Fox Williams LLP - True Picture

Fox Williams training contract review 2025

The Firm

We’re all familiar with that quick brown fox that goes round leaping over slightly lethargic canine beasts, but what about its suaver relative that dances its away across the City’s legal scene? With a slightly daintier headcount of around 120 lawyers, Fox Williams certainly earns its seat at the table when it comes to its reputation across its core practices. For one,Chambers UK recognises the firm’s work in the more niche practices of partnership and travel (regulatory & commercial) as top notch nationwide. Its expertise across corporate/M&A (£10-100 million) and employment (employer and senior executive) is also particularly noteworthy.

“It’s rare to find a firm with a fashion law division! It also has all the variety of corporate work I wanted exposure to.”

In keeping with its departure from a more traditional approach to the practice of law, in recent years, Fox has adopted a sector-led approach in its offerings, focusing on financial services, tech & data privacy and professional services. Within these are niche specialisms – like fashion law! – which piqued the interest of many an applicant. “It’s rare to find a firm with a fashion law division!” said one starry eyed interviewee, “It also has all the variety of corporate work I wanted exposure to.” The cosier cohort numbers of just ten trainees each year also sweetened the deal for those looking for quicker exposure to meaty matters. “I didn’t want to work 18-hour days and be one of 100 trainees,” one trainee lamented, “The training cohort is small but not tiny, so we get given proper work.”

The Seats

Trainees complete a six-month seat in four out of the firm’s six departments, with the first seat assigned in advance of joining the firm. Thereafter, trainees have a say in where they wind up. Two-months before each new rotation, newbies are contacted about seat preferences and instructed to rank four departments in order of preference. There’s also the opportunity to discuss preferences with HR, but, as the firm only has six departments, it is best to go in with an open mind, as one trainee advised, “With six practice area specialisms, you should go in with an interest in almost all of them.” It’s important to mention that Fox doesn’t currently offer secondment opportunities.

Employment is one of the departments on offer to trainees. The team works on both contentious and non-contentious matters, as well as advisory matters for large companies and high net worth individuals – you’ll even find some larger law firms dotted across Fox’s book of business. As to be expected, work here can be quite sensitive in nature. In a recent high-profile matter, Fox acted as independent investigators into various allegations of misconduct surrounding events hosted by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The team also handles discrimination and whistleblowing claims, as well as HR matters involving senior executives. Newbies are able to get involved in the lot, interviewing various individuals, drafting reports and doing the appendices. "I liked working on the strategy stuff,” said one interviewee, “Partners really welcome your views on it.” Trainees can attend tribunals in this seat, with one telling us they, “went to court for a case involving the SRA and a trainee solicitor!” Other typical trainee tasks include bundling, drafting instructions to counsel and having the first stab at drafting documents. Employment tends to be busy according to our interviewees, but you can easily get a lot of responsibility if you want it.

“In my first few weeks, I was meeting clients face to face.”

Corporate is another seat newbies are able to spend time in. The seat kicks off with an induction program that takes trainees through the basics of shareholder agreements and other little tidbits. The team tackles a wide range of matters across the financial services, technology, FinTech, professional services, media, travel and fashion industries. In one such example, the firm advised Lumine on a proposed acquisition of management platforms from Nokia. On matters like these, trainees are tasked with due diligence, company and insolvency search reports, DocuSign checks and taking the first crack at drafting shareholder resolutions. This is another seat where responsibility can come through fast: “In my first few weeks, I was meeting clients face to face,” said one interviewee. “There are a couple of partners who are super eager to bring trainees along to everything.” And if the timing’s right, a stint here can see trainees involved in an acquisition from start to finish: “It’s the ultimate thing for a corporate trainee!”

Turning back to contentious matters, the firm’s dispute resolution seat offers trainees the chance to get stuck into international arbitrations, mediations and commercial and securities litigations. One recent example of the latter saw Fox represent institutional investor claimants in a shareholder group action against Tesco relating to misleading trading profit and profit margin reports. The range means newbies get a hand in all kinds of disputes. Whether it be attending court or case management conferences, “I’ve got to do it all,” gushed one trainee. “I’ve attended client meetings by myself, gone to court hearings, researched matters and presented my findings to partners,” they detailed of their involvement. There’s also the chance to get plenty of drafting experience, with one interviewee explaining, “I enjoyed that I had so much freedom with drafting, client contact and with letters to the court and the other side. I did chunky bits of work; it didn’t feel like small trainee tasks.”

A stint in Fox’s financial services department offers trainees insight into the workings of complex corporate transactions and advisory matters, spanning contentious and non-contentious regulatory cases. While a lot of the firm’s matters in this area are confidential, the firm is involved in the representation of a number of senior lawyers and bankers affiliated with Lloyds Bank in a public review conducted by Dame Linda Dobbs. “The work is good as it’s so varied,” one interviewee told us, “I’ve done contentious stuff, senior executive work and investigative work.” Trainee involvement in matters usually includes drafting statements, corresponding with the other side and conducting research. One interviewee explained, “You need to review agreements and then format them to see if they can be understood by non-legal experts.”

Trainee Life

As a firm founded by a breakaway group of partners in search of a more agreeable work-life balance, you’ll be pleased to hear the current crop of trainees are still very much benefitting from this. Insiders reported an average working day spanning from 9.30am to somewhere between 6 and 7.30pm. Of course, “it ebbs and flows. You can go into some weeks expecting to be busy, and wrap up at 6pm instead!” one interviewee explained. Tighter deadlines can mean the occasional late night, but if you do happen to be stuck in the office past 9pm, dinner is on the firm! Trainees are also set a billing target of 29 chargeable hours per week, which works out at around 5.8 hours a day.

Trainees are asked to be in the office at least three days a week, though there is flexibility to the policy. In-office days mean trainees can benefit from the firm’s fresh fruit spread provided on Mondays through Wednesdays, as well as a free lunch every Tuesday. There’s also the option to work abroad for up to five days if you fancy holidaying with your laptop. The office itself has the best of both worlds, with one fully open plan floor and another with private offices and breakout rooms. Trainees are either a assigned a seat next to someone more senior, or share an office with a partner. “Some trainees have been assigned an office with the legal director!” one interviewee detailed, “Everyone is looking out for your development and wanting to help you learn.”

“The real time feedback is so good!”

Supervision was noted by our interviewees as a particular strength of the firm. Styles undoubtedly vary between teams, though the consensus among insiders was that it’s easy to seek out feedback. For example, in the corporate department, trainees have two supervisors. “Everyone who is a supervisor does it because they want to, so they’re all really keen to help,” trainees noted, “You can sit with them and have a chat whenever.” Trainees also have regular meetings with their supervisors in which feedback from all the teams they’ve worked with is relayed to them: “The real time feedback is so good!” The frequency of training sessions also varies by department with some offering practical sessions or webinars, as well as lunch and learns. The majority of training comes from learning on the job, which our sources didn’t mind: “I have found that I’ve learned so much more by just doing something and then going to a partner or an associate and working through it together.” Trainees work directly with senior members of the team, such as legal directors and partners, so there’s plenty of scope to learn by osmosis.

Another perk of a smaller firm like Fox is that everyone knows each other. Harkening back to their first day at the firm, one insider noted, “I was sat down next to a department head, and everyone was coming in and saying hi. You have no idea how senior everyone is, it doesn’t feel hierarchical!” When it comes to socialising, events are so frequent there’s no room for FOMO. The summer party is just one fixture of the firm's busy social calendar – we heard last year’s was hosted at the prestigious Somerset House. Other get-togethers include a Pride event – “which the firm put a lot of effort into” – featuring a drag show. There’s also a specific trainee budget for dinners and other events. The firm also offers plenty of non-drinking socials, such as escape rooms, sports clubs (touch rugby, netball and cricket with a barrister’s chambers), a choir, concerts and a talent show!

Overall, trainees were content with the compensation they were receiving in relation to the hours being put in. There were a few suggestions that the NQ salary could be slightly higher to close the gap with other City firms. NQ salaries currently sit at £78k. “They review it every year…” one hopeful interviewee noted.

Turning to matters of qualification; it’s a rather informal affair. Trainees are prompted to contact the teams they’re interested in qualifying into, who then evaluate their need for an NQ. The firm didn't disclose retention rates.

How to get a Fox Williams training contract   

Training contract application window: December 2024 –  January 2025 

Training Contract Application 

Application for Fox Williams' training contract runs from the beginning of December through to late January, with applicants required to complete three competency questions to progress. Legal experience is not essential, but the firm does like to see applicants with applicable rounded experience and varied interests. It is worth noting that “many of our trainees and qualified lawyers joined us straight from university/LPC.” Applicants are also expected to have received at least at 2:1 degree level and the equivalent of ABB or above at A-Level. 

Vacation Scheme 

The firm’s vacation scheme is part of the training contract application; applicants who are selected from the assessments after the initial application are invited to the vacation scheme to be assessed. Typically, 10-15 applicants attend a one week in-person vacation scheme in summer, or three days in spring/autumn. Applicants may also be assessed virtually over three days, subject to circumstance. Those invited on the scheme are tested on presentation skills, and are given written and technical questions to answer as well as a partner interview. Much of the scheme also incorporates various interactive learning sessions about the firm’s partners, sectors, and what it is like to be a lawyer at the firm.

Trainee Profile 

Fox Williams prides itself on the opportunities trainees are given for “close work with partners, high profile work, and client contact from the start – it’s a city firm with great culture from top to bottom.” Partner, Mary Elliott, tells us, “we really believe in autonomy of career – people who may not completely know where they want their career to go but are open to opportunities.” A combination of varied opportunity and flexible autonomy is key to developing a keen legal eye but trainees must also bring character to the table. Elliott stresses that “here we expect trainees to be thinking, “how can I do the best job? What can I get out of it?” It’s having that confidence to do what you’re told to do but also to see what you’re going to get out of it and what you can give to the client.” Ultimately, applicants should consider that “this is a profession, it’s a career and not just a job – it is academic, practical, and relationship led.”