Tales of trainees being chained to the photocopier are few and far between but most will experience hum-drum work from time to time. If you choose a firm with a strong corporate practice it's inevitable that you'll be getting to grips with due diligence, whilst would-be litigators are likely to be orgainsing bundles. However, the firms in this table manage to balance this necessary grunt work with challenging tasks and interesting work, and two US firms lead the way. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP trainees admit that 'the quality of work and time constraints cause a stressful environment, making your first few months a baptism of fire', but think that's a price worth paying for 'quality of work and level of client exposure'. A Latham & Watkins trainee says 'my understanding is that the quality of work given to trainees here is much higher'. At Boyes Turner you get 'training in how to be a solicitor as opposed to an expert in photocopier maintenance', while at Blake Lapthorn 'the firm is making sure we are well prepared for life as an NQ rather than expecting us to make the tea and do the photocopying'. For one Birketts LLP trainee the quality of the workload has been excellent, including 'arbitrations, attending onboard a cargo ship involved in a collision, and frequent involvement with top Counsel'. It's a similar story at Stephens Scown where 'the environment for learning is really first rate. There are constant opportunities to be involved in different types of work'. A Speechly Bircham LLP trainee has 'enjoyed learning new areas of law and experiencing a wide breadth of training', while another admits that 'sometimes the level of responsibility is scary'. At US firm McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP one trainee says 'the work I do feels more like the work of an associate than a trainee, however this comes at a price: a larger workload and more stress'. It's a similar story at Covington & Burling LLP where 'the training is more 'hands on' - you have responsibility from day one', while at Bond Pearce 'the quality of work and the responsibility given to us immediately was very impressive'.