Lex 100 - Freeth Cartwright LLP

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Freeth Cartwright LLP

Cumberland Court 80 Mount Street Nottingham NG1 6HH

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The trainee verdict

The lowdown (in their own words...)

Why did you choose this firm over any others? 'Heavyweight regional firm with access to big clients and quality work'; 'it provides a very different working environment to the usual corporate machine'; 'reputation '; 'good impression upon meeting staff'; 'range of different areas'; ' offer its trainees a diverse range of high-quality training'

How does your training compare with peers' at other firms? 'Good work/life balance'; 'the work seems to be of a similar nature'; 'more relaxed than larger firms'; 'greater exposure to work'; 'training offered by Freeths gives their trainees access to good-quality clients'; 'received regular training'; 'my peers are given more challenging work to do'

Best thing about the firm? 'Genuinely friendly'; 'the people'; 'dress down Fridays'; 'the high level of responsibility'; 'pleasant culture'; 'high quality of work'; 'varied nature of the work'; 'trainees receive constant training'; 'the trainees that have been recruited are bright, enthusiastic, supportive and great fun to be around'

Worst thing about the firm? 'The salary'; 'there seems to be a great deal of 'red tape' and form filling'; 'lack of social events'; 'lack of communication'; 'no longer have a firm-wide Christmas party'; 'sometimes it seems too big'

Best moment? 'Recovering a large sum of money for a client'; 'being out of the office on site visits or visiting clients'; 'attending a court hearing'; 'managing the purchase of some plots of land'; 'working on a large corporate transaction with a well-respected partner'; 'attending a three-day medico-legal trial'; 'meeting clients at a clay pigeon shooting event'

Worst moment? 'When the work piles up it can get quite stressful'; 'endless Outlook training'; 'making sloppy mistakes'; 'staying late on a commercial deal to do admin tasks'; 'working up to 15-hour days on a corporate transaction'; 'scanning and photocopying documents'

The Lex 100 verdict

The firm

Freeth Cartwright now operates from seven cities (Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, Manchester, London, Stoke on Trent and Birmingham), extending well beyond its East Midlands roots in terms of both offices and recognition for practices such as the construction group. It offers great coverage across the region for corporate finance and, increasingly, private equity-funded transactions. Sector strengths include the care and food sectors, and motorsport.

The star performers

Banking and finance; Commercial litigation; Commercial property; Construction; Corporate and commercial; Employment; Environment; Family; IP; IT; Insolvency and corporate recovery; Licensing; Personal injury and Clinical negligence; Personal tax, trusts and probate; Planning; Private finance initiative (PFI); Professional negligence; Social housing; Sport.

The deals

Advised the shareholders of Omega Red Holdings on its sale to South Staffs plc; advised on the sale of Sterling Homecare to City and County Healthcare; acted for PwC in the liquidation and sale of West Midlands International Airport; advised Mansell on a PFI project for the construction of 16 fire and rescue stations across the North West with a capital value in excess of £50m.

The clients

Aldi; Allianz; Birmingham City; BSM, Vision Express, and Gala Coral Group; Dollar Financial; Experian; HSBC, Santander, and RBS; national and local retailers and restaurant chains; The Woodland Trust.

The money

(from Legal Business magazine)

Turnover in 2009: £31.6m (-3% from 2008) Profits per equity partner: £196,000 (-33%)

The Verdict

With a 'strong' reputation throughout the Midlands, Freeth Cartwright attracts trainees looking for access to 'to big clients and quality work without being in London'. Describing the training at the 'high-quality' firm as 'excellent', they also feel that there is a 'strong ethos of work/life balance'. With its spread of offices, current trainees report that the work 'seems to be of a similar nature to the bigger corporate firms'. You could be involved in 'defending a freezing injunction in the High Court in London' in your first few weeks or 'being out of the office on site visits and visiting clients'. Trainees are given 'constant training to meet their personal and professional needs' and the 'genuine friendliness' of the staff makes it a 'comfortable and enjoyable place to work and learn'. There are moans about the amount of bureaucracy ('there seems to be a great deal of 'red tape' and form filling!') and the fact that the firm's social life seems to have tailed off of late. There can also be some inevitable long hours in the middle of deals. However, if you are looking for a firm which is very much 'on the up', and will provide you with some top-notch experience, then Freeth Cartwright is worth serious consideration.