Pros
Strong client list and the possibility of interesting work. The pay is good but Freshfields owns you. There was a big pay rise but it didn’t address the reasons for low morale in my team. Many people leave for US firms. There is a free gym, mostly used by support staff. You can learn a lot. Also, a lot of the work is dull and your colleagues can be difficult to work with. Many people just use you and will act as if you do not exist as soon as they have got what they want. The Manchester service centre was promised to be high quality. It has a well deserved reputation for working to a low standard and not understanding the rest of the firm. They leave early and you have to work extra hours to clear up the mess. Only you can decide if the firm’s work is something you want to be associated with. You work for whoever is willing to pay premium rates. This includes fat cats, emissions cheats, tobacco companies and arms manufacturers. The firm talks about IT innovation, but being given an iPad you do not need will not help you forget your frustrations with the IT. You waste hours trying to recover lost work when the system crashes.
Cons
I had to leave Freshfields to work somewhere inclusive. Diversity and inclusion at Freshfields is far behind the times. The firm seems only to do things it is forced to or that sound good to clients. ‘Responsible Business’ and ‘Every Day Gender Equality’ meant nothing. Do a Google search and you will see the exact opposite. The firm emailed staff in response to the George Floyd killing and referred to ‘Blacks’. Volunteering opportunities went down in my area after we received the one and only Responsible Business newspaper. All the leaders in my area were the same and there were no role models. The firm doesn’t aspire to have a 50% female partnership. It is a long way off its 30% target. The odds for women trying to make partner are terrible. Working at Freshfields was once something to be proud of. Do a Google search and you will find misconduct, partner exits and what is reported to be the biggest tax scandal in Germany's history. It is said that Freshfields agreed to do things that other firms refused to do. Freshfields' people have been arrested. The German government says it cannot imagine instructing the firm again. The London HQ always performs dismally in the highly respected Roll on Friday Firm of the Year survey. If management valued its people it would have solved the problems. Instead, the Associate Forum and engagement survey became meaningless. Since I left I have enjoyed the difference of working somewhere with a works council. It is truly collaborative, with management required to share information and consult staff in advance on decisions that matter. I wish that Freshfields had had one when I was there. The much maligned career milestones and associate bargain create an up or out rat race from day one. Work allocation and promotion opportunities are unclear and unfair. Appraisals and salary reviews are a poor return for your hard work. Partners bend the rules for favorites. Freshfields is Magic Circle and your life is not your own. Freshfields makes it stressful. The unrelenting demands and constant criticism are wearing. It is sink or swim and there is no support. There are too many people not pulling their weight. There are terrors who are full of hubris and expect everyone to kowtow. Other partners do all they can to avoid getting involved. It can be hostile. You have to be very careful about whom to trust and be alone with. When entitled people think they own you they feel free to try or say anything. Many of us were subject to offensive suggestions, comments and put downs. It is not just grey haired straight men you need to watch out for. For God’s sake be careful when Freshfields’ people are at play. Seniors get drunk and are humiliating or worse, as you can read online. Freshfields boasts that it is one firm but it is riven with cliques and chronies. Partners criticise each other all the time and sometimes do it in the press. They say the firm has no strategy and call each other 'mercenaries, 'dinosaurs' and much worse. This was in the 'Devil You Know' feature in Legal Business, which explains how and why the firm has fallen behind. You hear people say there is no hierarchy, which is not true. At the top are the partners who talk about how they make the firm what it is. They send videos to the rest of the firm of their conference, partying at exclusive hotels while everyone else covers for them. The champagne footage is interspersed with leaders talking about winning. The partners are followed by the other fee-earners. At the bottom are the support staff. Do not be conned by the charm. You deserve better and can find it elsewhere.