Wilsons

About the firm

Driving around the UK, it’s easy to see how quickly dialects, scenery, and ways of life differ from one stretch of road to another - from London to Oxford, Bristol to Salisbury. And so, as one might expect, so too do firms differ in their culture and ways of working. Enter: Wilsons. A regional firm located in the heart of rural Salisbury, only a short walk from its historic, grand cathedral and town centre. For those disenfranchised by the faced-paced big city lifestyle, it’s a firm that offers the quality of work with the luxury of “walks in the countryside” during lunch breaks. As partner Charlotte Watts tells us: “I think it's brilliant to be able to live and work in this nice area, but do the sort of quality of work you'd be doing at a top London private client firm.”

As a regional entry we feel it prudent to share just how well it fares over in our sister guide, Chambers UK. Wilsons scores top marks for its work in charities: legacy disputes nationwide, as well as a strong ranking in education: institutions. Over in the South West, it also ranks highly for its work in agriculture & rural affairs.

Why trainees joined the firm

Regional location

Trainees were pleased to have found a firm nestled within a bucolic countryside location (just a stone’s throw from Stonehenge) whilst still offering “incredible work with national clients.”

Long-term career aspirations

"There are many partners who have trained here and moved up in the firm,” one insider shared, “and you can definitely see why because it’s such a friendly environment.” Another agreed: “It’s the kind of place where people stay for the long-term.”

Highly ranked private client & charities work

“It was definitely the work that they do,” one trainee explained, “because I was interested in private client and they are really strong in private client work.” This is particularly true of charities, where the firm is top ranked by Chambers UK. In short, those with an interest in working with the public sector should have Wilsons firmly placed on their fantasy firm shortlist.

Trainee satisfaction rankings

Training contract structure

Seat allocation

Trainees were quick to point out that a smaller cohort size meant that “you know everyone’s name.” The firm does have a London office, but all the firm’s trainees are based in Salisbury. First seats are allocated randomly according to business needs. Following this, trainees are sent an email around two months before each seat change to rank their top three choices for their next rotation. “Second years get priority, which is fair,” shared one insider. Overall, trainees were pleased with their allocated seats, even where allocations differed completely from their ranked choices. The firm offers a suite of options including charity, private client, tax and trusts, employment, property, litigation, court of protection, and commercial. As Watts explains: “there is something for everyone here and you get a broad training experience which will set you up for whatever you do in the future.”

Seat Experiences

Trainee life

Culture and environment

Data from our annual trainee survey

Of course, there’s plenty of benefits to being based out of Salisbury: “It’s in the centre of town so you can leave on a lunch break and go for a walk to the cathedral.” A cathedral which, might we add, towers over the city - its spire being the tallest in Britain! Trainees are expected to be in the office five days a week, but this didn’t appear to pose any issues with one source confirming: “We want to be here,” due in part to the familiarity and community-feel housed within the firm, where “everyone knows each other, you know everyone’s name.” Watts is quick to emphasise why this is the case: “our trainees are really important to us because we see them as the future.”

“…everyone knows each other, you know everyone’s name.”

There is also the added perk of having most of the teams working collaboratively on the same floor, meaning “it’s easy to go up to someone and bother them, even the partners don’t mind being asked silly questions!” In terms of social events, the firm hosts annual summer and Christmas parties, Easter drinks, and a highly popular, highly competitive quiz! The firm was largely commended for its encouragement for people to socialise and get to know one another, further reflected in a “new budget for trainee lunches which is already being made use of.”

Working patterns

Data from our annual trainee survey

Readers will be happy to learn that the firm doesn’t provide billable targets at the trainee level, and instead they are given “notional targets to get used to the idea of billable ones.” These notional targets are an aim of achieving five chargeable hours per day. In terms of an average working day, “nobody is expected to work late unless something is needed to be done.” This was the consensus across our interviews, where sources all agreed that they were never online later than 6pm.

Pay

“I think we are nicely compensated,” seems to sum up quite nicely the vibe we gathered from our interviewees. Juniors were also content given that the firm extends its firmwide bonus to include trainees.

Supervision and training

We heard that the level of direct supervision differed depending on the team. Whilst some teams championed a system centred on consistent one to ones with juniors, others preferred a more hands-off approach. In teams where the latter was favoured, one flagged that “it could lead to me not having enough work because it was hard to keep people abreast of how I was doing.” That said, our sources’ ultimate takeaway was that the firm consisted of “really supportive people who you can genuinely go up to at any time.” One thing each style had in common too was “really good feedback.”

“…really supportive people who you can genuinely go up to at any time.”

Training tends to steer into learning on the job, though we should caveat this with the fact that supervisors “don’t assume any knowledge on your behalf” and will “run you through each task you have” before leaving trainees to their own devices. In addition to this, the firm hosts some all-day seminars to build employees’ soft skills such as legal writing and networking with clients. A big bonus for trainees is the firm’s membership with Law South – an organisation which puts on training sessions for lawyers from a group of different firms.

Pro bono & CSR

As previously mentioned, Wilsons demonstrates its commitment to its legal aid work through its support of various charities and events within the local area. Trainees are also encouraged to organise fundraisers and are supported by the firm in their pursuits.

Other opportunities include:

• Wiltshire Creative support

• School visits for workshops, careers fairs and mock interviews

• Sponsor and support activities

Inclusion

Hosted by HR are regular firmwide mental health coffee mornings. These provide colleagues with a chance to seek some respite from too much screen time with a giggle and a chat over pastries and warm beverages. There is also a crafts club twice a week. When it comes to social mobility, insiders felt that the firm still had some ways to go in its applicant screening process, but felt that there were steps being made in the right direction. There was also a positive response when prompted on gender diversity, with sources disclosing a good ratio across different positions in various teams across the firm. The firm also boasts a majority female headcount.

Qualification

Qualification at Wilsons is a straightforward process, with an email sent around to 2^nd year trainees listing the available seats on offer. Trainees then put in their applications, and where there are two or more people going for the same seat interviews are scheduled. Where only one person applies, partners will have a meeting to discuss the applicant before providing them with a decision. “There are a lot of people who have been here a really long time, who started as trainees,” shared one interviewee. Indeed, our sources seemed keen to remain with Wilsons for the long term because “it’s such a friendly environment.”

Maintaining connections…

While Salisbury offers something different, “it is very easy to get to the London office,” where the firm has hot desks available for those visiting from Salisbury to meet with clients or catch up with colleagues in London.