Fladgate
- London
"This mid-size firm is on the rise in both revenue and work quality, so don’t miss the boat when the Flad-gates open."
About the firm
- 20
- Trainees
- 108
- Associates
- 102
- Partners
- 1
- National Offices
There are few Hollywood families quite as talented and prolific as the Skarsgård family. Patriarch Stellan gave us Mamma Mia, while Alexander gave us Big Little Lies, and Bill dazzled as Pennywise, to mention but a few of their standout roles. There didn’t seem to be a faster growing unit of talent to compare it to… unless you cast a glance at ever-evolving firm, Fladgate. “The firm is in a good place financially and we’re growing quickly,” training principal Alan Wetterhahn beams as he describes the firm’s position: “It feeds into everything. We’re growing in the right direction, with the right people. What’s not to like?” Juniors heaped on the praise as well, describing the firm as “unique” due to its lawyers working exclusively from London on a range of international, cross-border matters.
“It’s a firm that encourages you to be curious and ask questions in a happy, positive atmosphere.”
Chambers UK saw fit to shower the firm with commendation, providing accolades in the firm’s work in corporate/M&A, family/matrimonial, real estate, and insurance. Insiders felt that they could share in that joy directly, thanks to that aforementioned responsibility. “At larger firms, you’re like a cog in the machine,” one interviewee mused, “but at Fladgate, everyone is integral and important to each of the matters.” The size of the firm meant trainees felt they could pursue their own development, lauding that “it’s a firm that encourages you to be curious and ask questions in a happy, positive atmosphere.” To quote Mr. Wetterhahn – what’s not to like indeed!
Why trainees joined the firm
A mid-size firm on the rise
High responsibility levels
Far reaching and unique clients
A mid-size firm on the rise
With the firm being on a “steep growth trajectory and turning into a more full-service offering” juniors were grateful they were getting to ride the firm to the top especially as part of a smaller trainee intake.
High responsibility levels
With plenty to get involved with across a variety of seats, it’s no wonder that juniors felt “the amount we get to do at our level is immense!”
Far reaching and unique clients
The London HQ boasts a collection of international desks to work cross-border matters from. “You may not have heard of the firm yet, but you’ve heard of our clients,” smiled one source.
Trainee satisfaction rankings
- Strong
- General satisfaction
- Strong
- Hours & work-life balance
- Strong
- AI adoption
Training contract structure
- 4x6
- Seat Structure
Seat allocation
The only seat requirements for trainees are that they must do both a contentious and a non-contentious seat, otherwise everything else is up for grabs. The firm utilises the Optiseat AI platform where trainees give three preferences for each of their four seats and the tool “spits out the fairest outcome that is then approved by HR.” The judge for that fairness is largely based around how lucky everyone has been throughout their rotations, and as we heard “some trainees are luckier than others, but that’s just how it works out.”
- N/A
- International secondments
- N/A
- Client secondments
Seat Experiences
One of the biggest teams at Fladgate and when you look at the magnitude of work on offer it’s no wonder why. Insolvency, arbitration, fraud and investigations, insurance, medical negligence, financial disputes, and commercial disputes all fall under the disputes banner and is available for trainees to get stuck into. One such example is the firm’s recent representation of the Pensée Foundation in what has turned out to be the longest commercial court trial in history. The firm is defending the company against a multi-million-dollar claim brought under several different provisions of Kuwaiti law and also a claim for an English law declaration.
“You definitely have an important role in your matters,” one junior explained, “you’re helping run things, and on smaller cases, it’ll be just you and a partner.” Some of the duties expected from a junior in the group include reviewing witness statements, attendance notes, liaising with clients, preparing for trial, letters before claim, drafting particulars, disclosure, third party debt orders, and research tasks. One insider cautioned that “it can be quite admin heavy and that’s by nature of the fact it’s procedural and high value.” Not to be deterred, another source chimed in that it’s all about gaining trust within the group, because once you’ve done that then “the more time you spend there, the higher the level of work they give you.”
“You’ll be put on things you’re interested in, and there’s lots of opportunities to build skills.”
Over in the funds, finance and regulatory practice, there’s plenty for trainees to chew on. Admittedly, we heard it was rarer for juniors to get involved in regulatory work (though not unheard of) so that leaves corporate debt, securitisations, structured finance, refinancing deals, and more on both the lender and the borrower side for trainees to enjoy. As one junior adequately put it: “We do the whole spectrum of banking law.”
Clients range from private equity and venture capital firms, as well as emerging companies with one example being the firm’s recent representation of Clipstone Investment Management on a real estate joint venture with the private equity fund Sixth Street. Back to the department, insiders reported that “the group is really growing too” which fed into a swath of responsibilities at any one time, as one source noted that “what you do depends on the size of the deal, but I was doing 5-6 matters at once.” Some of the tasks on offer include corporate authorisations, reviewing security documents, CP checklists, project management, and drafting. “It was an incredible experience,” one rookie smiled, “you’ll be put on things you’re interested in, and there’s lots of opportunities to build skills.”
Fladgate’s real estate team focuses on transactional work for both businesses and private individuals acquiring a variety of residential real estate in the country. By way of example, the firm has been advising Squarepoint Capital on a number of matters over the years but most recently helping the company agree a lease for its future occupation of a new London HQ. The matter necessitated advice from various sub-teams within the firm, including planning, construction, and tax. As one can imagine, “there’s a lot of work on offer in this seat.” Typical tasks include portfolio management, reports on title, certificates on title, drafting leases and licenses. “They get you involved in as much as you want,” shared one source. For those who have an interest in real estate, but fancy themselves more of a litigator, fear not, for Fladgate provides a separate seat working on property disputes, which tends to focus more on chronologies, research, and more technical points of law.
The tax team may be on the smaller side with only three partners to its name and zero associates (plus the one trainee per rotation), but that makes it no less significant a seat. “It was a great opportunity for experience and there’s a range of clients to learn from,” gushed one insider, “the other positive is you get quite a lot of responsibility as well.” Typical tasks may include client contact, drafting various documents, Docusign, collating lists, filing documents, and more. Juniors reported feeling “really at ease” in the team with the level of autonomy they received, a positive side effect from working within a smaller department. “There is of course some degree of oversight,” one source noted, “but I was left to run with things, and don’t think that would have happened in a larger team.”
Trainee life
Culture and environment
- 100%
- Trainees were happy in their current role
- 83.9%
- Felt they chose the right firm
Data from our annual trainee survey
If there’s one chief contributor to the warm and smiley culture fostered at Fladgate, it’s the fact that “everyone wants the best for themselves but also each other.” Trainees are met with approachability across the firm, including at the partner level. In fact, one source wouldn’t let us off the phone without making it clear that Fladgate has “an extremely inviting culture where trainees are treated as equals,” further contributing to their positive experience. As touching as all this office-based camaraderie is, there’s also a social calendar to look forward to. “Our intake is very social, we get on outside of work,” began one junior, “we do things together, then there’s department socials and firm-wide events.” Included in that is the annual summer party, Christmas lunches, department dinners, karaoke nights for charity, and even renting out a Wetherspoons for a pub quiz. “The firm is open to hearing about ideas for events and they’re always willing to give you a budget for that,” one source reassured.
As for the office itself: “The general consensus is it’s fine. I don’t think anyone feels strongly one way or the other.” That kind of blasé opinion seems to be drawn from the fact that despite a great many floors being recently refurbished, the building itself is on the older side. That being said, the firm does have quite a few fitness benefits to take advantage of. Firstly, a personal trainer comes into the firm every Tuesday, and on Mondays there’s free yoga. There’s also tennis, football, and netball games to get involved with too.
Working patterns
- 4 days a week
- Expected office attendance
- 36.1
- Typical billable hours in a week
Data from our annual trainee survey
Trainees are expected to be in four days a week with Friday being the most common working-from-home day for our interviewees. Once you become an associate, the requirement drops to three days. “I like being in, but I will prefer the three days,” one source divulged, “largely to save on commute money.” Even still, a lot of our sources came in five days by choice as “it’s easier to ask for help and learn if you’re in the office.” Standard hours varied depending on how busy the period is with 6:30pm being the average, but the worst occasions stretching as late as 1am. “That’s when they get really volatile, but partners are understanding,” one junior shared.
Pay
- £50,000
- 1st Year Salary
- £52,000
- 2nd Year Salary
Data provided by firm and our annual trainee survey
Generally, our insiders were pleased with their salary noting that “it’s high for trainees which is great.” The sticking point came around the NQ salary which juniors felt could do with a bit more upside as “the firm is growing and with it, so is our expectation to work harder.”
Supervision and training
The one word that popped up time and again when it came to supervision was “approachability”. That extends beyond trainees’ assigned supervisors to everyone within the firm. “There really is no such thing as a stupid question,” one source relished, “it’s a really key element of the firm.” Supervisors were said to be either hands on or hands off depending on the individual, but most reported a strong sense of autonomy over their work. Overall, Fladgate’s associates and above were praised for their willingness to "go for a coffee and debrief about work and ambitions and anything else really.”
For the first two weeks of the contract, trainees are “locked in” to generalised training before moving into their seats where more specific department training is common. “Those tend to be every couple of weeks,” one insider recalled, “we have external speakers come in as well as training from our peers.” Fladgate is also open to refining the training experience for those coming in and is said to “really encourage and incentivise us to give feedback and let them know how things could be improved.”
Pro bono & CSR
Although pro bono work for trainees was decidedly uncommon, charity work was certainly present for our interviewees. “You’re encouraged to do charity work and volunteering,” explained one source, “there’s some expectation to get involved with that.” The London Legal Walk and charity football games were given as examples of some of the opportunities on offer. Despite the aforementioned expectation, there was a distinct lack of pressure with a lot of our interviewees feeling comfortable to just focus on billable matters.
Other opportunities include:
Partnership with University House legal advice centre
Inclusion
“Everyone is respected and welcomed here.”
Trainees were happy to relay that diversity amongst their cohort and their fellow associates was well represented thanks to “an active effort” on the firm’s part. Gender parity in particular was praised as seeming well balanced even into the partner levels. The firm’s D&I committee pulls its weight as well, putting on talks around topics such as disability awareness in the workplace, networking events, and celebrations for certain times of the year like during Eid. “It educates and celebrates at the same time,” expressed one insider.It was also noted that due to the variety of international desks at the firm, it’s very common to have a plethora of nationalities and religions represented. “Everyone is respected and welcomed here,” one junior highlighted, “I like that aspect of the firm a lot.”
Qualification
“I come to work happy every day, and I leave happy every day, why would I want to be elsewhere?”
The first section of the qualification process is uniformly structured, with a jobs list being released to trainees who then send off their CV to HR with their intention of what department is calling their name. What follows is an interview with the department. Each interview involves the same six standardised questions, followed by a final two technical questions depending on the department. Juniors saw the longevity of a career at Fladgate and were certainly keen to stay with one summing up simply: “I come to work happy every day, and I leave happy every day, why would I want to be elsewhere?”
- 90.9%
- Trainees Retention
Flads on tour…
Trainees at Fladgate are also given the opportunity to give back to the community, namely going into schools to mentor the students there.
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Top Figures
- £50,000
- 1st Year Salary
- £52,000
- 2nd Year Salary
- £94,000
- Newly Qualified Salary
- 8
- Training Contract Vacancies
- Firm recruits exclusively through it's vacation scheme
- Application Closing Date
