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Interesting selling points

We cover these selling points in more detail below, alongside other relevant firm facts and characteristics.

Practice areas / services

Herbert Smith Freehills is a full-service law firm, with a broad range of practice areas including: 

Chambers and Partners, a leading analyst of the legal market, has awarded Herbert Smith Freehills its highest ‘Band 1’ ranking for the following departments: Commercial and Corporate Litigation, Construction: Non-contentious, Corporate Crime & Investigations, Employment: Employer, Planning, Real Estate: £150 million and above, Administrative & Public Law: Mainly Commercial, Banking Litigation, Employee Share Schemes & Incentives, Energy & Natural Resources: Oil & Gas, Financial Services: Contentious Regulatory (Corporates), Insurance: Mainly Policyholders, Investment Funds: Closed-ended Listed Funds and Projects: Mainly Domestic. See here for more information.

Key sectors / industries

Herbert Smith Freehills services a broad range of industries, with some of its highest-value clients operating in the following sectors: 

In addition, Herbert Smith Freehills services the following industries: Agribusiness, Automotive, Consumer, Financial Buyers, Infrastructure, Leisure and Sport, Manufacturing and Industrials, Mining, Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare, Private Capital, Professional Support and Business Services and Technology, Media and Telecommunications. 

Work

Herbert Smith Freehills advises on complex legal matters that draw on all elements of the firm’s international network. Some examples of recent projects include: 

Offices / global footprint / expansion

Headquarters: London, Exchange House

Offices: Herbert Smith Freehills has an international network of 24 offices, including offices in Hong Kong, Dubai and Brussels. 

Insights, internships and other opportunities

Herbert Smith Freehills offers a number of opportunities for individuals wishing to gain experience in the legal industry and learn more about life at the firm. Such opportunities include: a ‘First Year Workshop’, which comprises a range of events and seminars delivered to introduce the firm to interested students; a ‘Campus Ambassador’ programme, which involves ambassadors building a relationship with the firm whilst promoting the firm to fellow students; and substantive winter, spring and summer vacation schemes open to both students and graduates.

Training contract

Herbert Smith Freehills offers a four-seat training contract, with each seat lasting six months. Trainees are expected to undertake at least one seat in dispute resolution and at least two seats in transactional teams, but the firm offers a large degree of leeway regarding which seats may be chosen within those broader practices. 

Unique seats include the newly founded ‘Digital Law Group’, which focuses on legal-tech, and ‘ESG’, which focuses on helping clients to manage the risks and opportunities stemming from environmental, social and governance issues. 

While on the scheme, trainees receive a variety of specialist knowledge, skills and mindset training through the firm's Business Skills Academy. Trainees can also participate in the ‘Trainee Business Development Committee,’ a group founded to provide junior lawyers with business development skills early in its career.

Secondments

Herbert Smith Freehills offers trainees the opportunity to apply for 6-month international or client secondments, with previous international locations including Sydney, Singapore, and Paris, and previous client secondments including UBS, British Aerospace and Sky.

Technology and innovation

Herbert Smith Freehills is committed to utilising technology to provide clients with flexible and innovative legal services, with related initiatives including:

  • Digital Law Group: the firm’s Digital Law Group is comprised of an experienced team of lawyers, supported by a rotating cohort of lawyers from a variety of practice areas. Through this, Herbert Smith Freehills ensures that technological insights and practices are not only focussed on by a dedicated team, but are spread throughout the firm.
  • Alternative Legal Services: the firm’s Alternative Legal Services teams are established at nine hubs across Herbert Smith Freehills’ international network, including in Beijing, London and Sydney. The service provides clients with innovative solutions to help handle high-volume, document intensive legal work.
  • Inside Tech: Herbert Smith Freehills hosts the InsideTech podcast, which covers advances in technology, changing business models, and legal-tech developments. This features a variety of lawyers and technologists from across the firm.
  • HSF Jigsaw: the firm has developed an in-house pricing tool, which "combines historical data with machine learning technology to predict how much effort a new dispute is likely to take to resolve and how much that might cost".
  • CheckMate: the award-winning CheckMate app "simplifies the legal review and eDiscovery process through the automatic capture of data allowing for streamlined quality assurance processes. The data can be tracked, analysed and reported as visual charts and graphs, saving time and driving down costs for clients".

Corporate social responsibility

Pro bono work is ‘woven into the fabric’ of Herbert Smith Freehills as it has a ‘significant history’ of providing pro bono legal services to clients including charities, NGOs, the governments of developing nations, and marginalised individuals. Examples of its work includes: 

Diversity and inclusion

The firm’s approach to diversity and inclusion is driven by the principle of ‘Leading for Inclusion’ which is a strategy Herbert Smith Freehills has adopted to help it become the leading global law firm for diversity and inclusion. Examples of initiatives include: 

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