the insurance team launch a new three-year strategy to add marine and aviation specific work to their bow. Sector-wise, RPC has particular expertise in the insurance, retail, tech and media industries, with major clients including many of those sectors’ main players such as Meta, Valve and Channel 4.

The firm also has an original approach to social media and marketing. Not only does it allow its trainees to post public messages from an uncensored collective Instagram account — @LifeInALawFirm — that are as likely to feature jokey posts about late night bundling as on-message graduate recruitment tweets, but RPC also counts the award-winning alt-pop artist, Maya Yenn, amongst the ranks of its marketing team.

The internal set-up of RPC’s “beautiful” glass and steel London office in St Katherine’s dock can feel more like a tech company than a law firm at times. “Scenic location and lots of glass” was the review from one, whilst others praised the “incredible” views. The Bristol office is also said to be “very stylish”, with a practical layout offering lots of space and a balcony “which is lovely in the summer”. The firm’s southwest base is also said to be in a “perfect location for those commuting in as it’s close to the train station and a lot of the main bus routes into town” – a luxury begrudged by those in London, who complain of not being “close to any amenities” in their Thames-side base. Trainees in the capital do have access to a ground floor coffee-shop/cafe but with reviews like “tiny portions, expensive and not even tasty” we think we know which camp we’d rather be in. Inside the offices, however, there’s a greater air of collegiality. As one insider reports: “the open plan office and mixed pods mean you sit with anyone from paralegals to partners (including the managing partner) and questions are positively encouraged.”

It’s no coincidence that RPC has scored consistently strongly for partner approachability in the Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey. “There’s no hierarchy or delegation through associates. Partners will call you directly and ask for your thoughts which is a great learning opportunity” one rookie tells us. Another gushes that the “best part of being at the firm is the people and their approachability”. There is some variation by team – one trainee warns us that “some are very approachable” whilst “others you don’t ever want to encounter” – but, on the whole, unapproachable seniors seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

Trainees are known to be “very supportive and helpful” with insiders here telling us they’re “often sharing experiences and tips to help each other out at difficult and busy periods”. “Genuinely the best support you could ask for. Trainees are all friends and there’s no competitive vibe, even during the qualification process” says one. “The relatively small intake size means that I have had a very supportive intake on which to lean on through my training contract” added another. But despite the small numbers there’s still always a good turnout for the annual summer party and regular pub trips any given Thursday or Friday! We’re also told that extra support is also always available from the early talent team for any non-work related issues.

In recent times, the firm ditched its all-equity partnership structure, making the hierarchy more flexible and somewhat boosting profit per equity partner (PEP). The latest publicly available data shows PEP sits at around £490,000 with the firm reporting revenues of £157 million. NQs in Bristol take home £56,000 whilst newly-qualifieds in London bag £90,000 if they qualify into the commercial team or £80,000 for other practice areas. RPC also has offices in Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as access to other international clients via its TerraLex network.

Expect “lots of formal training in the first few weeks of your TC” as well as general and IT specific sessions thereafter. Many respondents report that the quality of training “varies between different teams” with one sage recruit informing us that you “definitely need to be proactive in seeking out training on the team sectors” to get the most out of your development.

Another describes their experience like this: “I have been given tasks to develop different skills I will need as a solicitor, including a variety of interesting tasks like making without prejudice phone calls, drafting pleadings and running a few of my own matters. I have received close supervision to make sure I’m doing things properly and have received really useful feedback to explain why some pieces of work should be done differently or how they can be improved. There is also an extensive training programme with internal and external trainers relating to different skills which has been really useful”. On top of all this, there are always opportunities to learn more through observing senior lawyers, attending court, attending training sessions and webinars and contributing to articles amongst other things.

Rookies are also known to get experience on cases that are “very high-profile and front-page news”, such as advising on the stock exchange listing for the first Japanese company to ever list on the London Stock Exchange, MOH Nippon. That said, there is also a fair share of grunt work to be done. Some tell horror stories of “huge amounts of bundling, taking notes in meetings and organising files” with “very little substantive work”. Overall though, there seems to be a “good balance between typical dry trainee/administrative tasks, and more stimulating work that grants real client contact and allows you to tangibly move a matter forward as part of the team.”

Traditionally, most of RPC’s secondments are with clients, and that still remains the case, with lawyers from the firm spending time at the likes of Meta, Markel, and Frasers Group just to name a few. Some international secondments are also available with rookies reporting six-month stints in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Some trainees are known to be so in love with their work that they can lose control of their work/life balance: “My work-life balance is pretty good. My main problem is that I am offered (with rarely an obligation to pick up) interesting work that I don’t want to turn down, which has led to me having a bit too much work! My supervisors are really keen to protect my work/life balance though and are helping me to manage my capacity”.

On the whole though, work/life balance is reasonable; an average start time of around 9am and average finish time of around 7pm equates to a ten-hour day. Note, however, some variations between departments. “For the most part, my work-life balance has been as expected, with an average start time of 9am and finish time of 7pm. During busier periods I have had to work some later nights and weekends, but in my experience this is not the norm and is not expected unless absolutely necessary. There is no face-time culture at the firm”, summarises one. That being said, there is a noticeable difference between London and Bristol. Regional rookies report of 6pm finishes and a “great work life balance” whilst in the capital WLB is said to be “a source of immense contention” with whispers of 60 hour weeks and weekend working.

One area the offices are unified on is their flexible work from home policy with almost every recruit we spoke to praising the “no minimum number of days in the office”. There’s also a £150 one-off budget for WFH equipment to sweeten the deal.

Client-facing tech is pretty good, with the firm recently releasing an app, dubbed RPC Raid Response, that allows clients round-the-clock legal support and advice in the event of a dawn raid from regulators or cyber-attack. Internally the tech receives more mixed reviews. Whilst some “quite ancient and slow” systems are a source of frustration, the “laptops and phones provided are all great and there are no issues with these nor with probably half the software used” according to one spy.

Perks are fairly run-of-the-mill for a City law firm, with staff able to take advantage of a private healthcare programme, a mortgage advisor, HelloSelf membership and weekly classes including yoga. There’s also apparently great coffee machines, good biscuit choice, fresh fruit on Tuesdays, bring your dog to work day and free food and drinks on the first Thursday of every month!