Thompsons
No of UK Partners: 47
No of UK Assistant Solicitors: 212
www.thompsons.law.co.uk
Many law firms like to describe themselves as different to the rest, but Thompsons can probably lay more claim to the description than almost any other large firm. While the firm may emphasise client service in a similar way to more commercial firms, its main goal behind this, it says, is not to maximise profits but to ensure “fair-play and peoples’ rights”.
Thompsons describes itself as the UK’s largest specialist personal injury and employment law firm. Closely allied with the trade union movement (its London office is at the Congress House, the headquarters of the TUC), the main client base of the firm is union members (although it will also advise non-members) and pointedly does not act on behalf of employers or insurance companies.
London is home to 39 of the firm’s 364 fee-earners (with a further 22 based in Ilford), while the biggest single office is in Newcastle (77 fee-earners), followed by Nottingham (40), the North-West (23 in Manchester, 15 in Liverpool), Birmingham (31) and Leeds (21), while the firm has a further 14 offices around the United Kingdom.
For lawyers, the main opportunities are in personal injury and employment law, where the firm has a history of being in involved in landmark decisions around equal pay and sex discrimination. Thompsons is also developing a growing pensions law capability.
Unsurprisingly, its employment policies differ a little from traditional law firms, offering all the features which trade unions campaign for in the economy at large – family-friendly hours, training and development and a structured approach to pay. On other hand, Thompsons emphasises that working at the firm is not a soft option and that hard work will be required. The structure of the firm also encourages and requires teamwork.
Trade union membership is not a prerequisite for those who want to put principles before profit by joining Thompsons, but sharing in the firm’s ideals clearly is.
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