Pannone has been hailed the top legal employer in The Sunday Times’ 100 Best Companies To Work For survey, marking the sixth consecutive year the firm has been rated among the UK’s top 10 employers.
Pannone has been hailed the top legal employer in The Sunday Times’ 100 Best Companies To Work For survey, marking the sixth consecutive year the firm has been rated among the UK’s top 10 employers.
Staff at the Manchester-based firm, which took the number three spot in the overall rankings, agreed that work is an important part of their lives (81%) but most are happy with the balance between their work and home lives (78%).
Trainee solicitor Clare Durkin, who is in her second year with the firm, said: “There’s no pressure to stay until midnight every night just for the sake of it. Unless you have work to do then you can go home at a reasonable time.”
The 26-year-old also admitted there was a strong family atmosphere at the firm, a view 80 per cent of the staff reported in the survey.
Pannone has an advantage though — family recommendations mean that nearly 10 per cent of the workforce are related.
Durkin said: “The people here are so nice and I think that really makes a difference to your everyday work. Every department I have gone into has been really welcoming and friendly and really put me at ease.”
A total of 11 law firms managed to claim a spot in this year’s list including a new entry from Lewis Silkin, which came in at 19, while CMS Cameron McKenna re-entered at 74 and Charles Russell (92) nudged its way onto the list for the first time.
Linklaters, which was the only magic circle representative in the list in 2008 (93), failed to appear in the round-up this year. Addleshaw Goddard also crashed out of the list after claiming 40th place in 2008.
Other law firms recognised by the Sunday Times were Brabners Chaffe Street (20), which was up seven places on last year, Olswang also climbed the rankings by almost 40 places to 58.
Mishcon de Reya came in at 69, Freeth Cartwright managed to secure a spot at 72 - up from 90 the previous year. Mills & Reeve, meanwhile, dropped down to 83 from 68 the previous year and Berwin Leighton Paisner fell from 74 in 2008 to 94 this year.
