Employment: best-ever placing by law firm in poll for Manchester firm Pannone & Partners

Law firms have scored highly in a national survey rating workers' satisfaction with their employers, with the top players saying the secret of their success is communication and flexibility in the workplace.


Manchester-based Pannone & Partners came fourth in the annual Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For survey, the highest-ever by a law firm, two places up on last year.


It was followed by: Wragge & Co (24th), Olswang (40th), Mills & Reeve (42nd), Eversheds (63rd), Martineau Johnson (71st), Lester Aldridge (75th), Dickinson Dees (77th), Simmons & Simmons (86th) and CMS Cameron McKenna (87th). City firm DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary came 88th - down from 35th last year - while Bristol firm TLT was ranked for the first time at 96th.


Just two law firms made it into the 100 Best Small Companies to Work For table: six-partner Doncaster firm Richmonds and London-based Fox Williams, which has 17 partners.


Pannone & Partners, which has 73 partners, came top for respondents believing they are fairly paid, and second for workers being happy with their pay and benefits. It also polled the fewest staff members reporting symptoms of stress at work.


Managing partner Joy Kingsley - who came ninth in the national leadership category - said she was surprised but pleased that the firm's ranking had risen, as it had seen the restructuring of its re-mortgaging department and such disruption often caused disquiet among staff members. She said communication from management had proved to be one of the main issues when it came to employee satisfaction, as well as being aware of individual needs when staff required time off or had any problems.


'We are a single-site firm, and that makes a big difference as it means you can concentrate on management structure and people's skills. We regard people skills as the most important thing for heads of departments - and it is the people that have those skills who manage the firm, not the best lawyers. Most of the Pannone partners have been here for a long time; they have created a happy ship, and that translates downwards.'


Fox Williams senior partner Ronnie Fox said it was also looking for staff who liked working in an informal and co-operative atmosphere; some three-quarters of Fox Williams staff said they did not feel under pressure at work, although 72% found their jobs challenging.


'Since the firm started, our key objectives were to be a happy firm where people feel respected and interested in the development of their careers, and were all after doing the same thing - looking after the best interests of the client,' he said. 'We work hard to make sure this is not a sweat shop and that people enjoy coming to work on a Monday morning.'