Trainee Solicitor Review

The experience at RPC has been great, especially for corporate law in London. Standouts include:
1) People are genuinely respectful and nice to you.
2) While you are busy, working hours are noticeably reasonable for corporate law in London.
3) The firm's leadership takes an active interest in making sure trainees are aware of the business strategy and go to market strategy of the firm (and of the legal market generally).
4) There are a lot of opportunities to stand out as an individual due to its smaller cohort.
5) You are treated as an individual rather than a "trainee resource".

In the Corporate seat you tend to work closely with associates and support their work. This tends to include drafting less complicated documents (e.g. shareholder resolutions, board minutes, share certificates, statutory registers etc etc), compiling documents, legal research, calls and a fair amount of admin. If you do well and build trust, you can gradually get more complicated and critical tasks (e.g. emailing clients, preparing the first draft of an important document).
Corporate at RPC does a lot of M&A and some co-secretarial work, with a variety of specialty smaller teams related to M&A or transactions (e.g. banking, public and equity markets, competition, W&I insurance or M&A for large insurers). These teams are quite small, but tend to be led by strong partners and associates from well-known firms. It is an excellent seat to try lots of different transaction types and find what you like.

RPC does not pay as well as other comparable corporate firms. However, I have rarely felt overworked or disrespected. I have felt valued as an individual and I have had the opportunity to learn a lot while being paid fairly well. I think it strikes a fair balance between renumeration and culture/working hours at the trainee level.
There are not a lot of quality of life benefits if those are important to you (e.g. no free food unless working past 7, no gym etc). You do get health insurance.

RPC invests a lot in high quality training. I was very supervised by the high level types of training (e.g. finances of a law firm, market strategy, accounting etc) given this early, which I feel sets you up for long term success.
When comparing to magic circle/top firm trainees, I don't think you would be as well trained for legal work, purely because you work less hours (hence the 4/5). Depending on your seat at RPC, you may also not have as an impressive CV or client list. However, having to spend less working hours on trainee tasks gives you the choice to spend more time at networking events and learning about corporate law / commercial awareness / automation etc if you want, tasks which are likely more important for your long term career. Partners also spend more time on you if they like you, as there are less trainees. These opportunities make me feel more prepared and in control of my career than if I was at another firm with more prestige but longer working hours, however I recognise they are not givens.

Pretty good for corporate law.

Professional, but very friendly and respectful.

Good for diversity and inclusion, also offer neurodiversity support.

Yes

I think RPC has a great mix between offering London corporate law and high-level legal work, while also offering work-life balance, a respectful workplace and strong training opportunities. If you want to be a corporate, insurance or disputes trainee in London, but don't like the idea of working long inflexible hours or dealing with disrespectful/forceful seniors, I would highly recommend RPC. If you really want to switch to other large firms later in your career, it has a strong enough reputation to do so.

It is what I expected when applying.