Holman Fenwick & Willan (London)

Our view...  

Along with Ince and Co and Clyde and Co, HFW is one of the leading shipping firms in the City. Shipping isn't its only area of expertise - the firm has strong trade, commercial, insurance and energy departments - but it still dominates the practice. HFW has a rather different culture from the traditional corporate firms as a result. An assistant notes that HFW "benefits from being a relaxed environment in which to work", and that it has "a non-hierarchical vibe".

Others report that it is "very friendly" and "even the big punching partners are happy to give up their time to explain things", which is very sporting of them. As a shipping specialist, the hours tend to be pretty civilised by City standards. Assistants report that on a day to day basis they are in at 9am and out by around 7pm; even the hardest workers leave by 7:30pm.

It's strong litigation practice (providing 82% of revenue) has helped HFW avoid a battering in the credit crisis. Following an amazing year in 2008/09 when turnover shot up by 27% and partner profits by 26%, the firm grew by 1% in 2009/10 to £99.6m. Pretty small growth, but impressive at a time when most firms saw a fall in turnover. Growth seems to be back on track now, and in 2010/11 HFW posted an impressive 13% hike in revenue to £112.6m.

HFW has been expanding its international footprint too, with 11 global offices including three in Australia, plus associations in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. All of which means "good opportunities for working abroad/secondments".

But, no surprise here, the money is not in the top tier (or as one lawyer says succinctly "salaries are lame"). But it's not bad; many assistants at larger City factories told us that they would happily sacrifice their recent salary increases for better hours, so HFW seems to be getting it right.

A few moans persist about IT support, which is "good when it happens, but takes a long time to get there". And there are complaints about the "lack of 24 hour secretarial support", but that's the rub when you work for a smaller firm.

Overall, the work is interesting, the hours are good and the assistants seem pretty chuffed with their deal.