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Farrer & Co

Interesting selling points

  • Known for its private client work, which includes family and divorce law, immigration, succession planning, and the structuring of assets, but also carries out the usual transactional and contentious work practiced by other large City firms. 
  • Band 1 Chambers and Partners rankings for its Art and Cultural Property Law, Charities, Education: Institutions (Schools) and Media & Entertainment: Publishing departments.
  • Services a uniquely broad range of clients, including independent schools, leading universities, charities, high net worth individuals and families, and a wide range of businesses.
  • One of the top legal advisers to the media, with clients including newspaper groups and magazine publishers, broadcast and production rights companies, digital radio brands, music publishers, authors and literary estates (see here).
  • Advises some of the largest organisations and individuals in sport, including governing bodies (e.g. the British Olympic Association), clubs, athletes and international federations (see here).
  • The firm’s training contract is six seats rather than the usual four seats, providing trainees with ample opportunity to explore the firm’s diverse practice areas. 
  • Farrer & Co fosters inclusion by hosting lunchtime learning sessions and having D&I Champions who promote diversity and inclusion within the firm. 
  • The firm’s technology and innovation focuses on the “Digital Economy”, providing clients with insights into technological developments. 
  • The firm’s pro bono work centres on giving back to the community, demonstrated by its donations to St Mungo’s Shelter and long-standing partnership with the Mary Ward Legal Advice Centre. 

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

Practice areas / services

Farrer & Co offers a range of services including: 

  • Banking & Finance 
  • Charity & Community 
  • Commercial 
  • Corporate 
  • Dispute Resolution 
  • Employment 
  • Family & Divorce 
  • Immigration 
  • Insolvency 
  • Information & Data 
  • IP & Technology 
  • Private Client Services 
  • Property 
  • Reputation Management 
  • Safeguarding 
  • Tax 
  • Trust, Will and Estate Disputes 

Chambers and Partners, a leading analyst of the legal market, has awarded Farrer & Co its highest ‘Band 1’ rankings for the following departments: Art and Cultural Property Law, Charities, Education: Institutions (Schools) and Media & Entertainment: Publishing. See here for more information

Key sectors / industries

Farrer & Co serves some key sectors which includes: 

Work

Farrer & Co has worked with a number of notable clients, including: 

  • S-Ventures Plc: The firm advised S-Ventures Plc on the acquisition of Juvela Limited, which is a leading producer of gluten free foods. S-Ventures has been expanding its health food businesses. 
  • Commonwealth Real Estate LP: Farrer & Co advised on a new agreement to lease land that will house a major new film studios development. The deal represents a significant investment into the local area and in British filmmaking. 
  • V&A: The firm advised the V&A on its lease of Delancey’s Here East innovation campus in Stratford for the museum’s new collection and research centre. The transaction involved various teams from across the firm including its real estate, construction, planning and environment teams. 

Offices / global footprint / expansion

Offices / global footprint / expansion

Headquarters: London, 66 Lincoln’s Inn Fields. 

Office: The firm has one office in London and has been based in the city since 1701. Although it has no other offices, it carries out cross-border work by collaborating with firms in other jurisdictions.

Insights, internships and other opportunities

The firm offers one spring and two summer vacation schemes each year. The vacation scheme provides the opportunity to spend time in the firm’s legal teams alongside a supervisor. Vac schemers also attend lunchtime seminars and social events, and take part in a group case study. 

Farrer & Co also hosts open days in the autumn, which individuals in any year, studying any degree discipline, are eligible to apply for. The open days include a variety of talks about what it is like to work at the firm. These tend to be virtual. The firm also hosts open days as part of its partnerships with external organisations such as Aspiring Solicitors and All About Law. 

Finally, the firm offers solicitor apprenticeships and a work experience programme for A-Level students during the October half term. 

Training contract

Farrer & Co’s training contract is made up of six seats, which each last four months. Trainees have four mandatory seats during the training contract: commercial, contentious, private client and property. For their fifth seat, trainees can choose from a range of 13 different seat options. The sixth seat tends to be in the team into which each trainee intends to qualify. 

Alongside these seats, trainees receive formal training to develop their practical skills such as drafting, negotiation, interviewing and advocacy, as well as the necessary IT, legal research and marketing know-how. The firm recruits up to 12 trainees per year, and direct training contract applications are available. 

Secondments

The firm does not offer client or international secondments. 

Technology and innovation

Farrer & Co focuses on the digital economy and wants to help clients with knowledge exchanges relating to new ways of working and innovative solutions. Examples of this support for the digital economy include: 

  • Farrer & Co Podcast: The firm has its own podcast which draws attention to recent developments in technology and innovation.
  • Insight into the legal status of “smart contracts”: This piece written by Kate Allass covers “smart contracts”, with particular emphasis on the LawTech Delivery Panel’s findings. The LawTech Delivery Panel was set up in 2018 by the Government and brings together leaders and experts from the public and private sectors to make comments on the development of legal technology in the UK. 
  • Cryptoassets, blockchain and DLT insights: the firm has produced various pieces on these topics to help its clients navigate the space. 

Corporate social responsibility

Farrer & Co believes that corporate responsibility is a “reflection” of its values and an “appreciation” of its place within society. The following examples show how the firm embodies this: 

  • St Mungo’s Shelter: the firm donated gift boxes to St Mungo’s shelter for the homeless in Holborn. 
  • Beanstalk: Farrer & Co has been a corporate sponsor of this reading scheme charity, which focuses on improving the literacy of children by reading with pupils at local schools. 
  • Mary Ward Legal Advice Centre: The firm has a partnership with this legal advice centre, which provides legal advice for those based in London covering debt, employment, housing and welfare benefits. 

Diversity and inclusion

Farrer & Co is committed to fostering diversity and inclusion for its members, its clients and the community. Examples of how it fosters this includes: 

  • Agender: This is the firm’s women’s network, which works to support an inclusive working environment, improve workplace culture, be a representative voice on gender equality issues, and encourage participation from male allies. 
  • Lunch and Learn Programme: The firm runs a programme of varied lunchtime sessions which focus on topics affecting employees lives, including parenting and wellbeing. 
  • LeGalBesT: The firm is a founding member of this network of mid-size law firms which focuses on support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. The group is open to anyone at the firm, including allies. 
  • D&I Champions: The firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Partner and Senior Diversity & Inclusion Manager work with the firm's D&I Champions to share ideas and work on projects and initiatives to improve the diversity of the talent within the firm.