Tartan army
Beginning as a private client practice run from founder David Erskine’s rooms in Argyll Square, Dundas & Wilson has morphed into one of Scotland’s leading firms. Its offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh are recognised by our parent publication, Chambers UK, in many fields, picking up dozens of top rankings in Scotland for both mainstream and niche areas of practice.
The London office, which celebrates its tenth birthday in 2012, is now the second largest behind Edinburgh, with 103 lawyers. It has yet to match the lofty accomplishments of its counterparts in Scotland, but it does pick up rankings in the City’s mid-market and has increasingly recognised property and corporate departments.
Trainees get no say in where they spend their first six months, but are able to put forward choices for their following seats and usually get their own way. As well as the regulator-required contentious seat, a stint in corporate is also likely, as is another in property – the size of this group is such that, “if you’re training at Dundas, it’s advisable that you do it.” Other seats include EU/competition, employment, environment, IP, tax, banking, and projects and infrastructure. Trainees sit in pods of four, most commonly with their appraiser, sometimes with one or more partners. This allows for a free flow of learning, as it’s “easy to look up, ask somebody a quick question and get back to your work,” and creates a “mini-culture” within which trainees can get to grips with their seat.
Mentors on the look-out
The property group acts for banks including RBS, Scottish Widows and Santander. Typical deals include the acquisition of land for shopping centres around the country. Acting for Land Securities on the development of a new mall in Oxford and an ongoing project in the heart of Leeds kept lawyers busy. The property group is so big that it has several sub-departments. Real estate finance is “document-heavy but exciting,” with trainees seeing “deals from start to finish and lots of deadlines, meaning time is of the essence.” The funds team manages the portfolios of investment funds and high-street banks, dealing with ongoing projects and the acquisition of new properties. Client contact is frequent and sources spoke of the daunting responsibility of being trusted with their own files, leases and agreements. The planning seat handles projects “of national significance,” and trainees gushed about the “interesting work” – meaning both the subject matter and the tasks they were given, which included drafting compulsory purchase documents and writing environmental reports.
Corporate trainees get “the full experience.” That means 13-hour days and hard graft – our sources grumbled about the firms they were working opposite: “Sometimes they seem to wait ages before replying to emails, then do it late at night, just to nark you.” But there is also “a lot of client contact if you seek it.” Interviewees did assure us that the long hours are “deal specific” and are monitored by partners who will “help you reallocate work if they can.” Recent deals the corporate department has worked on have included Scottish and Southern Energy’s purchase of a fibre telecommunications network, and the takeover of a Southampton-based yacht-builder's yard by a Dutch one. ASDA and KPMG are also regular clients.
In the litigation group, “part of trainee’s job is research, and then when everyone sits and discusses solutions, your input is valued.” The group is still small, but has worked on some notable matters. In conjunction with the insolvency team, it is acting on fallout from the Bernie Madoff fraud, advising the liquidators of Madoff Securities International on the recovery of assets, including a €2.5m yacht owned by Mr Madoff’s wife.
D&W evidently takes its formal appraisal process seriously, as more than one person explained how the mid and end-of-seat meet ups count not only towards NQ jobs, but also as a tie-breaker when it comes to allocating the more popular seat choices. Partners are “forthcoming” with feedback, “willing to say if you need to work on something, and also willing to give you a pat on the back.” Perhaps even more than the appraisals, trainees value D&W’s mentoring system, in which an associate who is a couple of years qualified acts as a bridge between trainees and partners – “just to look out for you.”
Stepping into the light
Trainees spend their first week at the firm in Scotland, and being locked in a hotel together “gives you the opportunity to talk to everyone… also no one can escape!” The format taken by formal training depends on the seat, but often takes place in Glasgow or Edinburgh. This contact with colleagues north of the border means trainees “feel like we’re part of the same strategy of moving the firm forward.” Presentations from the managing partner come frequently. Attendance is encouraged “from receptionists to partners,” and feedback is asked for and given. Departments overlap between offices, and trainees frequently find themselves on video calls with their Scottish counterparts. “It’s very much focused on people getting on,” explained one trainee, “and I would be confident in naming at least two-thirds of the firm.”
This open and non-threatening atmosphere was highlighted time and again by all our sources. The London office is open-plan – “no one can hide behind a closed door,” mused a source. Trainees appreciated the friendliness and approachability of partners and their peers. “We’re professional, yes, but no one has an attitude. The banter is good amongst all trainees: nothing’s ever too serious.”
There is much firm-organised fun to be had after work, including a seemingly endless list of sports teams: five-a-side, cricket, netball, hockey, touch rugby. It wouldn’t be a huge stretch to work out that the firm looks for team players, then. Non-sporty types can be assured that “a musician and a New Age dancer” feature in the current trainee group. Friday pub sessions are frequent, as are social responsibility exercises in which the firm gives trainees time off to do good in the community.
Trainees expressed optimism at the firm’s position in the post-recession economy. Since the credit crunch, the firm has taken measures to alter its practice, towards a structure that is more client-focused. As training partner Martin Thomas explained: “We’ve reorganised our thinking and we’re concentrating our expertise within four industry sectors: financial services, energy and infrastructure, real estate, and government and public sector. It’s something we were doing anyway, but it’s now what leads business development. It’s part of a drive in which we’re moving out of the shadows. It’s a move forward and an expression of confidence.”
The “snazzy new ground-floor reception” adds to the feel-good factor, as does the simple feeling of inclusion that trainees get from regular e-mail updates. The only complaint that all of our sources raised was the issue of pay. At £30,000 for first-seaters, there is a discrepancy between D&W and the firms trainees consider its competitors, “such as DLA and Ashurst.” But, they add, “it balances out, because we’re not cut-throat.”
And finally...
Property and corporate work are the drivers here and trainees looking for this type of work in a smaller office environment should check Dundas & Wilson out. In 2011, 14 out of 20 qualifiers were kept on.