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Herbert Smith Freehills

4.4
  • 1,000 - 50,000 employees

Culture at Herbert Smith Freehills

8.7
8.7 rating for Culture, based on 15 reviews
Please describe your company's culture both in the office and after hours. Let us know about the structure and hierarchy, cooperation and teamwork, and socialising amongst colleagues.
With the usual caveat that it varies between practice groups and teams, in my experience the culture is exceptionally relaxed and friendly for the legal industry. The hours are long and expectations are high but that comes with the territory. The firm and individual teams host many formal and informal social events. Structure and hierarchy varies a lot between teams but it's very rare for a team or partner to be completely siloed -- junior lawyers in particular are expected to work for multiple partners and engage with other practice groups. This flexibility is great for your development and giving you the opportunity to try a range of work that interests you, but it can easily become overwhelming when a number of workstreams become busy at once.
Other (Please specify) - Junior solicitor, Melbourne
The culture at HSF is excellent. The hours can be long, but they are not ridiculous. The team is generally very friendly, and there are frequent office drinks. The juniors and mid-level solicitors share knowledge readily. The partners generally are very approachable and willing to provide guidance. Often I will work directly with a partner, though more frequently there is also a senior associate involved in the matter. The structure is not siloed. There are many partners in the EIRS team nationally and we are encouraged to try and work with all of them at some point. At any given time I will have matters across 3 or 4 partners. There is not a great deal of socialising after work or outside work. However, there are frequent office drinks.
Other (Please specify) - Solicitor. Finished the graduate program about a month ago., Sydney
Collegiate and professional. Everyone is lovely and the culture is diverse in many respects. Partners are approachable and Senior Associates are accessible.
Graduate, Perth
Down to earth but everyone still wants to produce good work. Specific culture is more team dependent.
Graduate, Sydney
Great company culture - once a week a group of us will do an early morning run and coffee. Celebrate post-trial. Celebrate someone's birthday or engagement with morning tea including work anniversary's.
Graduate, Perth
Very good. There is a general acceptance of work/life balance and everyone is very helpful. We have a group chat to ask any random questions and someone usually knows the answer. The structure is very flat between grads, solicitors, and senior associates, and everyone is very co-operative.
Graduate, Perth
Very friendly, good social culture without too much pressure - people very much have lives outside work.
Other (Please specify) - Solicitor, Perth
Everyone is very social, incredibly friendly, no matter who is at an event, I know I can chat to them in a casual way.
Graduate, Perth
Overall, a nice and fairly young group of people. There is a relaxed vibe in the office, but also a respect and commitment to hard work.
Graduate, Perth
10 out 10. We are fortunate to have a cafe in the office. Graduates and colleagues often meet at lunchtime, despite being in different teams. We have monthly office drinks, multiple 'clubs' (ranging from running club to wine club). Each practice group also run their own social events. I would describe the culture as professional, yet fun.
Graduate, Melbourne
Strong culture in the corporate team where people are committed to quality of work but are also very social. Company has great events.
Graduate, Melbourne
There is a very collaborative culture - with an emphasis on personal as well as professional bonding. There are informal and formal cultural initiatives, and various different opportunities to connect through work or as a standalone exercise separate from your day-to-day job. It is a high-performance law firm, and with that will be some long hours. There is no denying that this is true, but they're confined to when they are strictly necessary and i have never worked long hours without a team also working alongside of me.
Other (Please specify) - Just finished graduate program, Sydney