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The law firms / chambers that you apply for are very important (especially as it is recommended to make 5-15 applications per cycle), however, the cities that they operate in are equally as important.
Most firms require you to apply to one office, however, some firms will ask you to rank your office preference. However, where the latter applies, it is generally advised to select a few locations where you can explain to an interviewer why you could like to work in that city.
It should be noted that after qualification you can typically laterally move within the firm, however, most newly qualified lawyers tend to qualify into the office they trained at.
You may also want to research trainee satisfaction, retention rates, what training and development that firm offers and the practice areas and sectors they operate in.
For private practice (which represented 90.5% of trainee registrations in 2018/19), London is the main legal hub in the UK, hosting many American, international and national law firms. Around 50% of all traineeships are offered in London and Greater London.
Whilst many elite US firms only have offices in London, lots of the international and national law firms have offices in cities such as Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester.
The North West represents around 10% of traineeship vacancies, the South East represents around 7% and Yorkshire and the Humberside represents around 6%.
However, it is important to factor in competition. In terms of positions per capita, Newcastle upon Tyne has one of the highest percentages at 51.98 shortly followed by Manchester’s 50.57 meaning that your application is more likely to be successful in these cities. In comparison, the position per capita is 7.94 in London and 7.79 in Southend-on-Sea.
However, for in-house legal roles, location can vary. For example, the majority of lawyers for Jaguar Land Rover are based in Warwick.
Prestigious London is often deemed as having the most desirable client bases, however, many international and national law now collaboratively share work across their different offices (such as DLA Piper, Addleshaw Goddard, Eversheds Sutherland and Pinsent Masons), therefore the quality of work you receive at regional offices is not diminished.
The only thing to note is that some firms might only operate certain (usually more niche) practice areas in certain locations, therefore if you are interested in a particular practice group, make sure some of the team are based in the office you are applying to.
London often pays the highest with Bristol offering the highest salaries in the regions. London trainees can typically expect to earn £32,000 to £60,000 in their first year and £37,000 to £70,000 in their second year. In Bristol, trainees typically earn £30,000 to £47,000 in their first year and £32,000 to £49,500 in their second year.
However, once housing costs are deducted, it is lawyers in smaller cities such as Newcastle upon Tyne, Preston and Leeds where lawyers have the highest disposable income. For example, trainees in Leeds can typically expect to earn £25,000 to £37,000 in their first year, again with an increase in their second year, which on average is 30% lower than London. However, for general living costs, Leeds is 42% cheaper than London, highlighting how much further your pay can go in the regions.
Along with London, Southend-on-Sea, Reading, Crawley and Bristol are also impacted by high living costs.
In regards to work life balance, American law firms tend to have the longest working hours. London firms typically also have long working hours, with lawyers in regional offices working slightly less hours, but this is very firm dependent. Therefore, lawyers quality of life is generally better outside of the capital.
Working hours of juniors is a good resource you can use to compare specific firms average working days.
It is also useful to research specific firms billable hour targets. This is how many client hours you must record either daily or yearly. Usually a fee-earners billable hours in taken into account when determining bonuses.
Often billable hour targets are the same for London and regional offices, however, some firms may require their London lawyers reach a slightly higher billable hour target to justify their higher salary.
In conclusion, while regional firms (with the exception of Bristol) may struggle to match London salaries, increased collaboration between offices means they can now offer competitive pay that goes further, alongside top-tier work and a better work–life balance, enabling you to build a more sustainable career.
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