User Login

Burges Salmon 
Narrow Quay House Narrow Quay Bristol BS1 4AH
Lex 100 winner
Favoured by 2 users (Register to add this entry to your favourites)

The trainee verdict

image


The lowdown (in their own words...)


Why did you choose this firm over any others? 'I spoke to senior lawyers at other firms who all recommended the quality of training at BS'; 'fantastic vacation scheme full of social events'; 'friendliness, ambition and opportunity for career progression'; 'reputation, pay, quality of work and clients, work/life balance'; 'interested in agriculture department'

How does your training compare with peers' at other firms? 'I've had a lot more client contact'; 'I feel valued as an important member of the team'; 'working past 8pm is very rare, working past 7pm is rare'; 'we are very well supervised'; 'more responsibility but more relaxed'; 'more focus on training and development'; 'interesting and varied (six seat structure)'

Best thing about the firm? 'The opportunity to get involved in a huge range of quality work in a stable and supportive environment'; 'broad range of practice areas'; 'the Bristol location and the work/life balance'; 'responsibility, support, friendly colleagues, and did I mention the pay yet?'; 'real interest in you and your development' 

Worst thing about the firm? 'Crossing between the sub-Saharan older and tundra-esque newer parts of the building can wreak physiological havoc'; 'having to reassemble the rubics-like inbox tray after every seat move'; 'the sandwiches. But only every other week!'; office, office and office - but everyone excited about moving in 2010!'

Best moment? 'Conducting (and surviving) my first solo client meeting'; 'spending a day at the seaside in Dorset in blazing sunshine taking witness statements'; 'having a client thank me for doing my job'; 'petitioning the House of Lords and walking round a 100ft high tree-top walk with a client'; 'site visit to a cheese factory and free samples'

Worst moment? 'Discovering that fruit cake in the vending machines is not a daily occurrence'; 'on a site visit to a farm in Wales, following a 60-year old lady over a locked gate and falling flat on my face at her feet'; 'dropping a sandwich all down my suit just before going into a client meeting!'; 'losing the trainee-supervisor boat race at the Property Christmas Party'



The Lex 100 verdict

The firm

Our strategy is clear, says leading Bristol practice, Burges Salmon: 'We want to be the first-choice law firm for clients and staff seeking a real alternative to City firms'. Clients certainly give the firm their vote of confidence describing the corporate team as 'superb', 'always delivering even under heavy timescales' and providing 'much better value than London'.


The star performers

Top-ranking departments according to The Legal 500*Agriculture and estates; Banking and finance; Commercial litigation; Commercial property; Construction; Corporate and commercial; Corporate tax; Environment; EU/competition; Family; Health and safety; Human resources; Information technology; Insolvency/corporate recovery; Intellectual property; Pensions; Personal tax, trusts and probate; Planning; Private client; PFI; Rail.

The deals

Advising the Department for Transport and the MoD in the £3bn-£5bn search-and-rescue helicopter PFI for the UK and Falkland Islands; advising Helius Energy PLC on a £200m biomass power station, and Costain Ltd on the £2bn Greater Manchester Waste Management PFI project; advised the shareholders of the West Cornwall Pasty Company on a £28m disposal by management buyout.

The clients

Alitalia; Citigroup Private Bank; Corus; Discovery Channel; ECI Partners; FirstGroup; Harrods; New Earth Solutions; Shell; Virgin Mobile.

The money

(from Legal Business magazine)

Turnover in 2008: £68.2m (+11% from 2007) Profits per equity partner: £528,000 (+12%)


The Lex 100 verdict

'Top-quality work in a great location, perfect work/life balance and a friendly, welcoming atmosphere from day one of the recruitment process.' This is Burges Salmon summed up by one contented current trainee and the comments echo the general feeling of positivity about this dynamic Bristol practice. No surprises then that the firm is a deserving Lex 100 winner in an incredible nine out of ten categories this year (job satisfaction, living up to expectations, quality of work, client contact, low stress, work/life balance, friendliness, social life, vacation scheme and confident of being kept on). Trainees here praise pretty much everything from the six seat structure to the 'patient supervisors', to the varied and interesting work and clients. The people are 'second to none' - 'I have not met a person who works here from the cleaners to the partners who I don't like' and trainees consider themselves lucky to have 'colleagues who will bust a gut to give you good work'. Burges Salmon is also very good at nurturing its staff - it 'takes trainee welfare very seriously and there are numerous opportunities for feedback'. There are also numerous opportunities for fun - with 'football, hockey, basketball, Friday (or any other day) drinks, wild Christmas parties, fancy dress ice skating - you name it, it's here'. Very few complaints from these happy trainees - but just because it's fun don't come here expecting an easy ride - the other trainees are 'too damn clever' comments one respondent - and clearly a lot of hard work and commitment is required to earn a place at this successful firm. Once again the 'tired, run-down offices' come in for a blasting, but 'everyone is very excited about the 2010 move to One Glass Wharf'. It will be interesting to see if the trainees find anything to complain about next year. For the moment it seems Burges Salmon is pretty hard to beat.

A day in the life of.....

A day in the life of.....

Mary Gaskins trainee, Burges Salmon LLP
University: University of Birmingham
Departments to date: Commercial; Property; Family
Degree and class: Law, First Class

9am: I arrive at work after a 20 minute walk with two of my fellow trainees. Walking to work means that I have no pressure of transport timetables and it gives me a chance to catch up and wake up. After my morning cup of tea I check my to-do list for the day ahead and go through the daily post with my supervisor, Tom. I have received an email from another member of the team asking me to research two companies that might be important in relation to a client's finances. The variety I have experienced in the first nine months of my training contract is second to none. I have worked with the Ministry of Defence, the Crown Estate and a handbag designer and my work has ranged from negotiating clauses in a lease to taking an attendance note at a final hearing of a litigation case. Furthermore the quality of work that you get as a trainee at Burges Salmon is fantastic. Whilst sitting in the Commercial department I got the chance to work on a series of projects which ranged from negotiations and completion of a multi-million pound contract for the Government and responding to queries over a rail contract for FirstGroup. Combined with the six seat training contract, this breadth and quality of experience puts me in a strong position to make an informed decision as to what I want to specialise in on qualification. 11.30am: The second round of post has arrived today and I receive a timetable from Bristol County Court in relation to a client's financial proceedings. I see all stages of the court process and get large amounts of client contact and responsibility. You also see how key it is for both sides to co-operate. This does not always happen, as in this case, which results in one party having to resort to the court process. I compose an email to the client detailing the date of the hearing and explain what the timetable entails. After this Tom asks me to call a number of barristers' chambers to find out which barristers might be available for a hearing. I speak to a clerk who runs me through those available, after which I write a memo to Tom with the information.1pm: It's time for some lunch in Queen Square with a few other trainees.

The conversation turns to the food tasting session earlier that morning. This involved sampling a variety of the drinks and food that the café in our new offices is going to serve. The consensus was that the food was great and we are looking forward to the move to the new offices next Summer! 2pm: After lunch Tom asks me to draft various documents for a court hearing we have in two weeks time. Our client and the other party are currently exchanging financial information. I have to examine the opposition's disclosure to pick out the key issues and also formulate questions to retrieve more information and clarify any unclear points. Attention to detail is key, as is looking at the situation in a practical and logical way. 5.30pm: I complete my to-do list for next week and my timesheets detailing today's work. The hours do vary depending on the practice area but the cliché of a work life balance at Burges Salmon is most definitely true. Today I'm keen to get away in good time as the first year trainees have organised a weekend away in West Wales which is sure to be anything but dull!



About the firm

About the firm

Address: Narrow Quay House Narrow Quay Bristol BS1 4AH
Telephone: 0117 902 7797 Fax: 0117 902 4400
Website:  www.burges-salmon.com
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Senior partner: Stephen McNulty, Managing partner: Chris Jackson
Total partners: 69
Other fee-earners:345
Total trainees :43

Who we are: Based in Bristol, Burges Salmon LLP is one of the UK's leading commercial law firms. Our clients include EMI Group, Discovery channel, Orange and Coca Cola HBC.

What we do: The firm provides national and international clients with a full commercial sevice through five broadly based, interacting departments: corporate and financial institutions; commercial; property; private client and wealth structuring; and disputes, environment and planning.

What we are looking for: Hard working, motivated individuals with a strong academic background and enthusiasm for a career in law. Candidates must be commercially aware and possess excellent communication skills.

What you will do: Training consists of six seats rather than the usual four and is personalised to suit each individual.

Perks: 24 days' holiday, qualification leave, bonus scheme, pension scheme, private health care membership, mobile phone, corporate gym membership, sports and social club.

Sponsorship: GDL and LPC fees, maintenance grants of £7,000 to LPC students and £14,000 to students studying for both the GDL and LPC (£7,000 pa)

Application process

Apply to: Katy Main, Recruitment Manager.

How to apply: Online application form available via our website (www.burges-salmon.com).

When to Apply: Deadline for Open Days and Vacation Placements: 31 January 2010; deadline for Training Contracts: 31 July 2010.

What is involved: Interview; psychometric test; written exercise. During the interview candidates will also have the opportunity to talk to current trainees and take a tour of the firm.

Facts and figures

Trainee places available for 2012 25

Applications received pa 1,500

Percentage interviewed Approximately 10%

Salary

First year £30,000

Second year £31,000

Newly qualified £40,000

Placement schemes

Summer: 21 June - 2 July 2010; 5 July - 16 July 2010; 19 July - 30 July 2010; 2 August - 13 August 2010. Apply by 31 January 2010.