THE EVIDENCE BEYOND THE END Less than eight years from now you could be like Gus Wood, an associate in the Energy Infrastructure team, employment associate Charlotte White or Helen Davenport, an associate in the Dispute Resolution group. They are just three former trainees now enjoying an exciting career at Wragge & Co.
A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS We generated £105.8 million in turnover last year. In this year’s Legal 500 UK, Wragge & Co is ranked in 47 practice areas, including top-tier rankings for real estate, IP, IT and telecoms, energy, employment and pensions. Chambers UK rates 66 Wragge & Co experts as recommended.
LOOK AT THINGS FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE Solicitor Antony Craggs is looking at things from a different angle. Call him on 0800 096 9610 and ask him what that means to him. A former trainee who qualified in 2006, he is now client service manager for a major multi-national business and a key part of the Intellectual Property team.
He might also tell you about the support he’s had; from induction and supervision to outstanding technical training and guidance on IT, client care, finance and billing. If you ask nicely, he may also tell you about his
THE RIGHT MIX
YOU’LL BE CHALLENGED...
WANTED
YOU CAN ASK FOR ANYTHING
For 2010, deadlines are 31 January for the vacation schemes and 31 July for training contracts.
We have five legal groups – Real Estate, Corporate, Finance, Projects & Technology, Dispute Resolution and Human Resources. Your training contract is structured into four six-month seats.
Paul Feathers, Emma Pioli, Bijan Sedghi and Nicola Mumford are real people with real stories.
It’s true. We’re all open plan. And, in addition to the opportunity to ask anything, you will be told everything thanks to a comprehensive internal communications programme.
secondment with Unilever.
INDIVIDUALITY BE DIFFERENT Current and former trainees include pharmacist Navin Prabhakar, equities research analyst Hina Thakrar and ex-army officer Victoria Longmore. Industry experience finds a happy home in teams dedicated to the automotive, aerospace and defence, central government, energy, financial services, food and drink, healthcare, life sciences, local government, retail and travel sectors. We’ve got musicians, teachers, writers, “tough guys” and some seriously doolally types who jumped out of a plane for charity. Cultural festivals we celebrate include Chinese New Year, Rosh Hashanah, Ramadan, Yom Kippur, Diwali, Christmas and Easter. In the 2008 Race for Opportunity benchmarking report Wragge & Co achieved “silver standard”. The report is the only investigation of UK organisations’ attitudes towards ethnic diversity.
At the end of August 2009, we had 1,012 people made up of 575 fee earners and 437 support staff.
LIFE AT WRAGGE & CO At 1,480 hours a year, our chargeable targets for qualified solicitors are lower than many other law firms. On social life, think sport; think dinners – big and small; think nights out, all organised by the trainee committee and the local Law Society. The trainees also take a lead role in organising and hosting the annual ‘Legal Eagles’ summer school, where students from educational charity, The University of The First Age, attend our offices to experience life as a commercial lawyer. Every employee has a £90 allowance for team and social activities. Plus, there’s an annual party, group conferences, team away days and regular social evenings. We also have a social club offering special deals on concerts, festivals and international sporting events.
Our FTSE 100 clients include British Airways, BP, Cadbury plc, GlaxoSmithKline and Unilever. FTSE 250 clients include GKN and Marston’s PLC. Other UK and global businesses on our client list are Birds Eye, United Biscuits, ProLogis Developments, Steria, E.ON, CapGemini UK and McDonald’s. In the public sector, we work with a range of central and local government organisations including: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Ministry of Defence, Croydon Council, London Borough of Hackney, Sandwell MBC, Stoke on Trent City Council and Transport for London. You will receive only the very best support, supervision and training and are guaranteed a wide range of high-quality work. From day one you’ll live and breathe our high-performance culture.
NOT COSTING THE EARTH We use electricity from renewable or sustainable sources and energy-efficient lighting. We recycle paper, glass, cans, plastic, light bulbs, batteries, spectacles and clothes (tons of clothing has been donated to Fireside, a charity for homeless people). Meeting room water is bottled on the premises, while on the floors we have super-filtered tap water.
FREE GIFT Our community investment programme is driven by the desire of our people to use their vast range of skills and experience to benefit others. In short, we seek to make a difference. We’ve concentrated on building partnerships in four areas: free legal advice, inner city needs, homelessness, education and mentoring.
Senior partner is Quentin Poole and managing partner is Ian Metcalfe. Ask them whatever you like – they’re on extensions 1036 and 1822! It’s also true that Ian Metcalfe is rubbish on questions about football (but he does know a lot about rugby!).
THINKING DIFFERENTLY HAS ITS REWARDS
European High-Tech Law Firm of the Year 2009
CONTACT US Want to find out more? Contact the Wragge & Co graduate recruitment team on gradmail@wragge.com or 0800 096 9610.
Created by Rufus Leonard. Illustrations by Mr Bingo. Photography by Johanna Parkin, Jim Naughten and Jason Beddard. This book is printed on recovered or FSC certified paper.