Marriott Harrison
Interesting selling points
- Marriott Harrison is known for its work advising venture capital firms and tech start-ups, as well as its lower-mid market corporate M&A work, suggesting trainees will have exposure to businesses at every stage of their life cycles.
- Opportunity to advise on lower value, earlier stage deals, including seed and Series A financings, which might provide opportunities for trainees to take on a more substantive role.
- Works on both investor and investee mandates, with ample opportunities to work with cutting-edge funds, start-ups and scale-ups.
- Chambers and Partners has awarded the firm a Band 3 ranking for its Private Equity: Venture Capital Investment department.
- Notable clients include Dialpad, Beringea and Balderton Capital.
- Small trainee intake (3-4 a year) suggests trainees might feel less anonymous and get more hands on experience.
- MH Discover enables employees of the firm to hear from a variety of exciting and motivational guest speakers, covering topics such as sustainable living, visual diet, unconscious bias and homelessness.
We cover these selling points in more detail below, alongside other relevant firm facts and characteristics.
Practice areas / services
Marriott Harrison operate in a variety of practice areas including:
- Arbitration
- Banking and Finance
- Business Restructuring
- Capital Markets & Takeover
- Commercial Contracts
- Commercial Litigation
- Contentious Insolvency
- Data & Privacy
- Dispute Resolution
- Employment
- Intellectual Property
- International
- Price Transparency
- Private Equity
- Mergers and Acquisition
- Real Estate
- Real Estate Finance
- Series A
- Series B and beyond
- Startups and Seed Funding
- Tax
- Technology
- Venture Debt and Convertibles
Chambers and Partners, a leading analyst of the legal market, has awarded Marriott Harrison its ‘Band 3’ ranking for its Private Equity: Venture Capital Investment department. See here for more information
Key sectors / industries
Marriott Harrison services a broad range of industries, with some of its most notable clients operating in the following sectors:
Work
Marriott Harrison’s most notable work includes:
- Dialpad: The firm served as legal counsel to Dialpad, the market-leading AI-powered communications intelligence platform, on its acquisition of Surfboard, a workforce management platform.
- Beringea: Marriott Harrison has advised transatlantic venture capital firm Beringea on its investment in MOTH, the UK’s leading ready-to-drink cocktail brand.
- Balderton Capital: The firm advised its longstanding client Balderton Capital, one of Europe’s leading venture capital firms, on its $18 million Series A funding round for the market-leading real-time shopping app Tilt.
Older examples
- Niterra: The firm advised Niterra, a leading automotive ignition and related products company, on its acquisition of B2C and B2B technology platform, WhoCanFixMyCar Limited which enables customers in the UK to access and book vehicle repair garages online.
- Quantum Motion: the firm advised existing investors in Quantum Motion on a £42 funding round, which at the time was the largest ever single investment in a quantum computing start-up in the UK, to develop Quantum Motion’s silicon-based technology.
- World Chess Plc: the firm advised World Chess Plc on its listing on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. World Chess Plc develops and markets an online chess platform reinventing chess for the modern consumer, which includes organising top-level tournaments and other activities, and creating/selling merchandise related to chess.
Offices / global footprint / expansion
Headquarters: London, 80 Cheapside
Insights, internships and other opportunities
Marriott Harrison offers a summer vacation scheme. There are 24 places on the scheme, and each candidate spends a week at the firm at some point between June and August. From the candidates who participate, a selection will be invited back for an interview for a training contract (the firm recruits all its trainees from the vacation scheme).
Marriott Harrison also hosts regular events at the University of Law and BPP during the application window, with applications for such events usually opening in October/November.
Training contract
Trainees sit in four six-month seats, with options including corporate, dispute resolution, employment, commercial/data protection/IP and IT, real estate, and banking/business restructuring. The firm takes on between 3-4 trainees per year.
Reviews of the firm’s training contract from trainees emphasise that trainees, no matter the seat, work closely with partners (see here). This is because the firm wants to ensure that trainees receive direct expert guidance and training throughout their training contracts. The small size of the firm and the emphasis on partner contact means that trainees are exposed to high-quality and interesting work from the beginning. Trainees have also reported having weekly training sessions on topics such as share capital, shareholder agreements, data protection, private equity, tax and employment law.
Secondments
Trainees do not have the opportunity to undertake either a client or international secondment.
Technology and innovation
Marriott Harrison is known for its work helping businesses and financial investors to back new technology-focused businesses. Examples of this specialist advice include:
- Venture Capitalists: The firm regularly represents tech VCs Accel, Balderton Capital and Northzone on their UK investment work.
- Funding Rounds: the firm has advised on tech funding rounds involving technology companies such as Hopin, Beacon, Soldo, Monzo, Deliveroo and Revolut.
- Navigating Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Event: The firm hosted an event alongside its partners, accountancy firm Buzzacott and entrepreneur coaching firm EOS, focusing on new trends within M&A.
Corporate social responsibility
Marriott Harrison believes in “contributing to the communities” in which the firm operates. Initiatives pursued to further this aim include:
- Age UK Camden: the firm regularly works with Age UK Camden, helping with its befriending and well-being schemes, spending time at Age UK’s coffee mornings, attending gadget workshops, and participating in the befriending scheme’s season’s greetings birthday cards programmes.
- Mentoring: The firm works with the University of Law and the University of Leicester to mentor law students.
- Let Me Play: Marriott Harrison worked with Let Me Play to host an event focused on giving tips and advice to 14–17 year olds from a range of backgrounds who were considering a future career in law.
Diversity and inclusion
The firm focuses on making Marriott Harrison a great place to work. Initiatives pursued to further this aim include:
- MH Discover: this is the internal place for the firm’s team to connect, learn and collaborate. It hosts a series of events delivered by exciting and motivational guest speakers, who discuss topics such as sustainable living, visual diet, unconscious bias, and homelessness.
- MH Alumni: this group features former colleagues of Marriott Harrison and enables them to keep in contact with the firm through attending social and networking events.
- MH Connect: This is the firm’s program tailored specifically to early-career professionals. It is designed to enhance their networking skills and build strength in their connections. It includes workshops, mentoring opportunities and networking events.