A rose by any other name…
Year after year trainees at Burges Salmon give a glowing report of life that bears a certain rose-coloured resemblance to the firm’s legendary pink notepaper. Peddled as a City-quality firm outside of London, the Bristol-based powerhouse has long insisted that its staff enjoy all the perks of a high-flying City career without the accompanying hassles of City life.
Though the firm’s feet remain resolutely planted in Bristol, a policy that its bosses have no intention of changing, Burges Salmon hardly keeps itself at arm’s length from the rest of the nation. Indeed, an exceptional client list – which includes the likes of Chanel and Coca-Cola – sees the firm undertake a large amount of London-based, national and even international work. For example, its rail transport team, ranked by Chambers UK as one of the best in the whole country, acted for Eurostar first on the procurement of its new high-speed train fleet from German engineering company Siemens, and then again after another company attempted to gain an injunction to prevent Eurostar and Siemens finalising the contract. Clifford Chance, Freshfields and Hogan Lovells were some of the other firms involved, proving, as one trainee said: “We’re not just a good regional firm or even the ‘go-to’ firm outside of London: we’re a direct competitor with top London firms.”
With brand new offices just across the river from Temple Meads station, the firm is heading in a new direction. Trainees said that Burges Salmon is “openly aspiring to be a direct competitor in more areas of law” and trainee recruitment partner Keith Beattie agrees, saying: “We have been directing our focus towards industry sectors and organising teams based on who best understands our clients' needs.”
Six seat shake-up
The seat system has been slightly revamped this year to offer trainees a greater say in what they're exposed to. In a six-seat rotation, they are required to visit real estate. They must also choose from one of environment and planning; commercial disputes and construction; or agriculture and property disputes. Two further seats must come from the following: banking and finance; commercial; corporate; employment; pensions and incentives; and private client and wealth structuring. The fifth seat is a free choice, while "the sixth is the qualification seat." First-year trainees appreciated that this new arrangement “gives everyone who wants to do something in particular the chance to do it,” while second-years, who had been through a scheme that was more prescriptive, lamented missing out on this “much-improved system.”
It’s top-ranked by Chambers UK in the South West but over 70% of the corporate department’s work comes from outside the region. Appropriately enough given the firm’s name, the team acted on the £13.5m management buyout of fashion retailer Weird Fish. Trainees visiting this department will usually work on two or three sizeable deals throughout their time there rather than on numerous small ones. The seat entails ample amounts of drafting, allowing trainees to “play a big part in how the actual agreements are structured.” Client contact is also frequent, and trainees are “fully immersed in all the work.” One proudly reported that, “by the end of my seat I was acting as an account executive – the only person meeting the client from beginning to end.” Added another: “They let us get fully involved. This seat has certainly given me a flavour of what it’s like to be a qualified lawyer.”
Covering a variety of areas – including some IP, IT and competition law – the commercial seat offers big brand-name clients, among them Harrods and the Discovery Channel, along with work for public sector bodies such as the Metropolitan Police Authority. Trainees perform “small discrete tasks for big clients.” Unlike their corporate counterparts, however, our sources in commercial reported that supervisors in this seat “tend to do the majority of the work,” although trainees still have “quite a lot of involvement” and “the work isn’t too repetitive.” As one put it: “It’s a shame we can’t be given more responsibility in this area since the work is so large-scale, but I appreciate the fact that I was never abandoned.”
Fromage fray
One of the most popular seats is employment, which sees trainees take on “varied work” that includes drafting, advising and attending tribunals. Interviewees described this “hands-on” seat as “fast-paced” and “quite practical.” “Clients need quick answers and it’s our responsibility to solve them efficiently,” said one. The compulsory real estate seat offers a similar variety of work, though trainees in this department find themselves “much more involved” than in others: “Before you know it you’ve got whole files to look after,” said one. Real estate clients “range from big banks to small, individually managed companies.” The team acted for The Crown Estate on its £101m acquisition of Racecourse Retail Park, a shopping area located next to Aintree, and for Grand Pier Limited in the redevelopment of Weston-super-Mare’s pier after its destruction by fire in July 2008. Other clients include the Ministry of Justice, Lloyds, RBS, Santander, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and various energy companies. Trainees regularly handle cases from start to finish. “It’s a great seat for learning how to manage your own files.”
The dispute resolution department recently represented Christine Yeoman, a top rider in the sport of endurance horseracing, after an illegal substance was found in the urine of her horse. Burges Salmon successfully cleared her name, providing evidence that a rogue batch of contaminated feed was to blame. Another case involved an industrial espionage dispute between two dairies. Who knew that the world of milk could be so cutthroat, eh? One of them had paid a former employee of the other, Burges Salmon’s client, to steal confidential information containing pricing and delivery information. Trainees get good involvement drafting documents and advice notes, “which go straight out after being checked,” and taking witness statements.
Trainees were pleasantly surprised by the interesting nature of the work they have encountered across their seats. Because the firm encourages the delegation of grunt work to secretaries, trainees can – for the most part – sidestep peripheral tasks in favour of the integral, more “stimulating” parts of each case. Similarly appreciated were the opportunities to go off-site. Trainees attend meetings in the firm’s (unmanned) London office, while client secondments also arise from time to time.
Must… have… brains… BRAINS!
Senior lawyers and trainees alike never seem to tire of raving about Burges Salmon’s Bristol home and we have to admit that they do make life in the South West sound rather appealing. With affordable housing alongside a lively cultural scene, according to trainees this “great balance” is “as good as it gets.”
Most trainees reported working steady hours that only occasionally deviate from the standard nine to six. While they were quick to point out that all trainees should expect the odd late night, or even an all-nighter for a particularly large deal, interviewees claimed that “it’s unusual for people to work London hours.” “The firm isn’t trying to turn us into Burges Salmon zombies,” explained one. “There are certain values the firm holds dear, such as high-quality work, but there is still an evident emphasis on work/life balance.” That said, Keith Beattie is keen to make sure this emphasis is not misunderstood: “While we don't work the same hours as some of our competitors, we hardly disappear at 5.30pm every day," he said. "We still offer the same levels of service, but shorter commutes and lower billing targets mean that we don't have the same long hours culture.”
According to Beattie, the firm “actively looks for a range of personalities,” choosing trainees based on “the same sorts of traits a client might consider when choosing a lawyer.” Such traits include not only excellent academics and technical ability, but also interpersonal and organisational skills, and the ability to work in a team and react well to pressure. Furthermore, applicants must demonstrate an interest in business development and a solid understanding of the business of law. As Beattie puts it: “You don’t have to be a fantastic salesperson, but you can’t just be a brilliant academic without business acumen.” This is probably why Burges Salmon always seems to have its fair share of older trainees with previous careers behind them.
While the firm is keen to create a diverse trainee cohort each year, it is wary of people who aim to use Burges Salmon as a springboard for working in London and takes a “long-term view,” says Beattie, bringing in trainees “on the basis and expectation that all of them will stay on if they prove good enough.” For this reason, recruiters consider a prospective trainee’s potential for working at the firm in five years’ time and devote a hefty chunk of the training contract interview to finding out an applicant’s motivation for applying.
Beattie urges applicants to gain exposure to as many law-related experiences as they can before an interview: “Attend open days, do a summer placement, be a self-starter and arrange your own work experience. It’s amazing how many people don’t consider what they’ll say when asked about work experience.” He also recommends applicants research the firm beforehand to familiarise themselves with its recent deals and marketing angles. “Try to work out where the firm sits in the market because we want to understand why you want to work here. Is it because we're at the top of the alphabetical list or because you understand what we're actually about?” This scrutiny at the interview stage certainly seems to be paying off, because NQ retention at Burges Salmon is consistently excellent and our second-year sources were all confident that they would be kept on. Sure enough, 17 out of 20 stayed with the firm in 2011. “Because they aim to keep us all on, there’s no day-to-day competition,” said one. “It’s quite reassuring to know we have a future here.”
Glass full
In 2010, the firm moved into One Glass Wharf, a new, custom-built office flecked on the outside with the firm’s trademark salmon pink. “The new building has ushered in a new ethos here,” sources said. “Although it’s not explicit, people have started to dress a bit smarter because the new office is an official mark of how serious a firm we’ve become.” Trainees also told us that the move has brought an unforeseen improvement to office dynamics, as there is “an open atmosphere that makes everything seem more cohesive.” Though the building isn’t actually open-plan, trainees said the layout “still encourages us to interact” and praised the canteen for providing a firm-wide meeting point: “Glassworks Café has really just pulled us all together!” gushed one particularly happy source.
Though they work hard, trainees have no problem finding time for a social life. In addition to the occasional Friday night drink, a social club organises weekends away, theatre trips and the like. Some individually organised events include a weekly Spanish lesson and a regular army-style fitness programme. Sports have always been a big thing at this firm and there are plenty of teams to join. Trainees are also invited to quirky one-off events such as this year’s ‘Fishstock’, an “X Factor-style singing competition” that saw partners take to the stage in fancy dress for a karaoke sing-off.
As you’ll have noticed, we have a pretty high opinion of Burges Salmon, and its Chambers UK rankings are most impressive. However, trainees say the firm’s “only possible point of improvement” is that it needs to shake off, once and for all, a misconception in some quarters that it is a slightly old-fashioned, “second-rate alternative” to London firms. Keith Beattie agrees that the firm is often misrepresented but believes this is changing: “While we have a reputation as a conservative firm, we actually have a fairly entrepreneurial culture. I’d say we’ve become less traditional in the last five to ten years.” Our trainee sources were confident that the firm would soon receive its dues: “We keep getting high rankings and recommendations, and are being rewarded accordingly for the important work we’ve done. This is a reflection on us as employees and gives us the sense that we’re going in a more corporate, business-focused direction.”
And finally...
Burges Salmon bills itself as a national player out in the regions and it is not lying. A genuine force to be reckoned with.