DLA Piper (UK) LLP

From Dubai to LA

In 1996 Sheffield firm Dibb Lupton Broomhead merged with fellow Yorkshire firm Alsop Wilkinson, and DLA was born. This was the first of several ground-breaking moves that today leaves the firm with more than 3,500 lawyers in 66 offices in 28 countries. One trainee joked that if there were a market for legal services in outer space “this would be the firm to tap it.” DLA Piper’s rise is quite a story. The most pivotal move was the Brits’ integration with US firms Piper Rudnick and Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich in January 2005 – the single largest transatlantic merger in recent history.

Or was it? Rumours abound that it was not a real merger as the UK and US outfits are still not on the same books. This accounting variance has led commentators to suggest that DLA Piper’s monster success story has more smoke and mirrors than substance. Interviewees confessed that this was “a hot topic,” but put their cards on the table by saying: “An accounting difference is no difference really.” Each of our interviewees had been in contact with foreign colleagues, whether in Spain, Dubai or, as one trainee chuckled, “East Brunswick, New Jersey!” Certainly the assertion that “clients use us because they know if an issue arises in another country we can handle it” holds water.

So why the big debate over the definition of a merger? Trainees were quick to identify why DLA Piper is often victim to sniping in the legal community. “This firm is keen to move ahead, and that’s why it comes in for a bit of flak. It sticks its neck out in a conservative profession where people like the established order.” Acknowledging DLA Piper’s partiality for publicity and branding, our source continued: “We’re shouting quite loudly about what we’re doing.” While some people cringe at the firm’s unapologetic trumpet blowing, the trainees we spoke to were very matter-of-fact about it: “If we have good lawyers and provide good services there’s no reason not to let people know about it.” Joint CEO Sir Nigel Knowles, the man credited with the firm’s fairytale rise from Sheffield to infinity and beyond, was knighted in early 2009. He has attracted controversy in the profession for, among other things, his disregard of traditional methods and the ‘cult of personality’ built up around him in the earlier years.

We say forget the merger/not merger issue. It has little practical impact, and certainly not on the training available. And what a training it is! Our interviewees were full of praise for the firm, not least because “supervisors take their time to explain what you have to do and where you fit in.” Apparently “for the first few weeks it’s relentless training: online, physical meetings, legal updates, group updates, department drinks, anything to get you quickly embroiled in a particular seat.” Best of all, “people around you really want you to succeed and are really behind you, which is a great feeling.”

TV and football

DLA Piper has an impressively diversified legal offering, all part of the grand scheme to be able to cater to all clients in all corners of the world. It’s great for trainees, who can, for example, steer themselves towards niche departments such as safety, health and environment as well as the more mainstream litigation or corporate divisions. The litigation division is split into groups – financial and general commercial litigation – and a trainee can benefit hugely from exposure to the broad range of cases handled. A Birmingham trainee summed up the scope of work thus: “A higher-value case could be in relation to a leak in an oil depot in which we’re instructed to recover the losses of the owner. At the other end of the spectrum we’d be defending a bank against a claimant seeking £1,000 mistakenly transferred to his account.” Small-value banking claims are often handed to trainees to run, while larger cases involve “massive disclosure exercises” for which trainees “gather evidence and review documents.”

Recent major cases include the successful defence of HSBC Private Bank in a $400m claim brought by former customers and acting for EDS in defence of claims amounting to £700m brought by BSkyB for breach of contract, negligence and deceit. In the UK, the bulk of the highest-value cases are run from the London office, although the Leeds office in particular has an impressive reputation for banking litigation, having advised one of the main UK clearing banks on matters related to bank charges – this issue prompted massive public interest and was worth over £100bn to the banking sector. In other news, the Liverpool office represented Wigan Athletic AFC on its successful Court of Appeal bid concerning charges levied by the Greater Manchester Police for match day policing. Further litigation subdivisions include aviation and property litigation, the former dealing with cases ranging from lost baggage and flight delays to multimillion-pound disputes between airports and airlines.

The corporate and finance departments are also common places for a trainee to spend six months. “Hit hard” by redundancies, these departments (together with real estate) certainly felt the slump in deal activity. Of corporate, some trainees reported “an uneasy atmosphere which made it hard to settle in,” but noted as early as summer 2009 how “things have started to pick up again.” When work was available, trainees were quick to praise their level of involvement. “I’d be drafting board minutes, ancillary documents for transactions, deeds of indemnity, stock transfer forms, and in one disclosure exercise there was a lot of client contact.” Large deals include the London office’s advice to Kraft Foods on the sale of its salted snacks business in the Nordic and Baltic regions. The client was able to take advantage of DLA Piper’s international network across the 12 jurisdictions involved. Sheffield lawyers advised the management of metals manufacturer Frith Rixsonin a £945m buyout, the largest ever in Yorkshire and the Humber. Staying in the north, 2008 also saw the sale by ITV of its 50% stake in Liverpoolfc.tv. The deal was run by lawyers in Liverpool and Manchester. In typically adaptable style, trainees found themselves more involved in business development in the quiet times, with one in Manchester admitting: “It wasn’t a side I’d thought about before.”

Fashion icons

To stay in sync with the economy, the firm increased the number of trainees taking a restructuring seat over the past year. One source even commented on the irony of “having dealt with the same companies, first in finance, then in restructuring after seeing them go under.” Across the offices, restructuring is a smaller department than litigation and corporate/finance, and it presents the opportunity for “more responsibility” alongside “a feeling that you are a valued part of the team.” Tasks range from “winding-up petitions and producing bankruptcy orders to advising insolvency practitioners and shutting companies down.” The Zavvi administration dominated the seat in late 2008/early 2009; there were “leases on 120 different properties throughout the country that had to be surrendered or reassigned.” The upside of the “very pressurised” atmosphere is the high-profile nature of the work. A London trainee told us about working on the administration of Mosaic Fashion, the Icelandic-backed group which owned Karen Millen, Warehouse and Oasis, and seeing what had just been discussed in a meeting “pop up on the BBC website ten minutes later!”

The firm offers secondments to a number of FTSE-listed clients, among them retailers and banks. During 2009 it suspended its international secondment programme for trainees. We were assured, however, that this would be back up and running in time. For details of which of the international offices trainees have previously been able to visit, refer to our overseas seats table (go to our homepage and select from Extras menu). In the UK, the seats with the most international flavour are projects and construction; the former has lately seen trainees preparing documents for power plants in South Africa. Birmingham is the centre of DLA’s construction practice, which has a healthy involvement in projects related to the 2012 Olympics and London’s Shard of Glass building, set to be the tallest mixed-use structure in Europe.

Growing pains?

Far from the “bulldog that fought its way out of Yorkshire in the 1990s,” DLA Piper is now one of the biggest firms in the world. When discussing its scale and ambitions, trainees mostly agreed with the person who said: “As long as expansion is sustainable and not for its own sake, I’m happy with it.” Whereas in years past the mention of Sir Nigel elicited passionate responses, this year’s trainees were more measured. They extolled the virtues of a CEO who “you feel you can talk to,” but didn’t get carried away. Said one: “People here are bright enough not to be persuaded by marketing speak when it’s not appropriate.” Perhaps as the firm’s rapacious appetite for expansion subsides and having witnessed colleagues being made redundant, trainees are able to think more critically. A Leeds source pondered: “I’d have thought the firm will look to stabilise now as it can’t really grow much more.” A Manchester interviewee went further, saying: “It can be a bit big for its boots – sometimes you feel nothing seems good enough and think, ‘Can’t you recognise that we’re doing really well already?’” Trainees worry that too much of a thirst for world domination “may put people off,” especially as the firm becomes “less work hard, play hard and more just work hard.” In the regions, trainees questioned whether it was fair to sell students the idea that “you’re not expected to work the hours and have the lifestyle of a London lawyer.” In the opinion of a number of these sources, “it’s not necessarily true, and the pay gap [with London] is significant.”

Despite these limited misgivings, our interviewees were keen to express what “an inspiring, dynamic place” DLA Piper is to work. Supportive, too, they add. “Everyone is willing to help you” and “you can speak to anyone, no matter how high up they are.” They believe applicants need to be “outgoing,” “enthusiastic,” “confident” and able to show commitment to the geographical area if they want to work in a regional office. While some acknowledge that DLA Piper has a mild redbrick bias, our sources also wanted to tell students: “Don’t be afraid to apply here. People don’t need to fit a unique mould to work here – and don’t feel it’s overly competitive, because it isn’t.” A Birmingham interviewee told us: “There’s a real range of characters – in my intake there’s a bit of a gentleman farmer and a guy from an inner-city comprehensive.” What the trainees do have in common is an impressive work ethic. They say that before applying “people should consider whether they want an easy life or to come and do some real work. If you want real experience and to be chucked in at the deep end then DLA is the place to come.”

Play together, stay together

Trainees from across the UK (and increasingly the world) meet at a two-week induction at the beginning of their contracts. Contact is then maintained through regular training and social events. Our sources said the firm was “nicely aligned in national terms.” January sees trainees braving the Scottish winter to attend celebrations for Burns Night in conjunction with the Edinburgh and Glasgow offices. A curry night in Birmingham is always popular. Liverpool trainees, famous for their sense of fun, host a Grand National day out in April. Independently, Birmingham has its very own rock stars in the shape of The Sued (the lead singer is called Sue); London organises rugby sevens in Richmond Park – “always nice on a sunny day.” Manchester has lost The Pitcher & Piano from the ground floor of its office building but nonetheless makes the most of its central location, and in Sheffield trainees enjoy a few laughs at Bar Ha!Ha! and ice hockey at the Sheffield Arena.

In 2009, 54 of the 86 qualifiers stayed on, many going into the litigation, regulatory, restructuring and employment teams. The firm also helped source jobs with clients for some of the others. Just six of the 2009 intake of new trainees were deferred until 2010 in return for a no-strings £5,000 payment. In a bad news year for many businesses, the firm made at least 124 UK redundancies. Following this it took flak from the legal press and online posters, as many people were let go on statutory minimum terms. As a major global business, however, DLA Piper needs to bear in mind the health of the whole firm whenever it makes local decisions, so do consider this factor when you size up your options.

And finally...

DLA’s ambition is to be all things to all clients – everywhere. Such magisterial aims are tempered by a commitment to detailed, personalised training and interesting work.