How far has the firm lived up to your expectations?

Lex 100 award-winning law firms not only live up to the expectations of their trainees but sometimes surpass them. The Crown Prosecution Service is described as ‘over and above’ trainee expectations, particularly with the ‘incredible opportunities available’ and the ‘flexibility’. At Debevoise & Plimpton trainees felt that they ‘get comparatively more responsibility at an earlier stage’. The theme of responsibility and diverse workload is continued at Forsters with its trainees saying that ‘the exposure to work/clients is amazing’, adding that ‘we also have a great supervisor programme and the hours are amazing’. Culture and working style is also cited by trainees, such as at Goodwin Procter where trainees highlight that ‘the Goodwin training contract offers early responsibility and exposure to cross-border deals within a collegiate environment’. An Akin Gump trainee commented ‘I feel I have been given great responsibility and really made to feel as part of the team. Although the training is less formal, the opportunities to learn have been endless. There is also a lot more flexibility due to the smaller intake and decisions are made much more fluidly dependent on interest and business need’. Trainees at Forbes Solicitors felt the firm had them ‘more involved and more trusted’, and that they had ‘far better work/life balance and more one-to-one attention’. Hill Dickinson trainees found there were ‘more secondment opportunities and responsibility/autonomy’, describing the firm as ‘very supportive as well as challenging.’