Career Prospects at Hall & Wilcox

The firm is extremely transparent about the standards for promotion. We are expected to meet and exceed billable targets, contribute to the firm socially, and participate in business development opportunities.

The firm is very supportive in paying for our Practical Legal Training and allowing us study leave to study for PLT, which will allow us to be admitted as lawyers. Then hopefully we will be hired in a Lawyer role once our graduate year contract ends.

Promotion opportunities seem very clear to me. In commercial it seems the more clients you can refer, the higher your chances of promotion (amongst other things of course). I think it's harder to progress in a larger firm like this as compared to smaller firms and more strict on promotions (i.e.. to get Associate you need at least 2 years of practice - maybe not entirely fair if someone is really great or just short of 2 years).

The firm is very transparent about performance reviews and promotions, makes it easy to understand what to do or if unsure you can just ask.

I don't know - I am focusing on my graduate year at the moment.

Promotion and career progression are clearly mapped. There are identifiable benchmarks and targets to achieve for each level of progression.

Very structured hierarchy - similar to most firms

Good relations with people, good KPI billable targets, good contribution scorecard reflecting non-billable contributions to the firm

There are a opportunities to move up the ranks so hopefully if my billables are good I can get rewarded for it in the future

The promotion opportunities are pretty structured but there is definitely opportunity to be promoted if you work hard.

I would hope to settle in a team as a lawyer before considering promotion options, though from what I understand having spoken to others - Hall & Wilcox H expects you (informally) to be operating at the level of the title you wish to seek promotion too. There are support avenues and processes early on such as development groups, mentor appointments and this can help guide candidates through the process also.

Hall & Wilcox hold promotions in high regard. They are awarded very fairly. Every year the COO and CEO read out the names and we hold a celebratory drinks and food to commemorate the excellent work and promotions of the individuals who are getting a promotion. To move up the ranks you it will take time and dedication, you have to have a willingness to learn, improve and achieve growth.

I began as a paralegal and was successful in obtaining a position as a law graduate. I am hoping that I will be offered a position as a lawyer at the conclusion of the graduate program.

There are defined positions to move up the ranks and it seems achievable and supportive to progress.

The next step is Associate, and after that, Senior Associate. Associate generally takes 2-3 years, while SA takes upwards of 5-6 years. To move up the ranks, you need to be hitting your targets (both financial and non-financial).

Again, this is not especially clear to graduates (in my experience). However, graduates are delegated both a 'buddy' and 'mentor', who are a wealth of information in this respect.

I have the opportunity when I finish this graduate role to continue on as a junior lawyer. They have also just implemented the associate role.

We are given a lot of information about career progression at the firm.

Our recent round of promotions included like 3 or 4 people who were in the 2016 grad pool being promoted to Special Counsel, if that gives you an idea of the timeline you may have.

There are clearly defined ranks within Hall & Wilcox with a rubric setting out the promotion criteria for each. The firm rewards strong results and involvement in firm life by the promotion system.