Slaughter and May

Slaughters is increasingly building its pitch to new talent, not around salaries, but around being a nice working environment. A brand-new “Switch On/Off working model” allows associates to reduce their hours to a 0.8 or 0.9 full time equivalent for a corresponding cut in pay and holiday, and the firm’s 30-day holiday allowance is more generous than most in the City.

The early indications are that this more balanced approach to work is going down a treat, with some trainees reporting that they were “very pleasantly surprised” by their working hours which they’ve claimed as being “much better than the rest of the Magic Circle!” However, others were quick to point out that work/life balance varies by department and client needs: “As with every answer a solicitor gives: it depends. I have had periods finishing consistently before 6pm, and periods finishing consistently after 9pm. In transactional seats, expect the potential for midnights or later as a signing or closing approaches; in contentious seats, expect similar finish times where court deadlines are imminent.” Weekend work is said to be a rarity and recruits generally feel that the firm is “very understanding of evening commitments if you give them enough notice.”

Another sums it up like this: “Some degree of unpredictability of course but generally working hours are much better than what I would have expected them to be. No face time culture and most (though not all) people will do their best to respect plans that you tell them of in advance.”

And it is clear that the work isn’t half bad. Although there is the “inevitable boring trainee work,” our inside sources tell us that there is “lots of associate level work given where you prove you can handle it.” Another source says, “the work is interesting and varied, and the clients are too. One of the best things about the firm is that you often will not do the same type of deal twice, although this does make the work more challenging for junior lawyers than those at other firms who specialise in narrower practice areas. The learning curve is much steeper here,” boasts one LC spy. The clients are also first-rate: expect to be assisting listed blue-chips with their key strategic decisions and acting for household names in a huge range of sectors. “I work on a range of interesting matters (many of which are front page of the FT kind of stuff),” another newbie explains.

The Bunhill Row-based outfit also maintains its rep as a top-notch place for training which is described as “second to none and covers a wide variety of subject areas, from underlying financial knowledge to specific legal points”. Although more formalised sessions can be hit-and-miss with delays sometimes meaning that “you will be put on a deal without much prior training on that particular type of transaction,” overall the training is said to be “well-structured and managed, given by partners and associates who really know what they are talking about”. Recruits also report that further learning is constantly provided on-the-job. “You work alongside some of the brightest legal minds in the world so much of the training is by osmosis.” said one — even if some supervisors are said to be more keen to show you the ropes than others!

As you might expect, such praise for the firm’s training programme feeds into how rookies ranked their superiors, with most senior associates and partners rated as “very approachable”. However, this can vary and one rookie reports that there is still the feeling that some partners are seen as a “totally different species of being”. That being said, most recruits feel that any aloofness from their higher-ups comes down more to them being busy rather than extraterrestrial, and the consensus is that “seniors will always make time to take your questions / explain things to you. (To add, even if it’s a busy time, they’ll take the initiative to find you afterwards)”.

At junior level, there is said to be “great camaraderie” and support. “Friendly bunch, not back-stabby, and people are always happy to help each other out when everyone is staying late,” gleaned one LC mole. Slaughters trainee cohorts are known to be “very supportive” and the general impression is that the larger intake smooths any type of sharp elbow culture that might arise from training with some “naturally very competitive” people. Another details: “I genuinely think we are one of the nicest firms. The cohort as a whole looks out for one another and cliques are not particularly prominent, which is a risk with a large cohort. The trainee group chats are always very friendly and responsive if you ever need help.”

These trainees are a pretty social bunch, too, with a generous amount of socials hosted in the summer, Christmas parties and an annual black-tie dinner at the five-star Grosvenor which is said to be “a real highlight”. Insiders rate that there are “all sorts of different activities on the go” without any pressure to attend if you have plans outside of work or (perhaps the more likely scenario) you are simply too busy in the office.

One area that divides opinion is Slaughters’ corner building office at 1 Bunhill Row. Whilst juniors appreciate having their own building and have high praise for the “sensational choice and value” at their canteen, an impending refurb is hotly anticipated. “There is a promised overhaul expected for the firm’s entrance and canteen which looks to make the ground-floor aesthetic less Pure-gym and more Equinox. Until that time, the offices are serviceable but not likely to make an appearance in Architectural Digest any time soon” one chic rookie told Legal Cheek. Additional fun fact: keep an eye out for the firm’s very own jukebox, visible from the street in the corner of the canteen.

In the meantime, recruits might look to spend time in one of the various international secondment destinations Slaughters offers, with New York, Hong Kong, Brussels, Copenhagen, Paris and Italy being some of the names on the list. Client secondments are also on the cards with our insiders enjoying spells at American Express, Legal & General, ITV, Credit Suisse and AI lab Google DeepMind!

Speaking of tech, the firm is involved in a high-profile partnership with Cambridge University-tied artificial intelligence start-up Luminance, and trainees are invited to a range of legal tech discussions and presentations from an early stage in their training. It’s also worth noting that Slaughters has a legal tech incubator, called Collaborate and has recently established a cross-practice tech group helmed by Rob Sumroy. But on the front-line, the lawyers we spoke to still report that the “uptake of new tech has been slow” with one fearing that it’s “an area where we are at risk of being left behind”. That being said, SM is in the process of making upgrades with AI investment around the corner. For the meantime we’ll watch this space…

Trainees are allowed to work from home once a week whilst associates are only required three days out of five. The firm provides “any and all equipment” needed when WFH including a desk, chair, monitor, keyboard and mouse but you better not get too comfortable as Slaughters have recently begun monitoring office attendance using gate data. That being said, insiders told us that there’s still fairly reasonable flexibility for leaving the office earlier on and logging back on from home if needed.

Of more pressing importance to future recruits may be the perks, and Slaughters’ juniors enjoy a top range of benefits, including the usual subsidised gym membership, free dinner in the office after 6pm and taxis home after 9pm. The firm’s canteen received several mentions with trainees reporting that they serve “really quite good food and lots of choice”. That is apart from meat-free Mondays, which receive some scathing reviews: “Meat free Mondays are a travesty which would be funny if it didn’t involve eating pasty aubergine late on a Monday night…” Otherwise, the canteen is rated for being “fairly cheap, with a full roast (for example) coming to about £6”. Which begs the question: who eats a full roast at work?

If all that wasn’t enough, how about “occasional free tickets to events now and again”? Slaughter juniors are known to enjoy a smattering of away days including “Cheltenham Gold cup club enclosure tickets, Royal Academy opening night exhibition, box at the O2, and T20 cricket at the Oval”.