Lex 100 - IBB (Iliffes Booth Bennett)

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IBB (Iliffes Booth Bennett)

Capital Court 30 Windsor Street Uxbridge UB8 1AB

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The trainee verdict

The lowdown (in their own words...)

Why did you choose this firm over any others? 'The diversity of practice areas'; 'good reputation'; 'good work/life balance'; 'variety of seats'; 'enjoyed working at IBB prior to my training contract'; 'location'; 'size'; 'level of client contact'; 'determination to continue to grow in the market place'; 'opportunity to work directly with partners'

How does your training compare with peers' at other firms? 'Better quality of work'; 'more responsibility'; 'more client contact'; 'fairer system'; 'very good diversity of work'; ' higher level of supervision'; 'better work/life balance'; 'exposure to more interesting cases'; 'higher level of training'; 'I enjoy going to work more than anyone else I know'

Best thing about the firm? 'The variety of work undertaken'; 'quality of the work given to trainees'; 'it is a very friendly place to work'; 'Friday drinks are rather nice after a long week!'; 'degree of client contact, involvement and responsibility trainees are afforded'; 'training is excellent'; 'opportunity to have experience of a number of disciplines'

Worst thing about the firm? 'Location'; 'relatively low salaries'; 'lack of socialising within the firm'; 'choice of training seats is currently lacking'; 'the two offices are distinctly different'

Best moment? 'Receiving acknowledgement for my role in securing a new client'; 'completing a large deal basically by myself after only three months in the property seat'; 'first review!'; 'receiving a thank you letter and flowers from a client'; 'attending a hearing at the High Court and winning'; 'personally receiving two repeat instructions from a client'

Worst moment? 'Making mistakes'; 'the long induction week focusing on HR/business marketing'; 'spending two weeks preparing bundles'; 'getting to grips with the day-to-day work pressures'; 'having to attend a site visit in London that started at 6.00am on my birthday'

The Lex 100 verdict

The firm

IBB is one of the largest practices in the South East outside central London. It delivers partner-led legal services to an extensive business and private client community, with a strong presence in the technology and automotive sectors. Commercial property is an area of particular strength, while the corporate and commercial department is also growing. There is further expertise in white-collar crime, childcare law and matrimonial. The offices are in Uxbridge and Chesham.

The star performers

Charities; Commercial litigation; Commercial property; Corporate and commercial; Crime; Employment; Family; Personal injury: claimant; Personal tax, trusts and probate; Property litigation.

The deals

Advised longstanding client Adventis Group on the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of bChannels.

The clients

Allen Primary Care Premises; Allen Primary Healthcare; Aviva; BAM Properties; Clancy Group; Fenchurch International; Frontier Estates; Hasbro; Hertz; Mercy International; Teenage Cancer Trust; Xerox.

The Verdict

A Lex 100 Winner for manageable stress levels, client contact and quality of work, Uxbridge-based IBB is a leading firm in Greater London. Trainees attracted to its 'diversity of practice areas' like the fact that they can train in seats ranging from criminal defence to estate planning and corporate but don't have to commute into central London. The firm also has a 'great' reputation and a 'determination to continue to grow in the marketplace'. With a 'better' work/life balance than most City firms the training here is 'very good' and offers trainees more access to partners and a 'larger amount of involvement and responsibility' from an early stage. There are also plenty of 'excellent' lawyers to learn from, who are happy to answer your questions. The fact that the firm encourages you to 'get involved with business development' ('there is an induction week focusing on HR/business marketing') and networking and offers regular feedback are also positives. There are a few concerns about pay being a little bit lower than current trainees would like, there could be more social activities and there are some 'distinct' differences between the Uxbridge and Chesham offices. Otherwise trainees generally struggle to think of any more negatives. If you are looking for a contract which provides you with a broad range of work including legal aid then this strong West London firm is well worth considering.