Wizard of 0000000000z
Name a global bank, and A&O probably works for it: RBS, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Citi, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, HSBC... the list goes on. It advised 150 counterparties in relation to the failure of Lehman Brothers, and the UK government on the £3.2bn Irish bailout loan. Already a leader for finance, the firm has heavily invested in building its corporate group in recent years and trainees seeking to work on the very biggest deals won't be disappointed. A&O acted on the $3.9bn demerger of Cable & Wireless and represented Dana Petroleum during its £1.8bn hostile takeover by the Korea National Oil Corporation.
A&O now has 39 offices worldwide. The most recent addition, in Casablanca, is A&O's first foray into Africa. Around two-thirds of the firm's work now involves two or more offices, and almost 60% of the firm's revenue is generated outside the UK. “We do take on people who we think are enthusiastic about working overseas at some stage in their career,” graduate recruitment partner Richard Hough told us. “Trainees join under the realisation, indeed hope, that they could end up anywhere.” This is especially the case given that growth in London is slower than elsewhere. In 2011 A&O announced further cuts to the number of trainees it will take on in the future – 25% fewer than in 2008. “The decrease is simply a recognition by management that this recession is probably a bit different to the ones that have gone before. In the short to medium term, we're going with the sense that business in London will not grow at the same pace as some of our overseas offices,” Hough says.
Lost in transactions?
Trainees may take three or six-month seats. A total of twelve months must be spent in two of the firm's core practice areas – banking, corporate and international capital markets (ICM). Of course, since these practices are huge there's quite a variety of seats within each of those groups.
The first six months is usually spent in one of the core areas. Trainees may request a specific sub-group, but that isn't always guaranteed. Three months in, there is a seat planning evening, “a bit like a careers fair,” after which trainees submit their preferences. These include one “priority seat” which is guaranteed. Tactical thinking may be required, since niche seats such as employment and environment are often oversubscribed. A number of international and client secondments are available, which are usually taken in the final seat. Allocation is based mainly on appraisals and supervisor feedback. Locations range from Amsterdam to Bangkok, and offices may host one or more trainees at a time.
The firm's banking practice includes teams such as general lending, investment funds and structures, Islamic finance, leveraged finance, projects, real estate finance and asset finance. All of our sources had attended adrenaline-charged signings and schmoozed clients. Depending on what stage a deal is at, trainees could find themselves doing research, carrying out due diligence, proofreading, getting the documents laid out on the table for a signing, dealing with the registration of security issues, creating of bibles or dealing with clients. “Partners and associates don't have time to do everything, so a lot of trust is given to trainees. We're given a couple of aspects to focus on and make sure they don't go wrong. They're small tasks, but really important.” Another trainee agreed: “You don't get lost in the transaction. I had to run a meeting for the rest of my team about my part.” As you'd expect, there are loads of banking seats available – we haven't the space to describe them all here so we'll stick to a couple of examples. The esteemed project finance group works on “large-scale infrastructure projects, with energy and transport being particular specialities.” Trainees described the work as “a mix of corporate and banking” and enjoyed the fact that “it's not just black-letter law.” Meanwhile, trainees found the insolvency work of the restructuring group “incredibly complicated and a bit hard to get your head around at first,” but “it really teaches you how to think.” The work is very often international – one trainee we spoke to told us about a matter that involved dealing with six different jurisdictions.
ICM is divided into four areas: debt capital markets, derivatives and structured finance, corporate trustee, and securitisation. One trainee described derivatives work in particular as “conceptually interesting.” We were not surprised to hear that it can be “a difficult department for your first seat,” but “it gives you skills and knowledge which are useful, because it's likely you'll come across derivatives in other departments.” Trainees in ICM seats may work on drawing up documentation such as prospectuses, agency agreements and programme updates, and second-year sources spoke of working alone with a partner on some deals.
Corporate trainees told us about essentially project managing parts of projects, as well as drafting letters, amending documents, helping prepare articles for publication, and carrying out research and due diligence. “It was a very classic trainee role at first – lots of drafting and due diligence, but after my mid-seat review I was given more client face-time,” said one source.
Brain teasers
The growing litigation practice encompasses everything from regulatory investigations to international arbitration, with work ranging from “small pro bono cases to massive big-ticket litigation.” Trainees often have less responsibility here – “I never sent an email to a client, whereas I'd been doing it all the time in banking” – but we got the impression that trainees didn't mind doing a bit of bundling for the chance to be involved in some really interesting cases. For example, A&O is defending eBay against a number of trade mark infringement claims, raising the questions of to what extent eBay is liable for misdeeds committed by its users, whether it should it be forced to monitor its users' activities, and whether that is even possible. Trainees may draft advice to clients, witness statements and pleadings, come up with cross-examination questions and go to court. There is also usually a lot of research involved. “The nature of that research can vary quite a lot. One day you might be trying to define 'due and payable' – it sounds straightforward, but is there a difference between a debt being due, payable, or due and payable?” (Answers on a postcard...) “On the other hand, you might be given a paragraph from a contract and told to go through the twenty footnotes to try to find a point of law in particular that will suit your argument – or completely shaft you! Or you might go through a response from a client to see whether their argument stands.”
All litigation and arbitration trainees are given a legal research exercise. “You have to fit it in alongside your billable hours, but they give really in-depth, detailed feedback, so it's really useful,” was one trainee's view – although another told us the competition to get good marks meant the task was becoming more time consuming and is now “renowned as a nightmare.” Those who want to skip a contentious seat have the option of completing a litigation course.
Trainees may work for between one and “up to ten” people in a seat. “Some departments aren't so flexible on letting you work for other teams, so you might end up with all of your experience in a niche area,” although some said this means you “get to be comfortable with the work, rather than feeling out of your depth because you're doing new things all the time.” Trainees always share an office with their trainer (that's supervisor in A&O-speak). Partner trainers may not delegate work directly to trainees, but remain “omniscient entities” and make sure they're always getting feedback from other members of the team to ensure appraisals are accurate. A trainee liaison committee allows juniors to anonymously submit questions or raise issues. Some felt that “the committee doesn't seem to have a lot of power to get much changed,” but that the firm does “take us seriously and answer our questions.” Frequent breakfast and lunchtime training seminars are often aimed at clients and so “really useful for trainees, as they're pitched at a level that non-legally trained directors can understand, and they also give you an opportunity to mingle with clients afterwards.”
Multitalented
Trainees didn't argue with A&O's image as “the friendly face of the magic circle.” It's a side of the firm recruitment seem to be trying to play down, in fact. “I don't want the firm to be identified as friendly first and professional second. You get the best from people that way – a sense of enterprise, loyalty and commitment to the firm... and a sense of humour too,” Richard Hough says. “We like to get the best out of people by being a welcoming place to work, rather than by following the more cut-throat and unyielding model that works for some firms.” The atmosphere does vary from department to department. “In some there's a culture where you can just walk in through anyone's door, whereas for others you'd need to make an appointment to see certain people,” but most interviewees had found their trainers to be “supportive.” Some departments are “more sociable,” and in these the cake rota may be “a very important part of the group dynamic.” The completion of a major deal is often celebrated with cake, champagne, or “funny hats.”
You don't have to have a First from Oxford or Cambridge to get an interview, but you'll need a strong CV. “Everyone has been on the committee of their university history society or in a sports team, but more unusual things will get picked up on,” we heard. “Some fee-earners take time off to go and fulfil a lifetime ambition – that shows they want people to have broad experience.” Our sources were all very modest, but happy to tell us about colleagues who had skills in opera singing, French cooking, zoo keeping and blacksmithing. With those skills, why do they want to be lawyers?
Trainees are encouraged to talk to partners from their previous seats about whether there will be NQ jobs there and whether they're likely to be offered one. “They're non-committal, but you can usually get a feel of whether you've got a chance! If you don't have that conversation you probably won't be offered a place. Then you put in anonymous expressions of interest about where you'd like to go. Partners are told how many people have applied, and release a list of how many jobs there are in each department. Then you apply for real.” This year 92 of 117 qualifying trainees stayed at the firm. Sources felt it had “been a bit of a tricky year,” but said that A&O was providing good support for those who didn't get offered a position.
All you ever wanted
A&O's enormous office in Bishops Square was built especially for the firm. “The offices have everything you could ever want,” including restaurants, a subsidised coffee bar, two terraces for relaxing, a bar, a sports hall, a gym and music rooms, as well as a doctor, physio, dentist and salon. For those who do manage to make it out of the office, the firm's location in Shoreditch means “you're never far from a half-decent pint.”
“You want for nothing, but you don't get it for nothing – you get it for working eight to fourteen hours a day.” Whether a team is swamped with work coming up to a closure, or “waiting until really late for a signature because they decided to have a long lunch in Panama,” trainees will see a lot of the office. We hear that on the average day the office empties between 7.30 and 9.30pm, but all of our sources had had plenty of not-so-average days, including “3ams every day for months.” Comments like “if we're here on a Sunday it's only from 7.30am until 5pm,” and “my hours have been good, I don't think I've ever worked past 1am,” are telling. “It's very exciting, the adrenaline really keeps you going!” gushed one enthusiastic trainee, although another warned that “people underestimate how exhausting it is.”
That said, there is usually time for a bit of play. Trainees complete the LPC together at Moorgate, so from the first Friday there are plenty of friends to prop up the bar with, and in summer the black ties come out for the annual trainee ball – 2011's was held at the Royal Artillery's parade ground. All the usual sports teams are on offer and departments also have their own events, which range from bowling and “unforgettable” karaoke sessions to more sophisticated ski trips.
And finally...
“If you come here you need to be prepared to kiss your life goodbye for a while – in a good way!" A&O offers high-profile work and great prospects for those willing to put in the effort and the hours.