Mishcon De Reya

Mishcon comes sprinkled with star dust. Or, at least, column inches. It takes cases that get attention: Gina Miller in relation to Article 50 and the proroguing of parliament; Deborah Lipstadt in her fight against Holocaust denier David Irving. The latter saw Mishcon get the Hollywood treatment, with Andrew Scott starring as the firm's deputy chairman, Anthony Julius.

The firm, as you might have detected, has a leading litigation practice, but it does all the rest, too. It is a very happy ship, too, according to the many staff who entered the RollOnFriday Firm of the Year Survey, which measures people's satisfaction with their firm. In 2020 it placed 8th. Here's a summary:

Office and amenities (87%)

"The client lounge is fancy AF", boasted one solicitor, and the canteen was "much better" since its refurb, "despite it's small mouse-related hiccup last year". The only real criticism was that "the men in Weston House need to eat more fibre, or see a doctor. Seriously".

Culture (85%)

Mishcon was a "decent place to work", said staff. Although one lawyer, perhaps with a skewed view, rated the firm highly as it had "lots of rampant office romances."

Management (76%)

In a moving testimonial for management at Mishcon de Reya, a business services employee confirmed that “they do give a shit about the firm”. Others highlighted how the top dogs were “Forward-thinking and entrepreneurial” and had “done a great job growing the firm and keeping it ‘Mishcon’”, said a senior solicitor. “It’s hard to level any substantive criticism”.

Career Development (76%)

"They try hard to promote people but there are structural problems across the whole legal sector which make promotion much harder than it should be", said a senior solicitor. But Mishcon "is better than most though, I think".

Pay (75%)

A partner said pay was "fair, transparent and at a senior level there are opportunities to be involved in the remuneration committee." But a junior lawyer believed "there's zero transparency" with salary "below market rate" and "lateral hires getting paid more than those of us with Stockholm syndrome." In the main, though, lawyers were satisfied with their pay.

Training contracts per year: 15 - 20