Russell-Cooke

About the firm

Being ‘rich in life’ at Russell Cooke means more than lining your pockets with a bit of loose change (hello, Apple Pay?), because not only is it “one of the most nurturing environments that you could be in,” it also affords its trainees the luxury of choice: “I didn’t want to pigeonhole myself from an early stage,” explained one trainee. In fact, all our interviewees agreed that the firm offers a broad range of practice areas as a part of the training contract. The firm has its fair share of departments that wouldn’t ordinarily crop up on a training contract, including the likes of charity, children and education, enfranchisement and family.

“…it was important that I didn’t just do administrative tasks during my training contract, I wanted real responsibility.”

The general consensus among trainees that Russell Cooke “punch above their weight significantly in terms of the breadth of work they do,” is reflected in our sister guide, Chambers UK, who provide particular praise for the firm’s family/children law, real estate and public law matters, all of which achieved the highest recognition. Another standout feature for juniors is the hands-on experience provided during their two-year rotation. As one trainee said: “it was important that I didn’t just do administrative tasks during my training contract, I wanted real responsibility.” London is the location for trainees here. Offices are scattered across the city, with one in central, another in Putney, and the last in Kingston-upon-Thames, with insiders sharing a perk being the ability to rotate across the three locations.

Why trainees joined the firm

Early responsibility

Trainees reported substantive work including attending court and speaking with clients early on in their seats. Graduate recruitment partner, Jemma Pollock confirmed that, “trainees are treated as fee earners from day one, and in every single seat they take they will be doing actual client work.” This is all, of course, under the watchful eyes of more senior members of the team.

Broad practice area offering

As one insider shared, “the main thing that jumped out to me was the broad range of areas you could do for your training contract.” And with the firm currently offering 15 different practice areas (!!!)it’s clear that choice has never looked quite so fruitful.

Good work/life balance

The best attestation of the firm’s work/life balance is the trainees’ ability to “have hobbies outside of work.” Positive reactions across our interviews reflected this, with insiders in agreement that they were able to balance their private lives whilst being a trainee remarkably well.

Trainee satisfaction rankings

Training contract structure

Seat allocation

During the interview process, people are given the opportunity to flag areas of interest for their first seat, though the firm is transparent in letting interviewees know that priority is given to third and fourth seat trainees “since they are coming to the end of their training contract and so it is paramount to prioritise their choices.” This means that first seats are often allocated at random. “We have a mid-seat review and an end of seat review where we express our interests to the trainee partner,” explained one junior. Another happily shared that the same partner “advocates on our behalf and tries to secure the seats that we want,” confirming that “usually everyone gets what they ask for at some point in their training contract.”

Difficulties arise when landing on a single area of law to pursue, since “it’s quite hard to choose when there is so much variety.” First world problems, am I right? The firm does its best to facilitate trainees’ preferences and has even opened up more spots within a team where it was able to, to “go above and beyond to tailor the training contract experience to trainees’ interests.” Russell Cooke offers a four-seat rotation, with its trainees spending six months in each department they are assigned to. Cohorts are kept relatively small too, with only 10 trainees per year.

Client secondments

Client secondments are a rarity at the firm and an occasional exception rather than an open offer.

International secondments

N/A

Seat Experiences

Trainee life

Culture and environment

Data from our annual trainee survey

“I genuinely have not met one single bad egg” – the main takeaway from all of our interviewees when questioned on the firm’s culture. One trainee told us that the firm prides itself on “partner approachability, but also it’s that approachability which provides for a really nurturing environment where you can learn and develop your legal career.” We heard that partners and associates make a conscious effort to get to know trainees too, often treating them to impromptu coffee catch ups, as well as team lunches ensuring that “they prioritise culture alongside the firm’s growth.”

“…it’s that approachability which provides for a really nurturing environment.”

Social events tend to be dependent upon the team, meaning that “some departments are more event-focused than others.” For example, the real estate team hosted an event at the V&A with invitations extended to trainees. Talks and panel events are also organised for different practice areas, with counsel attending to provide seminars on various topics. Trainees are also allocated a budget for socials, with a committee organising a whole variety of events including pottery painting, wine tasting, escape rooms, Fairgame, and even a trip to see Abba Voyage. For those interested in learning more about the culture, the firm also publishes weekly blogs during their application season.

Working patterns

Data from our annual trainee survey

Work/life balance being one of the firm’s selling points was reflected in juniors’ experiences at the firm. “Majority of the time I’m out at 5:30pm” shared one interviewee, with others echoing the same end time to their day. We were told that “no one is really in the office past 6pm” and so there is concern from seniors if they spot a trainee still in their seat. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule as different teams handle different workloads day-to-day, so there may be a few rogue late evenings, though we didn’t hear anything crazier than a 7pm finish. We were also reassured that there is no obligation to stay later even when there are deals to be dealt with, so “if one of your priorities is to balance work with your private life, it’s a good place to be.”

Since the firm is split across three offices in London, depending on the seat assigned, trainees could find themselves making the rounds through Putney, Kingston-upon-Thames, and Holborn. The expectation is for trainees to be in-office four days a week, but this didn’t seem to be an issue since, “when you’re training, you want as much contact time as possible.”

Pay

Data provided by firm and our annual trainee survey

The consensus seemed to be that “the salary is very fair for the hours you do” at Russell Cooke. Whilst trainees appreciated that more competitive salaries may be offered elsewhere within the legal market, they praised that compensation here meant they were able to balance their personal life alongside work obligations. As one trainee confirmed: “all the advertising the firm does on pushing a work/life balance is true.”

Supervision and training

Data from our annual trainee survey

Russell Cooke operates a buddy system whereby new joiners are provided with a ‘buddy’ (aka a trainee in their second year of the training contract), who acts as an informal support for any qualms or queries new starters have, including just being an open ear to blow off some steam. When it came to supervisors, reflections from trainees differed, citing a mixture of capacity levels within teams and distinct managing styles. Whilst some interviewees felt that the firm offers “a more learn by doing environment” with ad hoc supervision, others had 1-1 weekly catch-ups with their supervisors scheduled into their calendars. On the whole, trainees were happy with the systems in place to develop their skills as legal professionals, even in teams where supervisors were not always readily available to field questions, other seniors and associates were reportedly more than happy to step up to the plate. As one trainee shared: “They make time for you and your progression because they want to see you do well.”

Pro bono & CSR

Legal aid cases take up the bulk of the firm’s charitable contributions and ended up being a deciding factor for one of our sources applying for a training contract here. The key departments taking on legal aid cases are property litigation, family, and criminal, and according to one trainee: “When you get involved in legal aid it contributes to your overall hours since it’s recognised as value added work.” Alongside this is, of course, the firm’s work for charities which is provided at a reduced rate.

Inclusion

The firm has made an effort to foster a more inclusive environment, with trainees praising the positive action it has taken to increase social mobility by actively recruiting juniors who were state school educated. Whilst most trainees felt there was more that needed to be done regarding diversity within the firm, the male to female ratio at partner level was regarded as close to evenly split. A DEI network hosts events aimed at highlighting holy celebrations at the firm, such as Hannukah, Ramadan, and Diwali, as well as important calendar dates celebrating things such as International Women’s Day.

Qualification

Come qualification time, a list of departments taking on NQ’s is circulated to trainees when they’re in their final seat with most just requiring an informal chat with the department head and graduate recruitment. Where there are multiple applicants for one position, interviews will be conducted, but we heard this is still a relatively relaxed process. “Most of the time you can approach the partners directly and have a discussion on your interests in that seat,” explained one junior, “they might even decide that they can stretch the budget,” though this is dependant on business needs, meaning multiple NQ positions per department.

It is also worth noting that trainees can apply to as many available seats as they wish. The only gripe we heard was in relation to the firm’s lack of transparency on NQ salary, which isn’t typically disclosed. Despite this, all of our sources were positive that they wanted to remain at the firm for the long term.

Let them Cooke…

No formal dress code, dogs in the office, and trainees that are “the best of friends”? Absolutely no notes. As you were.