Freshfields - The Inside View

There’s no getting past it, image matters. Nestled amongst the crème de la crème of international law firms, and a staple in the UK’s ‘Magic Circle’, Freshfields is a no-brainer if you’re looking for a law firm with a little status.

Take a walk down the halls at this firm and you’ll find a “very international client base,” which was a big part of the draw for juniors: “I wanted a place that would be inclusive with a global feel – and Freshfields fits the bill!” With 29 offices worldwide and top Chambers Global rankings in the likes of arbitration, public international law, competition/antitrust, corporate, dispute resolution, private equity, and tax, it’s hard to argue with that.

“It’s an international firm focused on growing the US practice.”

Despite its global focus, Freshfields has a good number of large US clients, and growth in North America is firmly on the agenda. Offices in New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Washington DC, and Bostonall feed into what one associate described as “an international firm focused on growing the US practice – it’s cool to have such a collaborative global team while emphasizing work in the US.” And its ambition has paid dividends; Freshfields is now marked out as a top firm in Chambers USA for its international arbitration practice, and the firm also clocks up good rankings in corporate crime & investigations, corporate governance, international trade: CFIUS, and securities.

Freshfields is recognized as an Excellent Performer for Junior Satisfaction and an Excellent Performer for Mid to Senior Satisfaction in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey. Freshfields is also recognized as The Elite for Junior Satisfaction in Washington DC specifically.

Strategy & Future

Associates at Freshfields were of the opinion that the firm is “very future-focused.” Juniors felt that this was helped by leadership’s “openness to feedback across the ranks,” something that was exemplified by the global town halls “where they tell us what they’re doing and you can ask questions, so they’re pretty open about it.” For some, “if anything it’s a volume issue trying to keep up with everything, because every week there’s a new prestigious partner or expert from government or the private sector that’s been poached!”

Associates at the firm told us that “it feels like a startup – we’ve grown so quickly in the last five to ten years and we’re only continuing to grow!” Although Freshfields is focused on transactions, according to our sources, dispute resolution continues to be the firm’s bread and butter. Because of Freshfields’ continued growth, the firm is moving to a new office in DC in early 2027. The firm is also offering a new associate development program, Freshfields Next, which includes training programs which acknowledge the role AI will play for lawyers going forward.

Read more thoughts about the firm's strategy and future from partners Jennifer Loeb and Sanjay Murti under the 'Get Hired' tab.

Freshfields is recognized as The Elite for AI Integration in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Summer Program

“I LOVED being a summer!” was the unanimous sentiment shared with us both on the social and the work side because “you’re given opportunities off the bat.” One source described the culture as “a critical mass of normal people” (not a given), with socials a blend of karaoke, bowling, parties at partners’ houses, and even the fulfillment of “frivolous requests – we asked them about renting out a theatre to watch a movie and they were like… okay!” On the work side, how specialized a junior will be depends on the office. In DC, juniors are recruited into litigation or antitrust. In Boston, they receive general offers, but we heard that the firm currently only has corporate attorneys stationed there. In Silicon Valley, San Fran and New York, juniors can try different kinds of work, but at the end of the summer they’ll receive offers into corporate, litigation, or a smaller group like benefits and tax. “You try whatever you want, which is optimal because you don’t know what you want to do until you try it,” one junior explained.

The Work

When joining the firm as a junior, the work allocation remains pretty similar to the summer period; unlike the summer though, newbies are placed into a specific pool, each of which has its own centralized staffing system – “they serve as the in-between person.” Juniors are split into either the corporate pool or litigation pool and then rotate between different practices within them. A very small minority also work in the People & Reward team. The vast majority of juniors are located in the firm’s New York headquarters, followed by DC, with a few in Silicon Valley.

“You’re definitely not thrown into the deep end.”

More than 30 of the associates on our list were pooled into dispute resolution, the firm’s core contentious practice which covers everything from litigation, securities and white collar matters to international arbitration and sanctions & trade. Given the firm’s global reach, it will come as no surprise that work in the practice often involves collaboration with other offices, particularly with regards to international arbitration where associates do a lot of work with the office in Paris, alongside Amsterdam and Singapore. On the arbitration front, for juniors “the level of work you get depends on the leanness of the team; the bigger the team, the more administrative the typical tasks.”

Juniors did get the opportunity to go to hearings and draft submissions, but for the most part, at least for newbies, “it’s pretty research heavy.” When starting out we heard that the typical doc review plays a large role in juniors’ day-to-days so “you’re definitely not thrown into the deep end which I liked.” That said, associates can move onto more complex tasks once they’ve proven themselves. With doc review “you’re well positioned to pull the documents so you’re pretty quickly able to use those skills, first by drafting witness outlines and taking notes, and then asking the questions yourself.” Juniors aren’t expected to specialize at this stage, instead becoming more siloed as they become more senior.

Dispute resolution clients: Tesla, Discord, and the London Stock Exchange. Act as lead counsel for Google in advertising antitrust litigation brought by the Department of Justice, state attorneys general, and various individual and class action plaintiffs in connection with Google’s display advertising technology business.

Juniors can take on contentious work in the firm’s antitrust, competition & trade practice, as well as on more transactional merger clearance work. Freshfields’ top acclaim for antitrust in Chambers Global was mirrored by our interviewees’ views of the practice. As one put it: “When I was looking at firms I wanted a top antitrust practice with ties to the DOJ, and Freshfields kept popping up.” Antitrust associates are located across the firm’s US offices but “we have a standalone antitrust practice which you can go directly into; because the group is centered in DC, to apply as a summer you’d be applying to the DC office.”

Reviewing documents is, again, standard for those starting out but “after a while being on a project you get bumped up to support the partner in taking witnesses, then as a second year you’re running projects for litigation. It’s a double-edged sword because if you are good you will get the most work.” However junior, “if you prove to people you are responsible and can handle things, they let you run with it.” “You’re constantly learning!” one interviewee explained, “because you have to learn about the products and what the company does, so you can end up discovering things you never knew existed.”

Antitrust clients: Netflix, American Honda, and United Airlines. Served as antitrust and regulatory counsel for Hewlett Packard Enterprise on its acquisition of Juniper Networks.

“You’re essentially the quarterback who knows what’s going on on a deal.”

Similar to the disputes group, global transactions newbies work across a range of practices before specializing at the end of their second rotation (towards the end of their first year).The teams juniors can specialize into include: M&A; finance; capital markets; life sciences; IP; private capital; and R&I. The first year is structured as a rotation where you pick two out of three pools: M&A and specialty M&A practices (e.g., IP & real estate), capital markets & funds, and finance and R&I.

Though we heard that the makeup of these pools changes slightly year on year. Juniors in this practice were particularly positive about their approach to training: “They make sure we have work and responsibility that challenges you. Any time I’ve gotten comfortable with a process like due diligence – that’s the main one – they’ve given me control of that and the freedom to take the first stab at things,” an interviewee explained. Juniors who have gained a bit of experience are expected to take the lead on managing specialist groups, corresponding with seniors, drafting, and managing checklists – “you’re essentially the quarterback who knows what’s going on in a deal.”

Transactions clients: eBay, Uber and CrowdStrike. Advised Salesforce on its acquisition of Convergence.ai.

Career Development

Right from the outset, Freshfields places a priority on juniors’ development. From starting as a summer through to the junior years “there is a structured program, so you have periodic training throughout.” The AI academy alone has various training sessions – “maybe like, one a week?” – there are more general practical sessions across practice groups, and individual teams have their own training structure or will combine with other teams.

For example, while antitrust flies its associates out to Brussels every six months for structured training, M&A will often combine training sessions with teams like capital markets “whenever things overlap.” Disputes have a more practical training program whereby “you do the training with orientation, then they gave us a mock case that was reviewed by a counsel or partner.”

“Once you remove the training wheels you’ve already learnt how to ride!”

Our interviewees acknowledged that “nothing compares to the real deal,” but remarked that “once you remove the training wheels you’ve already learnt how to ride!” Once associates move to mid-level, “there’s a big, structured development program” to get you trained up for becoming a mid-level and senior.” There are: TISA (Transition into Senior Associate) for sixth-year associates and Mid-Level Academy for third-year associates. These programs are US-wide and all associates in those class years are invited to participate. For those looking to other pathways “we have a dedicated career counsellor who can go over what works and what’s not working for you and go through plans for the future.”

Freshfields is recognized as an Excellent Performer for Career Development in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Culture

“People are driven and perfectionistic,” one associate made of the culture, but it was noted by all our interviewees that, almost contrary to the fact, “it’s not a cutthroat culture – everyone is very nice!” We heard that there is “an expectation” for juniors “to build relationships,” and as a result people make an effort to be collaborative and make those connections. “Obviously we are lawyers and lawyers are stressed,” another junior chuckled, “but it has been really great.”

For associates at the firm, “it definitely is an international environment, a very inclusive environment where people cherish different identities. Because we work with so many offices abroad, everyone is quite open minded and open to other viewpoints.” Although offices differ slightly with New York emulating “what you’d expect for New York – the same for DC which tends to be more relaxed,” ultimately the offices all demonstrate a “great culture.”

Some interviewees had the opportunity for “international travel, so we get to bond with our co-workers from the flight to the Uber – we spend a lot of time together, which makes people closer.” Officewide events are frequently on offer, and we heard these are typically well attended because “people want to come in to interact beyond just working together.” Juniors mentioned everything from kids trick-or-treating in offices over Halloween, to Christmas parties and the typical summer events for newcomers.

Freshfields is recognized as an Excellent Performer for Culture in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: no requirement

Freshfields sets no official billable hour requirement for associates,but a number of sources did mention a “recommended minimum” of 2,000 hours - “which is very doable because there is plenty of work available, but at least in corporate it does fluctuate.” Thankfully, pro bono does count as billable for those a little lighter on the client billable side, and business development is considered as valuable as chargeable time.

Something our interviewees were particularly positive about was the freedom to take time off. Vacation, for example, is something they’re “really respectful” of; “I’ve taken week-long vacations which have been respected, but even if it’s just a day, they will respect that too.” The associates we spoke with all felt that “partners are all human about it…they acknowledge when you’re working a lot so the support is definitely there.” All-in-all “we are pretty well compensated” – on top of the base salary and bonus, associates receive a $1000 wellness benefit, which can be used on almost anything - from a facial to a gym membership or buying supplements.

Freshfields is recognized as an Excellent Performer for Benefits & Quality of Life in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Pro Bono

At Freshfields, “they’re super supportive of pro bono in general, and it’s a pride point!” Considered as valuable as typical client hours, “partners encourage us to get on those cases,” which can vary by practice and size, depending on the interests and capacity of an associate. Our interviewees all felt there would be no pushback if they were to bring cases they were interested in to the firm, but did note that there are typical cases most juniors take on: “In New York we do a lot of immigration and refugee programs,” alongside advising entities with respect to ESG initiatives and work on the Incarcerated Mothers Law Project, “but you can also bring cases you’re interested in to the firm.”

“…they’re super supportive of pro bono in general, and it’s a pride point!”

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: 49,736
• Average per US attorney: 98

Freshfields is recognized as an Excellent Performer for Pro Bono in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Inclusion

“It’s nice to know they walk the walk,” associates told us of the firm’s efforts on inclusion – or, in other words, “we’re down for the cause!” Our sources were very positive about a number of Employee Resource Groups including HALO, the Hispanic group, the Black affinity network, and the women’s affinity group “which are open to everyone, including allies! For the women’s group we also have good fertility benefits, so they hosted a session where they had people from our benefits program come and share their experience of using those benefits.” Overall, “they’re very active hosting events, so it’s a good resource.”

Get Hired 

The first stage: recruitment

Freshfields recruits from a wide variety of US law schools, as well as select Canadian law schools. The firm seeks ambitious, collaborative and entrepreneurial law students who are looking to grow, lead and make an impact early in their careers. 

Top tips for this stage:    

“They asked interesting in-depth questions I didn’t get asked elsewhere, and they were talking about the work they had done with other offices.” – a junior associate

“I really liked everyone in the interview process. The culture spoke to me as a person. The people were friendly, open, and honest. We’re pushing into the US, and when I was joining it was the beginning of that push. It was exactly what I was looking for: an established firm that wasn’t taking a risk, but at the same you could be part of something new and innovative.” – a junior associate

Callbacks    

A callback at Freshfields consists of interviews with three partners, followed by a meal with associates. Candidates are encouraged to interview in person when possible, and those who receive offers to join the summer associate program have many opportunities to meet with additional lawyers and learn more about the firm. 

Summer program 

The Freshfields summer associate program is designed to introduce summer associates to life at the firm. It offers the opportunity to work with, learn from and be mentored by lawyers in an entrepreneurial, collaborative, and inclusive environment.  

The ten-week program is offered in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., and Silicon Valley/San Francisco.

In 2026, there will be 75 summer associates across the Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., and Silicon Valley/San Francisco offices. 

Top tips for this stage:  

“The firm is full of a lot of smart people who are interested in their work but also care about each other. I was struck by how many people check in to see you’re doing okay.” – a junior associate

“You feel very welcome to ask questions of senior associates, partners, counsel, whatever you need. It’s very exciting to be at a place that’s so positive.” – a junior associate

Interview with litigation partner Jennifer Loeb and corporate partner Sanjay Murti

Commercial strategy, market position and trends

Chambers Associate: How would you define your firm’s current position and identity in the legal market? What differentiates your firm from your peer firms in the market?

Jennifer Loeb: We’re defined by entrepreneurialism, leading the market, and solving problems. There’s not one way of doing things, which I find really energizing, whether that’s through flexibility on rates or teams. However, hustle really defines the practice we’re building right now. A lot of firms rest on their laurels, but we don’t take any of our clients for granted.

Sanjay Murti:  We view ourselves as a truly elite global firm that can also compete head-to-head with the top US firms on our clients’ most complex domestic mandates.  As client needs have become more complex and cross-border, we have invested deliberately in building top-tier teams across key practices and geographies.  We think that gives us a rare combination of global scale and genuine depth of expertise.

CA: Have there been any developments at the firm over the past year that you’d like law students to know about?

Loeb: From a litigation perspective, just the growth and deepening of our relationship with our clients. In the past we’ve worked on cross-border issues, but now we’re investing significantly in US relationships for US problems.

Murti:  On the corporate side, we’ve transitioned in the US from being a fast-growing, insurgent platform to a more established, mature business.  That’s demonstrated by our role on a number of high-stakes, headline-making transactions for leading US clients, as well as by our shift from rapid lateral partner growth to a more focused investment in our internal talent pipeline.  We’re still growing (including opening a Boston office this year), but we’ve built the core.

CA: Are there any domestic or international events/trendsthat are affecting any of the firm’s practices at the moment? Are there any trends that you think are affecting the business of law firms more generally, and how is that playing out with your firm?

Loeb: I think in this moment it’s a weird market for enforcement and litigation. Clients are increasingly concerned about some of those changes, so we have been valuable to our international clients and we have increasing demand regarding what’s going on in the US, particularly Washington.

Murti:  We are going through a transformational era in the business of law, marked by increased competition among firms (for talent and clients), the growing complexity and global nature of client needs and the rapid development of AI.  Clients are increasingly focused on choosing firms that can deliver on efficiency, value and speed of execution, without compromising on quality.  For us, that has meant doubling down on our global strategy and investing heavily in talent and technology.

Inside the Firm

CA: How is the firm evolving to accommodate the needs/expectations of the next generation of lawyers?

Loeb: The past couple of years have been disruptive and haven’t served students well, so we’re trying to really reinvest and reinvigorate our connection with people. We’ve seen a lot of bouncing around so we’re creating more investment in the entirety of their law school careers. As a result, when they get here they are so much better positioned to meet the moment by having those regular touch points.

Murti:  That’s in part why we created our new hiring and development program, Freshfields Next.  We think the historic model of a single 10-week summer associateship leaves students underprepared for practice, particularly as AI continues to change the nature of junior-level work.  Instead, we now invest in students from the day we hire them (now as early as January of their 1L years!), bringing them together throughout law school for training, development and integration.  That continues through their time at the firm, with dedicated training tracks on both substantive legal skills and the softer skills that are going to be increasingly important in the AI-driven future.

The Legal Profession

CA: How do you predict the legal profession will change in the next five years? Are there any particular challenges the industry is facing?

Murti:  In the short-term, as AI use becomes more prevalent, I expect a meaningful portion of the work performed by our most junior attorneys is going to be automated or outsourced.  While that may put pressure on the billable hour, the more important challenge for us is what that means for our talent development.  Law firms have historically relied on “learning on the job” and “osmosis” to teach their junior lawyers.  The firms that are going to be successful in the future are going to need to be much more intentional in training.

CA: How do you predict the rise in AI will affect the ways in which lawyers work? How will it affect the services law firms provide?

Jennifer: The associates who will excel are those who will embrace and use AI, because it’s a tool that can be used to be more expedient and dynamic. Students who can embrace the opportunity now will be so valuable when they get to the law firm. Lawyers are not the most flexible people, especially older lawyers, so having someone new with the ability to lead on that will be an asset. It’s dangerous because it’s not perfect – you hear about hallucinations – but it can make us more efficient at solving problems, giving us more time to do things for our clients.

The Fun Bit

CA: Throwing it back to law school: it's been a long day of classes and studying. What's your go-to easy meal to have before you crash?

Loeb: Anything that doesn’t require me to make it - it was always a burrito!

Murti:  Staying on theme, it was tacos from the taco truck outside the Christopher Street subway station.

CA: What was the first concert you attended?

Loeb: Mine was James Taylor!

Murti:  Technically, Phil Collins (my parents took me).  Of my own volition, it was the Warped Tour in the early 2000s.

CA: Thinking about the ways in which the legal profession is developing, what is the one skill you have learnt in your career that you think is key for young attorneys to learn?

Loeb: When somebody asks you to do something, finding a way to say yes. I really value associates where, whatever it is, they will try and find a way to say yes, so the ability to be flexible, say yes, and meet the challenge is really valuable.

Murti:  Not being afraid to ask questions.  That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to figure out the answer by yourself, if you can.  But part of the bargain of joining a law firm is learning from seasoned practitioners, and young attorneys should take advantage of that.