- Recognised by the Legal 500 for its particular expertise in wealth, family and tax matters, with ample experience working for high net worth individuals and families.
- Chambers and Partners has awarded the firm Band 1 ranking for its Charities and Charities: Legacy Disputes departments.
- Unique and pioneering practice areas including art, fashion, luxury brands, sport, and food and drink, with the firm representing interesting high-profile brands, as well as individuals including athletes, artists and musicians.
- Trainees can develop commercial and professional skills through the firm's provision of training focused on presenting, negotiating, workload management, business development, client relationship management, and networking.
- Its diversity and inclusion efforts include a variety of DEI networks, various DEI training programs and a focus on integrating DEI policies into its workplace.
- Committed to integrating technological advancements into its legal services as seen by its bespoke use of AI to assist Diligent, the Machine Learning Project, and launching the WithersTech blog.
We cover these selling points in more detail below, alongside other relevant firm facts and characteristics.
Practice areas / services
Withers is a full-service law firm, with a broad range of practice areas including:
- Banking and Finance
- Commercial Litigation
- Corporate
- Divorce and Family
- Employment
- Immigration
- International Arbitration
- IP and Data Protection
- Private Client
- Real Estate
- Tax
- Trust, Estate and Inheritance Disputes
- White Collar Defense and Investigations
Chambers and Partners, a leading analyst of the legal market, has awarded Withers its highest ‘Band 1’ ranking for the following departments: Charities and Charities: Legacy Disputes. See here for more information
Key sectors / industries
Work
Withers is consistently involved in interesting, complex work. Examples include:
- Cambridge Innovation Capital: The firm advised Cambridge Innovation Capital and Amadeus Capital Partners on Riverlane’s successful $75m funding round.
- Deutsche Bank: Withers represented Deutsche Bank, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and MUFG Bank on their provision of a sustainability-linked loan for AirTrunk.
- WeWalk: The firm’s tech team advised mobility tech company WeWalk on their £2 million Pre-Series A investment round.
Older examples
- NatureMetrics: the Withers Tech team advised DNA-based biodiversity monitoring company NatureMetrics on its $1.5 million funding round.
- Neurolaboratories Ltd: this retail AI startup was advised by Withers in connection with its £2.7 million seed investment round, which involved four investors.
- Magnificent Hotels Investment Limited: the firm represented Hong-Kong listed Magnificent Hotel Investments in connection with two high-profile transactions.
Offices / global footprint / expansion
Headquarters: London, 20 Old Bailey
Offices: Withers is an international law firm with 17 offices around the world. Just a few of the firm’s locations include Hong Kong, Geneva, Padua, and Boston.
Insights, internships and other opportunities
Withers provides a number of opportunities to gain an insight into working life at the firm. For first year law students, the firm holds annual open days, which involve presentations from departments and provide attendees with an insight into the breadth of the firm’s client base. For those eager to spend longer exploring life at the firm, Withers runs two-week long vacation schemes. These programmes enable applicants to contribute to group projects, get involved in real client work and enjoy the social side of the firm.
Training contract
Withers offers a four-seat training contract, with each seat lasting six months. The firm works with its trainees to help determine their interests and to allocate seats as appropriate. Trainees are allocated a supervisor at the very beginning of each seat, from whom they receive feedback and advice. Alongside the technical legal training provided by the firm, trainees are also encouraged to develop commercial and professional skills. To that end, the firm also provides training focused on presenting, negotiating, workload management, business development, client relationship management, and networking.
Secondments
With several offices located around the world, trainees at Withers are frequently offered the chance to undertake international secondments, with Milan proving a particularly popular placement destination.
Technology and innovation
Withers is committed to utilising technology to provide clients with flexible and innovative legal services, with related initiatives including:
- Machine-Learning Project: funded by a £1.5 million grant from InnovateUK, Withers is working with legal-tech firm Genie AI, Barclays, the University of Oxford and Imperial College London in order to develop platforms that provide machine-learning insights into contract data.
- Diligent: Withers created a bespoke AI solution to analyse ~45,000 of Diligent's global customer contracts so it could have a clear picture of its contractual rights and obligations.
- WithersTech: via the firm’s technology group, Withers runs ‘WithersTech’, a blog dedicated to issues impacting the technology and life sciences sectors. The blog includes interviews with founders and legal practitioners, and offers an insight into the firm’s take on technological shifts.
Corporate social responsibility
Withers is “always thinking about the future” and as such is committed to tackling the “world’s problems”. Some of the corporate social responsibility initiatives carried out by the firm include:
- The Clooney Foundation for Justice: The firm has a long-standing pro bono relationship with the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which is an organisation that seeks justice for survivors of human rights abuses.
- Government of Ukraine: Withers was one of the law firms to provide pro bono advice to the Government of Ukraine as part of a legal Task Force on Accountability for Crimes Committed in Ukraine to support Ukraine in delivering justice for victims of international crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.
- Windrush Justice Clinic: The firm provides volunteers to assist with pro bono support at the Windrush Justice Clinic, which gives free advice to potential applicants to the Windrush Compensation Scheme.
Diversity and inclusion
Withers holds “having a diverse workforce at all levels of the firm” as an “essential guiding principle”. Following such principles, the firm has introduced a number of D&I initiatives. Some examples include:
- DEI Networks: The firm has a number of DEI networks which it is expanding to become global where possible. Networks include LGBTQ+, women, working families, neurodiversity, disability and religion.
- DEI Training: Withers has developed a firm-wide DEI training program, information sessions, neurodiversity education sessions, e-learning sessions, and awareness of different aspects of unconscious bias. It is working towards achieving 90% participation in DEI training sessions.
- DEI Policies: The firm is focused on continuing to develop its DEI policies to better support its employees, including initiatives relating to pregnancy loss support, enhanced parental leave, sabbaticals, support for those who are transitioning, pronouns guidance, support for those experiencing infertility or undergoing IVF, menopause, domestic abuse, and separation.