Twobirds, eleven eggs 

Bird & Bird has recently rebranded. Out with the classic navy blue and white; in with – well, navy blue and green, actually. The firm’s offices, just off Fleet Street, apparently now prominently feature a ‘dynamic ampersand’ theme in six different colours. Has the clever blue jay become a flashy peacock? “It’s more of a brand refresh,” explained training principal Christian Bartsch. “We’ve expanded dramatically since the brand was last looked at over 20 years ago. We’re much more international now: we want to show how our culture is very similar across different offices.” The firm has an international network that belies its medium size in London – 23 offices in total, across 16 countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Despite a full-service practice, Twobirds is historically known for its ‘sexy’ departments, especially its Chambers UK top-ranked intellectual property group and its commercial practice. The latter includes superb data protection, sports and IT subteams. “People are attracted by IP/IT,” admitted one trainee, “but the fringe departments need to develop as well, and gain their own reputations.” That’s slightly harsh on teams such as corporate, dispute resolution and employment. All are ranked by Chambers UK, but it is fair to say they don’t have the market-leading reputations of the IP and commercial teams. A clued-up source spelled out the strategy: “We’ve identified 11 different business, commercial and industry sectors to focus on. What we really want to do is win clients from these areas with the IP work, and then cross-sell and get them to do their employment and dispute resolution work with us.”

Twobirds, four seats 

While many graduates flock to Twobirds because of its IP prestige, the breadth and flexibility of the training contract means that many end up qualifying somewhere they hadn’t previously considered. With no compulsory seats forced upon them, sources raised a number of points that future trainees would be wise to take note of.

Firstly: stand firm and chirp up from the beginning if you have a preferred seat. “If you want something, make sure that you say so and back it up with reasons,” advised one interviewee. With no formal allocation system to guide them, some new arrivals aren’t prepared for this: “You have to stay on the ball. I didn’t understand how much you have to say, ‘I’d like this'.” However, the timing of desired seats also matters. One trainee explained: “A lot of significance is placed on when you do your seats. It's the second and third ones which really matter. I’ve been lucky, but a lot of trainees decide the seat they want to qualify into quite late and leave it to fourth.” Equally, doing it at the beginning leaves you faced with “trying to keep in contact with a department – which is difficult if they’re not in the same building as you.” Twobirds still operates out of three different offices on Fetter Lane, the client-facing number 15 being the only one to have received the rainbow rebrand treatment.

With options including corporate, banking, dispute resolution, employment, real estate, commercial and sport, aviation, IP to select from, “perhaps,” one trainee admitted, “we’re hyper-sensitive because there’s so much freedom to choose.”

Twobirds, six nations 

The IP seat is a popular one and there is plenty of room to accommodate trainee demand. Actually, trainees tell us that in this department “there’s not a lot that the trainee is required to do” in terms of tasks, and client contact is limited, “but the matters are interesting and you learn a lot.” The department is split into ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ IP work, ‘hard’ being patent-related, and therefore more technical and suited to trainees with backgrounds in science and engineering.

The firm is currently defending Nokia in a suit brought by IPCom, and frequently acts on medical patenting matters. Recently it represented Edwards Lifesciences in the defence of allegations made by Cook Biotech that a type of heart valve was infringing its UK patent. It also won a dispute on behalf of Norwegian oil company EMGS over the validity of its controlled source electromagnetics patents (the means to discovering oil and gas below the seabed). If it all sounds a bit complicated, it is. “I worked on some patents, but they involved such difficult chemistry and physics I ended up just doing admin work,” admitted one trainee. “There are varying levels to which you can get involved,” added another. “I perhaps got into greater depth because of my background in science: I took on research for experts, drafted, and worked on patent litigation. I really enjoyed the process and got more responsibility as I went on.”

‘Soft’ IP is altogether less complicated. “I really enjoyed working on copyright and trade mark,” enthused a source. A major matter of late was the infringement of the Metro brand by a spoof newspaper from the organisation Press Action. Members of the organisation handed out fake Metros one morning, in a stunt designed to highlight ‘racism and anti-migrant bias’ in mainstream media: Twobirds’ lawyers successfully imposed an emergency injunction against a second day of action. The firm also acted for cleaning product manufacturers S.C. Johnson (a family company) in a patent dispute over its ‘Duck Discs’ (keep your toilet bowl clean and fresh). Lookalike products from China were starting to appear in Europe and the firm was required to take action against importers and distributors in the UK and various other countries. Trainees enjoyed “never having to work on anything that’s not for a well-known brand name,” and relished the prestige attached to the department’s high-profile work.

Bird & Bird’s other famous wing is its commercial department, which includes a number of subgroups spanning technology, telecoms, IT, data protection, outsourcing and sports law. Recent IT clients include the Environment Agency, BT and Everything Everywhere, the telecommunications company created through the merger of T-Mobile and Orange. Twobirds also advises Indian and Chinese companies attempting to win IT sector business in Europe. Trainees' work typically includes proofreading, draft and research. Trainees in the sport subgroup work for yet more high-profile clients, including Six Nations Rugby, the International Tennis Federation and England 2018, the company attempting to bring the World Cup tournament to our shores. Recent work for the FA, meanwhile, has included advising on the problems with the playing surface at Wembley and a number of ticketing issues. Sources spoke of getting to draft regulations, working on sponsorship agreements and assisting at disciplinary hearings.

“I’d advise doing an aviation seat,” said one trainee. Work is divided between contentious and non-contentious matters – or often “non-contentious work which is turning contentious.” Trainees reported “drafting pre-action correspondence, occasional court forms and drawing up leases,” and had worked on headline cases such as the British Airways strikes. Twobirds also worked on disputes relating to the disruption of services caused by 2010’s volcanic ash and heavy snow, and has a plentiful workload in lease disputes and repossessions of aircraft, acting in this capacity for National Air Services and BAE Systems Regional Aircraft.

Similarly, the employment seat lets trainees dabble in contentious and non-contentious matters, which “helps you see which way you’re going to fall.” Non-contentious work typically involved putting together contracts, often supporting corporate teams, while contentious employment work has increased markedly post-credit crunch, as claims of unfair dismissal blossom in the wake of company restructuring, in addition to matters such as discrimination or whistle-blowing. Trainees “do get a lot of disclosure to do,” but overall have “a varied workload” which can involve preparing for tribunal hearing and taking notes at trial. Client contact is regular: one source “drafted immigration advice within the first two weeks.” Major clients include Yahoo! and Fujifilm.

Secondments are available to a number of exciting-sounding clients in the UK – often for a three-month stint as half of a seat. International seats are currently available in Milan, Stockholm, Madrid, Brussels, Helsinki and Warsaw. There were none in Asia as we were going to press, but “I am pushing for it,” admitted one trainee eager to travel. “It’s partly dictated by client demand,” qualified Christian Bartsch. “Hong Kong hasn’t been on the radar for the past year or so, but if trainees have been over there on holiday we’ve arranged for them to spend a few weeks in the office. We want them to be part of the international network.” Trainees don’t “necessarily need a language or to have lived abroad,” and are able to discuss options with the graduate recruitment team. “Grad rec are your line managers,” explained another trainee. “If something niggles, you know you can bring it up with them. It’s generally a very open and accessible place.” Appraisals are similarly well-handled: feedback is given three months in, and then at the end of the seat “you go back and talk about what you’d want to do if you qualified there.”

Twobirds, free time 

If Bird & Bird has a rep for being quirky, then it comes “from the IP side.” IP lawyers typically “have doctorates or were scientists or archaeologists.” The commercial lawyers, meanwhile, “are all sociable but when you talk to them they’re really techy – your phone will be the focus of discussion.” Many trainees are older and have something extra: perhaps a PhD or a few years' experience in industry. “There are people who have come straight through from law school,” explained one, “but the firm likes people who can bring something else to the table: they like to see that you’ve had a life. Because the work’s got such a business element to it, having knowledge of the outside world is really helpful. Intelligence is important but they want personality rather than drones.” We’re told that the Twobirds philosophy is: ‘very hard work – but within office hours’. “It does come from managing partner David Kerr and the executive board,” said another source. “They work, but they have free time. An all-nighter is a talking point.”

“Because we finish slightly earlier, you can go home and have a separate life,” said one interviewee. Not too separate, though. Firm-organised socials are plentiful, and there are sports teams such as cricket, touch rugby, netball, softball and a recently promoted women’s football team. It seems these teams aren’t “necessarily of a high standard, more an opportunity to go and have a run around at lunchtime.” One source didn't inspire confidence: “I’ve just been made the new softball captain and I don’t know how to play.” The firm allows trainees in on celebratory lunches with clients and in 2011 organised a summer football tournament in Helsinki.

Qualification prospects are promising, with 13 out of 16 getting jobs in 2011. Sources praised the flexible nature of the qualification process despite the fact that “there is no jobs list.” Departments will attempt to take on extra qualifiers if they can, but that does mean that people can be left “waiting around” for news. However, “they will steer you if they know there won’t be a space in the department you want.”

And finally... 

Twobirds = one great training contract, especially if you're interested in commercial IP work.