Watson Farley & Williams

About the firm

As the old saying goes: if you’re going to do it, do it well. It’s one that the folks at WFW have taken to heart. The firm is consistently “working on the biggest mandates in energy and shipping.” Of course, there’s the added benefit for clients of only having to type in five different letters to get to www.wfw.com too. Despite being of a relatively small size in the grand scale of London’s legal market, as sector specialists, they’re often on the other side of deals with the UK and US’s largest firms. Given this, it’s hardly surprising that Chambers UK places its work shipping finance in the top category, as well as highly commending its work in power, renewables & alternative energy, aviation finance and shipping.

“…working on the biggest mandates in energy and shipping.”

WFW has 19 offices across 15 countries, with its only UK office situated in Moorgate Street. According to the firm’s training principal, Daniel Saunders, even WFW’s UK-trained lawyers are “very much international lawyers.” He tells us: “We're not siloed into teams, and we're not siloed into offices or jurisdictions. We truly work across the board, and We try and instil that in our trainees from day one.” He adds: “It’s really part of our DNA that that's what we do - part of our USP - both internally and externally to clients.”

Why trainees joined the firm

Sector based expertise

Rather than joining a firm whose departments have a wider, more general approach to work, the idea of being an expert in a more refined area appealed to a number of trainees. One trainee assured us that the level of expertise at WFW is “ridiculous.”

Small size, big impact

Trainees were quick to point out that the other firms they often encounter on deals were of a far larger size – frequently the UK Magic Circle or US white shoe firms - and the firm’s reputation for this made them feel like they were applying to a firm that was punching above its weight for its size.

Manageable working hours

As one of the firm’s trainees told us, “You couldn’t do the same tier of work whilst working the same hours elsewhere. The firm feels like a perfect middle ground.”

Trainee satisfaction rankings

Training contract structure

Seat allocation

Over the course of their training contract, WFW’s trainees spend six-months in four seats. They must undertake one six- month stint in the firm’s assets & structured finance team, and at least another six months in a contentious seat. Most trainees fulfil their obligation to sit in a contentious seat by spending time in the firm’s disputes department.

Trainees have a conversation with grad recruitment, before the firm employs a seat ranking software to produce a provisional draft timetable of their seats. Juniors were generally happy with the seat allocation process, with one trainee considering: “Sure, you end up with some seats you’re not as keen on, but that happens everywhere. I’ve managed to do all the seats I saw as ‘my do or die seats’.”

Client secondments

WFW occasionally offers a small number of trainees the opportunity to undertake client secondments at the firm’s ‘key’ clients. These opportunities, however, often arise at quite a short notice and are more of a feature of associate life at the firm.

International secondments

As part of WFW’s training contract, trainees are required to undertake a seat in one of the firm’s overseas offices. The current international seats on offer are located in Athens, Bangkok, Dubai, Frankfurt, Paris, Singapore and Tokyo. In all of the firm’s international offices (bar Dubai, which is a general seat), trainees work in the same seat as they would have done if they were back in the UK. This allows trainees to both undertake the work they are interested in whilst also getting a feel for working overseas.

Seat Experiences

Trainee life

Culture and environment

Data from our annual trainee survey

Trainees were full of praise for WFW’s workplace culture. As one trainee was quick to highlight: “You hear horror stories about partners at other places. Here, you can go and walk into their office, or chat to them by the coffee machine. They’re happy to learn more about you.” Another trainee recalled bumping into a partner whilst working late and being urged (in a tongue-in-cheek way) not to work for much longer.

We heard that, every day, a beer fridge is stocked and made available for all of the firm’s teams. Thursday drinks were deemed a social event worth attending, even if you’re not planning on drinking. It was perceived as a great opportunity for trainees to “let their hair down on a Thursday.” We heard that different teams and their partners often take chances to lead Thursday drinks too, which helps to encourage attendance.

In the lead up to and during the Christmas rush, trainees reported that social activities take a back seat. After that, however, the scheduling of socials resumes at a normal rate. Events included a mini golf social, a standup comedy night, and a Halloween themed event.

The firm has just moved offices to Moorgate Street. Whilst we sit in eager anticipation to hear what the new canteen is like, it has big shoes to fill. The firm’s canteen at its previous office received unanimous praise for its variation, nutrition and the extent of its subsidisation, so trainees will no doubt be hoping for a degree of continuity.

Working patterns

Data from our annual trainee survey

Many of WFW’s trainees told us that they preferred working in-office and regularly exceeded the number of days they were expected to be in (which changes from team to team). Part of this rationale, trainees argued, was that ad hoc work opportunities more often come to those that choose to go into the office. Expanding on this, one trainee told us that: “If you’re in, often a supervisor will clock that and pop their head over computer screen and give you a task.”

Trainees found that they usually started their working day at around 9am and ended it around 8pm. Of course, this changes, and does so quite dramatically when trainees are working on the closing of deals or undertaking work in the lead-up to Christmas (which is frequently one of the busiest periods of the year for the firm). We heard that the number of days a trainee would be expected to be in the office would almost certainly change during these times too. As one trainee told us: "During a close, you really need the ability to chat to each other."

Pay

Data provided by firm and our annual trainee survey

The general consensus was that the trainee salary at WFW was fair, and in line with comparable firms in the market. One trainee argued that “the salary is reflective of how much you work. You sometimes have to be available till late, but you don’t have to work insane hours.” As another put it: “Some of my friends just seem to work all night and have no social life…”

Supervision and training

Data from our annual trainee survey

WFW’s teams each take a slightly different approach to training. Some teams prefer to concentrate training during the beginning of a seat (usually during the first three weeks), some teams prefer to provide training gradually, and others favour learning by doing, encouraging trainees to learn by trial and error.

At WFW, every trainee shares an office with their supervisor. WFW’s supervisors were labelled as great givers of advice and were seen as a go to figure for answering questions about “grey areas.” Trainees frequently meet their supervisors in environments as formal as a mid-seat review, or as informal as a Friday lunch. One trainee told us that they felt as if WFW’s culture encouraged them to ask about their ‘silly questions,’ highlighting that “the firm’s belief is that there are no such thing!”

Pro bono & CSR

Pro bono work is taken “just as seriously” asthe firm’s regular billable work, and trainees were quick to point out that they are expected to approach it with the same vigour. The pro bono opportunities on offer at WFW are quite different from the day to day, and involve assisting on matters that promote access to justice, support charitable and non-profit organisations and advance sustainability.

The firm also dedicates a week to raising pro-bono awareness in November. Alongside legal pro bono work, trainees are encouraged to participate in community engagement activities, including mentoring young people, educational outreach programmes, environmental volunteering and charitable fundraising initiatives.

Other opportunities include

• NWFW has a three-year partnership with TreeApp, a social enterprise focused on global nature restoration. As part of this initiative, the firm plants one tree for every deal completed in the previous year.

• Partnership with Causeway Education through the firm’s Careers in the City programme, which provides young people from underrepresented backgrounds with mentoring through activities like skills workshops, office visits and networking opportunities.

Inclusion

WFW has a number of inclusion-related networks open to trainees, including a women’s network (We Further Women), a race and ethnicity diversity network (MOSAIC), and an LGBT+ allies network (PROUD). The firm’s inclusion networks hold a range of diversity- related talks which are usually hosted by lawyers and speakers from the background associated with the diversity network. All are welcome to attend these networks groups, and trainees felt that WFW’s active role in encouraging participation in these groups and sessions helped to create an inclusive environment.

We also heard that WFW offers great mental health and wellbeing support for those that need it. Trainees can speak to a dedicated mental health ally (somebody at firm who has had mental health training), use a ‘nightline’ style service, or can be put in touch with a therapist. Further resources are also signposted around the firm’s office. Perhaps most importantly, trainees felt that their supervisors would be good, approachable figures for raising issues relating to wellbeing.

Qualification

The general consensus among those we spoke to was that WFW was a long-term option. One trainee made it clear that they definitely “wouldn’t have any qualms” about staying at the firm long term, and another told us that they “couldn’t see themselves going elsewhere.” The qualification process ramps up “quite gradually,” beginning with informal conversations with the firm’s partners in the summer of your first year.

In the January of their second-year, trainees then make a firm decision about where they would like to apply and then undertake an interview with that department in March or April time. Whilst one trainee warned us that the interview process was “challenging” and stressed that the process isn’t a walk in the park, we were reassured that the firm is not trying to catch you out and does its best to put you at ease. We were told that the firm’s careers department puts second-year trainees in touch with NQs to speak to them about their experience and share any tips.

World Famous Waypoints….

WFW’s new office has views of the Banks of England, The Shard, London eye and St Paul's.