Culture

• "Trainees at Bond Pearce appear to have been made from the same cloth. I think that the recruitment process looks for a certain sort of person, the criteria of which I am unable to put my finger on. We go out for after-work drinks together quite often and also socialise outside of work. However, when it comes to seat selection and NQ posts, as with any law firm, the gloves come off." -- Trainee, Southampton
• "Trainees are assigned a supervisor (typically a partner or senior associate) to whom they report, although you'll generally carry out work for all members of the team. The atmosphere is friendly and the people are approachable and sociable in the office. Trainees do tend to support one another and we share our experience with each other over lunch or at social events. One criticism is that the social life outside of office hours isn't the most active." -- Trainee, Plymouth
• "Bond Pearce is an extremely sociable firm. There are regular drinks events and everyone is helpful and approachable if you have any queries. The trainees in each office organise their own social events and also CSR events for the firm's nominated charity." -- Trainee, London
• "The firm is professional but relaxed, with interaction between all levels of seniority being quite informal. The office is mainly open plan, with ‘pods’ in which trainees usually sit with their supervisor. There is definitely an open door policy, as there are no doors! The trainee cohort is quite close, with regular events being arranged, often in participation with the firm's Sports and Social Club or the local Junior Lawyer's Division. There is usually at least one event per week which you can attend. All the trainees are very friendly and happy to help out whether in a work or social capacity." -- Trainee, Southampton
• "Very open and friendly and the firm really seems to value its trainees and invests a lot of time in them. The trainees and junior fee earners also have quite an active social scene and there are often events organised internally or with other firms through the local JLD." -- Trainee, Southampton
• "The working environment is professional, yet relaxed and friendly. Offices are open plan and fee earners work in ‘pods’ – therefore there is literally an open door policy at everyone's desk.  Trainees get on well and have regular catch ups – both at work to organise charity events/CSR initiatives/trainee forums, and outside of work socially. Trainees are very supportive of each other and there is a collaborative, as opposed to competitive, relationship between us." -- Trainee, Bristol
• "The firm has a strong support network for trainees, providing a mentor who will generally be a second year trainee/NQ, your direct supervisor, training principal, trainee forums and the HR contact for trainees. Everyone is approachable if you are struggling and will encourage you to ask questions – it is the only way that you can learn. The social environment at work is good. We have a sports and social committee who arrange monthly events which encourages people from different departments to integrate and socialise. The trainees regularly meet at lunch to discuss problems and experiences, which is good to help us realise that we are all going through the same things. We even have the odd night out!" -- Trainee, Bristol

Hours

• "I am currently on secondment and have worked 9am to 6pm each day. The hours for my other seats were as expected, for my transactional seat they were high at times, but generally good." -- Trainee, London
• "9am – 6pm is a fairly consistent average. You work late when needed but beyond that, you are not expected to hang around for everyone else to leave." -- Trainee, Southampton
• "I probably work between 40 and 45 hours a week, depending on my workload. This is probably slightly less than I expected, given some of the horror stories you hear about trainee hours." -- Trainee, Bristol
• "I work four days per week on a part-time training contract. I work 9am to 5.30pm, so approx. 30 hours per week." -- Trainee, Bristol
• "I currently work 35 hours a week on average. Only in very exceptional circumstances have I been asked to work later and, even then, not beyond 7.30pm. Generally, I work less hours than I would have expected, considering the size and type of firm." -- Trainee, Southampton
• "I work on average 40 hours per week. I am working the same hours as I expected. If there is a lot of work on, we are expected to stay longer, but as long as we have done everything that we need to, we are not made to feel guilty for leaving on time. It is understood that everyone has commitments outside of work and it is important to have a work/life balance." -- Trainee, Bristol

Pay

• "Pay is not great, but the experience gained makes up for it." -- Trainee, Southampton
• "While I was working in Southampton the pay was lower than I expected. However, since I have been on secondment in London the firm has arranged my accommodation and they refund some of my travel expenses so, overall, it is better." -- Trainee, London
• "The pay is competitive for the area, but maybe less so for the quality of work that we are expected to undertake." -- Trainee, Southampton
• "The trainee wage is probably fair considering the location of the office; however given the increased cost of living generally, an increase in wage would be useful." -- Trainee, Southampton
• "We are paid a reasonable wage, although it is lower than some firms with which we align ourselves." -- Trainee, Bristol

Interviews & Assessments

• "I had previously worked for the firm as a paralegal, but still had to attend a two-week vacation scheme in another office. I had a structured interview with a partner and a senior associate. I was asked about my skills and about the firm." -- Trainee, London
• "An assessment day consisting of an interview, role play and various tests. It seemed pretty tough to me." -- Trainee, Bristol
• "The firm’s recruitment process either takes the form of a two-week long vacation scheme, with assessment over the scheme, or a formal assessment centre day. There is therefore generally only one round of interviews. I had my interview with a partner and somebody from HR. The interview was relatively relaxed and, although there were obviously questions that they were expected to ask, it was allowed to progress naturally depending upon my answers. The questions asked varied from interests and hobbies, current affairs and areas of law/other subjects studied." -- Trainee, Bristol
• "The recruitment process consisted of an assessment day which included a group exercise, role play, and an interview. I had an interview with a senior associate and an HR representative. The format of the interview was relatively relaxed, and included various questions relating to business awareness and commercial acumen. The assessment day was very enjoyable and there was a real sense of investment by the firm. They had a lot of assessors present, from associates through to partners, and I felt the firm was really trying to get the best out of the participants. Questions at the interview included talking about something in the news at present which had caught my eye, what I thought the role of a solicitor entailed, and what I thought the most important qualities of a solicitor were." -- Trainee, Bristol
• "Following the initial application, I was invited to attend an assessment day which was a full day of testing and role play assessments. It was a difficult and tiring day, but well worth it." -- Trainee, Southampton