FAQs

Why Don’t You Recruit 2 Years In Advance?

At Fox Williams we only recruit a select number of trainees a year. Ultimately we aim to retain all of our trainees upon qualification and to ensure this, two important factors need to be met whilst recruiting.  All of our trainees have to be committed to a career as a City lawyer. Recruiting individuals after the LPC when they have had time to consider the direction of their future careers and experience many different areas of law is an ideal time to recruit as individuals will have reached the conclusion that a career in the City suits them.  We also need to ensure that our future trainees are suited to working at our firm rather than at any other City law firm.  By waiting until after completion of the LPC, when individuals are more certain about themselves, their own preferences and in what environment they will flourish is also the ideal time to recruit as they will have had the opportunity to experience other law firms and conclude that working in a niche City firm with specialist core areas is the right type of firm for them.

What kind of work will I be involved in?

Trainees at Fox Williams are expected to be involved in all aspects of a department's workload which can vary from being given an entire litigation file to handle under supervision to being asked to take responsibility for part of a large corporate transaction.  You should also expect to be regarded as part of the Fox Williams' team from day one. You will be required to contribute and participate in the firm’s marketing initiatives, including writing articles for the press or researching topics to be presented by your colleagues at seminars.  In addition you will be expected to contribute and participate in the weekly departmental meetings by researching and often presenting the latest legal developments to your department and you may even be asked to offer your opinions on the departmental business plan!  We expect you to accept a great deal of responsibility during your training contract but we feel this is vital in preparing you to become a well-rounded, newly-qualified solicitor and should you need it, there is always a comprehensive support network available to you.

Should I need a little support, what resources are available to me?

We are very conscious that embarking on a training contract is going to be a steep learning curve for you and as much as you may relish the idea of huge amounts of responsibility and lots of client contact there is bound to be a certain amount of trepidation regarding the whole thing.  We combat this by providing you with an extensive support network.  Due to Fox Williams’ unique working culture all members of staff are on a first name basis and all of our trainees know everyone in the firm, including the partners, so it is guaranteed that someone will be there to support you should the need arise.  You will also have the support of your supervising partner, your mentor, your buddy, the Training Principal and the HR team.  We also provide you with an in-depth induction programme to help you hit the ground running. We feel that by providing you with the right level of support, it will increase your confidence, help you settle in faster and ultimately help you develop as a City lawyer.

Will two years be enough to decide what to specialise in on qualification?

As we only recruit a few trainees a year we have the resources and take the time to adopt a more individually tailored approach to our trainee’s desired career paths and interests and try to be as flexible as possible with our seating plans and accommodate your wishes where possible.  So if you would like to the opportunity to repeat a seat for a second time to make up your mind about qualifying into that particular area we would try our best to accommodate you.

How likely am I to be kept on when I qualify?

It is our aim to ensure that all of our trainees are retained on qualification and in 2008 our retention rate was 100%.  We prefer to recruit fewer trainees, take an individual approach to their training and development, concentrate time and energy solely on them and provide them with the right support to ensure that their own expectations are met and in turn our expectations in them will be met on qualification. 

How will my performance as a trainee be assessed?

Your performance will be continually assessed throughout your training contract.  You will have weekly meetings with your supervising partner throughout each seat and you will also have a longer meeting with your supervising partner mid-seat to ensure all is progressing smoothly.  At the end of your seat you will have a formal appraisal in the form of an end of seat assessment. The end of seat assessment will review your performance against a competency based framework and will also review the amount of experience gained in the Law Society Prescribed Skills.

Your performance will also be monitored by the HR Officer with whom you will have a substantial amount of everyday contact.  You will have individual meetings with the HR Officer mid-way through each seat and trainee forums are held with her every six months. 

How much partner contact do trainees have?

You should expect to have substantial amount of partner contact in every seat of your training contract as the majority of the time you will be working alongside your supervising partner.  This is not to say that you will not be working with other team members as you will, it is not unusual for a trainee to work with every partner in a department not solely the partner supervising you.  Fox Williams’ culture will ensure that you work closely with all members of staff, from partners to support staff.

What are the hours of work?

Your hours will be 9:30am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday. However, as we're sure you are aware the hours required of City lawyers can sometimes be long and hard and Fox Williams is no exception.  The difference at Fox Williams is that we do appreciate that you have a life outside work, (which is probably what made you an attractive proposition to us in the first place!) and we actively promote a work-life balance for all our staff.  There is no culture of having to stay late to impress or “to be seen”, if you can leave on time we encourage you to do so.