Lex 100 - Coffin Mew LLP

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Coffin Mew LLP

Fareham Point, Wickham Road, Fareham P016 7AU

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The trainee verdict

The lowdown (in their own words...)

Why did you choose this firm over any others? 'The strong private client and business services practice'; 'large enough to ensure quality, London-style work in a friendly atmosphere'; 'small enough to ensure trainees are hands-on'; 'good reputation'; 'diversity of practice areas '; 'good-quality clients'; 'six-seat training contract'; 'links with many charities'; 'one of the top firms in social housing law in the country'

How does your training compare with peers' at other firms? 'Better work/life balance'; 'we are allowed lots of input into our training'; 'more client contact'; 'partners are more approachable and willing to train'; 'more actual chargeable fee-earning work'; 'less photocopying and administration'; 'more varied'; 'better support network'

Best thing about the firm? 'The lunches'; 'being with genuinely nice people with a fantastic sense of humour'; 'the monthly firm social'; 'the support that is given by the training partner; 'the support network'; 'the people', 'free tea and coffee'

Worst thing about the firm? 'The decor in some areas of the Southampton office'; 'pay'; 'parking at the Southampton office is an issue'; 'no free squash in Fareham'

Best moment? 'Undertaking impromptu advocacy in the County Court'; 'given a lot of responsibility early on in my seats'; 'being the 'number two' on a £3m share sale'

Worst moment? 'Having to prepare trial bundles at the last minute because they had gone missing in the DX'; 'when I thought I had mistakenly signed off a property development as complete'; 'post duty'; 'being sent to collect ID from 20 or so clients in a pub in Crawley'

The Lex 100 verdict

The firm

Coffin Mew is a well-established, full-service firm with offices in Southampton, Fareham, Portsmouth and Gosport. It offers a wide range of services and successfully combines commercial work with its commitment to private clients, who consider the firm to be 'one of the leaders' in family law. It also lists personal tax, trusts and probate and social housing as key strengths, and has a steadily growing insolvency practice.

The star performers

Charities; Commercial litigation; Commercial property; Corporate and commercial; Employment; Family; Insolvency and corporate recovery; Personal injury: claimant; Personal tax; Social housing.

The deals

Advised Legal Inc on its sale to Grant Thornton; assisted in the creation of an offshore vehicle relating to a sale of residential development land to Barratt and David Wilson Homes; advised NatWest Bank regarding an industrial warehouse unit in Portsmouth.

The clients

Grant Thornton; Mazars; PwC; Royal Navy Association; several social landlords and housing associations; various high-net-worth individuals.

The Verdict

Despite not winning quite as many Lex 100 accolades this year, Hampshire-based Coffin Mews remains a solid and popular firm. Acknowledged in the market for its excellent private client and business services practices, the firm provides its trainees with 'London-style work in a friendly atmosphere'. The current batch like that, despite not being huge, it 'has a relatively large client base and is diverse in its practice areas' whilst still retaining 'a personal service'. And the amount of involvement that trainees have in their training is a plus with one pointing out that management 'lets you become the lawyer you want to be, rather than just a lawyer to suit a business plan'. A Lex 100 Winner for quality of work, client contact ('more than at other firms), friendliness and social life, it also scores very well for its vacation scheme. The four-month seat structure encourages trainees to get a taste of a number of practice areas. Be ready for a challenge as you might be thrown in at the deep end here with current trainees 'undertaking impromptu advocacy in the County Court', 'acting as the 'number two' on a £3m share sale' and 'drafting complex documents'. Parking at all the offices is still a bit of a nightmare and the dÃ©cor at the Southampton office is 'a bit grey', however the friendliness of the 'approachable and helpful' staff is really appreciated, as are the regular social events. So if you are looking to train in the South and get a broad-based introduction to your legal career, plus some interesting specialisms such as the top-ranking social housing practice, then quietly assured Coffin Mew should be a serious consideration.