Clifford Chance (London)

Our view...

Clifford Chance, the product of a merger in 1987 between Coward Chance and Clifford Turner, may have been looked down on as the new kid on the block by the more established members of the Magic Circle, but its policy of rapid global expansion has made it a dominant name on the international market.

The firm bucked the credit crunch and grew last year, albeit more slowly than the rest of the Magic Circle. Thanks mainly to the firm’s overseas offices, 2007/08 turnover increased by 11% to £1.33bn. Unsurprisingly the greatest growth came from Asia, but CEE is also on the rise.

Clearly the worldwide economic collapse had to catch up with the firm at some stage, and 2009 kicked off with the announcement that CC would be making up to 80 London lawyers redundant. Competitors were quick to take the high ground and say that they had no similar plans – but then they were all making redundancies through the back door anyway using “performance” issues as an excuse, so at least CC gets points for honesty… The plain fact is that the firm has massive banking and finance practices, and there’s just not enough work around in these fields to pay the bills.

But when the market picks up and the work comes in again, the firm should be in a strong position. Freshfields and Linklaters et al may consider themselves slightly grander on the corporate finance front, A&O may pip it at banking, but there is no denying that CC is one of the top corporate firms in the world. In securitisation it is pre-eminent.

The firm has the predictable raft of high profile clients, recently advising on the £12.5bn sale of British Energy to the French utility company EDF. It was also involved in Barclays’ acquisition of Lehman Brothers investment banking and capital markets groups.

It is also one of the most avant garde of the big firms. CC was the first UK firm to sign up to the Solicitors' Pro Bono Group and Bar Pro Bono Unit's joint agreement which ties it into doing a certain amount of work a year for free. It was the first big firm to pull off a merger with a major New York outfit. And it’s spearheading the growing campaign to replace the silk system for barristers with a 'kite mark' of quality which would be available to all lawyers. So if you fancy being in the vanguard of attempts to break down the divide between solicitors and their bewigged relations, it might be the place to go.

At the other end of the scale, trainees determined to avoid litigation can do so - as long as they take a week's course at Nottingham Law School and take part in the firm's pro bono scheme (at one of the local law centres with which CC is associated) for one evening a week for six months.

There are inevitable downsides to working for a firm the size of CC. Lawyers can feel as if they just lurch from huge transaction to huge transaction with no time to consolidate what they've learned: “an expectation that associates will give up every scrap of a social life/family life for mega deals that last for months at a time”. Long hours and huge deals, however, are features of life at all large firms and CC was delighted to be rated as the best law firm for graduates in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers Guide 2008.

As far as pay is concerned, the success of recent years has filtered down to associate level. CC was the first of the top City firms to follow SJ Berwin's lead at the turn of the millennium and award its associates decent pay hikes (sparking a trend from which the whole City benefited, thank you very much). Back in the boom it then followed Allen & Overy's lead in hiking up pay yet further. Noone's going to complain about the figures on the right. And all assistants are eligible for hefty bonuses, partly as a reward for hours spent on pro bono, training and knowledge development.

CC claims this puts its top performers amongst the highest paid City lawyers, and given that they work in the soulless bounds of Canary Wharf, they’d have to be. That said, the offices cost a fortune and are stunning. There's an enormous gym, with ranks of the latest equipment and plasma screen TVs, subsidised personal trainers, masseurs and beauticians on hand, several restaurants (the lychee martinis in the bar are apparently a must) and a swimming pool with views over London (although some associates grumble that they never get the chance to use it, and if they do they “run the gauntlet of more work being placed on your desk when you get back”).

Working at a firm of this size brings the usual pros and cons. You will spend long hours as a small cog in a very big wheel, but then first class cash, support, training and work, a truly international reputation and opportunities to work abroad provide ample compensation. And, of course, there is that swimming pool... and we are reliably informed an impressive step instructor on Tuesdays.

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