Penningtons Manches Cooper

About the firm

You might expect a firm with a name like Penningtons Manches Cooper and a 300-year history to reflect an old-school, stuffy, antiquated stereotype of a British law firm. Speaking to Penningtons insiders, however, reveals that this full-service firm is anything but. From its CSR initiatives to its inclusion efforts, its network of international offices from Paris to Singapore and the wide range of clients it acts for, our interviewees felt almost exclusively positive about Penningtons’ “small-firm feel in a big-city setting.”

In Chambers Global, the firm is ranked in Shipping Litigation and Shipping. In Chambers UK, the firm earns top rankings in London, the Thames Valley and the South of England. In London, Penningtons is top for Family/Children Law and Real Estate (£10-50 million). In the Thames Valley, its Oxford and Reading offices rate highly for IP, Real Estate Litigation and Family/Matrimonial work. In the South region, its Basingstoke and Guildford offices win top rankings for Clinical Negligence, Family/Matrimonial and IT. Nationally, Penningtons also wins praise for its strong Court of Protection: Property & Affairs, Education: Institutions, Immigration: Business and Travel: International Personal Injury practices. That’s quite the spread of top practices.

“We’re not just a corporate or private client firm, and we work on both contentious and transactional matters.”

Insiders explained that, with such a broad client base, “you can be dealing with individuals in something like personal injury or clinical injury, which can be intense but rewarding,” before getting a completely different experience in the next seat in an area such as IP. “We’re not just a corporate or private client firm, and we work on both contentious and transactional matters,” one trainee explained, so “you can figure out which you like more.”

Why trainees joined the firm

Full service

Trainees at Penningtons can work across a wide range of practices, from corporate to litigation, and for a range of clients, from businesses to individuals.

Support for career changers

Many trainees do come directly from university, but a number of interviewees noted that “it can be an advantage to come a bit later – the firm is supportive of career changers because it’s good to have that experience.”

Small firm feel

For our interviewees, the small cohort size helps to create a close-knit culture and also means that “you are given responsibility and are really contributing to matters.”

Trainee satisfaction rankings

Training contract structure

Seat allocation

Like at most firms, trainees don’t get a say in where they go for their first seat. For the other three seats, “you rank everything” as to preference. Trainees are encouraged to do at least one contentious seat, but beyond this there are no real restrictions on choices. It’s also not unheard of for trainees to do two stints in the same department if there’s a business need.

Seat allocation in general was seen as “very fair and transparent,” and our interviewees told us they generally got their top preferences. Some seats are only available in certain offices. A seat in Shipping, for instance, is only available in London. But Penningtons can still offer a “one-firm approach,” since trainees in regional offices are permitted to do seats in departments based elsewhere.

Client secondments

Trainees at Penningtons have, in the recent past, done a three-month employment law secondment. The secondment is available subject to business need.

Seat Experiences

Trainee life

Culture and environment

Data from our annual trainee survey

The account of Penningtons’ culture we got from trainees was consistent across the firm’s seven domestic offices. Each location has an open-plan office layout, and trainees are expected to be in the office at least 50% of the week. Trainees told us that in each of the offices “it doesn’t feel like it’s just us; we have people coming in and out from all the different offices all the time,” and departments often work cross-office.

Insiders were incredibly positive about the “approachable” nature of the firm. “Immediately, everyone was very welcoming,” said a source. From paralegals to partners, “everyone is happy to help, give feedback and coach you to do certain things,” to the point where newbies even felt comfortable with the most senior partners at the firm.

Most strikingly, most of our interviewees – unprompted – brought up Penningtons’ current CEO, Helen Drayton, as an exemplar for the firm’s culture. “She is the friendliest, most approachable CEO,” said one starstruck interviewee, adding: “She has that aura! But in the way she interacts with people she is very down-to-earth.”

“She is the friendliest, most approachable CEO – she has that aura!”

We also heard Penningtons described as a “very warm, very social” sort of firm. The different offices each have their own ways of getting fee-earners to mingle. In the Oxford office, for example, “we have a monthly coffee randomiser where you meet up with someone new for coffee and find out what they’re interested in.” Offices and teams all do the traditional Christmas and summer parties, with the latter hosted in the London office. Each office also has its own sports and social committee, as well as a Pen Future committee,which organise and fund outings. These have included going to see the Hunger Games play and the Devil Wears Prada musical, reformer Pilates sessions and pizza making – all things where “you feel like you can participate fully if you don’t drink.”

Working patterns

Data from our annual trainee survey

Our sources felt that Penningtons makes a concerted effort to ensure that trainees aren’t thrown “in the deep end.” Although hours vary between teams, “there is a real healthy balance – people understand that you have a life to get to!” In certain departments, integrated into the trainees’ workflow is a volume tracker that helps determine how much work each person gets. “If you put your capacity level at red you don’t really get sent anything,” one trainee explained, so “I’ve never felt overwhelmed.” We heard that 6:30pm was a typical finishing time for newbies, and exceptions can be made for trainees to start and finish a little earlier.

Pay

Data provided by firm and our annual trainee survey

All of our interviewees were pretty satisfied with the trainee salary, which is £48,000 for first-year trainees and £50,000 for second-year trainees in London. For other offices, sources told us that “the gap between London and regional salaries is only £5,000, so it’s really good for a regional salary.” One interviewee did report that “we’re not part of the bonus scheme, so in that sense it’s not ideal… but the salary is fair. And if you work hard, you look good for newly qualified (NQ) roles.”

NQ salaries rise to £83,000 in London and £60,000 in the regional offices. “It’s no secret that at Penningtons, especially when you get to qualification, we’re not as well remunerated as at other firms,” said an interviewee, “but it’s a trade-off.” That’s because, according to our sources, Penningtons isn’t a firm where “you won’t have a life and burn out – it’s more sustainable.”

Supervision and training

Data from our annual trainee survey

In each seat, trainees are given a team buddy and a supervisor who stay with them for the duration of the seat. Outside of this, newbies are also paired with a partner mentor and a trainee buddy for the entire training contract. Overall, feedback was “really good”, not just from supervisors but “from the whole team; I got feedback which included everyone’s comments, a list of the positives, the name of the person who had given the feedback and the specific piece of client work it related to.”

“AI is something we’re having an ongoing conversation about.”

Trainees get refresher sessions in the areas of law they are going into, as well as “ongoing training as and when the law changes.” In addition to this, “AI is something we’re having an ongoing conversation about,” one trainee explained. To help build the skills needed to utilise AI effectively, “they rolled out an ‘AI legal minds’ programmewhere you rotate between different campaigns – events, article writing, and taking part in a tester group to trial AI for rollout.”

Pro bono & CSR

Trainees are given 21 hours a year to go towards volunteering and pro bono work. There are many volunteering opportunities for trainees, including volunteering at Citizens Advice. Groups from the London office help out at soup kitchens. Some departments also allow trainees to work on pro bono matters.

Inclusion

Penningtons received strong praise from trainees for its inclusionefforts, particularly on the gender front. “40 to 45 per cent of the partnership was female when I joined, and multiple teams are led by women,” reported one trainee, which, they said, makes a difference “when you’re thinking long-term.”

“I do feel there’s an effort here, and our CEO is the captain of that ship.”

The firm has several affinity groups dedicated to inclusion, including the gender, race and faith groups and the LGBT group which we’re told is “very active.” It was explained that while inclusion efforts at some employers can feel performative, “I do feel there’s an effort here, and our CEO is the captain of that ship.” Penningtons’ EMpower scheme, targeted at levelling the playing field for people from low-income backgrounds, ethnic minorities or those with black heritage, “is successful; I’ve seen people from that scheme get training contracts, and the CEO has meetings with them for an hour, which I think is amazing – when you have a leader like that, it’s going to permeate through the firm.”

Qualification

Qualificationis a six-to-eight-week process. HR asks trainees where they want to qualify, then a jobs list is released, and hopefuls have about two weeks to apply with a CV and cover letter. There are also interviews, and the format of these varies between departments. Some teams, like employment, ask applicants to prepare a case study, while other teams’ interviews are made up of competency-based questions.

“It’s good that you get the chance to put your case forward as to why you should stay.”

As is usually the case in law firms, qualifying at Penningtons is “a stressful experience,” said interviewees. Penningtons trainees were somewhat dissatisfied that “it’s a two-year interview then you get gifted with another interview at the end!” They did admit, though, that “it’s a good firm with a good reputation and high standards to meet – and it’s good that you get the chance to put your case forward as to why you should stay.”

In it for Penning-tonnes of time…

Ultimately, all of our interviewees wanted to stay at the firm. “I feel like I could stay here for a long time,” said one, “and I think a lot of people are the same