Hill Dickinson

About the firm

Ever heard the saying, ‘you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take’? With its landmark naming rights deal for Everton’s waterfront football stadium, Hill Dickinson has its eyes on the Premier League for law firms: “It’s worth its absolute weight in gold because it achieved absolutely everything that we set out to do in terms of, who are Hill Dickinson?” training principal Richard Capper shares. While its roots lie in Liverpool, this is no regional player: the firm spans twelve offices across the UK and internationally, including Singapore, Limassol, Piraeus, Monaco and Hong Kong. Liverpool, London, Manchester and Leeds are the main bases for trainees at the firm, with a handful split between Birmingham and Newcastle.

The firm’s maritime heritage is about as impressive as it gets, having acted for the White Star Line and Cunard Line during the Titanic and Lusitania disasters. Indeed, this history is reflected in its Chambers UK rankings today, where the firm receives a nod for its shipping practice nationwide, along with best-in-class recognition for its commodities and transport logistics expertise. If that wasn’t enough, the firm also scoops up further accolades for its court of protection, mental health providers, and clinical negligence work, and in the North-west, corporate/M&A, real estate, litigation, employment and family/matrimonial.

“It didn’t give off the usually scary off-putting corporate world persona.”

“We’ve gone a long way in the last year!” Capper confirms, highlighting that “our strategy is sustainable, profitable growth.” That growth has been visible across the firm’s footprint too: “We’ve relocated teams to new market-leading offices in Manchester, Birmingham, and Monaco, and we’ve attracted a significant number of lateral hires.” Revenues are up too, yet trainees shared, “it didn’t give off the usually scary off-putting corporate world persona,” striking the right balance.

Why trainees joined the firm

Business services, health and marine training contracts

The firm offers three different training contract routes: business services, health, and marine, which proved to be a major selling point amongst trainees, allowing them to focus on their interests early on. As one source mused, “Hill Dickinson offered a health-only training contract. I really didn’t want to do a business seat!”

International presence

The global reach of the firm held great appeal amongst trainees. “The international presence was a big deal for me; it has offices in lots of different countries. You’re able to work on cross-border matters as well as with clients not based in the UK,” one enthused.

Welcoming environment

First impressions matter and the welcoming environment was stand out: “The people who work here are extremely nice.” An insider divulged, “I sit between two partners every day, who talk about football and holidays, it’s still professional but so approachable – it’s what I really like.” Another added, “it’s a good work life balance, there’s good social activity within the firm outside of the normal day to day too.”

Trainee satisfaction rankings

Training contract structure

Seat allocation

Split between focused training contract routes in business services, health, and marine, the majority of trainees could be found in business services, followed by health and then marine. Trainees are allocated their first seat from the get-go. Thereafter, they put forward seat preferences from their chosen pathway for each rotation, with a comment box for additional information.

Client secondments

Secondments aren’t commonplace. That said, trainees in the healthcare pathway usually have the opportunity to have a stint at an NHS trust: “It offers a different insight into the work that we’re doing and why we do things a certain way from a client’s perspective.”

Seat Experiences

Trainee life

Culture and environment

Data from our annual trainee survey

The culture proved to be a hit amongst trainees: “It’s a very welcoming place; I feel comfortable working here, and the partners are approachable.” one told us. We heard that the open plan set up is a key influence: “You don’t have partners sitting in offices. You can be sat next to a partner one day and a paralegal the next – and that influences the culture, as we’re all together.”

“There’s a real ‘get away from your desk at lunch’ energy.”

The social side, trainees were quick to highlight, “is one of the best things about the firm. There’s a real ‘get away from your desk at lunch’ energy.” We heard that “there’s always an event on,” with everyone from trainees through to partners in attendance. This includes monthly pay day drinks and other opportunities to mingle, such as paint and sips, quiz nights, sports clubs, book club, and the usual summer, Christmas and end-of-financial-year parties, alongside efforts to include non drinking-focused events.

Working patterns

Data from our annual trainee survey

Trainees are expected in the office at least four days a week. With that in mind, there were no major complaints about the offices, thankfully. Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester have all seen recent upgrades, with the Manchester office now based in Gary Neville’s development. London has also improved its social space, though sources felt it had further room for improvement to match its northern counterparts.

Most felt that Hill Dickinson offers a better balance compared to other firms, though it’s not a ‘9-5’ role. They reported working until about 6pm, even 7pm on occasion. Practices such as corporate have deal-driven highs and those in yachts, for example, often find themselves dealing with international time zones for closings. Whilst seats like health might be described as more stable in terms of hours, urgent deadlines will require later stints.

Pay

Views on pay were slightly more mixed. While salaries have since seen a modest increase across all trainee and NQ levels, some grumbled that salaries haven’t kept pace with the firm’s growth and increasing workload, while others saw the lower rates as a fair trade-off for a better work/life balance. As one source put it, the firm offers “a unique opportunity to work at a growing international firm with big clients, while still having time outside of work.”

Those approaching qualification also noted a lack of transparency around NQ pay, with one trainee commenting, “I wish there was more clarity about future salaries.”

Supervision and training

Trainees have a structured programme across the two years, made up of eight modules focused largely on soft skills. These sessions rotate between the firm’s offices, giving cohorts an opportunity to meet in person. Beyond that, they also have access to an online learning platform, departmental lunch & learns, updates from knowledge lawyers, and talks from barristers, particularly for those in health and marine.

Supervision received mixed reviews with experiences varying from person to person. Some trainees highlighted open relationships with supervisors, while others reported minimal contact and feedback, characterising it as “more learning on the job.”

Pro bono & CSR

“It’s huge! A lot of thought goes into it!” was the verdict on the firm’s CSR efforts. Trainees are expected to take part in at least one initiative per seat and are given two CSR days each year. Every office votes for a charity partner, with opportunities to get involved in fundraising activities throughout the year, building up to the grand finale, the Christmas carol concert. Pro bono is a slightly smaller part of life at the firm, with trainees able to get involved if they express an interest.

Other opportunities include

• Helping out with social mobility initiatives

• Legal walks

• Other fundraisers from bake sales, quizzes, hikes, climbs, coastal walks, even 22-mile canoe challenges

Inclusion

Sources expressed feeling that the Hill Dickinson makes a real effort when it comes to inclusion: “It doesn’t feel like a greenwashing attempt, it feels genuine; people get behind the initiatives.” The firm has six networking groups across gender, ethnic backgrounds, social mobility and neuro-divergence, providing space for people to convene. We heard that there are a lot of events from informative sessions to celebrating faiths and cultures throughout the year.

The gender balance received particular praise: “It’s very good for female partners and legal directors.” The firm has a particular emphasis on social mobility. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds come in to learn more about the profession, networking and interview prep, alongside open evenings. It also has partnerships with organisations and offers internships as part of its EDI agenda.

Qualification

Insiders emphasised that throughout the training contract, trainees should be making their interests known when it comes to their preferred departments. Formally, the NQ jobs list is released a few months before qualification, with trainees qualifying throughout the year under the SQE programme. If more than one applicant applies, then interviews will be held. A positive sign: “Retention is really high and the past few rotations were nearly 100%.”

Tossing n’ turning?

‘3:00 AM Conversations’ is a podcast hosted by the former CEO Peter Jackson alongside other guest hosts from Hill Dickinson.