Thames Valley & Hampshire

Regional overview
The Thames Valley lies between Swindon to the West, Slough to the East, Oxford to the North and Newbury to the South.
Having attracted many leading multinational technology companies to the region, it is often characterised as the UK’s ‘Silicon Valley’. Not surprisingly, its vibrant local economy provides abundant opportunities for legal professionals at all levels.

Principal business centres and key employers
Slough Trading Estate is still the largest estate of its kind in Europe and is home to the likes of Centrica plc (and Windsor), Mars Confectionery and ICI Paints. Reading is renowned for its global technology, media and telecoms (“TMT”) market and is home to Microsoft and Oracle. Oxford boasts a lively business centre and is home to many major publishing companies including Oxford University Press, Blackwell Publishing, Elsevier Science, Harcourt Education and Macmillan. Other global firms with a large presence in the area include Hewlett Packard and Dell (Bracknell), Vodafone (Newbury), and Intel and Motorola (Swindon).

Key employers include numerous Legal 500 players involved in an array of corporate and commercial work.  City-focused Olswang and Osborne Clarke are based in Reading and regularly advise on national and international deals in all things corporate.  These two practices keep salaries high.  Pitmans and Shoosmiths, also in Reading, have greatly increased their numbers and calibre with a continuing drive to recruit lawyers with a City background.  Morgan Cole has continued to expand both its Reading and Oxford offices.  The recent merger of Blake Lapthorn Linnell with niche City practice Tarlo Lyons saw the creation of  the biggest regional law firm in the region with 106 partners.  Manches in Oxford continues to expand, specifically in IP/publishing and private client/family.  Other Legal 500 practices that regularly attract quality work and lawyers are Henmans (professional negligence) and Brookstreet des Roches (real estate).

Living in the area
The M4/M3 corridor encompasses several of the most attractive areas within the South East including The New Forest, Oxford, Henley and Windsor, all of which have prospering law firms on their doorstep.   Hampshire’s diverse landscapes include miles of coastline and the New Forest.  The Solent is one of the premier locations in Europe for sailing, with several of the local law firms sponsoring events and even entering them!  Oxford, Windsor and Henley stand out in the Thames Valley with a friendly feel and stunning architecture.    Reading has a more corporate feel and with candidates commuting from Windsor and the picturesque villages nestling outside on the outskirts.  The Thames Valley has excellent road links with London to the East and Bristol to the West along the M4, combined with easy access to Heathrow Airport – just off the M4.  Rail links are also second to none, with fast trains from Paddington to Reading and Oxford every few minutes.  Reading station also links to Waterloo via Putney.