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51 Eastcheap London EC3M 1JP 
Favoured by 5 users
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The lowdown (in their own words...)Why did you choose this firm over any others? 'It has an excellent reputation, particularly in its core sectors. Also drawn by litigation focus and opportunity to do overseas seat'; 'part of a reasonable-sized intake'; 'international yet has not forgotten its roots'; 'because of its reputation in the Middle East' How does your training compare with peers' at other firms? 'Better work/life balance and a less brutal work ethos'; 'excellent quality of work coupled with very reasonable hours'; 'compared to other firms, I'm in a 'win-win' situation'; '1. Better work/life balance; 2. Lower budgets; 3. Slightly lower salaries; 4. Less transactional work'; 'a lot more responsibility and involvement with cases' Best thing about the firm? 'Open-door policy means you can always ask for help'; 'dress-down Friday'; 'people come from all sorts of backgrounds: trainees with a law degree and straight out of law school are more the exception than the norm'; 'Guildford office'; 'working with bright minds'; 'international opportunities'; 'litigation focused: high value, exciting cases' Worst thing about the firm? 'Fitting in a seat in Guildford. While the quaint location, top-quality work and friendly people are highly attractive factors, the big turn-off is the daily commute from London'; 'old school'; 'competition for some seats can be fierce'; 'the rotation system. Very opaque and last minute'; 'offices are a bit shabby' Best moment? 'Working on a vast case that regularly featured in the press'; 'managing and completing my own transaction'; 'attending trial at the RCJ for over a month on a big fraud case'; 'trip to Hamburg to finalise witness statements'; 'being treated like a full member of the team at the height of the Lehman Brothers crisis'; 'travelling to North Korea for a site visit' Worst moment? 'Bundling on a Friday evening'; 'facing the inevitable lull in work that follows the settlement of a big case'; 'very heavy workload before Christmas which was quite stressful'; 'realising that I had accidentally thrown some original documents away and having to go through the bins'; 'feeling overwhelmed with too much work to do' The firmClyde & Co continues to dominate in the insurance and transport sectors, with shipping a core focus. Its commercial litigation prowess has seen the firm pick up a raft of instructions in disputes against banks, whilst the corporate team has succeeded in ramping up its deal volume, completing an impressive 40 transactions in 2008, ranging in value up to £150m. The star performersAviation; Arbitration; Asset finance and leasing; Commercial litigation; Commercial property; Commodities; Construction; Debt recovery; Employment; EU and competition; Immigration; Insurance; Insurance and reinsurance litigation; Mediators; M&A: lower mid-market, £50m-£250m; Multi-modal transport; Professional negligence; Public international law; Shipping; Trade finance. The dealsAdvising on privatisation of Serbia's national carrier, JAT; acted in UBS and Société Générale v Deutsche Raststatten Gruppe III GmbH; advised Heritage Underwriting Agency on the £141m recommended cash offer; advising on a $4bn refinery upgrade in Latin Amercia; successfully representing the Government of Yemen in a multibillion-dollar arbitration. The clientsAXA; Cathedral Group; BIFA (The British International Freight Association); City & General; Delta Mining Consolidated; Food Storage and Distribution Federation; Freshwater Group of Companies. The money(from Legal Business magazine) Turnover in 2008: £157m (+16% from 2007) Profits per equity partner: £550,000 (+10%) The Lex 100 verdictReasons for applying to Clyde & Co include its practice areas (shipping, insurance, trade and energy), its litigation focus and its fleet of international offices offering the opportunity for a seat abroad. Once trainees arrive they find a firm offering 'excellent' work/life balance, reasonable hours ('I can actually have a life!') but not at the cost of quality work. A great choice for those keen to experience heavyweight litigation, several commented that there's less transactional work but for 'high value, exciting cases' you can't go wrong. Experiences range from 'working on a vast case that regularly featured in the press' to 'attending trial on a daily basis on a big fraud case' with plenty of overseas jaunts thrown in for good measure. Closer to home the Guildford office causes mixed reactions. Trainees complete at least one of their seats here, and while the 'quaint location, top quality work and friendly people' are highly attractive factors, the big 'turn-off' for some is the daily commute from central London. Aside from this, complaints mainly focus on the London offices ('a bit shabby') and several trainees mention a 'lack of transparency about the seat opportunities and secondments'. Dress-down Fridays are popular and several singled out the firm's friendliness, particularly 'its open-door policy which means you can always ask for help when stuck'. Expect a diverse range of colleagues ('people come from all sorts of backgrounds') and be ready for some early responsibility, including being allowed to run small matters alone ('we're not just bundle monkeys!'). 'Compared to other firms, I'm in a 'win-win' situation' concludes one trainee. A day in the life of..... Armel Elaudais trainee, Clyde & Co LLP University: Rennes and Exeter universities Departments to date: Property, employment Degree and class: MST international relations 2(1), LLM international business legal studies 2(1) 7.00am: Get up and ready. Drop off my daughter at nursery then catch the train to work.9.15am: Arrive at work. I am part of the employment team in Guildford, which does a mix of contentious and advisory work. I check my emails, nothing urgent to deal with so I can get on with my to-do list.9.30am: One of our clients has issued a fraud claim against two of its former employees. They have not filed their defence so I draft an application for judgement in default. I need to calculate the interest on the claim which is quite tricky here despite the very helpful calculator available on the system.10.30am: I go down to Guildford County Court to file the application. I need to make some last-minute changes to the cost part of the claim but finally manage to get everything in order and the application is accepted.11.15am: Back in the office. I have some research to do for a colleague in our Dubai office on the entitlement to statutory redundancy pay for employees seconded overseas and draft an email to her setting out what I have found.12.30pm: I am having an active lunch today and go for a quick swim at the Lido, a nice open air pool down the road from the office.1.30pm: I quickly grab a sandwich while checking my emails. 1.45pm: I am back at County Court to pick up the default judgment. Unfortunately there are some typos in the judgment and I need to make sure that they are corrected before I leave.2.45pm: We have a judgement! Back at my desk, I diarise to serve the judgment on the defendants and the solicitor I am working with phones the client to tell them the good news.3.00pm: We work for an HR publication and check the legal content of their monthly newsletter and downloadable documents. I do a bit of research, then review and make amendments to the newsletter, a bullying policy and guidance on redundancy.5.30pm: The other employment trainee in London and I have been asked to organise an event for junior clients in a few months' time. I do some research on the internet about possible venues. We are going for a cooking masterclass - this should be fun!6.30pm: I am doing some pro-bono work this evening at the local Citizens Advice Bureau. I am shadowing my supervisor who is giving employment advice but next time I will be advising on my own!8.30pm: All done for the day, so I head back home. About the firm Address: 51 Eastcheap London EC3M 1JP Telephone: 020 7623 1244 Fax: 020 7623 5427 Email:
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Senior partner: Michael Payton
Total partners: 150
Other fee-earners: 660
Total trainees :48
Other offices: Abu Dhabi, Caracas, Doha, Dubai, Guildford, Hong Kong, Moscow, Nantes, New York, Paris, Piraeus, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore and associated offices in Bangalore, Belgrade, Mumbai, Riyadh and St Petersburg. Who we are: Clyde & Co's main objective is to help clients do business in over 120 countries around the globe. We are the premier law firm in insurance, transportation, trade and energy, and our dispute resolution and international arbitration practice is world class. Clyde & Co is a truly entrepreneurial firm, always seeking new opportunities and setting new standards in client service. What we do: Aviation and aerospace, corporate/commercial, dispute resolution, EC/competition, energy, trade and commodities, insurance and reinsurance, real estate, shipping, transport and logistics. What we are looking for: Clyde & Co values entrepreneurialism, commercial problem-solving excellence and the freedom to be an individual. We look for trainees with commitment to an international firm, excellent academic record, commercial acumen, outgoing personalities and keen interests. What you will do: You will gain early responsibility and be supported through close personal supervision and day-to-day coaching complemented by a wide range of training courses. You will undertake four six-month seats in London and Guildford, which will cover both transactional and contentious work. You may also choose to be seconded to one of our overseas offices or have the opportunity for a client secondment. Perks: An optional £1,000 interest-free loan on joining, pension, private medical insurance, subsidised gym membership, interest-free ticket loan and coffee shop. Sponsorship: Full fees for GDL and LPC as well as a maintenance grant of £7,000 if studying in London or Guildford and £6,000 if studying elsewhere. Application processApply to: Kate Wild, trainee solicitor recruitment manager How to apply: Online via website at www.clydeco.com/graduate. When to Apply: By 31 July 2010 What is involved: Interview, legal drafting exercise, psychometric testing. Facts and figuresTrainee places available for 2012 24 Applications received pa 1,400 Percentage interviewed 7% SalaryFirst year £35,000 Second year £38,000 Newly qualified £59,000 Placement schemesSummer: June/July/August 2010 (apply by 31 January 2010) |
