4,000 lawyers respond to LW report: trio lead top 20 on three lifestyle factors that matter most to associates

Clyde & Co, CMS Cameron McKenna and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) lead their key peers in providing a rewarding lifestyle for their lawyers, according to a flagship research project from Legal Week.

The research shows Clydes emerging as the highest-ranked top 20 UK law firm in terms of providing a rewarding lifestyle and personal experience for its staff, closely followed by CMS and BLP.

The findings are drawn from the 2011 Employee Satisfaction Report (ESR), the annual report from Legal Week's independent research arm which grades major law firms on the satisfaction of their own lawyers. Around 4,000 UK lawyers below partner level responded to this year's report.

The results are based on the three 'lifestyle' criteria that associates have consistently said are most important to them: work/life balance; the extent to which they feel valued by their employers; and the way they are treated by partners.

Respondents give their employer a grade of between 1 and 10 for each criteria, which is then multiplied by a 1-10 score of how important they are to respondents in order to produce a weighted ranking.

Clydes scored particularly highly on work/life balance, with a rating of 7.8 out of 10, while CMS ranked strongly for treatment by partners with a score of 8.1.

On average each of the 64 law firms surveyed received 62 responses from its lawyers, with the magic circle receiving an average of 115 responses, making the annual report one of the largest research projects of its kind.

Simmons & Simmons and Norton Rose also achieved above average rankings on key lifestyle factors.

Clifford Chance (CC) was the only magic circle firm to appear in the top half of the table for lifestyle, with Slaughter and May and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer the lowest ranked firms in the UK top 20. Both Slaughters and Freshfields saw their overall lifestyle score lowered by poor perceptions of work/life balance, despite attempts by many City firms to improve this.

Clydes senior partner Michael Payton (pictured) commented: "The partners at Clydes have always tried to carry forward the advantages of when we were a smaller firm, such as working together very closely; we are keen to keep this accessibility, mentality and culture alive."

CMS senior partner Dick Tyler said: "We're trying to take a practical approach to the practice of law. As part of this, we're promoting an open, transparent and inclusive environment. Our people work hard. How we reward and value them is about a lot more than just pay."

The lifestyle findings are drawn from a 37-criteria score for each ranked law firm, with firms then benchmarked against defined peer groups. Other key criteria include firm prestige; quality of work; salary; bonus; partnership prospects; and billable hours expectations.

Judged on the overall rankings, large firms to score well for their own associates' satisfaction levels include Clydes, Eversheds, CC, Allen & Overy and Simmons. In contrast, Bird & Bird, DLA Piper and SNR Denton all saw notable drops in their employee satisfaction rankings.

Many of the law firms to emerge with the most engaged associates came from outside the UK top 25, including Withers, Watson Farley & Williams, Wragge & Co, Shoosmiths, Farrer & Co and Mishcon de Reya.

The 180-page report will be published next month.

Click here for a ranking of the top 20 firms for key lifestyle factors.

• For more detail on the research, contact Paul Birk on 0207 316 9864 or email [email protected].