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Forsters LLP 
31 Hill Street London W1J 5LS
Lex 100 winner
Favoured by 4 users (Register to add this entry to your favourites)

The trainee verdict

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The lowdown (in their own words...)


Why did you choose this firm over any others? 'I liked the people, the fact it's West End not City, and the responsibility'; 'location and reputation for property'; 'when I met the people that work here'; 'did a vac scheme and loved it. Incredibly friendly and welcoming'; 'the right combination of practice areas'; 'high-quality challenging work'

How does your training compare with peers' at other firms? 'I'm really enjoying it, some of my law school friends are not'; 'far more responsibility than my peers at other firms, even those who are already qualified'; 'you're not abandoned, we get a great deal of patient supervision'; 'more client contact, responsibility and generally do more 'real' legal work'

Best thing about the firm? 'Everyone is just delightful to work with'; 'people are eager to help irrespective of the department in which they work, and it has a very good atmosphere'; 'high-quality work from high-profile clients'; 'a high level of responsibility from the outset'; 'the open-door policy, which makes asking questions much easier'; 'the social side' 

Worst thing about the firm? 'When the fire alarm goes we have to walk across next door's roof - bit annoying, but that's about it!'; 'sometimes you may have to do too much of your own learning'; 'no food available in the office so that you have to walk to the shops for a sandwich'; 'lack of secretarial support in the traditional sense'

Best moment? 'Being involved in a very complex trial focussing on Turkish hazelnuts!'; 'working on a large High Court fraud trial. Lots of responsibility and close work with the client, Counsel and other solicitors'; 'the advocacy that I did in family and property litigation'; 'successfully finishing a file for a very large client that had been my responsibility for several months'

Worst moment? '1am in a basement at Wilberforce Chambers making sure lead Counsel's bundles were ready for trial and realising the pagination in some was incorrect'; 'struggling with a piece of research'; 'when Counsel asked me for instructions and I had no idea what to say'; 'the advocacy!'; 'doing lots of scheduling'



The Lex 100 verdict

The firm

Forsters continues to go from strength to strength, recently taking on much of Withers' agriculture and estates practice and maintaining a strong brand for commercial property work. The private client practice is one of the best, while the corporate team completed 28 deals in 2008, predominantly in the £1m-£12m range and often for cash-rich entrepreneurs. In a recent coup Forsters was appointed as legal adviser to the National Theatre in relation to its master plan for the development of the NT site over the next four years.


The star performers

Charities and not-for-profit; Commercial property; Construction; Contentious trusts; Development; Heritage property; Investment; Leasehold enfranchisement; Leisure; Personal tax, trusts and probate; Planning; Property finance; Property litigation.

The deals

Advising Menta Developments on £500m mixed-use scheme in Croydon; acts for PCP Capital Partners, which arranged the £200m sale of Manchester City FC to Abu Dhabi United; House of Lords Les Aggio and Sportelli cases; acted for clients of Invista Real Estate Management on £37.5m sale of portfolio of retail parks; acted for Clerical Medical on £50m property transfer.

The clients

AIB Group (UK) plc; The Cricket Foundation; The Crown Estate; The Goldsmith's Company; Lloyds TSB; Minerva; Northcare; The Percassi Group; Realis Estates; The Trehaven Group.

The money

(from Legal Business magazine)

Turnover in 2008: £23.6m (+9% from 2007) Profits per equity partner: £438,000 (-16%)

Highly commended Private Client team of the year, achieving a 26% rise in revenue growth.


The Lex 100 verdict

As last year, Forsters is a Lex 100 Winner for both friendliness and work/life balance, but this year adds living up to expectations, client contact and vacation scheme (jointly top-scoring firm), a highly impressive tally. Trainees here paint an extremely positive picture and are really struggling to find anything negative (how bad can it be when one trainee says the worst thing here is 'the tradition that everyone brings in cakes and sweets on their birthday - impossible to resist!'). So what's the secret? Building on a great vac scheme where colleagues are found to be 'incredibly welcoming', the firm fields friendly interviewers ('deal was sealed when I met the people that work here') and then doesn't disappoint on arrival. A great choice for those with a penchant for either commercial property or private client, Forsters is a genuine alternative to the City - 'you work reasonable hours, you're in Mayfair and you work in a beautiful listed building with a friendly bunch of like-minded people, what more could you want?!' Trainees say that compared to peers they are getting 'far more responsibility, even than those who are already qualified', with 'high-quality challenging work', and good levels of client contact and file responsibility 'from an early stage'. Trainees are quick to point out that responsibility doesn't mean soaring blood pressure - 'you aren't abandoned; we get a great deal of patient supervision. I'm constantly impressed at how far partners go to give explanation as well as direction'. Work highlights range from numerous completions to 'advocacy in family and property litigation' or 'working on a large fraud trial at the High Court'. Social life isn't bad either with colleagues 'great fun to go to the pub with'. Bottom line: if you get an offer, snap it up.

A day in the life of.....

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About the firm

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