Royds Withy King - True Picture

Watch the throne

From the lovely Roman city of Bath (“where we’re the absolute top dog”) to the bright lights of London (“where we are looking to significantly build up our presence”), the Royds Withy King-dom sprawls across the south of the UK. This regional outfit offered a compelling alternative to trainees looking for something different to City giants: “I didn’t fancy the prospect of being destroyed in London,” one remarked. The firm’s office in the capital does house trainees, who told us they looked “for a firm which would care about my personal life – I didn’t want to be working 10-hour days all the time.” The clear message to take away is that this is a King which looks after its people. 

London, Bath and Oxford each house roughly a third of the firm’s trainees; Swindon takes one every so often and Marlborough serves “as more of a support office.” Our sources dubbed Royds Withy King “one of the big names in the regions,” especially in the South West – “only a few firms in Bristol could be described as a cut above the rest.” Sure enough, Chambers UK awards the firm top rankings in Somerset for clinical negligence, family matrimonial and personal injury. Oxford likewise receives top marks for its personal injury and clinical negligence expertise; the litigation, real estate, construction and M&A teams are all favourably ranked within the South West region. 

“...a firm which would care about my personal life – I didn’t want to be working 10-hour days all the time.”

RWK splits its offering into two broad divisions. ‘Business’ covers the commercial aspects including corporate, real estate, employment and dispute resolution; while the ‘For You’ division mainly covers family law, personal injury, private client and court of protection work. Unlike at some firms you “don’t need to choose one of the schemes,” as confirmed by sources who’d happily mixed seats from both streams during their training contract. Trainees submit three preferences for their first two seats, then provide another three preferred options for their third and fourth seats a year later (second year trainees get priority). Most of our interviewees had been able to secure their preferences but conceded that there “were a lot of conversations behind closed doors with HR.” One explained that “if you fight your corner and kick up a fuss, they normally bow to your wishes.” There’s also some flexibility for trainees to move between offices for different seats.

Jewel in the crown

“There’s a bit of everything” on offer within RWK’s commercial disputes teams, from basic contract and aviation disputes to IP and director issues. “We do tackle some multi-million-pound cases, some of which are international,” sources explained; in one recent example the firm represented the Bank of India in connection with a $9.5 invoice discounting facility granted by it to a Dubai company, Firestar Holdings. Other clients on the roster include Bath City Football Club and the National Association of Jewellers. Trainees on bigger cases start out with bundling, attending hearings and drafting instructions to counsel as well as “the odd day manning the printer.” They also work on smaller disputes, during which trainees “can take the lead from start to finish.” Product liability, shareholder disputes, civil fraud allegations and consumer complaints are among RWK’s litigious strengths. One trainee in Bath explained that the firm has “a contract with a national mobile phones network and we handle all the small claims for them. That might be as simple as dealing with someone who has overspent their bill on holiday.” These lower-value cases offer more substantive opportunities for trainees “to draft witness stations, defences and settlements.” 

“From week two I was sent to meetings and interviews on my own.” 

Trainees typically work under one fee earner in the private client department. The group handles wills, probate and trusts for high net worth individuals: “From week two I was sent to meetings and interviews on my own, taking instructions and visiting’s people’s properties,” one trainee reported. They jokingly added that “it’s not just about visiting estates on the edge of Bath with huge manicured lawns and ponies, but it is interesting getting out and meeting people.” Another made it clear that a private client seat isn’t just about living your Downton Abbey fantasies: “I’ve been doing lots of drafting – which is great experience –  including trust declarations, private loan arrangements and some deeds of appointment.” Most Bath trainees see a mix of non-contentious and litigious work; in London and Oxford the practice is nearly all non-contentious {check}. This department keeps the names of its clients under wraps but with top rankings in Somerset, Swindon and Oxford you can bet there’s a fair few big money names on the list. 

Speaking of big money, the firm’s corporate offering is no rival to international City giants but fares well in the lower mid-market. The firm recently advised luxury clothing brand Barbour on the opening of a new flagship store in Mayfair; acted for Oxford Genetics, a leader in synthetic biology-based technologies, on a £7.5 million investment into its operations in the US and the UK; and advised the senior management team of national forensic and DNA testing services provider Cellmark Forensic Services on the acquisition of the company from LabCorp. The firm also represents some international clients including Punjab National Bank and Baglioni Hotels Group. “It does feel like you’re thrown in the deep end” according to one trainee, reminiscing about their time in a corporate seat, “but once I was up to speed I was grateful for my experience. I was able to draft a lot of the ancillary documents and take charge of the disclosure schedule.”  

Royal wedding

Royds Withy King formed when London-based Royds and regional outfit Withy King joined forces in 2016. Three years later, some of our interviewees felt that “there are still some divisions between the London office and the rest of the firm.” They pointed out that “the firm’s offices are quite self-contained” on a business development level, and felt that culturally “London feels more commercially-driven and present themselves as sleek, professional lawyers.” Some reckoned this is just a “London thing” rather than being specific to RWK. We also heard that “the London trainees never come to the Christmas social just because it’s held in the Swindon Steam Museum.” Ouch.

Many agreed that “integration will happen, it will just take more time,” and encouragingly the firm’s newest recruits had the most positive outlooks. “While London does have a different feel, it definitely doesn’t seem like two separate firms,” they reasoned. “Management recently put on an away day in the Cotswolds for the firmwide corporate team. It was a big team-building day doing strange things with logs, but also a great opportunity to meet trainees from other offices” One source said they “have since felt entirely comfortable reaching out to colleagues in London with questions.” All our sources were keen to highlight “the family feel” of Royds Withy King. “I look forward to coming to work because my colleagues are so amazing,” one source reported; another told us “you get a lot of support working here. Of course there are politics like any office, but that doesn’t get in the way of your day-to-day life and there’s little imposition of hierarchy: I genuinely can’t tell who’s an NQ and who’s a partner.” London has a more corporate vibe, but that’s compensated for by a more social atmosphere – “people are much more likely to go for a drink after work,” sources there said.  

“It was a big team-building day doing strange things with logs…” 

Most of our regional interviewees were likely to work 9am to 5:30pm then head home. Busier groups such as corporate and dispute resolution come with an extra half hour to the day, but weekend work is unlikely and none of our interviewees were taking their work home with them. London trainees saw slightly longer hours, though one source said “the latest I’ve ever stayed was 11pm and I can easily count the times I’ve been here past 8.30. Most of the time I’m gone before 6.30pm.” We heard a few grumbles about pay being low compared to what’s offered by neighbours in Bristol and other London firms, but most accepted the work/life balance was a fair trade. 

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