Training Contracts, is London it?

[LayLowMerlot]

My DS needs to decide between London or big city where he's living and enjoying.
Option one has always been his dream, big commercial forward thinking firm. Option two is expanding, but smaller firm in a city that's not the capital where he's working at the moment and really likes the firm. Both will sponsor LPC.
He's quite bright and ambitious and I wonder if he'll regret not taking the London option but his GF is establishing her career in the other city and they're very happy together.
Any lawyers out there with an opinion?

You don’t really get better work in London - it’s just different.

So in London you’re much more likely to do international work. That may or may not be relevant if you want to move to the regions later.

A lot of the regional firms are wary of lawyers trained at the big London firms (the magic circle) now as they can have very narrow niche experience, rather than the broader more general experience in a big regional firm.

Also London is kind of horrible - too crowded, too much pollution, too expensive.

So if he has links to another place with the prospect of a good job there, he should go for that.

Keep with the city he’s living and enjoying. London is not the be all and end all. Go somewhere where the work is varied and the salary is livable. In my opinion, somewhere where you can rent a property and get to work in 20 minutes is better than an hour and a half commute to work but working for a big firm in “the city”. At the end of the day, if you get qualified, you’re qualified.

He will likely gets much more proper (not dogsbody) experience much earlier on at the regional firm. London isn’t the be all and end all.

Thank you very much for the replies.
He's been veering towards the regional office, I was concerned that he's got it wrong so I'm pleased to read he hasn't.

It really depends on where he wants to go with his career and what exactly these firms offer. If he’s been offered a place in a magic/silver circle firm then he’d be mad to turn it down. But if it’s a lesser firm in London he’d probably get better exposure and training in a top regional firm tbh. But of course if he has an interest in a specific area of law that may be an influencing factor also.

It is a Silver Circle, a firm that's always been his aspirational choice due to the specialty that he's interested in. My worry is that he might regret not taking the opportunity.

I’ve worked in both London and cities outside and I think you get better experience in London. Ime time at a top London firm opens a lot of doors in London and elsewhere

London isnt horrible - millions of people enjoy living here!

I would always say take the London opportunity and if the lifestyle isn't for him he can go to a regional office. Take the London op when you're young - I loved living here in my early 20s and climbing up the ladder (not law but corporate environment)

I'm a solicitor in a niche corporate area of law in the City of London. If I were your son, I'd take the job in London. It is far easier to "trade down to a lower" tier firm I or out of London, than to trade up.

I appreciate my comment sounds snobby but it's the truth and based upon my experiences / what I've witnessed.