Since its formation five years ago by the merger of leading Bristol commercial law firms Lawrence Tucketts and Trumps, TLT has rapidly grown into one of the top 100 law firms in the UK. A young and forward-thinking firm, it works hard to get rid of the stuffy solicitor stereotype. It has more than 300 staff with legal specialities in areas including banking, commercial, corporate finance, dispute resolution, employment, pensions, insolvency, IT, property and tax. Clients include Barclays Bank, Lloyds TSB and World Snooker Ltd.
Company events are organised throughout the year and include a weekend in France, visits to Alton Towers, an evening boat trip, karaoke nights and dress-down days. Success is celebrated at the end of the year with champagne or vouchers. As one staffer says: "There is good rapport between departments and the social activities are great."
David Pester, the firm's managing partner, meets all new staff to introduce himself and discuss the company's objectives. In our survey, 82% of employees say the firm's values and principles are communicated clearly to them.
Pester is a regular speaker at seminars and training events held both in-house and externally. In addition, walk-the-floor and open-door policies, along with open-plan offices, ensure an approachable management culture. Three-quarters of staff are confident in the leadership skills of the senior team, which ranks the company 41st among the 100 best companies on this measure alone.
Perks include a contributory pension scheme, subsidised gym membership, a discounted membership to Virgin's wine club, free tickets to many local attractions and cheap cinema tickets, but many staff say they would welcome the introduction of free private healthcare. Nevertheless salaries are good — a solicitor can expect an average salary of £42,489. Holiday entitlement is also good, starting at 25 days and increasing to a maximum of 30 days for partners. Indeed, TLT gets its highest scores for fair dealing, ranking 40th overall on staff contentment with pay and benefits.
The firm also believes in giving something back and regularly supports a Jeans for Genes day, as well as offering free legal advice to charitable organisations.
