Survey Results - Trainee feedback on Marriott Harrison
Survey Results - Trainee feedback on
The lowdown - Trainees (in their own words) on Marriott Harrison
Why did you choose this firm over any others? ‘The firm’s specialisation in venture capital was an area I was really interested in, along with its close-knit culture that is extremely supportive and provides a great deal of client exposure’, ‘the friendliness of the people and how much they took time to get to know me on the vacation scheme, the small trainee cohort giving me responsibility from early on, and the strong VC practice’, ‘from the vacation scheme itself, I could tell that MH peers push you out of your comfort zone and train you to become an associate and not just a good trainee’
Best thing about the firm? ‘The people at the firm genuinely care about your well-being and career progression and I feel that I have built strong friendships as a result. MH also listens and takes account of feedback that trainees provide’, ‘the support we receive, both professionally and socially. This support lends itself to better work, better client contact, and a better trajectory for the firm’s success. For example, feedback was received by senior fee earners that we required an HR platform and a CRM platform. This has then been created’, ‘the culture and the approachability of everyone at the firm’
Worst thing about the firm? ‘Sometimes the small size can have its weaknesses such as not offering a secondment’, ‘the firm’s IT system could be better’, ‘the IT’, ‘the worst thing at the firm is perhaps the legal tech. Although this is improving and getting fixed, sometimes the virtual desktop (Citrix) is slow or stops working’
Best moment? ‘I attended a major employment tribunal case and was there everyday watching KCs at work, interacting with our clients. I was also heavily involved in the build-up to the case being heard’, ‘being able to bring my own client into the firm and introduce them to the appropriate team’, ‘when I was given the opportunity to prepare all the documents relating to a transaction and work on a client’s matter from beginning to end’, ‘having my efforts recognised by the managing partner, senior associates and associates’, ‘a High Court hearing’
Worst moment? ‘There has been no notable moment but the transition into first starting the seat was difficult’, ‘when my computer shut down while I was drafting a document and nothing saved’, ‘the worst part about my training contract was when my systems kept crashing and lost five hours’ worth of work’
The Legal 500 Future Lawyers verdict on Marriott Harrison
Marriott Harrison’s ‘unique position in the venture capital and private equity space’ sets it apart. The London firm is ‘well-known in these areas and always acquires unique and complex work’. Marriott Harrison offers trainees ‘far more exposure’ than larger firms ‘both in terms of interacting with clients and being able to run our own deals’. What’s more, ‘the flexibility to choose what you’d like to work on, such as asking for more drafting tasks’ makes for a more bespoke training experience. Said one respondent: ‘I’ve only been at the firm for three months, and I’ve already begun having a go at drafting core documents and analysing them. I’ve also spoken to and emailed clients and received praise by both clients and MH fee earners’. Another trainee’s best moment was ‘being able to fully run my own property lease deals (naturally with the supervision of an associate)’. Nevertheless, trainees were disappointed that ‘sometimes the firm’s small size can lead to weaknesses, such as not offering secondment opportunities’. ‘The IT system could be better’ too, especially when ‘the system crashes and you lose five hours’ worth of work’. Several respondents had either previously worked at the firm as paralegals or had experienced the vacation scheme, which ‘further solidified [our] choice’ to join. The welcoming nature of Marriott Harrison ‘makes you feel at home from day one and you are able to interact with team members regardless of their position’. The ‘ability to maintain a strong work/life balance’ is the icing on the cake. If a ‘very strong venture capital practice, and the ability to take on a lot of responsibility at an early stage’ appeals to you, take a closer look at Marriott Harrison.
About the firm
The firm: Marriott Harrison is a specialist law firm, partnering with leaders, entrepreneurs and investors to make smart, informed decisions. We know what it takes to make a fast-growing business thrive and succeed, mature and evolve. Based in central London, we have a 90+ multi-disciplinary team with deep-rooted expertise in M&A and venture capital deals, spanning legal advisory and transactional needs; we also know and understand the human side of a business and what it takes to build these.
The clients: We advise entrepreneurs, SMEs, national and international companies, private equity and venture capital houses, growth capital funds, banks and other financial institutions, management teams and high-net-worth individuals. Some key clients include Chiltern Capital, Audiotonix, Balderton, Beringea, Redalpine, Gresham House Ventures, Accel, Northzone, Amplience, Soldo, Dialpad, Oxford Science Enterprises, Francisco Partners, Mizrahi Tefahot, Moonhub, Octane Capital, Investec, Zenzic Capital and CSBF Capital Partners.
The deals: Advising Chiltern Capital on various transactions, including its buyouts of Batt Cables, European cable distributor and Intec, IT hardware distributor, advised Audiotonix, a longstanding client since 2007 on its acquisitions of Sonible and Fourier Audio, advising The Fulham Shore plc on its acquisition by Great Sea Kitchens through a court-approved scheme of arrangements, advised Balderton on its seed investment into Grasp, the online learning platform founded by former Revolut employees, advised Redalpine on its Series A investment into Uncommon, advised a consortium of investors of Tesseract’s $78m Series A fundraise, advised Beacon on its Series A investment round led by 6 8VC and Jeff Bezos, advised Spark Capital and Blossom Capital as co-lead investors alongside Salesforce Ventures on a $39.5m Series B investment round into AutogenAI and advised Northzone on Infogrid’s $90m Series B round.
Managing partner: Daniel Jacob – as managing partner, Daniel leads a team fully focused on delivery of exceptional commitment to help clients to build, grow and scale the companies of the future. Daniel has built a team with a first-class reputation as a result of their deep understanding of the markets in which they operate.
Training principal: David Strong – as the firm’s training principal, David’s role is to ensure that future trainees get to enjoy the same career trajectory as he did, from starting as a trainee to becoming the head of the venture capital team.
Who we are: Our people are creative, practical and responsive. They bring diversity of perspective and are united and empowered by a culture of deep collaboration, integrity and a passion for developing the ideas of tomorrow.
We work as one multi-disciplinary team and have intimate knowledge of the context and work required at every stage of growth and change.
What we do: The clients we work with are forward-thinking achievers and dealmakers who are changing, challenging and shaping the future. We work with innovative companies from start-up, through growth and maturity, and help established companies navigate complex processes of change and digital transformation. We work alongside our clients as a partner for growth. This includes proactively: accessing capital, building commercial value through optimised operations in commercial contracts, technology and IP management, evolving team capabilities and employment arrangements, real estate financing and management, managing and resolving disputes, tax arrangements, fundraising and seed investments series A through C, development capital investment transactions and management-backed buyouts.
What we’re looking for: Being able to demonstrate academic ability is key but more than that, we want people who are curious, strong communicators and who embrace each opportunity that comes their way.
Perks: 25 days’ annual holiday, permanent health insurance, life assurance, private healthcare, season ticket loan, pension scheme, cycle to work, employee assistance programme.
Sponsorship
If you have not yet taken the SQE course and exams, we will cover these costs.
Seat options
Corporate (VC, M&A); commercial IP; banking and restructuring; employment; dispute resolution; real estate.
Tips from the recruiter
- Have clear motivations – know why you want to work at Marriott Harrison, and understand the work we do.
- Attention to detail is key – check your application for any errors before submitting.
- Genuineness – we are looking for people who are themselves and not the version they think we want them to be.
Diversity and inclusion
We are committed to making sure that our team is diverse, inclusive and that people feel that they belong and can bring their full selves to work. We also make sure that a career at Marriott Harrison means having equal and equitable opportunities to grow and develop.
One of the initiatives we are most proud of is ‘MH Discover’. Each quarter we host individuals who we have selected and asked to come speak to us because of their unique and individual experience. The premise behind MH Discover is to provide a different perspective and to celebrate individuals who have overcome challenges and adversity.