Bristows

The Legal 500 Future Lawyers verdict on Bristows

‘Market leader in IP law’ Bristows is ‘renowned for its high-quality work, supportive culture and good work/life balance’. The London firm’s ‘expertise in the technology sector’ continues to attract recruits looking to specialise in this area, and in particular those from scientific backgrounds. Training is ‘less formal and more on the job’, although this does mean ‘more involvement in the full scope of matters’ for trainees, rather than ‘dipping in and out of things doing discrete tasks’. At Bristows, ‘partners are approachable’ and there is ‘plenty of supervisor contact’. Most respondents said that the people were the best thing about the firm; the trainee intake in particular gets on well, with recruits not underestimating the benefit of ‘getting to work with my closest friends every day’. Some trainees would like to see ‘more perks and benefits’ at Bristows. More than one recruit mentioned that the firm ‘has gotten a lot busier in the last few years’ and that it is therefore ‘no longer adequate to pay trainees the same salary for working hours that are similar to Silver Circle firms’. And whilst Bristows trainees get involved in some very interesting work for clients in cutting-edge sectors, this doesn’t mean that they don’t get their fair share of grunt work at times. ‘Bundling for days’ was a worst moment, as was ‘a week of very admin-heavy tasks’. The firm offers both three and six-month seats, and whilst the former is great for experiencing a wider range of practice areas, some respondents found it stressful to have to move departments after only three months. Fortunately, work highlights such as ‘going to court’ and ‘receiving positive feedback from my partner and senior associate supervisors about my performance at the end of my first seat’ help to soften the blow. For a firm which specialises in IP, with high-profile clients in cutting-edge sectors, and a friendly reputation to boot, consider Bristows.

Trainee profiles

https://www.bristows.com/careers/trainees/what-its-really-like/profiles/

About the firm

Senior partner: Miranda Cass

Managing partners: Liz Cohen and Steve Smith

Other offices: Brussels

Who we are: Bristows is the world’s leading specialist law firm for clients that innovate. Bristows is a European headquartered hub for litigation, transactions and advice throughout the world. Bristows does not work to billing targets and aims to recruit inquisitive minds, many with science and technology backgrounds.

What we do: Bristows focuses on dynamic, IP-rich sectors and has the expertise to solve a broad range of litigation, transactional, and advisory challenges. The firm has a true cross-disciplinary practice encompassing its renowned IP, competition, regulatory, corporate and commercial, dispute resolution, IT, and data protection teams. The strength of each individual practice complements the others to provide a fully integrated and comprehensive service.

What we’re looking for in a trainee: https://www.bristows.com/careers/trainees/want-some-advice/hints-and-tips/

What you’ll do: https://www.bristows.com/careers/trainees/why-bristows/practice-areas/

Perks: Trainees receive the same full benefits package as full-time staff, which includes private medical insurance, life insurance, gymflex deals and access to our full suite of other lifestyle and wellbeing benefits.

Sponsorship: Full sponsorship of PGDL and SQE1&2. £10,000 maintenance grant per year of study.

Diversity and inclusion