Brabners

The Legal 500 Future Lawyers verdict on Brabners

‘Reputation, location and culture’ were the top reasons the current trainee cohort applied to Brabners. The northern firm, which has offices in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Lancashire, has a very strong standing in its local area. Trainees enjoy working in a ‘supportive culture where you truly feel that you are invested in and developed’ where they feel comfortable ‘asking questions of colleagues without worrying about wasting their time and being an inconvenience’. Recruits are ‘trusted with high levels of responsibility despite our junior status’ and are given plenty of ‘opportunities to carry out all manner of tasks on a variety of client matters’. All this whilst still benefiting from an excellent work/life balance. At Brabners, ‘everyone, from receptionists to cleaners to the managing director, is very friendly and approachable’. A lot of trust is placed in employees too; ‘for example, we are given freedom to take wellbeing days or to work from home’. On the flip side, trainees are frustrated that ‘there is no clear policy and not much transparency around the seat rotation and NQ processes’, which ‘can lead to ‘unnecessary stress and confusion’. No less annoying is that ‘there aren’t enough car parking facilities’ at some of the Brabners offices. The rest of the time though, trainees are too busy enjoying exposure to fantastic work, such as ‘attending and representing clients at a large and significant public inquiry’s report publication in the City (of London)’. For a firm which is ‘the perfect size, has the perfect culture and the perfect work/life balance’, research Brabners.

A day in the life of... Jessica Graham, third-seat trainee

Departments to date: Litigation and contentious probate; Private client; Corporate

University: Lancaster University BPP Manchester

Degree: LLB Law – First Class; LLM LPC – Distinction

One ‘struggle’ I faced as a trainee solicitor was developing a routine and sticking to it. I have found the key to be organisation! Therefore my ‘day in the life’ does not start with the morning, but instead the evening before.

8.00pm: I prepare my lunch for the following day, lay out my gym clothes and pack my gym bag so that I can dash away in the morning.

8.30am: I like to spend my mornings in the gym. This is my time and I really feel that it prepares me for a good day. Once I have finished at the gym, I get myself ready for the day and travel to the office. Having a ‘dress for your day’ policy at Brabners is fantastic. It allows me to dress up if I have meetings (like today) or dress down for the day/comfortably if I do not have any meetings.

8.45am: I arrive at the office, make myself breakfast and grab a coffee. During this time my colleagues are also arriving at the office, so it is lovely to catch up with them. I then log onto my laptop and check any emails that may have come in overnight or over the weekend. Using my ‘to do list’ planner, I then plan out what I need to do that day including noting any internal or client meetings I have. This allows me to remain organised and prioritise my workload. I action any urgent emails accordingly.

9.30am: I have a weekly catch-up with a private client partner to discuss matters I am working on, my capacity and any assistance I may require. During this meeting, the partner asked me to attend a client meeting in the afternoon to take instructions for their wills, letter of wishes and lasting powers of attorney. The partner gives me all the information I require — for example, a background and file numbers so I can review the files. During this time, I review the client files and — using the precedents we use for wills, letter of wishes and lasting powers of attorney — I prepare a question sheet to ensure that I obtain all the required information from the clients during the meeting.

11.00am: I have a meeting with the other trainees to organise the end of month staff social. As a trainee solicitor, we are all encouraged to get involved wherever possible and maintain strong relationships with colleagues outside of the office. I love having this responsibility — Brabners gives us a budget and we have complete freedom to plan an enjoyable event for everyone to enjoy.

11.30am: I return an existing client’s phone call to be informed that his wife is extremely poorly and expected to pass away within the next few days. The client is therefore requesting that we explain what their wills (previously drafted by us) provide. I explain to the client that I am now required to locate his file and review the documents, which will then enable me to provide a summary of his and his wife’s current position. The client thanks me and I explain that I am sorry to hear what he is going through and ask him to contact me if he needs anything in the meantime. I review the file containing the client’s documents and prepare a summary which I ask a member of the private client team to review and talk through with me before I return the client’s call.

1.00pm: I eat my lunch with several other colleagues in one of our social spaces before we head out for a walk to get some fresh air ahead of a productive afternoon.

2.00pm: I attend the client meeting with the private client partner. There were four clients in total and the partner led the first client interview while I took notes. The partner then allowed me to conduct the final three interviews. One of the many things I love about Brabners is the exposure and level of responsibility you are provided with from day one. The interviews allowed me to build on my confidence and interviewing skills and really understand the clients in order to produce the best drafts of their documents possible. I took all the required information from the clients that would enable us to draft their wills, letters of wishes and lasting powers of attorney.

4.00pm: I return to the office and complete a file note for the client meeting, asking the partner some questions I had following the meeting. I then begin to draft the documents ready for the partner to check before we see the client again to sign.

5.00pm: Towards the end of the day, I like to ensure that I have completed my time recording and completed my trainee solicitor diary for the day (as required by the SRA). As a second-year trainee, now that I have ‘found my feet’ I am actively looking to getting involved with Brabners’ internal action and affinity groups, which focus on LGBTQ+, gender diversity, physical and mental health, BAME and social mobility issues. As a purpose-led independent law firm and certified B Corp, Brabners aims to create a fair and more equal society through the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion among our people, clients and the communities in which we live and work.

About the firm

The firm: Brabners is a purpose-led independent law firm. Its independence allows it to be objective, principled and provide a service with heart and character. It is on a mission to make the difference for its clients, people and communities. A certified B Corp with award-winning sustainability and social impact credentials, the firm seek to demonstrate that business can bring about positive change.

Proudly anchored in the North since 1815, it serves all of England and Wales. The firm’s multidisciplinary and diverse range of talented individuals think independently yet work collaboratively to achieve the right results for their clients. With over 500 colleagues, Brabners offers the full range of legal services. It’s here for all clients in times of both challenge and opportunity.

The firm and its lawyers are multi-award-winning, including featuring in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame and The Times’ Best Law Firms 2024, being named the best law firm and the 11th best large company to work for in the UK by Best Companies for 2024, CSR Champions of the Year at the Manchester Legal Awards, Sustainability Initiative of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2023 and Outstanding Marketing Innovation by Law.com for its podcast series Rooney v Vardy: The Breakdown.

The clients: Arnold Clarke, AXA, Booking.com, Beaverbrook’s the Jewellers, Bridgestone Tyres, Coutts and Co., England & Wales Cricket Board, Lawn Tennis Association, Liverpool Football Club, Manchester Airport, Panasonic Manufacturing, Peel Ports, Primark, Sale Sharks, Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, The Very Group.

The deals: Our nationally recognised litigation specialists, led by Legal 500 ‘Hall of Fame’ Paul Lunt, robustly defended Coleen Rooney in the libel case brought against her by Rebekah Vardy – #wagathachristie, and the team also released an award-winning podcast series Rooney v Vardy: The Breakdown (available on Spotify) and are set to feature in Disney+’s upcoming six-part documentary Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story; our award-winning real estate group acted on behalf of Oldham Council to kick-start its £550m regeneration strategy as part of Brabners’ latest large-scale procurement project – the detailed legal dialogue was concluded in just seven months, a remarkable turnaround for such a complex and competitive process, which can typically take between 12 and 24 months to complete; we were appointed in 2023 by the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation in respect of all its legal needs, including specific charity law advice, such as reviewing agreements between the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from both a charity law and governance perspective, ensuring the Foundation can demonstrate its independence and the fulfilment of the trustees’ duties, as well as commercial aspects, bringing together specialists from across our departments; a long-standing client, we have recently supported Beaverbrooks on their programme of new stores, as well as the upsizing and upgrading of existing stores to provide a more immersive shopping experience, including the growth of their Davygate store, the surrendering of that lease, and the taking of a ten-year lease of the original demise and adjoining vacant property to create a single superstore – this project has aided with the creation of an ‘upmarket jewellery quarter’ in York city centre; our commercial and intellectual property teams have also provided advice and assistance in connection with the filing and prosecution of two new trade marks for the business, ESSENCE BY BEAVERBROOKS.

Managing partner: Nik White

Other offices: Liverpool, Manchester, Lancashire and Leeds

Who we are: Brabners’ mission to make the difference guides everything it does, pushing it to go the extra mile for its clients and empowering its people to do what they do best.

As a B Corp, it’s committed to responsible business. That means high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

With four modern offices in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Lancashire, its people have the choice to work remotely and flexibly to best support all clients’ needs.

What we do: Brabners offers the full range of legal support. The firm’s practice areas cover business crime and compliance, commercial, corporate, employment, family, immigration, intellectual property, litigation, pensions, private client, professional conduct, real estate, regulatory and more.

Brabners works with clients across a wide range of sectors including health, manufacturing and supply chain, professional services, property, construction and regeneration, recruitment and workforce solutions, retail and leisure, sport and technology.

It has strong connections with legal advisers around the world. As active members of Eurolegal and the Association of European Lawyers (AEL), the firm offers cross-border support and trusted foreign legal advice.

What we’re looking for: We’re looking for people who can demonstrate our values — showing that they care, can stand together as a team, are ambitious and do what’s right.

We look for something different in our trainees.

While we want people who are driven and have the tenacity to succeed, we also want those who wish to be part of something much bigger. Those who are eager to learn, innovate and seek out responsibility. In return, we will devote our time and focus to ensure that each and every one of our trainees has the opportunity to realise their full potential.

We strongly believe that trainees should experience a wide range of disciplines before making the decision to specialise. Our vast client base means that our trainees have the chance to experience different sectors and specialisms, deal directly with clients and assist our partners on complex cases.

Join us to kickstart your career in law.

What you’ll do: We provide aspiring solicitors with all the support they expect from a leading law firm, along with the benefit of close mentoring from partners.

Our trainees have many opportunities to experience different specialisms of law by seat rotation, experiencing four seats over a two-year period, dealing directly with clients and assisting on complex transactions with close partner support.

Our trainees also have the opportunity to be involved in our action and affinity groups, which focus on LGBTQ+, gender diversity, physical and mental health, race and ethnicity, and social mobility. The aim of our groups is to create a fair and more equal society through the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion among our people, clients and the communities within which we live and work.

Perks: 25 days’ holiday, travel loan, fresh fruit delivered to the office, charity and social events, payroll giving, colleague recognition, smart agile working practices, buy and sell holidays, pension scheme, subsidised discounts in retail stores, cycle to work and Medicash.

Sponsorship

Funding support is available up to the value of £12,500.

Seat options

Trainees can undertake seats across the firm, in the following areas:

• commercial and intellectual property
• corporate
• insolvency and restructuring
• employment and pensions
• family
• private client
• charity
• litigation
• regulatory
• business crime
• construction
• housing and regeneration
• investment and property management
• real estate development
• real estate litigation

Tips from the recruiter

1. Be genuine – throughout the process we want to get to know who you really are. Don’t say things you think will impress us, it’s important we understand you as an individual and your potential strengths.
2. Do your research – we want candidates to showcase their commitment to our firm, and the law. The best way to do this is by undertaking thorough research ahead of applying, so you can demonstrate you know why you want us and this career.
3. Use examples – at any stage, if you are trying to demonstrate anything, make sure you use a suitable example. We need to see evidence for any statements you make – don’t leave us asking why, how or when.

Diversity and inclusion