Collyer Bristow LLP

Mum’s not the word

This isn’t a firm to make headlines of its own: there have been no recent mergers, takeovers or major shake-ups to rock its world, in fact despite a dip in turnover lately, quite possibly due to the loss of some key partners, the firm is a constant and stable player in the London mid-market. On closer inspection though, CB has some unusual features, giving it a slightly quirky reputation in legal circles. The foremost of these is its extensive list of media and sporting clients, including members of ancient rock band Status Quo (in a long-running dispute over royalty payments), Sony Pictures and Working Title Films (soundtrack agreements for the films Casino Royale and Hot Fuzz), top golfer Ernie Els, Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie and busty temptress Katie Price.

If you’re reading this and dreaming of handling Jordan’s assets, don’t get your hopes up. Though the media connections permeate the firm, it’s not the main thrust of CB’s work and most of the current trainees chose to join for more practical reasons, namely the size of the firm and the range of work it handles. This isn’t to say that a trainee in the right place at the right time won’t get a glimpse of the media action. One lucky so-and-so flew out to Milan to have lunch with Marco Materazzi and his wife. Materazzi, you’ll remember, was the Italian footballer on the receiving end of Zinedine Zidane’s infamous head butt in the 2006 World Cup final. The Daily Star alleged that Materazzi had insulted the Frenchman’s mother, and Collyer Bristow represented him in the ensuing libel action. The newspaper was forced to apologise, so for the record Materazzi did not call Zidane’s dear old mum a terrorist whore. He actually said something to the effect of ‘I prefer your whore of a sister,’ which of course is entirely different.

Such playground squabbles are the exception and most trainees find themselves working on more mainstream cases in the family, dispute resolution and private client fields in which CB has built such an excellent reputation. After the first seat, all the departments are up for grabs and trainees decide among themselves who goes where. The broad-based dispute resolution team covers IP, employment, property lit and insolvency cases as well as business disputes. As the firm’s largest department it occupies two floors within the office and "usually takes two trainees, who swap floors half way through to see the full range of work." Early on, "they want to see how capable you are" and, once you’ve earned your stripes researching and drafting claim forms, there’s a chance to grab more responsibility. "I got to go to trial and do a bit of advocacy myself," recalled one source. A lot of cases come via other law firms; in fact in the past year CB was referred work from 42 English law firms, including three in the magic circle. Among its top cases are the proceedings brought by the President and Government of Equatorial Guinea relating to the alleged coup attempt in which Mark Thatcher was implicated. CB represents one of the defendants mixed up in the affair, who was supposedly motivated by the prospect of benefiting from oil revenues. The case involves elements of civil conspiracy but also the ability of a foreign government to sue in the UK. Having been successful both at first instance and in the Court of Appeal, CB’s client was due to face a hearing in the House of Lords in front of a full panel of nine judges; however the Law Lords have refused to hear the case because the defendant has been imprisoned in Equatorial Guinea and cannot meet with his lawyers. Another headline- hitting case is for the family of Gordon Gentle, a soldier serving in Basra, in Iraq, who was killed by an explosion at the age of 19. His family was unsuccessful in their Court of Appeal application for a public inquiry into whether the government had taken reasonable steps to be satisfied that the invasion of Iraq was lawful under public international law. However, CB succeeded in obtaining an inquest verdict that Gordon was unlawfully killed. Other clients include Air France, the Bar Council, Camelot, easyGroup, Hugo Boss, the League Against Cruel Sports and Philip Morris.

Yacketty yacht

We can’t divulge the names of CB’s private clients, but suffice it to say it’s not Joe and Jane Bloggs of Croydon. The firm specialises in high and ultra-high net worth individuals (we’re talking billions of dollars in some cases), many of them from overseas, especially Eastern Europe and Latin America. That CB also staffs a Geneva office is another clue as to the identity of its clients. "I hadn’t appreciated the range of work they did before I started," said one trainee. Common tasks include drafting wills and deeds of trust, and dealing with grants of probate. Those loaded clients pop up again in the family seat, this time usually in the context of divorce cases. The department’s reputation can perhaps be measured by the fact that much its work comes from personal referrals. As you read this there’s probably a couple of oil barons lounging on a yacht somewhere, with one saying to the other, ‘Hey, you know who I go to for all my pre-nups…’

The property team acts for house builders, retail sector tenants and investors, and from what trainees tell us the shrinking availability of mortgages has impacted on the team’s workload. Nevertheless, they did see property as a "useful" seat, as they can get "early responsibility" and "a good range of work." Not everyone takes to this type of practice though; some people find it "quite dry" with too many "tick-box exercises," searching through files and chasing banks about mortgage applications. And then there’s the coco seat where tasks include "helping out with corporate transactions, private acquisitions and copyright issues on websites. There’s a lot of document management and e-mailing clients" as well as "a fair share" of pagination chores and putting together files of documents. In truth every seat has an element of this, especially if there’s a big deal or case on. Among the corporate clients are Bovis Homes, Hertz, Lion Capital, Middlesex University, Miss Sixty, Sagatiba (the trendy cachaça people) and a whole bunch of Spanish, Portuguese and Brazilian banks, courtesy of a partner with Latin American connections.

Yeah but, no but

CB is loaded with partners – 32 partners to 28 solicitors at the last count, and that top-heavy structure means most work for trainees is likely to come from a partner. "Because you get used to receiving work from them you don’t get that intimidated," said one source, though another claimed: "If you’re not sure you what you’re doing it’s difficult because you don’t want to be bothering them." As in so many firms "you always get some partners who dump work on trainees," but it’s never too much to cope with. "I don’t feel like I’m drowning," one trainee reassured us.

Partners may get their own office while solicitors and trainees share, but they aren’t aloof. "There are a couple of people who are very willing to teach me, not just answer queries when asked, but actually teach," one source said of the private client team. All our sources admired Clive Woolf, recently given an OBE and now in semi-retirement, but who is still "very eager" to offer trainees a taste of his work. Because this involves pro bono advice to death row prisoners in Trinidad and Tobago, over the years several trainees have had the privilege of attending Privy Council hearings.

There were some criticisms of the appraisal system. "We were told appraisals were going to be quite formal," and in theory they’re supposed to take place every three months, however "by the time my appraisal got done, my seat was over. My supervisor was like, ‘Yeah, you were fine.’ I suppose it was nice to know I wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t very constructive." Some departments, such as dispute resolution, are better than others at giving feedback. On the plus side, all trainees have a personal mentor who takes them for lunch and is open to questions and moans.

In the nick

In keeping with its slightly offbeat atmosphere, CB likes to hire slightly offbeat people. Academic qualifications are important, of course, but "HR told me that they look for somebody a bit different," confided one trainee. Frustratingly no one was willing to be more specific, though we did note the current trainee group includes a former Swiss banker, an ex-TV producer, someone who appeared on They Think It’s All Over in the Feel the Sportsman round and an avid street hip-hop dancer. Why not brush up on those alligator-wrestling skills you’ve let slip?

Despite talk of a clique among some of the younger crowd, most people agree that CB is a friendly firm with an inclusive social scene. Friday nights are spent in The Old Nick, which is according to one source "a bit of an old man’s pub – don’t say I said that, they’ll be so offended." In the spirit of research, we popped along one lunchtime and can report that while said boozer is certainly from the traditional mould, the clientele was of all ages and the food smelled appetising. Careers advice and pub reviews – you don’t get that in Lex 100. At end-of-month drinks partners take it in turns to put a credit card behind the bar and a social committee organises quizzes, bowling and one-off events such as a trip to see the Terracotta Army at the British Museum. Summer and Christmas parties (at The Clink prison with "busty medieval serving wenches" last year) are well attended. Finally, there’s the CB art gallery housed in the firm’s Georgian Bedford Row office. Every Christmas trainees man the sales desk as artwork is sold for charity.

The work-life balance is good and "they don’t expect you to work stupid hours just for the sake of it," so 9.30am to 5.30pm is not unusual. While this is reflected in a lower salary than top London firms, trainees were pleased to report that recent grumbles about pay were addressed in the last salary review. All three trainees took up positions in 2008, going into IP, employment and private client.

And finally...

Collyer Bristow needs a replacement partner in sports law if it’s to maintain its position there. However, in the wake of the credit crunch, it has taken the brave decision to litigate against banks, which indicates this refreshingly quirky outfit still has its eye on the ball.