Like your firm? Save it from the Golden Turd.
It's time to rate your firm in RollOnFriday’s Best Law Firms to Work At 2026 survey.
ROF's annual poll is the largest survey of satisfaction in the UK law, measuring which firms are inspiring and which are in trouble, all thanks to the votes of the people who work there.
Respondents rank their firm out of five for pay, career development, work/life balance, management, office & amenities, and culture.
We've also asked for a comment on each score, so ROF can determine whether it's the sparkling loos or the chef's pastries that's earned a 5/5.
If you work in a law firm, please join in and help RollOnFriday, and everyone else - including the management - learn what's good about your firm, and what needs to improve.
Is this the year the crown is finally wrestled from Burges Salmon? Who will come bottom and replace last year's Golden Turd?
Anyone in a law firm can enter, from paralegals to partners, PAs to trainees, and IT teams to associates.
The survey is also anonymous, which means you can be unsparingly honest. No names or email addresses are collected - but please only fill out one entry per person.
The survey closes in the New Year. Take two mins and fill it out below or, if you prefer, you can respond using this Google poll.
Comments
106
66
Knights have got to be favourite for the golden 💩.
Cutting everything to the bone whilst issuing empty boasts to the market is normally enough to win it.
91
73
Has to be a solid chance of SHMA getting the double turd. Despite a whole load of talk , nothing has really changed (which is spectacularly on brand).
32
80
You know which firm won’t be anywhere near the golden turd this year?
It’s Womble Bond Dickinson. Suck on that haters.
82
75
SHMA 100% for the double.
171
39
I hope a certain international law firm get the golden turd.
Management wasted an obscene amount of time and money trying (and failing) to get one of their recently promoted juniors struck off for speaking up on the working conditions in their team.
Only for it to inevitably backfire, cause huge professional and reputational embarrassment and then having to stump up a much larger sum to pay said junior to make it all go away when the plan went awry.
48
29
[x] should be in the running but that evil dictator of a Managing Partner makes everyone too sh*t scared to answer the polls honestly. An awful toxic firm, but just like Fight Club, nobody gets to talk about it.......
52
30
The boastful firm that cancelled the budget for the Christmas Party in its regional offices, so it can hold a bigger party for the London and Manchester offices is likely to do badly this year.
30
32
Surely if there is a toxic environment where people are too scared to vote, they just wait until they go home.
38
37
TLT for the win
28
41
How many vote? [ROF - 'fasans!]
47
45
Birketts - best firm in the world
31
37
There are going to be a number of West End firms where the shredders are working 24-7 before the AML inspections from the FCA start. Anyone who works for "family offices" or "private equity" (in both cases, it's just code for a bunch of rich people who squirrel their dubiously-obtained wealth offshore) will be having squeaky bum time.
34
28
A member of HR ate my lunch
44
25
You gotta name the firm where HR eats your lunch.
It’s not Knights as they apparently binned their entire HR dept.
36
40
MICHELMORES FOR THE WIN !!!!!!! 🏆
56
63
I appreciate that there have been a few negative comments about Shakespeare Martineau on here. I'm not sure where those have come from, I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, in my experience those comments do not reflect the reality. It is a great place to work. Yes, there are some issues, but all firms have issues. Importantly, the firm is working hard to fix the issues that have been raised which I find really refreshing and positive.
Overall , a great place to work.
67
39
Best
1st (tied): Burges Salmon and Michelmores
3rd: Mills & Reeve
4th: Bird & Bird
Worst (reverse order)
4th from bottom: DWF
3rd from bottom: Knightz
2nd from bottom: Keoghz
1st from bottom: Shakespeere Martinow
36
37
Shoosmiths has to be close to the bottom, surely? Office downsizings, redundancies at the drop of a hat, and below average pay.
30
29
Umm 27/10 @ 11:29 - nice to hear from AMPA. May want to make room for that incoming GT trophy.
.
44
34
Nice of Shakespeare Martineau’s senior partner to find the time to post (11.29 27th October).
The reasons why that firm won the gold turd last year are known to anyone in the Nottinghamshire market. They took one of the most abrasive characters in the market and plonked them into a business which isn’t used to those behaviours. If the firm avoids the golden turd this year it’ll most likely be because those who were most distressed by the new ‘office culture’ have left. Pretending everything is fine, doesn’t work if it is not.
36
22
There is a lot more below the surface than it seems at Michelmores. i had the misfortune of working there and it is a horrid place to work. There is no doubt the 9:10 and 14:12 commenters have been pressured by supervisors/ management to write nice things about the firm but it is an aboslute horrid place filled with two faced management who will throw anyone under the bus at any given moment whilst smiling in your face. Be warned
55
57
I don't recognise Shakespeare Martineau from the comments posted on here or last year. Its a great place to work with great people. Many of the legacy issues (such as IT) are hugely better and no worse than anywhere else, at least according to recent joiners. Every firm has its issues but Shakespeare Martineau did not deserve the golden turd last year and doesn't this year
49
32
Umm... 27/10 @ 11:29 - hello AMPA. Suggest space is made for your incoming GT award.
38
37
Agree @10:33, makes me wonder whether it was an issue with specific teams / individuals because not borne out by my experience either. No place is perfect obviously but in my experience refreshingly few d-heads and it does a lot of stuff well
34
27
Anonymous 31 October 25 10:19
Michelmores: also worked there. Don't agree with the horrid bit, but most of them live in an Exeter bubble, which kind of distorts their perception of where they are in the market ("we're the Slaughter and May of Devon and Cornwall" didn't really work for me). Always remember how in COVID they put loads of people on "flexible" contracts (i.e. big pay cuts); no pay cut for partners, obvs. Unlike many other firms, there was no reimbursement when it turned out they'd made bumper profits. On the plus side, they sent everyone a pot plant, which when you think about it is better than being paid your actual salary.
39
35
Some oddly positive posts about ‘Shakespeere Martinow’
The oddest one blames legacy issues when last year the complaints focused on some strange recruiting decisions.
48
65
I really like working for Shakespeare Martineau - the people are great and they do listen and work to improve things
68
34
[insert Shakespeare Martineau HR approved bollocks here]
64
42
These Shakepear Martineux messages resemble messages hostages issue under duress.
38
28
Law firms that cancel Christmas Parties do badly in this survey. So do law firms that make people redundant at Xmas.
One firm is about to announce both are happening.
33
26
What I like about Womble Bond Dicks is sitting in the big plush chairs and not thinking about what misery my colleagues perpetrated on innocent people to pay for them.
38
41
SHMA/AMPA is not perfect, but the experience of the majority was not reflected last year.
30
25
Any ideas (or perhaps an article) as to why JMW’s fairly recently appointed Managing Partner abruptly stepped down….
34
25
Foot Anstey for the golden turd!
46
45
In my experience of working at Shakespeare Martineau, I see everyone working hard and working together to make it a great place to work. There are issues, same as every other firm, but these are being tackled.
29
24
lets go rpc?
22
25
Interesting read!
44
61
Interesting read indeed re shmartineau; sadly I think there are many bitter leavers after they have managed poor performers out. I am glad they did - the mood and culture in certain offices is far better
30
24
Anyone know what happened to avonhurst?
38
31
The Shakespeare Martineau comments are really interesting and there seems to be a real division in the firm. Either that or HR and marketing have some time to kill...!
40
24
Freeths for the golden turd all day long
56
27
Best law firm to work at ? Not Osborne Clarke
55
34
SHMA from afar is not a good look - arbitrary management decisions on people, vanity projects galore (25k piano in The Shard anyone?), lack of open debate on moving forward...it might be great for many, but some offices/teams are basket cases
54
36
09 November 15:58
Siting Clin Neg and PI Teams there (at The Shard) seems an odd move? Maybe they are hoping for a few accidents to occur up the stairs or from lift phobics or those with motion sickness or fear of heights or to have coronaries when they see the menu prices in the Restaurant up there?
Why choose to station those folks in particular in a very inaccessible location?!
33
43
@Anonymous 10 November 25 11:20
How is The Shard an inaccessible location exactly?!
48
26
14:58hrs 10 November
Have you ever tried to navigate that area of the City and these buildings in a wheelchair, or indeed with any disability?
Or with a mobility scooter perchance?
26
30
Surely Crapsticks will be in the bottom three this year. A more unpleasant firm I'm yet to meet.
31
30
No mention of DWF’s IT yet?
I know of at least two partners who raised the poor IT as part of the reason for their departure.
42
24
Maybe Irwin Mitchell is making a late bid for the GT, or even Freshfields, choosing to announce significant redundancies a month before Christmas 🎄.
Clearly HR and PR (aka common sense) not a strong point of either Firm!
32
20
14 November 15:10
Or kindness for that matter.
The timing of the Budget, a month before Christmas is also surely crass and a barmy idea which will mean it will revert to March ‘ere long?