Travers Smith (London)
Our view...
A mid sized firm, unburdened by an overseas network, with a 100% equity partnership, strong profits and an aversion to merger. Back in the early '90s you could have said this about many firms - Travers Smith was often mentioned in the same breath as Ashurst as a fantastic corporate firm that "punched above its weight". Now it's a rarity - Ashurst had 11 offices at the last count. Travers Smith has two.
The firm is very heavily focussed on corporate work, and its client list reads like a who's who of top banks and brokers - DLJ, HSBC, Barclays Private Equity, Cazenove etc. For a long while the corporate jewel in their crown was telecoms giant NTL - until they filed for US bankruptcy in 2002. Still, every cloud has a silver lining. Travers Smith acted on the resulting $20 billion restructuring, and it has been forced to diversify its client base. Recent deals of note include advising 3i on the purchase of NCP and the £1.8 billion Moto deal.
Given the nature of the firm's practice it's no surprise that profits per partner for 2007/2008 is at a record £810,000 - up well over a hundred grand on the previous year. This increased profitability has been reflected in a rise in assistant salaries across the board.
Travers Smith claims that it will concentrate on its core areas and not over-expand. It's served the firm well so far, and means that assistants can expect greater hands-on exposure to big ticket work than they would generally get at larger firms.
It's not a place for those looking for overseas experience - but then the lack of overseas offices is part of the reason for its strong profits. Overall, great work, decent pay and reasonable hours mean that Travers Smith is a solid bet. Now that it's moved into a shiny new building we can't even be rude about the shabby offices any more, which is a pity.
The combination of small size and top quality corporate work means that the experience as a young lawyer is as good here as anywhere. Together with Macfarlanes, our mid sized firm of choice.
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