Harbottle & Lewis
- London
"Roll out the red carpet for entertainment expert Harbottle & Lewis (and its star-studded client list!)"
About the firm
- 14
- Trainees
- 92
- Associates
- 48
- Partners
- 1
- National Offices
The reviews are in: for trainees seeking media and entertainment prowess with a sprinkling of private client prestige, West End-based Harbottle & Lewis is a five-star pick. Although “glamorous” might not be the word that typically comes to mind when thinking about training contracts (to say the least), it’s the word that one trainee used to describe their experience in a Harbottle seat. Certainly, with sector specialisms including film, television, theatre, gaming, music and sport, there’s “lots of interesting work with interesting clients” to be found here. And trainees aren’t left waiting in the wings (or on the bench), as small cohorts and a high-responsibility training style mean that “you’re never far removed from where the main action happens.”
“…lots of interesting work with interesting clients.”
Harbottle’s glittering client list includes household names such as the Beckhams, Gordon Ramsay, and Charlotte Tilbury – not to mention multiple senior members of the Royal Family, including the king and queen. It will come as no surprise, then, that the firm scoops top-tier rankings from Chambers UK in areas including defamation/reputation management and numerous fields of media & entertainment law. Its London practice bags high honours as well for its family/matrimonial finance: ultra high net worth work. That’s showbiz, baby!
Why trainees joined the firm
Media and entertainment expertise
Private client focus
Small trainee intake
Media and entertainment expertise
“I always thought big corporate commercial firms were where everyone went, and I did a vacation scheme at one and hated it!” one trainee admitted. They found Harbottle & Lewis a much better fit, as there they could specialise in media and entertainment (a longstanding passion) right away, rather than waiting until later in their career.
Private client focus
“I wanted to work with individuals over massive corporations,” one insider explained, so Harbottle’s private client seat was a draw, particularly when it came to “clients with more of a creative lens.”
Small trainee intake
Noting that only a handful of trainees are admitted each year, our sources were keen on the fact that “you have lots of responsibility, so you’re really on the client calls from the get-go.”
Trainee satisfaction rankings
- Strong
- Overall satisfaction
- Excellent
- AI adoption
- Strong
- Training & development
- Strong
- Compensation
- Strong
- Supervision & contact time
Training contract structure
- 4x6
- Seat Structure
Seat allocation
New starters have their first seats allocated for them, then will sit down with HR a few weeks later to discuss their top choices for subsequent rotations. That list won’t be set in stone, though; “it’s an evolving conversation,” and trainees can switch up their preferences as they progress.“I’ve had very open conversations about the legal career I want to build,” one insider reported.
- N/A
- International secondments
- Yes
- Client secondments
Client secondments
Harbottle has previously sent one trainee per rotation on a corporate secondment to Virgin, but it is not a given. Trainees explained that the firm will approach them individually about the opportunity, rather than running an application process.
Seat Experiences
Harbottle’s shining star of a seat splits its trainees’ time between two teams: film, TV, & theatre, which does what it says on the tin, and media & entertainment, which covers a range of sectors including music, advertising, and sport. Although this breadth of coverage means that things “can be hectic,” our interviewees did note that the commercial work is very similar between sectors. There’s no pressure to spread yourself too thin, either; one source explained that “you can position yourself in terms of what you’re most interested in, and they will move you towards that sub-team. You don’t have to get equal exposure to everything - it’s like a buffet!”
Day-to-day, trainees are tasked with contributing to artist agreements, including negotiating lead actor agreements – which, as you might imagine, is “really cool” – and advisory work on various projects. Recent work in this space has included productions such as the 28 Years Later trilogy and Netflix’s Drive to Survive series. On the theatre side, the firm has advised on some of the biggest shows on the West End: think Paddington, Mean Girls, The Book of Mormon, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Trainees working in media and entertainment can get involved with a wide variety of work too: for instance, musically minded juniors could be tasked with comparing record deal offers and working on the sale of music catalogues.
The firm’s private client & tax team focuses on estate planning, wealth, and trusts, with a mix of contentious and non-contentious work (although our interviewees explained that there’s a plan to split those into two seats in the future). On the contentious side, trainees get involved with “a real range of exposures and tasks,” from bundling, reviewing documents, and drafting witness statements, to attending court. Meanwhile, non-contentious matters get trainees drafting wills, helping with administration of estates, and applying for probate, with “a lot of client exposure” to be had.
“I’ve worked with the most senior partners in the team directly and they’re so supportive.”
Our interviewees did warn that the seat is “super busy,” noting that “there’s a perception that tax lawyers go home at 5pm every day. That’s not the case in this seat!” The upside of what feels like a “never-ending to-do list,” though, is that trainees “get a lot of autonomy” over their work, with “lots of responsibility and flexibility” throughout the seat. And maximum responsibility doesn’t mean minimum support; one interviewee described how “I’ve worked with the most senior partners in the team directly and they’re so supportive.” Another source confirmed that trainees have regular access to the team’s top talent, saying “I felt like I worked with all the partners!”
In line with Harbottle’s high-net-worth emphasis, the firm’s family practice isn’t just tasked with run-of-the-mill divorce disputes; the team tends to deal with complex, often high-profile, cases with international elements. Trainees work on “a real range” of matters including divorces and prenups, with a high proportion of cases involving children, and were pleased to report that “the family team is very established, so you really get exposure to the great minds in that industry.”
At the beginning of the seat, trainees can expect their days to be filled with a fair amount of admin, including “typical litigation trainee tasks” like bundling and preparing for court proceedings. However, interviewees noted that there’s “lots of opportunity to do more substantive things later on,” including drafting witness statements and instructions to counsel. One insider described how “as I got more trust, I was basically doing my own cases.” There’s lots of exposure to be had as well: trainees’ calendars are filled to the brim with “lots of client meetings” which is “really helpful, as you learn so much from how the partners speak to clients,” as well as trips to court to attend hearings.
A stint in Harbottle’s corporate team gets trainees involved in a range of M&A, investments, joint ventures, and private equity transactions, both in the UK and in cross-border matters. Although the M&A deals the firm handles are “on the smaller end” in terms of values attached, from a trainee perspective this is “nice because it’s a quicker moving process.” Meanwhile, venture capital matters proved popular thanks to the degree of client contact involved, with one insider noting that “I didn’t expect to like it so much until I joined!” Overall, the seat can be “fairly intense,” but trainees assured us that “everyone’s very friendly and meshes well personality-wise.”
“In the second half of my seat, I was doing junior associate level work.”
Typical tasks include coordinating signing processes, setting up Docusigns, and working on corporate ancillary documents including board minutes, shareholder resolutions, and disclosure letters. And although things might feel admin-heavy at the beginning, responsibility ramps up “big-time,” with one trainee highlighting that “in the second half of my seat, I was doing junior associate level work.” Another interviewee agreed, reporting that “I’m emailing clients directly. You wouldn’t get that at a bigger firm.” In line with the rest of Harbottle’s practice areas, those clients are similarly high-profile: for instance, the team recently advised legendary rock band Queen on the sale of its catalogue to Sony Music Entertainment. Talk about royalty!
Trainee life
Culture and environment
- 100%
- Trainees were happy in their current role
- 100%
- Felt they chose the right firm
Data from our annual trainee survey
“There’s not a Harbottle archetype lawyer. They are all such different, interesting people,” was one trainee’s summary when asked about the firm’s culture. The atmosphere was described as “friendly, sociable, and buzzy,” and our insiders were pleased to report that “everyone is super approachable.” One interviewee beamed that “I know a lot of places say they have a flat hierarchy, but this place really does!”
Trainees love the office location on the Strand; being near the West End and “in the heart of the theatre world” is something that “feels really on brand for the firm.” And if daily meal deals aren’t your thing, you’ll be pleased to hear that heading into the office comes with the perk of free lunches. “I realise how much money I save not having to buy lunch every day!” one trainee exclaimed, with another reporting that “the food is amazing.” The lunch setup also lends itself well to a non-hierarchical atmosphere, where trainees happily sit with partners and “have conversations about basically anything but work. That makes them so much more human, so you’re not constantly on your tiptoes.” In particular, the firm’s creative focus means that it tends to attract people interested in film, music, and theatre, “so many lunchtime chats are about that!”
Formal events hosted by the firm include a summer and Christmas party, as well as regular socials: think rounders, bingo, and darts. The annual firm quiz in February is an “absolute highlight – if you want to see competitive people, put a bunch of lawyers in a room at a quiz!” Trainee socials are held every six months, supplemented with a healthy dose of informal pub trips and dinners after work.
Working patterns
- 4-5 days a week (practice-dependent)
- Expected office attendance
- 44
- Typical billable hours in a week
Data from our annual trainee survey
Trainees are generally asked to be in the office four days a week, with five days expected in the property team, but our insiders clarified that the firm is “pretty understanding if life gets in the way.” One interviewee noted that “as long as you communicate, they’re really flexible.” General consensus was that working hours are manageable, with an average of a 9.30am start and a 6.30pm finish, and an occasional later finish if the workload is heavier. “It really depends what’s going on,” one source clarified.
Pay
- £50,000
- 1st Year Salary
- £53,000
- 2nd Year Salary
Trainees felt that their compensation was fair, acknowledging that “we’re not working in a big crazy law firm with big crazy hours.” One insider felt that they receive a “good salary for the amount of work we do,” with another pleased to note that “they’ve raised it quite regularly, so it’s never stagnant.”
Supervision and training
When asked about supervision, trainees highlighted a “very open dialogue” between them and their supervisors: “if I want to ask them a question, they’ll drop what they’re doing and help.” One source added that “I’ve never had a supervisor say that they don’t have time for me.” With a tradition of weekly or fortnightly catchup sessions, alongside a mid-seat and end-seat review, feedback is “pretty regular,” although supervision styles vary between teams; for instance, our interviewees found that corporate is “a bit more hands-off” but family is “very hands-on.”
“I’ve never had a supervisor say that they don’t have time for me.”
Training sessions at the beginning of each rotation give trainees the lay of the land so that they won’t be “completely lost in all the jargon.” Department-specific training continues throughout the seat, with external and internal speakers providing updates on cases and legal news. In some seats, such as property, trainees are even given the chance to become the trainer, presenting on recent developments in the practice area to the rest of the team. The firm also provides sessions for all the trainees on broader topics such as how to draft effectively, and how to use AI.
Pro bono & CSR
Although there’s not a huge focus on pro bono, Harbottle is big on charity work and community involvement, partnering with a new charity every two years (the current partnership is with homelessness charity The Connection at St Martin’s). Insiders explained that the firm “really encourages” all its staff to get involved with volunteering and fundraising for the chosen charity. Trainees have recently spent dedicated volunteering days helping in The Connection’s soup kitchen and are tasked with organising a yearly ‘charity day’ to gather donations.
Inclusion
Our interviewees reported that at Harbottle “there’s an explicit effort to make people feel included and embrace people’s cultures and differences.” The firm’s DE&I committee runs regular events and brings in “interesting speakers,” and employees have the opportunity to join various networks, including an ethnic minority group and a neurodivergent group. Inclusion is also emphasised, with the firm having recently run a work experience week with the Sutton Trust, a charity that aims to improve social mobility. Overall, insiders felt that the environment is “open and inclusive,” with one source adding that “if you struggle with something or need support or flexibility, they will make a real effort to make sure you have the same opportunities.”
Qualification
The process of qualifying at Harbottle is “probably more informal than at other firms,” trainees advised, involving “lots of open conversations” with the desired team and with HR. Interviews take place only when multiple trainees have their eye on the same role. Because of the lack of formality, trainees did feel that the process might benefit from increased transparency, especially because NQ spots are “very business dependent as it’s a smaller firm.” Nonetheless, our interviewees noted that “the retention rate has definitely improved.” That was good news for our sources, who were all very keen to stick around: “I’d qualify there in a heartbeat! I think it’s a really special place to work.”
- 100%
- Trainees Retention
Popping (Har)bottles...
The firm hosts monthly ‘billing drinks’ to toast the completion of billing. Cheers!
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Top Figures
- £50,000
- 1st Year Salary
- £53,000
- 2nd Year Salary
- £87,000
- Newly Qualified Salary
- 10
- Training Contract Vacancies
- 31st Jan 2027
- Application Closing Date
