Large versus small firms

Training at a large, international commercial law firm is the best way to start your career if you want to work in the City and have an aspiration to handle high value commercial transactions or disputes. In addition, you will be given fantastic opportunities to develop your soft skills and technical abilities (not to mention the boost it can provide to your CV). However, try not to lose sight of the fact that the legal profession offers a broad range of opportunities for employment. 

If you went to a Russell Group university, you will have been exposed predominantly to large, international commercial law firms, as these are the firms that offer the greatest number of training opportunities (and can afford the fees charged by your universities to host large events!). Some top barristers’ chambers may also promote themselves to students. 

This might have given you the impression that failing to secure a training contract or pupillage at a top-ranking firm means that your legal career is over before it has even started, or that your only option will be to train at a firm where the work is far less interesting, challenging and/or fulfilling. But this is simply not the case. In fact, there are often benefits to training at smaller firms. 

What do we mean by “large” firms?

The specific differences between companies of different sizes will vary a great deal, but there are certain characteristics that tend to align with organisations of similar sizes. In this context, by “size”, we generally mean the number of employees in your place of work. 

A large international firm may have very small offices in certain locations that are run more like small companies, whilst a smaller regional company may have only one office, but employ a large number of people in that office (meaning it could feel more like working at a large international firm). 

What are the typical fundamental differences between large and small?

What are the main differences between large companies (including global City firms) and smaller companies (including high street or regional firms)? Understanding these can help you identify which types of companies might suit you best.

Training and responsibility

Larger firms tend to have more formal or structured training programmes, but may also have a reputation for being slightly more bureaucratic, more hierarchal, and less flexible in terms of the work that is allocated to employees of different levels of seniority. This can result in a general lack of transparency, as well as juniors receiving lower levels of responsibility and less exposure to high quality work. 

The lower levels of bureaucracy and flatter hierarchies that tend to exist in smaller companies, coupled with the fact that you tend to feel less “anonymous” in a small team, are potential differences that are worth considering.

Infrastructure and support

Larger firms tend to have in place a strong infrastructure to support employees internally. For example, they often have specific teams that help with day to day administrative tasks such as submitting expenses, organising business travel, and other basic operational requirements. This can help to free up time for employees to focus on the more relevant and commercial aspects of their roles. However, large organisations can sometimes be slower to implement change than smaller, more agile organisations, which can be frustrating at times, especially in relation to outdated IT systems!

Smaller companies may lack the same levels of administrative support (especially in start-ups or small boutique firms), although you might find you are given more flexibility and scope to work across a diverse range of projects. This could mean that you have opportunities to gain higher levels of exposure to a broader range of tasks and clients, enabling you to learn more in a practical manner and at a quicker rate. This can equip you with a broad range of practical business skills, which is useful if you are interested in one day running your own business.

Reputation / credibility

Many people believe that starting your career at a large, well known company can prove an advantage for the rest of your career, as being successfully employed by a recognised and reputable company may reassure future employers of your employability, which can open your options when you’re looking to move to your next opportunity. There is some truth to this in certain contexts, but it very much depends on the nature of your next move. 

Pay, benefits and job security

Larger companies also often pay higher salaries than smaller companies, tend to offer more job security, and provide benefits such as gym access and private health insurance (although this varies wildly across industries).

However, smaller companies might offer equity as part of their compensation packages, as well as greater (and quicker) career progression, which could act as a spring board into a more senior role elsewhere further down the line. 

International work

Finally, if you really want to travel and work internationally, large corporations may offer more opportunities to do so, including opportunities to work with international clients or in international offices. However, these companies may offer little choice or flexibility in terms of where or when you travel, which could have a big impact on your personal life. 

For this reason, although frequent international travel can sound glamorous at first, it may not be something you want in the long-run. Also bear in mind that “travel” might mean travelling to other regional offices or client sites in the UK (a far cry from the Cayman Islands!), in some cases for up to 5 days a week (which can be very disruptive).

What about law firms specifically? 

Regional firms, boutique firms and high street firms may not offer the same opportunities to work on transactions/disputes that are worth hundreds of millions (or billions) of pounds and span dozens of jurisdictions. However, smaller transactions/disputes may offer you the opportunity to gain more exposure to clients and greater access to substantive work at an earlier stage. 

On that note, one City partner we spoke to has generally found that junior lawyers from regional and boutique firms tend to be more experienced and pragmatic than their counterparts at large City firms. 

So why might juniors get to take on a more substantive role at firms that take on lower value work? Well, with smaller matters, there is often less at stake financially and less complexity to navigate, which can mean fewer (and shorter/simpler) documents to work on, plus fewer parties (e.g. foreign legal counsel, external advisers etc.) to coordinate. 

Of course, if you’re the kind of person that would really get a kick out of seeing a deal on the front page of The Financial Times, then perhaps smaller firms aren’t for you. But if having more control over your time and (potentially) a larger overall impact on a project will give you a greater sense of job satisfaction, then certainly consider all the options that are available. After all, you can experience plenty of intellectual challenge on matters that aren’t worth many millions!

If you’re unsure of the type of law you want to practice, then perhaps try to train at a firm that has a wide range of practice areas; the more areas you try, the more likely it is that you’ll find the best fit for you. 

You might find that a firm that offers both private client and commercial work gives you a better opportunity to explore various types of legal work, which could help you to make a more informed decision about your future. Many trainees find that the practice area they always thought would be for them just doesn’t suit, then end up (happily) doing something very different.