Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP - True Picture

Penningtons Manches Cooper training contract review 2025 

The Firm  

“It’s changed from when I first joined,” training principal Gemma Woodhouse tells us, “it was a small firm, now, it’s top 50.” It’s true that Penningtons Manches Cooper’s recent history has been a story of growth. A series of acquisitions both added to the firms traditional areas of strength (private client and family), and extended PMC’s reach. Its most recent acquisition in 2019, for example, of shipping firm Thomas Cooper, was the firm’s first foray into the practice. With this breadth comes a good mix of clients: “We work for both businesses and individuals, and that’s something I admire,” one interviewee told us, “I can appreciate how that makes the firm more well-rounded.”  

“I wanted to do private wealth work but I wasn’t 100% sure, so I wanted a firm that still had corporate and commercial options.” 

When on the lookout for a training contract, it’s a good idea to try to build up a bit of a picture of what it is you’re looking for. As one of the current PMC crop told us: “I wanted to do private wealth work but I wasn’t 100% sure, so I wanted a firm that still had corporate and commercial options.” And if things kind of balance resonates with you, then read on. Family is an area in which PMC shines, receiving top Chambers UK rankings in family-related practices in London Guildford, Oxford and Reading. But the firm is far from a one trick pony, bagging rankings across areas like employment, real estate, corporate/M&A, intellectual property and personal injury all over the country. There’s also a nod for the firm’s private wealth law offering in Guildford in Chambers High Net Worth. 

As Woodhouse is quick to point out, the firm’s client list includes “a number of household names,” from varied sectors - Wellington College, the AA, Farfetch and Microsoft (in its acquisition of Lumenisity). PMC has offices in London, Basingstoke, Birmingham, Cambridge, Guildford, Oxford and Reading. The London base takes on approximately half of the cohort, while the rest are spread across all offices but Birmingham. Basingstoke and Reading also split a training contract, so trainees in these bases spend their time in both offices.  

The Seats 

Trainees offer their seat preferences during a meeting with HR: “There’s not a strict top three, it’s more on a case-by-case basis,” one trainee explained, “everyone gives their main choice and a backup. It feels like a collaboration.” Decisions are then made based on business need.We heard that, “in London, there’s more seats on offer but there’s more competition for seats. In the regional offices, it’s easier to get the seats you want in a sense because there’s less trainees and so less competition.” Some trainees mentioned that they would have liked more transparency in the process, particularly because regional trainees are often assigned to a seat in a different office to their home office without a clear idea of why. It’s not unheard of for trainees to stay for a second stint in a department, either due to business need or trainee preferences. Overall, the consensus was that trainees “get a good amount of input.” There are no compulsory seats, and while secondments “are possible, they’re not common.” 

The firm’s commercial dispute resolutiondepartment (one of the firm’s largest) is “to an extent, broken down into different sub sections: regulatory work, fraud & financial crime, reputation management & privacy, restructuring & insolvency.” We heard that rather than being assigned to one specifically, trainees pick up work across the groups. Interviewees reported being involved in “a broad range of late-stage litigation but also some early stages” and worked on “whatever needed doing on the case.” This often translates to a fair bit of bundling, but also gathering evidence, preparing draft orders and correspondence with the other side. We heard that more recently, the department has been working on quite a few group action cases: “The cases can be interesting, but the work can be administratively burdensome” as “dealing with up to 100 claimants” understandably comes with a lot of paperwork!For example, the department recently represented around 50 NFU Mutual policyholders over the insurance company’s refusal to pay out unpaid business interruption claims for closures during the Covid-19 pandemic.  

“I get to have my fingers in lots of pies!” 

The commercial propertyteam is another of the firm’s largest departments. Trainees explained that much of the work revolves around the sale and purchase of investment buildings with some landlord and tenant lease work on the side. For sources, this meant work drafting licenses, rent deposit deeds and marking up leases: “I feel like everything that comes in, I can get a first stab at,” one told us, “and that’s really nice.” In one recent example, the firm acted for Mersey 1 Limited, a joint venture between Sellar Property Group and MTR Corporation, in its proposed redevelopment of Liverpool Street Station and the Andaz Hotel. As well as “drafting substantial documents,” trainees “tend to have a lot of smaller matters going on.” Our source saw this as a positive, adding: “That’s better suited to me because I like to jump into this and jump into that, I get to have my fingers in lots of pies!” 

Within the private wealth sector, trainees can do a seat in private client. Whether the work is contentious or non-contentious will depend on the office, contentious work being the specialty of the Basingstoke team, whereas Guildford handles non-contentious matters, and London covers both sides of private client. Contentious private client work is focused on probate and tax litigation. “It’s quite an investigative area,” one trainee explained, “you do a lot of law and research. On the other hand, you spend a lot of time on the phone!” This was invariably spent handling unique situations related to a client’s assets. The nature of probate litigation is such that it’s “a very emotional area of law.” After all, the department serves grieving families, which can be “really challenging,” and so requires a compassionate and steady hand. More broadly, the private client department manages the estates of wealthy families. In one recent example,   the firm acted as the independent professional administrator for Prince Abbasi of Pakistan’s estate, which often revolved around the intersection of Sharia law and English law. We heard the team is on the slightly smaller side, which brought with it a particularly close-knit working environment.

“I loved corporate,” enthused one trainee, “it was like love at first sight!” The appeal? Work in the corporate seat involves “lots of drafting, and I love drafting.” Trainees can also expect to coordinate emails, arrange DocuSigns and carry out the odd research task: “You get to understand the full life cycle of transactions.” Responsibility increases as time goes on, but “I had to prove myself, show I had earned that responsibility,” shared one interviewee. In fact, they added that the positive that came with this was the fact that “I’ve learned so much.” It’s also worth noting that having advised satellite technology company Open Cosmos on a $50 million funding round, the work on offer really is out of this world (sorry).  

The family team “predominantly does ultra-high net worth cases: children and finances,” alongside “a modern families team in London who do some interesting surrogacy work” As a result, it’s mostly contentious, but there’s also pre-nuptial agreement drafting. The general consensus was that a trainee’s schedule is “very meeting-heavy, because you’re working with clients who really want support and guidance” - understandable given that they are often going through a tough period in their lives - and “bundling-heavy because you’re going to court a lot.” On a national level, the team is pretty large, “which is cool because there’s a lot going on!” Despite its spread however, we heard that, like contentious private client, the team is still close and “people get on really well.” 

Trainee Life 

One thing that sources were quick to highlight was the friendliness of those in more senior positions: “The CEO is great, she knows all the trainees’ names.” More generally too, the view from trainees was that senior lawyers “take time to give you feedback and make you better at the job. It’s a great place to train.” But this did come with the reminder to “choose the right office. Prioritise the office that gives you the seats you want to do.”  

“Prioritise the office that gives you the seats you want to do.” 

“London is the biggest office, so if there’s a social event, it will happen here,” one trainee told us. “We have something called Penn future, which is for all juniors, not just trainees, that puts on social events,” including everything from how to prepare for qualification right through to a boat trip down the Thames. Woodhouse says this integration is part of the firm “recognising that the way in which qualification works is changing” with the new routes into a legal career, and “there’s an inherent value of all of you learning from each other, not just trainees.” In fact, as a general rule, “if there’s an area of law that’s interesting to you, chances are, the firm is running an event about it soon.” Previous examples include London tech and AI week, where external speakers were invited to the London office. On a more casual basis, “we all know each other and have group chats on Zoom, so we organise things like drinks after work ourselves too.”  

We detected some friendly office rivalry, with each office’s trainees keen to show off the perks that make their office their best: “Guildford has a good community atmosphere, where a lot of people know everyone,” one told us. The Guildford crop will also be moving office in November 2024 to one that “looks quite snazzy.” Because Oxford was recently renovated, one trainee commented: “I’d say ours of the nicest, not to be biased” because it’s “open plan, bright” and “for a regional office, there’s a really nice group of juniors, you don’t feel out on your own.” Basingstoke however was also flagged as “a very plush office, there’s a lot of space, and a greenhouse on the top where they grow their own food.” How many days trainees were required to be in the office depended on the team, but it’s generally at least two per week.  

“If you’re staying past 6pm or 7pm, you’re working late.” 

When it came to hours, the view from trainees was that: “If you’re staying past 6pm or 7pm, you’re working late.” Even this, we heard, only tends to happen in the run up to deadlines. One trainee who occasionally worked into the later hours said: “It’s fine with me, because I know when it’s going to come and I can prepare for that and the work’s interesting. I feel okay with it because certain partners and teams will acknowledge when you’ve had a busy day and give you that time off.” How trainees felt about salary was strongly influenced by this work/life balance:“I’m sure I could earn a lot more in the magic circle or at a US firm, but you’re working much more.” Several told us they were happy about the recent increase in trainee and NQ salaries too: “When you look at the market, we do well in terms of salary, certainly for regional trainees.” 

When it comes to DEI, “the firm really believes it, it’s not just a thing to do to be seen as responsible.I think that’s reflected in the people they hire.”  Trainees can get involved in the firm’s various DEI groups too: “It’s encouraged, we are pushed to shape the firm’s culture and meet people in the firm we might not otherwise come across. It makes it feel like it’s somewhere you can bring your values to work and make a contribution.”  

We heard the firm has been growing its pro bono practice in recent years, which has involved the creation of a pro bono committee. As a result, the firm now runs “a number of schemes”, so “there’s probably one you can get involved in whatever sector of the firm you’re in.” Previous examples include the Windrush Project and the RCJ. Trainees can take 21 hours per year to do CSR, with pro bono and volunteering counting towards that. Trainees can go on pro bono volunteering days, too, either solo or with their team, with preparing meals at a food centre being a popular option. 

Every firm should aspire to a training environment where there is “a general willingness to train and retain trainees,” and Penningtons Manches Cooper has nailed it: “It’s quite clear that’s a focus for them. They don’t take on trainees just to do bundling.” We heard that as a rule, trainee supervisors are usually partners, but when partner supervisors were busy, trainees felt well supported by associates. Besides a supervisor, trainees also have a trainee buddy - “a trainee usually six months ahead of you,” - a team buddy and a partner mentor for support. Mid-seat and end-of-seat appraisals are “something that’s encouraged me. After all, as a trainee, you don’t always feel confident.”  

The firm’s qualification process kicks off with conversations between HR and trainees about their preferences, then HR talks to partners to decide the jobs list. Trainees then submit a CV for a role, before interviewing the position: “You have to put the work in beforehand - the jobs are made for the people rather than advertising,” advised one source. Part of this involves trainees having a chat with a HR rep “about what we’re thinking about for qualification and they feed that back to the relevant partners.” While some trainees would have liked clearer communication from HR during the process, others praised the pre-qualification prep: “We had a presentation from HR about getting ready for the interviews: what questions would be asked, how to prepare the cover letter. Overall, it was done well.” In 2024, the firm retained 8 of 11 trainees.

How to get a Penningtons Manches Cooper training contract

Opening dates for training contract and vacation scheme applications: 1st October 2024

Training contract deadline: 28th March 2025

Vac scheme deadline: 3 January 2025

EMpower Programme deadline: 14th February 2025

Application process

Each year, Penningtons Manches Cooper takes on around 15 trainees across their offices in London, Basingstoke & Reading, Birmingham, Cambridge, Guildford and Oxford. A fairly large proportion of positions are filled through the firm’s vacation schemes, but some direct applicants do make the cut. Regardless of where you’re applying from however, the process is the same – an application form covering work experience, additional questions, and a covering letter. According to PMC’s early careers department, “we are looking for dedicated, diverse candidates with strong commercial acumen.” In short, that translates to a range of degree disciplines and backgrounds: “We see the value people can bring when they have gained skills and experience in other roles.”

It's also important to note that not having specific legal work experience won’t hold you back: “We recognise that it’s not always easy to gain legal work experience, and for us, non-legal work experience is equally as important as legal. The key is to highlight the skills you have gained and explain how they’re transferable to a career in law.” Top tip for how to stand out? An excellent covering letter.

Open Days

This year we will be introducing open days at 3 of our offices and hosting one virtually. This is to provide students with the opportunity to visit our offices and hear from our trainees, associates and partners.

Opening dates for applications for open days: 1st – 24th October

Basingstoke/Reading office – Wednesday 20th November

Birmingham - Wednesday 27th November

London – Wednesday 4th December

Virtual – Tuesday 10th December

Assessment & interviews

While the interview and assessment stage differs slightly for vacation scheme applicants (more on that shortly) the first stage consists of a competency-based telephone interview with a member of the early careers team. Applicants that make a good impression will then be invited to complete a written assessment which incorporates typical trainee tasks, and the firm emphasises that no prior legal knowledge will be required for this. The final stage then consists of an interview with a partner and member of the early careers team, which will also incorporate a presentation based on a legal case study. This can be completed in-person or virtually.

Vacation schemes

Vac scheme deadline: 3 January 2025

Vacation Scheme Dates:

Spring: 7-11th April

Summer 1: 9th -13th June

Summer 2: 23-27th June

Penningtons Manches Cooper runs one vacation scheme in the spring and two in the summer across its UK offices. To apply, prospective vac schemers will complete an online application form, before then being invited to a virtual assessment centre. These typically run between January and March and are made up of three timed exercises: a written assessment, an interview with an associate at the firm and a role play exercise. The aim is for applicants to have an answer within two weeks of the assessment centre. According to the early careers team at PMC: “Our assessment centres are designed to ensure you can demonstrate your best self. We are able to make individual adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process and encourage you to contact our Early Careers team to discuss how we can help.”

In the run up to the vac scheme, the firm will arrange a call with successful applicants to walk them through what to expect and provide some top tips on how best to prepare. During that week, vac schemers will be assessed to determine whether they will then be invited to a final round training contract interview, which follows the vacation scheme.

So, what does life on a Penningtons Manches Cooper vac scheme look like? The idea is to get an insight into what life at the firm is really like, which means spending time working in one of the firm’s practice areas in either business services, dispute resolution, private individuals or real estate. There will be opportunities to be involved in real assignments, whether this be drafting documents, attending client and team meetings, conducting research and attending court hearings and arbitrations. You’ll also be allocated a trainee buddy and senior mentor who will be on hand to support and guide you through the process. As the early careers team is quick to point out, there will also be opportunities for things like introductory sessions on the firm’s practice areas, team building sessions, a chance to meet the firm’s CEO and committees, and networking.

Empower Programme

EMpower Programme deadline: 14th February 2025

EMpower Programme dates: 14th – 17th April

In spring 2022, Penningtons Manches Cooper launched its Empower Programme as part of its wider efforts to increasing the representation of Black heritage and ethnic minority individuals in the legal sector. Aimed at students from a Black heritage or ethnic minority background who do not feel ready to participate in a vacation scheme, the programme provides an opportunity for students to gain an insight into the firm, develop skills relevant for a career in law and build relationships with lawyers which will continue once the scheme has finished through a mentoring programme.

The four-day programme includes practice area talks, commercial awareness insights, shadowing opportunities, panel sessions, skills sessions, including a bespoke mock trial and careers advice. On the final day of the programme, there is the option to participate in one of the firm’s vacation scheme assessment centres, where the best candidates will have an opportunity to secure a place on the vacation scheme the following year. This year’s programme will run from the 14th – 17th April 2025 in the London office and is paid in order to cover travel and accommodation expenses (oh and there are lunch vouchers on offer for all participants too!).

Chambers Student Training Principal Interview 2025

Interviewee/Role: Gemma Woodhouse, training principal

CS: How would you describe the firm? How would you describe its position in the market?

GW: It’s changed from when I first joined. It was a small firm, now, it’s top 50. The culture is friendly. I’ve been here 19 years, I think that’s indicative of the culture and how collaborative and collegiate we are. We’ve got eight offices in the UK and international offices, that means you get the benefits of a small feel in your office but the international perspective. From a trainee perspective, the departments are all big. Employment has seven offices in the UK, four international, 13 employment partners, 40 lawyers across the team. I’m very heavily involved in education, what’s nice is trainees can get involved in whatever work – I have a lot of tech clients, so they can get involved in the tech sector: as well as work they’re doing around the law, getting exposure to clients. The firm is growing and agile. We’re not as ruthless as other firms might be, it’s not all about the unit. We have committees: social economic, LGBTQ, race and faith. As a trainee, you’ll be listened to, not necessarily lead. The firm recognises that lawyers can be good at generating money but at the expense of the softer skills that make a company work. As partners, we’re in charge of making sure the trainees don’t get the rubbish work and just sit and photocopy.

CS: Are there any highlights from the last year you think it would be helpful for our readers to know about? E.g., changes to the training contract, office moves, etc.

GW: We’ve renovated the Reading office, doing London, done oxford, doing Cambridge. We’ve just changed our time recording software. We act for a number of household names: Wellington College, the AA, some leading tech organisations. A deal recently that’s groundbreaking: tech and worked with Osbourne Clarke on that, the sale of Lumenisity to Microsoft - pretty big names that anyone in the tech sector would know; high net worth individuals - very celebrity matters they deal with. We also deal with Farfetch, the clothing company. Every team has those clients that you know about, equally every sector will be dealing with the leading client in that sector. We’ve got a lot of litigation: employment, CDR team, litigation, it’s quite nice that as a trainee you can do non-contentious and contentious work, it’s quite rare to get both.

CS: How would you describe the training environment/culture that you have aimed to create at the firm?

GW: It’s very much an open-door culture. I say to my team I struggle with thinking that I’m a partner and people might think I’m intimidating. We do a lot of stuff to break down that barrier and perception. Peers: we have a trainee cohort intake in March and September - a healthy intake, a good number. They do events themselves, they have access to the junior associates and senior associates and managing associates – you can learn from them how a partner works. As a trainee, you can have the scope to get in front of any of them to ask questions then go to the partner. Some trainees love that. Some love going to the partner, others love the confidence-building approach of going to juniors then partners. Either works, broadly. We have the breadth to do that too.

CS: What’s the current set up with remote working for trainees? Is there a set number of days where trainees are expected to come into the office?

GW: Depends on the team. Most teams will say you’re in two days a week minimum. Part of the problem is that the partners are in but they also go to – I’m in Reading one day a week and London twice – I say to the trainees you can come to these client meetings in London but they don’t have to. Some teams are quite flexible, others less. I think the more flexible approach is more indicative of where we are as a society and working wise. As a trainee, it gets you the scope to get to know your team quite well. You can get to know the other teams in the office, understand what other teams are doing. When everyone was in the office, people didn’t make as much effort, you just took it for granted. It makes it easier for you to get access to other teams.

CS: We heard from trainees that sometimes a trainee will stay in a department for a second seat there, could you tell me a bit more about how common that is and how that comes about?

GW: It is fairly common that people will repeat a seat - this can happen for various reasons: business needs, trainee preference and in teams such as CDR and Family where there are lots of different specialisms so trainees get different exposure to the wide variety of work. Lastly, if trainees are coming up to qualification and know where they want to quality some will do repeat seat to smooth transition into NQ position should they be successful in gaining an NQ position.

CS: We heard about PennFuture from quite a lot of the trainees, could you tell me a bit more about that?

GW: We absolutely encourage everyone to do it. In part, that’s because it gives them a community at a junior level beyond just trainees and it’s recognising the way in which qualification works is changing. It would be disingenuous of us not to think of that – the CILEX route. There’s an inherent value of all of you learning from each other, not just trainees, so if they say they’re all struggling with something, that’s something we need to know.

CS: What sort of person thrives at the firm? How can a candidate really impress at interview?

GW: If you’re open, willing to learn, have that hunger to learn and be the best version of yourself professionally, I think that’s the kind of person we attract. People who want to do well but are not driven by money because we’re so much more than that. If you sit here and say to me that your goal is to earn as much as you can, I don’t think Penningtons Manches Cooper is for you. We measure our success on our relationships. The more you can get across in the interview that you recognise that being a lawyer now isn’t just knowing the law technically, but about understanding how businesses work and advisory, that’s where you’re going to jump out.

CS: Does the firm have any set recruitment targets around diversity?

GW: We are members or partners of a number of different organisations to ensure we attract a diverse workforce such as MyPlus, Women in the City Afro-Caribbean Network (WCAN), PRIME, Business Disability Forum, Black Solicitors Network and more.

CS: And finally, do you have any advice for those thinking about pursuing a career in law? Either at your firm or more generally?

GW: The advice I’d give is not to be wedded to a certain area of the law but go in and do the best in any area you’re working in with an open mind. I was insistent I wanted to be a property lawyer. It’s easy to think, “I want to be lawyer,” but think “what do I want to do with my day?” Is that reviewing documents? Then you might want to become a property lawyer. Meet people, drill down to that level of detail, it will help you know what you want to do. If you’re doing something you hate, it’s going to be mind-numbing.