RPC Reviews

3.8

64% would recommend to a friend

(139 total reviews)

Antony Sassi

59% approve of CEO

68% positive business outlook

RPC has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 139 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The RPC employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Legal industry (3.8 stars).

Reviews by job title

139 reviews
1.0
22 Oct 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I am afraid that there were not any.

Cons

This is an organisation that uses their reputation as means of setting themselves apart from other Law firms. They make claim of being forward thinking and valuing their employees (review their website, they make explicit mention of such). This supposedly open, unique and refreshing ethos was the main reason that I chose to work for the firm (I had two offers at the time that I accepted the role at RPC). Sadly, their claims are certainly not the case, and it becomes apparent a few weeks after you start working for them. I found the Senior Management and within this organisation to be short sighted, and the place was rife with petty politics ‐ especially within the Executive Office. They claim to be an organisation that encourages ' creative thinking', yet insists on meeting 3 times plus a week each week, to effectively micro manage you ... and to discuss effectively nothing. To be blunt, the meetings are mainly for the purpose of massaging the egos of the long serving admin staff there. They also do not treat staff consistently. For example, I was micromanaged in the manner outlined above, and yet another new starter carrying out the same role as I was, was allowed to just get on with their job -without that nature of constant time wasting interruptions. I found this practice particularly bizarre, as my role had nothing to do with the person that kept requesting the meetings, at my Manager's own admittance! It is the sort of organisation where staff that have worked there for years are threatened by new staff, hence behaviours such as the above taking place. The general culture there is to make snap judgments about new staff, and they make it explicitly clear that your ability to "fit in" (aka pander to petty politics), is seen as more important that the actual ability to do the job ... without any exaggeration, I was literally advised of the above as being their ethos! This organisation readily dismisses staff on a fortnightly basis, you will notice that desks are mysteriously are cleared fortnightly on Mondays, and you rarely see the same face on the floor twice. The Executive office and their support staff there mostly contains small minded individuals with discriminatory attitudes. I have a legally recognised disability and was treated very badly, for reasons pertaining to it. I advised my Manager of such, and was treated in a near to sociopathic manner, completely dismissively, and experienced disability discrimination. Their decisions on which new members of staff are favoured, are effectively based on petty politics and veiled popularity contests ... yet that same office externally brags about how the firm is ethical, supports minority groups, and is a Stonewall champion etc. It is effectively all for show and publicity, vs actually genuinely embodying those values. I found the irony disturbing, and am glad to currently be working for a company that values competence over politics, following leaving RPC. The bottom line is that, if you are an individual that likes to spend their time game playing etc, then this is definitely the right firm for you, and you will go very far. Be prepared to work for an organisation that spends more time gossiping about new staff, than actually doing tangible work. This is especially true, the closer you get to working for, or with the Executive Office (either as support staff, or as an Executive). I would also add that I have no issue or negative comment to make about the CEO, Johnathan Watmough. He was an interesting and driven individual. I just feel that the above took place owing to his exercising poor judgement in terms of the “casting” of certain members of his Executive Office, and his not having a clear idea of the exact nature of the limiting management style of those that he has bestowed the most 'power' within (from certain members of his support staff, and upwards). He is also rarely onsite, therefore does not have 'visibility' of what really goes on day to day in his company, and the extent of the politics.

1.0
15 July 2017

Absolutely disgraceful employee

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Some nice people working there. Nice offices, the view in the London one being especially nice. Free tea and milk

Cons

Working for RPC was an absolute joke of an experience. The firm prides itself on its open and supportive culture. This sounds good in theory but it was not long before the facade came away. My line manager and supervisors lacked any sort of management competency, and seemed more concerned with covering their own backs for the various mistakes they made. They would try to compensate for the numerous failings taking place by giving unrealistic workloads to the members of the team, insisting they complete them within strict time frames. This resulted in people consistently working extra hours, with the line manager refusing to pay any sort of overtime. Not only that, but instead of admitting the lack of recourses to handle the incoming work, they would have the audacity to blame the members of the team for not being competent enough to do their jobs properly. Fed up with the blantant exploitation taking place, I left the firm.

1.0
28 Sept 2013

On the cards it was very promising, then the mask came off.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good location sitting on the Docks and a great view of the Thames and Tower Bridge The people were nice and friendly which made the place a bit more bearable.

Cons

No career prospects, micro managed, poor management. Revenues up but management spiel about tough times and therefore no payrise for the 3rd year running Benefits on the below average side

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Glassdoor has 163 RPC reviews submitted anonymously by RPC employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if RPC is right for you.