Lex 100 - Cripps Harries Hall LLP

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Cripps Harries Hall LLP

Wallside House 12 Mount Ephraim Road Tunbridge Wells TN1 1EG

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The trainee verdict

The lowdown (in their own words...)

Why did you choose this firm over any others? 'Range of seats and reputation for providing good training'; 'six-seat training contract, so there was a chance to do more areas of law'; 'work/life balance'; 'I liked the area of Tunbridge Wells as it's a nice town that's still very close to London'; 'offers a wide variety of work'

How does your training compare with peers' at other firms? 'More responsibility, but fewer hours'; 'the quality of my supervision and training has been excellent'; 'own file management and client contact'; 'approachability of senior staff'; 'probably due to the economic climate there has not always been a lot of work for me to do, whereas peers working in the City seem to be continuously occupied'

Best thing about the firm? 'Number of trainees makes it easier to stay in touch with all of them'; 'trainees are taken very seriously as individuals and given help to develop'; 'location'; 'having the chance to do more areas of law than you would at other firms'; 'friendly and welcoming atmosphere'; 'the people'

Worst thing about the firm? 'Having a number of separate offices in the same town'; 'the pay'; 'getting up early to do post duty'; 'the current uncertainty about NQ jobs '

Best moment? 'Being asked to provide advice by a client during a large conference'; 'attending court and seeing clients getting the outcome they wanted'; 'attending the completion of a £20m PFI deal involving 200 documents';

Worst moment? 'Post duty'; 'dealing with a particularly difficult client'; 'being the only fee-earner in my building one day due to bad weather and dealing with cases for several absent colleagues'; 'periods where there's been a lack of work'

The Lex 100 verdict

The firm

Cripps Harries Hall is a solid regional firm providing a full range of legal services and best known for housing one of the region's premier real estate and private client practices. Concentrating resources in an office in Tunbridge Wells and a London office has enabled the firm to provide maximum benefits to its clients.

The star performers

Agriculture and estates; Charities; Commercial litigation; Commercial property; Construction; Corporate and commercial; Employment; Family; Local government; Personal tax, trusts and probate; Professional negligence; Property litigation; Social housing.

The deals

Advised the management team of an international company going into administration on numerous TUPE issues, as well as a pre-pack sale; acted in a claim against surveyors who allegedly failed to identify a property's structural problems; completed the purchase of a £1.6m equestrian estate; advised on the charity deregistration of Sovereign Harbour Trust.

The clients

Acts for developers and commercial clients; Berkeley Homes; Crawley Borough Council; Crossrail; Prudential Assurance; the Crown Prosecution Service; the Home Office; Wagamama.

The Verdict

With a 'good reputation, location and variety of work' Cripps Harries Hall is also a popular choice due to the six-seat training contract and 'friendly and welcoming atmosphere'. Located in the South East, trainees describe the quality of supervision and training as 'excellent' and like the 'commitment and dedication that the firm has to its to trainees '. The firm's approach to training means that there is the opportunity for you to experience more areas of law and responsibility is 'quickly given on important cases'. 'Attending the completion of a £20m PFI deal' and 'resolving a right-of-way issue for a client involving numerous properties' are examples of the type of work that you might handle. ALex 100 Winner for work/life balance ('the hours mean there is life past 6pm') and social life, it also scores very well for job satisfaction and client contact. There are some grumbles about stress levels, particularly in relation to the availability of NQ jobs and some trainees find having a number of offices in the same town slightly annoying and dread the compulsory 8am post duty. However, if you like the idea of a top-notch firm based in picturesque Tunbridge Wells with an office in London, which values its trainees, giving them both responsibility and structured training, consider Cripps Harries Hall.