Coffin Mew LLP

Padgi Nation

Let’s get things straight: “If you’re the kind of person that is not interested in the City but does want commercial work, this is a good place to be.” Especially if you’re also hankering after the very different world of private client practice. One commercially minded source said: “The reason I came here was the mix of work. There are highvalue clients from London and smaller regional clients, which means you can get more involved.” As a trainee in the family seat told us: “It’s real people, it’s real problems and it’s real life.” How fitting then that the firm has a social housing department nationally recognised by Chambers UK and an excellent team working in the niche area of brain injury cases.

In the six-seat training contract your first three seats are selected for you, thereafter there is more choice. “Six weeks after starting we identify the top three seats we’d like to do and why, and one we don’t want to do and why.” The firm makes no bones about the fact that trainees are often most closely scrutinised in a seat they didn’t fancy. And why not? It’s surely a good way to gauge character. Whether you spend multiple seats in the same department or try out something different every time, the training contract is made to suit you. As one satisfied interviewee put it: “You can carve out your own path with the support of the firm, and that’s not an opportunity you get everywhere.” Training partner Malcolm Padgett has an uncanny eye for such tailoring. He receives substantial praise year after year, and current trainees assure us this is justified. “Malcolm is one of the characters that embodies the firm. He’s very friendly and great fun, but there’s still a level of professionalism and commercial-mindedness. He’s such a good advert for the firm when it’s looking to bring trainees in.”

The family business

So, what’s available for the six seats? Our interviewees undertook a real range – corporate; commercial property; commercial services; commercial litigation; family; insolvency; personal injury; contentious and non-contentious social housing; employment and private client. At the time of our interviews, employment was proving popular. Acting for both employers and employees, sources were glad to “see both sides of the story” and praised the fact there was “a lot more scope to get involved in lower-value employee work.” Trainees experience both contentious and non-contentious work in this seat. Said one: “I went to employment tribunals and sat behind counsel, but also drafted contracts, policy documents and handbooks.” Trainees also found themselves playing an assisting role in some of the bigger cases. Clients come from the public and private sectors, and matters include discrimination and workplace bullying. The variety of work and opportunity for advocacy make commercial litigation an enjoyable posting. The department acts for some of the region’s major businesses on cases relating to everything from property disputes and breaches of contract to defamation, partnership bust-ups and debt collection.

The impressive personal injury team acts “solely for claimants” and specialises in brain injury claims – often worth in excess of £1m – and clinical negligence, for which there is often legal aid funding. Praised for being “well structured,” this seat sees the trainee undertaking duties relating to costs, assisting with legal aid applications and attending court hearings and conferences with counsel.

Moving away from litigation, transactional work abounds in the commercial property seat. Trainees learn to draft and exchange and complete contracts, often working for developers on residential properties. One such example is a major mixed-use development in Greenwich worth £10m. Closer to home, the firm advises the University of Portsmouth on property matters and is currently working on the refinancing of a marina on the Isle of Wight with Nordic banking giant Handelsbanken.

From dealing with global banks to the intricacies of family law, we can’t emphasise enough the varied opportunities at Coffin Mew. One family law devotee advises: “You’ve got to be a people person to be able to do it,” informing us that “you develop a completely different set of skills than you would in a more commercial practice area.” Dealing predominantly with divorces, the family and childcare department also handles child protection cases. A trainee can expect court attendance and client meetings alongside petition drafting and other more deskbound duties. Just as ‘up close and personal’ is the private client seat. A trainee raved: “You get so much client contact – even in the first week they’ll let you loose on the clients.” In this department, trainees are given files to run and typically will handle the affairs of clients who are unable to manage themselves due to frailty or illness. One interviewee told us: “I’m the first point of contact for clients calling in and I deal with small queries about wills or powers of attorney.” These two departments act for a mixed clientele that includes both wealthy people (some from overseas) and those with more modest incomes. Given the firm’s location, it’s no surprise that it represents many armed forces personnel.

The cat’s mew

Coffin Mew is split over four sites in Southampton, Portsmouth (North Harbour), Fareham and Gosport. It’s typical to take seats in two or three different offices (Gosport doesn’t host trainees) and secondments are also available so a car is pretty essential unless you’re prepared to put yourself at the mercy of public transport. Despite the multi-site set up sometimes “proving a bit awkward on the travelling side,” trainees are not too concerned by their intimate knowledge of the M27. Insisting the firm “identifies as one,” they praise the effort made to “keep the offices together.” This is done through social events and cross-referrals of work. Apparently “no one hoards their work here.”

A far cry from the corporate machines of London, Coffin Mew is proud of its community roots. This is a distinctively South Coast firm, with most of its trainees either having existing ties to the area or a passion that prompted them to relocate. As one told us: “I’m local and have always known about Coffins.” Parents and elders commonly “only had very good things to say about the firm.” Trainees singled out its association with The Honeypot Charity, which is big in Hampshire, as an example of engaging with the community. A recent charity breakfast for Red Nose Day saw a bunch of trainees cooking up a storm and wheeling fresh butties around the offices to raise money. Not that it’s all about do-gooding: “This morning I had an e-mail about a netball tournament,” chuckled one. “Most of us haven’t played since school, but I replied to say I’d have a go and practically everyone else did too saying, ‘Let’s do it!’” Fancy dress parties at Christmas, networking events and the varied calendar of the local branch of the Junior Lawyers Division keep this affable bunch entertained.

This is a firm where you are looked after, consulted and feel involved in its success. What this breeds is a happy, positive group of trainees, but you shouldn’t assume that this is a soft-touch firm or a soft-touch training contract. In an uncertain economy Coffin Mew says its recent decision to move to a more corporate-style structure led by a CEO shows “the firm’s willingness to address strategic planning for the future in a professional manner.” In 2009 it kept on four of its seven qualifiers, but in response to the downturn was forced to make some redundancies and defer a handful of incoming trainees.

And finally...

Coffin Mew is one of the Solent’s most established law firms. It has a real family feel and an excellent tailored training contract.Whether you’re local and want to stay in the area or looking to relocate down South, this is a good bet.