_{Some of the treats on offer at Paul, Weiss (NB that's a pizza oven not a crematorium).}

Post-pandemic, law firms have been engaged in a battle for the hearts, minds and stomachs of their staff as they seek to convince them that working in the office trumps working from home.

The coffee, climate control, seating arrangements, canteen prices and the state of the loos have never been more important.

RollOnFriday’s Best Law Firms to Work At 2026 asked law firm staff to rate how satisfied they were with all of it. The results show which firms have turned their offices into a destination and which are effectively wreathed in tape that says, ‘CONDEMNED DO NOT ENTER’. We’ve included a summary for most firms in the survey, so you can either skip straight to yours, or enjoy a stroll through 70-odd offices, from the palatial to the pongy.

In first place: Paul, Weiss (95%) has got money, and it's not afraid to spend it on the fixtures and fittings: “It’s like working in the Ritz but without the high class hookers”, said a senior solicitor at the US firm. It's the first of several US firms to pack out the top of the office rankings. Its lawyers said their office was "Better than most five star hotels and restaurants" and "an incredible environment to work in". The "delicious (free) food for breakfast lunch and dinner" was described as "amazing", "unmatched" and "insane".

Kirkland & Ellis (94%) has left the Gherkin and “40 Leadenhall is incredible”, said a member of business services. “I enjoy looking at the Gherkin from our offices and thanking my lucky stars that we are not in that circular hell hole anymore”. Their new digs have “Free food, snacks, gym, sauna” and is “basically a private members club where I have my own office”.

The extensive freebies at Simpson Thacher (93%) bumped it up to third: “free breakfast lunch and snacks on tap make working there highly attractive”, said a member of business services.

The same goes for White & Case (92%) which wins plaudits each year for its “INCREDIBLE free restaurant”, 'BSK'. “Best in the country”, gushed a trainee. “No other firm has such a comprehensive office/canteen offering. The amounts of money saved each year from the availability of three free meals, coffees, snacks, etc. all day every day runs into the mid thousands”. Then there’s the “weekly subsidised massage” “new gym”, “kitchens on every floor with a barista on the 5th, unlimited bakery”, and a “full coffee station - matcha, protein shakes all for free”.

“It’s a nice office. I wish we had more free stuff though”, said a Bird & Bird (90%) junior solicitor - but its Fetter Lane nest still earned a joint fifth place. “We have the head office that everyone internationally wants to visit”, said another junior solicitor: “We're very lucky, and the newish open plan arrangement has a good buzz”. Staff said the canteen (called, what else, 'Bird Table') “is great” and was “recently redone to have more capacity”. Its new coffee bar “would not look out of place at Paul Weiss...”, said a partner.

The Best Law Firm to Work At 2026, Burges Salmon (90%), had “totally refurbished every floor in the whole of the Bristol office” by the time the survey closed. “You can tell that they didn’t go for the cheapest option for the recent refurb”, said a junior solicitor. What’s more, the open plan elements were actually complimented: “I thought I would hate open plan hotdesking in the Bristol office”, said a senior solicitor, “but it's manageable with some noise cancelling earphones when needed or the various break out rooms for longer calls”. 

One Glass Wharf “continues to have awful toilets which do not flush properly”, complained a business service employee, adding, “The cafe Glassworks is however exceptional with the best coffee in Bristol and great salad bar and weekly cake trolley around the floors which now also includes warm just baked home made bread sales”. And there were the thoughtful touches: "I love that we have barista oat-ly oat milk in the fridges for the non dairy drinkers so we can also have tea and coffee. I also love that all the toilets have free tampons and period pads. They are supplied from a eco business which I love”, said another employee.

US firm Debevoise & Plimpton (90%) moved into a “Gorgeous new office” last April, with a “good gym, great food service”, and “free breakfast (long may it continue)”. The only drawback was the “Sh*t location”. Staff agreed it was a “beautiful office, with lots of amenities but terrible location which makes it stressful to get to and from work”. 

"The new office is nice and the food is much better, but we are surrounded by construction on all sides - not a great pull to come into the office more”, said a senior solicitor.

Goodwin Procter’s (88%) “flash” and “snazzy” office is only two years old and “Looks and feels like a boutique hotel, with a decent canteen, amazing roof terrace and almost-functioning individual office air-con”, said an employee. And although “the internal facing offices and toilets are a let down given the investment”, a trainee said the "immaculate interior looks especially great past 3am!”

Offices are judged differently in the regions. Even though Birketts (86%) doesn’t boast a concierge or koi carp ponds, it still satisfied staff. “I work in the HQ in Ipswich and the office is the best in the area”, said a paralegal, although a solicitor noted correctly that “Ipswich as a town is really a horrible place to work. The only reason I work here is because its the closest office to my house." 

Quality can vary across offices at multi-site firms: while Birketts’ Chelmsford office “has a subsidised canteen run by the affable Tony”, at another branch “we only have a vending machine”.

At Mills & Reeve (83%), sprucing up several branches propelled it into the top ten. “Leeds has undergone a refurb and as a result is a much more pleasant place to be”, said a business services employee. If anything, it’s too light and airy: “the kitchen - though beautiful - is unusable for a good chunk of the summer because there are too many windows!” 

Over in Birmingham they even have “hair straighteners (!) in the ladies. There is also a sauna - but not sure it’s ever been used!” Any law firm worth its salt gives its canteen a terrible name, and M&R is no exception: “I raised an eyebrow when the kitchen was re-branded ‘the Heartspace” after a refurb, but fortunately nobody ever calls it that because it’s so cringe”.

HFW’s (81%) “New(ish) office in 8 Bishopsgate is a significant upgrade”, said a junior solicitor. Completed in 2023,“It is functional, modern and bright”. And “we get a free lunch twice per week and free breakfast every morning, which is greatly appreciated”. (Although a visitor to the shipping insurance specialist’s Dubai outpost is eagerly awaiting the new fit-out as “we have mould spores growing on the ceilings which is not pleasant”. Now with added rockets!)

The proper brand of tea has been a point of contention in workplaces since Ug first put on a brew, and it continues at Horwich Farrelly (81%) where a lawyer noted that office managers “keep deliberately overruling our specific request for Yorkshire Tea in favour of Tetleys”. Overall, though, the offices got a thumbs-up: “the move to Media City a few years ago makes coming in the office enjoyable”, said one solicitor. “It’s not plush but I would rather have the money in my pay at the end of the month”, said a partner, while a junior solicitor said “the Salford office is fantastic - including swinging seats”.

A Lewis Silkin (79%) trainee said it was “Amazing to have free barista coffee”, but “Sadly lunch is not free and not served every day of the week”. The office is “modern”, but its time may be short: it’s “feeling a bit too small already… I'm not sure how much more the firm can grow in London given how full it is most days now”.

Freeths (78%) “spend money on fancy offices hoping that will keep staff happy (it doesn’t)”, claimed an unhappy worker bee, but the ranking suggests it does boost the mood for others. “Bristol is now great - most of the other offices have also gone through moves or refurbs (although I'm jealous of the MK office's two roof terraces)”, said a colleague.

“After a series of office moves, most of the offices now are top drawer”, chimed in another. Bristol offers “a large communal kitchen with eating at your desk frowned upon, so everyone mixes at lunch”.

Ashurst’s (77%) honeymoon period in the Fruit & Wool Exchange continues – a trainee approved of the “Nice modern office” and “clean, decent canteen, while a senior solicitor said there was “No open plan which is good”. It may be akin to giving the torture equipment five stars, but another solicitor said, “The overnight rooms are rather nice”.

Brass tacks at Clyde & Co (77%): “The canteen is reasonably affordable at approx £5 for lunch, and breakfast options are not usually more than £2.50”. In terms of city panoramas, in London there’s a “Fabulous new restaurant with views across London”. But in Manchester, “Eversheds always have dibs on booking the roof for internal/external events, because their office is on the top floor... ". One other bone of contention at the Salford office is parking: a senior solicitor used to be “very satisfied right up until they dropped in the car park subsidy was doubling overnight”.

Quite a few big firms are getting ready to move in London, and some at Weil (77%) want it to follow suit. The firm “is now spread across three buildings, it should just suck it up and move to around Liverpool Street like the rest of them”. It’s a “great office but why do we have three”, wondered a trainee. Perks include a “New gym which is usually empty”, and the “Cafe team have taken it up a notch (but nearly doubled prices)”.

BCLP’s (76%) office rated well with staff – its canteen in particular offered a “well priced and a good variety” of grub. Although a business services employee issued a request to ROF to secure "Healthier Snack & Drink Options. We would like healthier snack and drink options available in the workplace. This means replacing or supplementing current choices with items such as: Fresh fruit and vegetables, Nuts, granola, and protein bars, Low-sugar or zero-sugar beverages, Sparkling water, infused water, or natural juices".

They’d be happy at TLT (76%), where treats in one office were “Replaced with seeds and nuts”, according to an employee who wasn’t on a health kick and didn’t want to go one. “The snacks are a little too healthy- lets dish out custard slices to the masses”, said a junior solicitor. TLT has refurbished its offices in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Birmingham, and they are now “top of the line workspaces with a luxury TLT feel”, said staff.

TLT Edinburgh was “the best office I've ever worked in and has the best view ever”, while the Glasgow office was “great and so very different to what we have had before”, said a paralegal. In London, “The new mugs and glasses are a delight - giving East Dulwich boujis cafe vibes, in the best possible way.  Wouldn't look out of place in a Gail's”, said a partner. Only the HQ was deemed to be lagging: “colleagues in other offices don’t have to make their own coffee - in Bristol I’m fighting with the milk twice a day”, said one lawyer.

“The office in which I work is small”, said a Withers (75%) partner, “but what it lacks in amenities (e.g. no showers or lunch area) it makes up by feeling like a family firm”. On the downside for one senior lawyer, “Unfortunately the toilets remain an issue due to some legacy lawyers who refuse to flush”. (Finally, a loo comment. There will be more.)

Baker McKenzie (74%) has a “Lovely new office, well thought through, open plan but lots of spaces of different sizes and privacy for meetings”, said a senior solicitor. “They missed a trick not making an office gym during the move”, said a senior solicitor: “But, it's leaps and bounds better than the mice-infested 100 NBS”. There remains teething trouble with the aircon: staff said it “can be a little too enthusiastic (still need a jumper in summer) and, according to a partner, made “half the floor freezing and half too hot”.

Capsticks (74%) staff generally applauded their multi-office refurbs – Leeds was a “great space to work in” now, while Manchester “is shiny new but also has a cosy feel”. While somne staff said it was a “shame about the location”, a colleague insisted, “You can’t get a better location than by the town hall whatever others say about being on the city edges.” Inside, “We are fully hybrid so trying to get a desk or a meeting room on a Thursday is impossible”, complained a partner, adding that, “We don’t seem to have much by way of IT improvements - our case management system is very labour intensive and not at all automated which is very frustrating”. 

The firm “has spent time and money updating systems but the functionality remains prehistoric with very slow systems and 1980s style case management”, agreed a junior solicitor.

Hogan Lovells (74%) is one of several firms in London about to move into spanking new digs. As such, the environs are “Not fantastic as there is a sense of things being run down in preparation for moving to a new building in 2026/27 (e.g. the gym constantly has leaks that take ages to repair)”. Atlantic House “still feels me new to me”, mused a partner, “but then I was at LWD at 65 Holborn Viaduct - which was a bit like something from Lord of the Rings”. He said he was “Looking forward to leaving behind the leering gaze of the orcs on the other side of Shoe Lane though”. 

Another lawyer notes that they were going to score themselves as “only satisfied with Atlantic House, but the new building is going to be fantastic, so VERY”.

Squire Patton Boggs’ (74%) office at 60 London Wall “is very nice, but there is no staff canteen and open plan is not good”, said one lawyer. “Decent office, decent location”, summarised one senior solicitor, “although some people (particularly one partner) needs to rethink their diet because having to follow them after they’ve been in the bogs is straying very close to infringements of the Geneva Convention”.

Brabners (73%) partners said there was “very little local to the office”, and they had to “spend most of lunch walking into town in order to access anything”, although another partner said “all offices” were “pleasant to work in”.

Osborne Clarke’s (73%) Halo office in Bristol is “fantastic”, said many staff. “It has to be the best law firm office in the city and is a major reason why I'm not interested in looking elsewhere”, said one senior solicitor. “Halo is a lovely place to work - there are some really thoughtful touches”, agreed a colleague. “Halo is an amazing workspace”, said another.

“Bristol is great”, agreed a senior solicitor, “but …London office is a S**hole in which vast sums were spent on a interior designer with Stevie Wonder eyesight who clearly hated the client when designing the re-furb”. Criticisms of OC’s One London Wall refurb ranged from mild: “a bit naff”, “a truly bizarre renovation project… which was limited to putting up some wooden slats and the most unusual chandeliers”, “an icy white box with stupid blue ceiling decorations that belong at a kids party”, to savage: “The new coffee machine produces a dark brown, oily liquid that looks like someone shot it under pressure out of their sphincter”. Most seriously, “This trend of only having toilets by the lift shaft, which means I have no signal and can't scroll RoF when I'm taking a humpty, needs to stop. Other than that, facilities are good”.

Coffee is lawyer fuel, so it’s a serious factor in this category. A Pinsent Masons (73%) junior solicitor said the work floor kitchens “recently downgraded from Azera to Nescafe gold” - a “poor” coffee “which deters office working”. On the upside, Manchester’s brand new office was “beautiful and Gary Neville even comes to visit”. “Free coffee, free fruit and standing desks are great pluses”, and another junior solicitor, who was phlegmatic about not “having your own desk and parking”, which “were really luxuries of the old office which were never going to be replicated”. Although “The decision to get rid of the canteen in favour of vending machines was bizarre”.

Running through some of DAC Beachcroft’s (72%) office portfolio: in Bristol it “has just moved into a fancy new building complete with free gym and free fruit at the front desk”, Manchester’s office move “was still recent enough that everything still feels new and fresh”, and Birmingham’s office was “slightly outdated, but fine!” according to a trainee. 

The outlier appears to be Leeds, where the office “was tired last year”, and “this year has been rough with never ending building renovations, out of date and unreliable IT infrastructure, and extended periods with either no AC or no heat”.  Happily, “We are constantly bribed with free food. Bonfire night pie and peas was a particularly highlight”.

Harbottle & Lewis’s (72%) office was “Not the best but the location is second to none. We also get an incredible free lunch everyday that we sit together and eat”.  The firm has an open plan set up, “which is usually fine… but when 2pm strikes and every person and their dog is looking for a call room, it's kill or be killed”. The open plan design had an appropriate cost: “We can no longer boast a wellness room, sadly - this was bulldozed earlier this year to make way for more desks”.

National firm Michelmores’ (72%) London office “now has Yorkshire tea”, for which it scored points. The Bristol office was still feeling new a year on, although it’s “not much to look at from the outside, as the windows keep being vandalised by protesters (we share the building with Allianz)”. On the upside, Exeter “has just had a complete overhaul”, on the downside, “it’s in Exeter”. 

Cheltenham “is by far the most ‘standard’ office”: its “standout lacklustre feature is its kitchen that only one person can fit in at a time”, while the open plan set ups “are often very loud to work in and it’s hard to concentrate”, said a senior solicitor, “which sends quite a confusing message when the firm is keen for people to spend more time in the office”.

Mishcon de Reya’s (72%) long-admired Africa House “is great”, said staff. “Beautiful offices, nice and very reasonably priced canteen, excellent location”. The only issue cited by several staff was that “Uncertainty around an office move is seeing the non-client facing parts get a bit run down”. “We keep being told about the promise of a new office but it doesn’t seem to be in the pipeline… Too many people are being squished into open plan as the firm grows which doesn’t help”, said a colleague. “Bigger subsidies for gyms would be great - £30 a month doesn't get you a reformer class these days”, chipped in a colleague.

Shoosmiths’ (72%) London office has “a (small) gym”, a coffee shop, “good working spaces”, pick-n-mix, and “fancy soft drinks”. The “biggest benefit, however, is that (at least in my team) we are able to work from home or in the office as much as we need”, said a lawyer. Elsewhere, “the Leeds office is right above the train station”, cited as a boon for easy commuting, while “the new Milton Keynes working space is as good as it could be in the circumstances, but it is little more than a glorified classroom in a co-working space”. The absence of canteens was seen as an area ripe for improvement.

At Browne Jacobson (69%), “we’ve got the best view of any London office. Fact”, claimed a solicitor, while its new Manchester office “is fantastic”. ROF wasn’t sure which office had women's toilets which “don't even lock without risk of slicing your finger off”, but a business services employee was very clear that it was Nottingham which “is pi$$ poor”. Their full review: “weird wavy roof, no biscuits, carpet sticks like a 90s night club, somebody at the away day said the coffee tasted like cigarette ash”.  Notts “needs an upgrade”, conceded a business services colleague.

DLA Piper’s (69%) London office “is delightful - smart, easy to access (Farringdon station is at the back door), great area and office food is tasty”, said a senior solicitor. “We still have the best pastry chef in the City”, they added: “you must insist on the DLA key lime pie”. “Nice building in London”, offered a business services employee, “but the stone façade and granite flooring is as hard as the new leadership team”. OooOOOoo.

“Very nice places to work”, said a senior solicitor. “I do miss having an individual office, but at least everything is modern and well maintained”. They gave a rave review for the bogs, too: “I'm yet to confirm this, but I'm fairly sure the building maintenance just employ 24/7 loo cleaners. I don't think I've ever had a plop without someone basically waiting outside the door ready to clean up”.

There were several cries from Ropes & Gray (69%) for remedy after the firm “Removed [the] monthly barista - with no replacement”. “We need a barista!” agreed a colleague shaking with withdrawal symptoms (and presumably unsatisfied with the coffee machines described variously as “alright” and “great”). Elsewhere, the firm’s free lunches on Wednesdays were appreciated, but one lawyer suggested that in comparison to competitors the limited offering “feels miserly”.

Russell-Cooke (69%) occupies some unique buildings across London boasting “Dickensian charm” which are a “bit noisy but it's manageable”, according to staff. Although one adds that “If I were required to be in the office every day, it would not be tenable”. A partner said the central, Holborn branch “has been outgrown. The firm needs to look around”, while a junior solicitor said that “The Putney office is in need of a major refresh, and in all three offices the coffee is awful”.

Travers Smith’s (69%) score will go up next year, ROF predicts. It was weeks away from moving into a “shiny new” office which looks “amazing”. “The new Stonecutter building looks like it will be a showstopper”, staff said. “Snow hill will always hold a spot in the hearts of TS associates, but we're all ready for our move to Stonecutter” in March, said a senior solicitor. “Desperate to move into the new digs”, said a junior solicitor. Even so, the food offering was praised: “Free food in the office (breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, pastries), generally varied and of a high standard - friends who aren't in law think this is a ridiculous perk and they're probably right”, said a trainee.

Clarke Willmott’s (68%) office is “well-kept”, said a trainee. Despite having “the option to do both”, “I prefer working in the office to working from home”, they said. But ROF would be remiss if we didn’t flag one employee’s complaint that the Taunton office “was recently ‘treated’ to a weekly fruit delivery on a Friday" which was met with "bemusement... the Bristol office, for context, gets cake every Wednesday”.

Freshfields (67%) has a “Lovely building but they so cheap even the fruit and biscuits has been cut down” and “the canteen and internal coffee shop are no longer subsidised”. A senior solicitor described the Magic Circle’s London office as “Shiny” but “completely sterile”. “Sharing an office between three associates is a nightmare”, said a cramped junior solicitor.

City powerhouse Macfarlanes (67%)'s site is spread across four buildings, but “We should be in a single office”, wished some staff. "A presitigious law firm? Perhaps. An extremely profitable law firm? No doubt”, expounded one employee. But “in my particular neck of the woods, we constantly endure broken heating and a/c, lifts that only work every third Wednesday (but only if it is a full moon and Jupiter is visible to the naked eye)", and “God forbid you want a poo at the same time as one of your colleagues since there is only one cubicle (better hold off on that second coffee)”. On the other hand, one of the loos boasted “a flush that could dispose of even the most incompetent of trainees”.

“Dear Lord, that flush. Like a waterfall sprung from the tears of a thousand angels”.

Other staff praised the consumables: the “free coffee shop is brilliant. 10/10”, and a Macs breakfast is “also very good and cheap”. “While you have to pay for food, it is very cheap and of a generally decent standard”.

Wedlake Bell (67%) offers “free food throughout the day” and a “cooked breakfast once a week, continental once a week, salad bars and jacket potatoes”, and there’s an interesting-sounding layout: “Each person essentially gets their own pod with very high walls on all sides so you have privacy unless someone approaches your desk”.

Akin Gump’s (66%) Spitalfields office is “meh but we are moving shortly”, just across the street. The “mock-up of the new office looks excellent and firm elders have thankfully opted against the hideous open plan configs so many firms seem to be opting for”. In the meantime, “investment into facilities/maintenance has dropped”. Akin Gumpers currently share the building with A&O Shearman and one said they were already planning to “leave a can of tuna in the walls somewhere when we move out as a gift for A&O”. One trainee will miss it: “I share an internal office and contrary to popular sentiment I love it. During winter I feel like a little mouse in a burrow with the lights off. Corporate bliss.”

Simmons & Simmons (66%) has longer to wait. Its Bristol office “is lovely”, but in London, “Citypoint needs updating”. There’s apparently an “amazing” new office coming, but not until 2030. In the meantime, “Hot desking and open plan are not great” and the firm is “ cutting on office space to save money”, with “PC setups from early 2000s”.

“We have just moved into a new office”, said a Taylor Wessing (66%) partner. “It looks great but it’s too early to tell. Projects like these are often plagued by teething problems with heating etc”. Views varied: one junior solicitor said the new office “ticks all the boxes, with the cafeteria a particular standout”. A senior colleague said, “They’ve spent a fortune on the London office and it’s both cold and weird. Strange pictures across the place and terrible coffee. The cafe is good, though.”

“They've invested a lot of money in refurbishing the offices in Leeds and London”, said a senior solicitor at Womble Bond Dickinson, and others said it was “great”. The new London office fit out “is truly excellent, even if it was long overdue”, said a partner. “The only minor gripe is that the quality of the food in the staff canteen in Newcastle has gone down slightly - the chef seems to have a strange obsession with putting pickled onions in every meal”.

A&O Shearman (65%) is another firm moving this year, and “stopped fixing stuff since we didn't renew the lease”. Staff were “looking forward” to the removal vans arriving, as “The current one has been looking tired for a while”. Plenty of staff said they were still find of the old girl, though. “Nice office. Gutted we’re leaving”, said a trainee. “Office is great”, agreed a senior solicitor, just “slightly too big and empty at present”.

Fellow Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance (65%) is also on the move, dropping its swimming pool-assisted office in Canary Wharf for the City. “10 UBS is showing its age”, said a partner, although some staff wondered if their new address would be as well-provisioned. “I love working at the CC office in Canary Whard - it's amazing!”, said an employee who asked if “the new City office will be able to offer the same level of amenities”.

Who knows, there might even be an upgrade. Currently, “We get fruit twice a week which are put into a crate that looks like it’s come from a farm, but many of us have seen the facilities staff decant from aldi packets.”

“I thought our £2.70 canteen subsidy was good until I read all the comments about actual free food” said another CC lawyer.

Trowers & Hamlins’ (65%) Exeter office “is in a great location but needs updating. It's tired and the toilets are a bit grim, which is also embarrassing when we share them with clients”. A London move was due, but it’s been delayed: “One minute we are staying at Bunhill Row the next we are going in 2031”.

“We've been crammed into two fewer floors in London on the basis of a promised office refurb... which now isn't happening. So we will be moving... in six years...” complained another. “In the meantime we're still crammed in, in not enough space, with nowhere to take confidential calls or do quiet work, but still required to be in the office three days out of two. Two out of four lifts already broken and it's only going to get worse. Grump!” A partner said the London office was “currently going through the worst of both worlds - hot desking in office space not designed for it, with proposals to reconfigure the office delayed and delayed”.

A similar dream was squashed at RPC (64%): “We were meant to be moving to an amazing looking office in Moorgate”, said a junior solicitor: “Radio silence since that was canned a year ago”. “We need to move office but there is no word on if or when”, said a colleague. A junior solicitor said the “Lockers, coffee machine, transport routes” and “modern laptops” were “good”, but the ladies loos were “constantly breaking". Staff said they were “Lucky to have a cafe on site”, but as it wasn’t subsidise it was “just as expensive as any other food shop in the city”.

There was a surge of support for Shakespeare Martineau’s (64%) Shard location after it won the Golden Turd last year. Its “Great!”, said staff. “No idea why it has to have a piano in it though”. “It plays when I arrive… I choose to believe it’s applause”, said a colleague. Others noted the “mawkish neon phrases on the walls. Clients seem to like them though”. “Trying to make each office look like a nightclub annoyingly puts me off wanting to go to a nightclub”, offered a colleague, “But the coffee and biscuits are good”.

Hill Dickinson (63%) partners noted that the firm had new offices in Machester and, but rued the “push for open plan in new premises” because “a lot of people ignore the guidance and continue to broadcast loudly”. The kitchens “are always well stocked with free coffees, fruit juice, sodas and biscuits”, said another partner, although a junior solicitor said they “Had to beg for decent fruit to be offered in the common area”.

Foot Anstey’s (62%) Exeter office is “basic”, but Bristol “is top notch” with “Good views, regular deliveries of fresh fruit to the office, close to Temple Meads”. And “Even though it is open plan, it is a comfortable place to work”. The only real issue flagged was that “the desk booking policy is meaningless if people don't stick to the rules - it's a game of ‘hunt for a free desk’ mid-week when at its busiest, even if you booked one in advance”.

"My office is fine but if I have to hear one more person complain about the Sheffield office being shit I'm going to lose my mind”, said a member of Irwin Mitchell’s (62%) business services team. “The Sheffield office is dreadful in comparison to the others”, said a colleague. “Talks of a new office have been going around for years but still nothing. Very disappointing considering we’re meant to be the HQ”. It “should be the flagship office” but “nothing has been changed (other than the carpet in the client meeting areas) since the day it was built”, said a colleague. “The response has been ‘the lease is nearly up so we dont want to invest any money in it now’ like a stuck record for at least 3 years. It’s embarrassing to see clients there”.

Down south, the new Irwin Mitchell London office “is genuinely really quite nice and a huge upgrade on the old one”, although “the coffee is still crap and the next best thing is the £7-a-latte hipster spot downstairs”, while the “Open plan is far too loud to get any actual work done”.

At Kennedys (62%), "With a couple of notable exceptions the offices are pretty good", said staff. One solicitor described the Walkie Talkie in London as “shiny on the outside" but "uncomfortable on the inside”, but others said it was "great". It's been a rougher ride in the Chelmsford office: staff there have “not had any ground floor windows for the best part of six months due to being targeted by Palestine Action”. There’s “no front door and red paint splattered liberally around the entrance” - and on top of that there was “also had a flood so the office no longer has any ceilings”.

Keoghs and Knights, both also on 63%, attracted mostly positive comments. “It’s a bit bare bones” at Keoghs, but “Remote work is the norm”, said staff, so it didn't really matter: “No frills but gets the job done”, said another.

Knights has gone in the other direction: “The premium office spaces are very nice indeed”, said staff. They “can be a bit beige bland, but that's a matter of personal taste. The cushions perched on their corners on the rock hard sofas are a bit of overkill”. Knights’s model of expansion consists of gobbling up other firms, and “Post acquisition they look to move you fairly quickly into new offices which are fitted out in the corporate style”. “The downside is that all offices, wherever they are, look virtually identical with no room for any kind of regional or local character”. (NB: “Despite the fancy offices the coffee is uniformly shit.”)

Touring the UK via Eversheds Sutherland (61%) offices gives a varied experience: the Manchester office “is amazing!”, Birmingham’s “is very tired”, and a recent London refurb “has caused awful disruption for very little if any difference”, said staff.

“All they did was keep the same layout but refresh the interior”, explained a partner, while a junior solicitor said the breakfast, while free, “ is getting worse - the ‘Greek’ yoghurt has clearly been replaced with a cheaper alternative”. And “the bowls are getting smaller”. Time to do an Alan, perhaps.

Norton Rose Fulbright’s (61%) London office “is standout and location excellent but given it's a global law firm the free coffee is pretty akin to petrol and they steadfastly refuse to provide fruit in the kitchens - come on NRF”, entreated one of its lawyers. “The coffee isn't coffee”, agreed a business services colleague – “ and the 9th (client floor) is looking sooo 2007”.

“The canteen being closed for dinner is a real shame as means people tend to commute home quite early to eat at home, before logging on again”, said a hardworking junior solicitor. “The office location however is fantastic”. Newcastle lacks a similarly subsidised canteen, but, said a paralegal, “the actual office spaces and kitchens are nicer in Newcastle - And the Newcastle bridges are nicer than Tower bridge”.

The refits rolled out across Weightmans’ (60%) offices “are supposed to be a good thing” but the “London office is dreadful” and has “No atmosphere, no life, no soul” according to some staff. The Liverpool base “is huge, quiet, and completely devoid of atmosphere. Nobody wants to come in, and it shows”. But, “credit where due: IT equipment for home working is good, and the IT service desk is consistently helpful.” Also, the beans to cup coffee machines “are a win. A small one, but a win nonetheless”.

Gowling WLG’s (59%) London office “is abysmal, but better than last year”, said a senior solicitor. A paralegal disagreed: “The canteen used to be good - now it’s just deep fat fryer stuff”. A partner wanted more of that kind of stuff: “The Mars bar cakes have been removed from general consumption”, they complained, and if that wasn’t bad enough “We have to negotiate with an iPad for coffee”. A business services employee was mor appreciative: “The provision of a restaurant is sometimes taken for granted but is generally very good”, they said.

After the survey closed, HSF Kramer (59%) announced it had inked a deal to move from Exchange House in 2030. It’s probably time. “Cool exterior, tired and sad inside (just like me)”, said a trainee. “Dated decor, a subsidised (but still more pricey than one might hope) canteen, no gym”, said a junior solicitor. “There are some totally internal offices that feel a bit like tombs”, which are “perfect if you love seasonal depression”, they added.

“Yes, I don’t have a window in my office, but sunlight is overrated anyway”, countered a trainee: “whilst a little tired in parts, at the end of the day, it is an office and not the dwelling of the sultan of Brunei. It doesn’t need to be luxurious”. Other staff cited positive like the “Excellent canteen and free evening meals”, and the firm’s well-being fund for health activities.

"We have a canteen which is great - but the offering is sub-par”, said a Stephenson Harwood (59%) senior solicitor. “It closes at 4pm which feels ridiculous when your day feels like it’s just starting”.

Linklaters (58%) was preparing for an office move in February, meaning staff have endured a few years of management holding back on refurbs. The jilted premises are “Old and dated”, and staff said they were “very excited for the new office” which “looks well peng”. “We'll see how well open plan works...” said one lawyer.

Slaughter and May (58%) opted for a refurb instead of moving, which a junior solicitor said had been “a complete and unmitigated disaster”. They cited “rimless loos” which overflowed when the automatic flush activated (“So far no jobby has ended up on the floor but I suspect it's only a question of time) and “handle-less fridges which you needed crowbars to be able to open, so the firm had to make a design change and retrospectively install enormous handles”.

“Slowing the lifts down to a crawl with a loud computerised voice shouting incessantly” wasn’t necessarily an upgrade, either, added a partner. The "office is a bit old and the refurbishment has been a bit of a disaster except in the canteen which is now much better” said another junior solicitor. However, “we have been able to keep our cellular layout which I much prefer, and I am not at all envious of the other MC firms moving into swanky new offices but switching to an open plan layout as a consequence, which for me would be markedly worse”.

Lots of Addleshaw Goddard’s (58%) votes came in before its London move to the new Lothbury office - expect a cold wall-inspired bump next year. Staff said the new office “is fantastic”, “incredibly swish”, and “seems some way better than the sterile dental surgeries in the Regions”.

CMS’s (56%) office portfolio could so with a spruce up, said staff. London has a “Great canteen” and Cannon Place is “so nice and central”. But it “needs a refresh”. A CMS employer at another office says it “is about 10 years old and needs a refresh - we only recently got a functioning coffee machine... perks are few and far between and the benefits are alright nothing spectacular. Different level in London, the office has subsidised breakfasts and lunch which would be a game changer anywhere else.” “Bristol office needs refurbishment" said a senior solicitor.

“Roll on next year's move!” said a Dentons (54%) lawyer in London. The firm is another with dying premises it’s prepping to abandon, heading to One Liverpool Street. “The London office is old and tired, but we are moving to brand new facilities in 2026, which will be fantastic”, said a respondent.

Reed Smith (54%) has just moved, but it hasn’t translated into much of a bump in the rankings. The new office “has its perks, but lacks natural light for most employees”, said a partner: “Maybe we are vampires”. It “is pleasant and has decent enough facilities, but you have no phone reception and - candidly - open plan just doesn’t work”, said another partner. “Given a US lawyer would break out in hives if they had to share an office with someone, it feels like London has been forced to make the greater sacrifice for the bean counters”.

Mayer Brown’s (52%) office was “quite tired” with “no internal meeting rooms and small kitchens with poor coffee”, said staff, on top of which,“the quality of the food in the canteen isn't exactly anything to write home about”. It also appears to have made a serious strategic error: “A firm that removes coffee machines and doesn’t replace them is asking for trouble”. However, “The office is currently undergoing a refurb which should improve things”. Maybe it can reduce the “noise from ‘toilet alley’” which “is very distracting”, apparently.

It’s a tale of London versus the regions at DWF (51%), where the refurbished office at the top of the Walkie Talkie was described as “stunning” and “spectacular”. It “took everyone by surprise by how good it looks” said a trainee, “much better than the old office layout which had massive cabinets randomly dotted around the whole office that made you feel like you were in Maze Runner”.

However, the Leeds office was “in dire need of refurbishment” while Manchester is “falling apart” and “needs more than a refurb... A wrecking ball would be more fitting”. (Although “use of the coffee machine has now been made free, after over two years of promises. The office managing partner had his secretary send an office wide email on his behalf stating that he was ‘glad to get this one over the line’).

Fieldfisher (51%) is “currently undergoing an office wide refurbishment in London” which “is exciting”, but has impacted scores: the fitout work “has left us all crowded on one floor, sitting on each other's laps and shouting in each other's faces on Teams calls”, said staff. A partner was “hopeful it will be less drab”, and a senior solicitor said they were “glad we aren't moving to one of the faceless terrariums other firms are going for”.

There were other grumbles, though: “the catering is terrible. Repetitive food, stale bread rolls and a crappy dental plan to repair the damage”, said a partner. “Little perks have died a death over the last year. We used to get fruit, cakes and treats in the office regularly but they have been quietly withdrawn”, said another solicitor. However, “The view from Riverbank House remains fabulous. Refurbishment underway - let’s see what the new world looks like”, counselled a partner. It’s “Exactly what I want. Nice views and good facilities - nothing fancy that would only keep me in the office building for longer”, said a junior lawyer.

“The one shower is grim”, said a senior solicitor at Gateley (46%). A colleague in business services said the office “needs TLC”. "The cans of pop are locked in a fridge, or otherwise guarded like a hawk by the guy who runs the Client Meeting Rooms floor”, griped a senior lawyer: “people are here for 10+ hours a day sometimes - I'm not sure giving out a can of Sprite is going to lead to everyone suddenly not being dedicated".

Charles Russell Speechlys (42%) has a “Nice office in a good location”, said a junior solicitor, and a member of Business Services said the “free coffee is a plus”.  “It is still very poor coffee”, however, and the desk-booking system “can get weirdly competitive at busy times” – but the dearth of truly damning comments suggested respondents were projecting how they felt about other facets of the firm.

Not so at the Golden Turd of 2026, Broadfield (39%), where a partner described the office as a “Battery hen set up washed down with a mood of total dejection”. Its layout was “Poorly thought out” and “Difficult to work in”, said another lawyer, a fact “now recognised as an interior designer is walking round today”. It was a “nice enough new build”, said a colleague, but “the management team haven’t done much to make it a pleasant place to work in terms of decor and office facilities given that we are expected to be in the office 2 to 3 days a week”.

The "current office is dire” said a Watson Farley & Williams (35%) employee, with “exploding toilets leading to sewage leaks”.

“Yes - this is true”, they said: “the majority of the 3rd floor was shut for a week due to sewage leaking from the roof and pipes”. Other staff described the office as “falling apart”, citing “broken water taps”, “blocked toilets”, “no milk in fridges”, and frequently broken lifts. And rats. “BUT”, said a respondent, “I understand their lack of willingness to invest into the building given that they are expecting an office move in 2026".

“The office is old and rather creaky however we are moving next year so we can hang on”, agreed a white-knuckled colleague.

Down in last place, Cripps (34%) ”could get away with the offices pre covid, but they are showing their age and aren’t an incentive to get people back into the office”, said a lawyer. Its offices “need a refit and a rethink”, said a colleague, though they said they appreciated it was “probably low down on the agenda for investment”.

Cripps’ Horsham office “has a nice vibe”, said a lawyer. “Its open plan but not oppressively noisy. People don't leave the toilets in a state - what's not to like”. Well, said a junior solicitor, “as reported by RoF earlier in the year, the stench continues from the floor 2 toilets in the Tunbridge Wells office”.

“The automatic air fresheners installed to cover up the stench are akin to a mouse fighting a lion”.

“Further concerns have been raised about the deposits being left in the toilets on floor 3 - there is a regular scene of devastation which has led to the mystery of the 'phantom shitter'. Some, more precious colleagues, have been known to contact the head of facilities to 'secure' the scene - rather than pressing flush themselves.” Safety first.