Lex 100 - asb law

Main Menu

User Login

asb law

Innovis House 108 High Street Crawley RH10 1AS

Favoured by 1 users (Register to add this entry to your favourites)

The trainee verdict

The lowdown (in their own words...)

Why did you choose this firm over any others? 'Wide range of practice areas'; 'very friendly people at the interview'; 'good-quality work'; 'I had worked for the firm previously and had experienced first hand the firm's flexibility in handing out work'; 'I wanted client contact and early responsibility'

How does your training compare with peers' at other firms? 'You are not expected to work very late'; 'you do get exposure to good-quality work'; 'my friends at large City firms often work considerably longer hours than me'; 'if you can show that you're up to the challenge, the quality of work you receive is fantastic!'; 'good standard benefits like private medical care'

Best thing about the firm? 'Possibility to 'get stuck in' to the work of the team you're working with'; 'trainees are not stuck doing the photocopying!'; 'most departments give good-quality work and client contact'; 'being treated as one of the team, rather than just the trainee'; 'the flexibility - there's no pre- determined role for trainees in each department. It is what you make it'

Worst thing about the firm? 'The distance between the two offices'; 'the departments are smaller than at larger firms so it is often not possible to accommodate all trainees' requests to do seats in a particular department'; 'too much emphasis is placed on profits'

Best moment? 'Taking my first client meeting on my own'; 'assisting on obtaining an urgent interim freezing order for a major client against two of its employees for breach of covenants in their employment contracts'; 'moving departments and receiving emails from clients to say they'll miss me and thanking me for my hard work'

Worst moment? 'Trawling through ten-year-old files for five hours looking for one document'; 'being stuck doing a seat in a department I had no interest in pursuing as a career'; ' doing work which was largely administrative and being given very little responsibility in one seat'

The Lex 100 verdict

The firm

With offices in Maidstone and Crawley, asb law offers a wide range of services to both corporate and private clients in the South East and beyond. The firm has an interesting niche as one of the leading providers of legal services to the travel industry, with its aviation team advising on complex, cross-border litigation and regulatory matters. Other strengths are employment, insolvency and corporate recovery, and banking and finance, with clients describing the firm as 'very efficient and responsive'.

The star performers

Aviation; Banking and finance; Charities; Commercial litigation; Corporate and commercial; Crime; Employment; Family; Insolvency and corporate recovery; Local government; Personal injury: claimant; Personal tax, trusts and probate; Planning; Transport.

The deals

Advised Erste Group Bank on a $9.57m term loan facility; acting for LHI Leasing GmbH on the acquisition of seven aircraft engines; advised four founding shareholders of Beck Group on a management buyout.

The clients

easyJet; ABTA; Aercap; Air Partner; CBS Butler; Central Sussex College; Eastbourne Borough Council; the National Offender Management Services; RSPCA; TUI.

The Verdict

If you want a friendly regional firm that does quality work, but without the stress and long hours associated with working in London, consider a training contract at asb law. Trainees here say there are 'no pre-determined roles' in each of the departments, and because they are 'not stuck at the photocopier', there's the opportunity to get really involved in the projects you're assigned to ('you're treated as one of the team'). They report being given plenty of client contact and early responsibility - 'something I'm not sure you necessarily get from larger firms' - and this includes sometimes handling client meetings alone. If this sounds like an overwhelming prospect, take reassurance from the fact that the firm is a Lex 100 Winner for manageable stress levels. There is also praise for the firm's approach to work/life balance ('you are not expected to stay very late'). The firm's specialist industry knowledge will appeal to those interested in the travel sector, in particular aviation, but there's a wide range of other practice areas to try (bear in mind that you may not always get your first seat choice). As with last year, there are a few grumbles about having to commute between the Maidstone and Crawley offices, but assuming you won't be able to borrow a plane from one of the firm's aviation clients, this is something you will have to put up with. All in all, asb law is a great choice for those seeking a breadth of commercial and private client work with plenty of responsibility and client contact plus some interesting niche specialisms.