Culture

• "We have an open plan office and quite an open working environment. I have generally found colleagues at all levels to be approachable. Due to the size of the Reading office, everybody knows each other. Since I have been here the trainees and junior solicitors have always been very supportive and friendly, although after work socialising is quite occasional, due to people not being available at the same time, work commitments, and the fact that many people in the Reading office don't live in Reading." -- Trainee, Reading

  "The working environment is very open, friendly, buzzy and fun. The open plan nature of the office means that everyone is approachable and you very quickly get to know the team. There is no one within my (very large) department that I don't get on with. The trainee intake is quite small (five people in my intake in the Bristol office) but we are all good friends and often meet for lunch, and occasionally after work. We help each other out with work because we all have experience of different specialisms. The trainee social scene is definitely not as lively as at some competitor firms. I think this is because OC tend to recruit more trainees who have experience of other professions or industries, and so tend to be a few years out of university and more settled into their lives here. Having said that, when we do go out it is great fun and everyone gets on really well." -- Trainee, Bristol

  "The firm is open and friendly and the atmosphere seems to be more relaxed than at other firms. The teams are usually very cohesive with good levels of support from all levels – people always make the time to answer questions and give advice. The hub of Bristol office social life is the cafe and it also hosts regular events in the atrium which are a good opportunity to catch up with people across the office. The firm also has a themed summer party for all the offices which is great fun – everyone gets involved and makes a real effort with the fancy dress! There is no social committee or similar for the trainees, so trainee social events tend to be ad-hoc, for example drinks after work. The induction week helps everyone to get to know the trainees in their intake across all the offices, and as trainees usually make up a good contingent of the sports teams, they are always a good excuse to catch up too." -- Trainee, Bristol

  "There are three UK offices that work closely together – this means we have training sessions at lunch time connected via video link. There isn't much contact with the international offices, although there might be higher up the firm. Trainees organise social events and when you join the firm, someone is appointed to be your ‘buddy’ – so you need not feel embarrassed asking someone all of those stupid questions. Trainees are given a social budget which is normally all put towards a big Christmas party." -- Trainee, London

  "We work in an open plan office which means everyone is approachable and adds to the friendly nature of the office. Trainees support each other as much as possible, and often ring or email each other to go over work if necessary, before asking higher level fee earners. The trainees do socialise together, there are a few sports clubs after work, and also nights out. It's great when we have training sessions and we get together with trainees from our other offices too." -- Trainee, Bristol

  "Open plan and quite a friendly atmosphere in the office, but there is no canteen which does reduce lunch-time socialising compared to the Bristol office where there is one. Good trainee support which is helped by there being smaller numbers so we all know each other and can fit around a table for dinner. There is an increasing trainee social life but this relies on the trainees to organise themselves – the firm does not help much but this is beginning to change." -- Trainee, London

Hours

• "About 40 hours ‘clocked’ time, but 45-50 hours actually in the office. As a rule, the hours are probably shorter than expected, but I’m in a seat where long hours are not generally anticipated." -- Trainee, London
• "When I was in property and commercial, I only occasionally had to work late in the office or work from home in the evenings/at weekends. In corporate, the hours have been much longer and workloads unpredictable, so there has been a lot more working late in the office or working from home in the evenings/at weekends. I would say I worked less than expected in property and commercial, and slightly more than I expected in corporate. However, I was in property and commercial when the market in general was pretty quiet, but in corporate when there was a high level of work coming in, so I don't think you can really predict how busy you're going to be in a particular seat." -- Trainee, Reading

  "I am in a department which does tend to work longer hours than others, and this is my first seat so I can't comment on other areas of the firm. I tend to work from 8.45am – 6.30/7ish most days but if I'm not too busy I can leave by about 5.45pm. I have had a few 8pm finishes, a few 9pm finishes, one 10pm and one 11pm in my six months here. No all nighters!" -- Trainee, Bristol

  "I work between 40 and 50 hours a week. It does fluctuate depending on the department you are in and the work they have on. It is more hours than I expected, but we have been extremely busy." -- Trainee, Bristol

  "Hours completely vary by department, but regardless of where you are, you tend to find that the hours are less than trainees at other firms with the same quality of work. The attitude to working late and the work/life balance is also very good here, and you generally feel like your effort is appreciated when you do have to stay late." -- Trainee, Bristol

Pay

• "I understand that it is among the best outside of the City and in the Thames Valley area, which is where I want to work. I'm very pleased with the salary here." -- Trainee, Reading

  "The highest trainee pay in Bristol! Even though this is a few thousand less than London, the cost of living is lower and more than makes up for it." -- Trainee, Bristol

  "Salaries are generally very good, particularly in Bristol and Reading where they are at the top end of the scale for regional salaries." -- Trainee, Bristol

  "At first you feel well paid – then you work long hours and feel under-paid. In general, I think trainees are well remunerated for the job that they do and the value that they offer." -- Trainee, London

  "It's good, but when you work out the hourly basis it is quite average compared to other professions." -- Trainee, Bristol

Interviews & Assessments

• "There was one assessment day for training contracts when I applied (I didn't apply for a vacation scheme). I interviewed with an associate and a partner, which consisted of me giving a pre-prepared presentation on a given topic about the legal market, followed by the usual type of questions. There were no ridiculous questions like, ‘If you were a biscuit, what type would you be?’, and I thought the content of the interview and the way the interviewers handled it was very reasonable. The assessment day was pretty challenging, and involved a group exercise, negotiation exercise and verbal reasoning test, but no more so than those of other firms. All in all, I think that in terms of the rewards and status of the firm, Osborne Clarke's trainee selection process was the most reasonable." -- Trainee, Reading

  "There’s one assessment day for a training contract (I didn't apply for vacation schemes). Interview was with two partners (one was the trainee partner). Relaxed atmosphere structured around core obvious questions. The assessment included verbal reasoning and a negotiation exercise (fun but tough) – can't recall the other exercises." -- Trainee, London

  "I had one assessment day which involved an interview, a verbal reasoning test and a negotiation exercise. The interview was actually quite friendly (albeit challenging)." -- Trainee, Bristol