Watson, Farley & Williams was founded in
1982 in the City of London. It has grown
rapidly to 68 Partners and a total staff of over
420 since this time (220 fee earners).We now
have offices in London, Athens, Paris, New
York, Rome, Singapore, Bangkok &
Hamburg. We can advise on English, French,
Russian, Italian, Thai, New York and US
Federal Law. The close working relationship
between our offices enables our clients,
wherever they are based, to utilise the
expertise of the whole firm. The firm is able
to provide an integrated, multi-jurisdictional
service in connection with those centres
where offices are located, and worldwide
through an extensive network of specialist
correspondent lawyers. In each of our offices,
our lawyers have expertise in the laws of the
local jurisdictions and a knowledge and
understanding of local business customs
and culture.
Areas of Work
practice groups: International Corporate,
International Finance, International
Litigation and International Tax. These
groups are not divided by location but work
together internationally. The International
Corporate Group is divided into five subgroups:
Corporate, Central and Eastern
Europe, Employment/Immigration, EU
Competition/Intellectual Property and
Commercial Property. The International
Finance Group capabilities can broadly be
split into specific shipping expertise
including shipping finance and general
finance expertise. The International
Litigation Group handles litigation and
arbitration, with a particular emphasis upon
the banking, maritime, energy and aviation
sectors. The firm has particular experience
and specialisation in managing multijurisdiction
ship finance enforcement
proceedings. The International Tax Group
advise in structuring tax based transactions
(both direct and indirect and, both asset and
non-asset related) and their implications.
Training & Development
The firm looks to recruit graduates who, in
addition, to a sound academic background,
exhibit energy, ambition, self-assurance,
initiative and commercial awareness. Each
trainee undertakes six four-month seats; we
aim to seat trainees with a partner or a senior
assistant from day one.
Currently, a trainee can expect to have a fourmonth
period in Paris, Piraeus, Singapore &
Bangkok. Each trainee will have at least one
seat in one of our more specialised areas such
as tax, employment or EC competition.
Trainees undertake professional skills
training during their training contract.
Compulsory courses are organised in-house
as accredited Law Society courses and are
tailored to meet the firm's main practice
areas.We also hold regular in-house seminars
at which we invite guest speakers and
partners to speak. Additionally, each group
holds seminars and workshops specifically
for trainees spending time with them.
Ratio of Law to Non-Law is in the
organisation – 2:1
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