For the purposes of this section, we took the twenty highest average scores in each survey category to produce our tables. Because the differential in scores between the firms was sometimes negligible, full average scores are shown here, eg 8.76, rather than the rounded-up scores (8.8) which appear in the main section of the book. Even so, some firms received exactly the same score, so their position in the table is equal, and in some instances, the tables have more than twenty firms.

When assessing the tables, we performed recommended statistical tests to ensure that the analysis was valid, representative and robust. We used our professional judgement to exclude what we perceived to be outlying or unrepresentative elements in the data. Readers may therefore notice a firm which has scored highly in the main editorial section occasionally does not appear in the same top twenty table.

Readers should also be aware that our survey covered a very wide range of firms, from global giants with hundreds of trainees to niche and regional firms with only a handful of trainees, so in these tables we are not attempting to compare like with like. If readers wish to do this (eg to compare scores for work/life balance at the Magic Circle firms), they should refer to the scores on the individual firms’ pages.