There is a lot of socialising in my team. There is a hierarchy, with everything having to go through the partner or the senior associate, but they also provide a lot of support and learning opportunities. Work is very flexible with working from home, and I rarely work outside of 8.30-5.00.
The culture is very inclusive and the firm recognises a wide range of interests groups and supports many different initiatives. The work is very collaborative and there are opportunities to work with people across the team as well as the office and the wider firm. The firm promotes well-being and supports interests outside of work and there are many opportunities to socialise inside and outside work.
The workplace structure is that we work in multiple partner teams, then the structure goes special counsel, senior associates, senior solicitors, solicitors and law graduates. It is an incredibly cooperative environment because you will be working with people who are in varied career stages all at once. The teams socialise by going on individual team events, coffees and drinks, and then there are many firm events that take place at work or after hours, such as drinks, ball, bingo, karaoke, quiz etc.
The people at SG are well socialised. The firm puts on a range of events (always catered!) which allow you to get to know your colleagues on a more personal level. When working, we co-operate a lot within our teams. A s a junior at a big firm, it is common to bounce ideas off other juniors and learn from those in the years above you.
I can only really speak for myself and the team that I am in, but form what I know, I think we are lucky to work at a place when there is not a lot of hierarchy (though it shouldn't be 'lucky' - it shoudl be the norm). Within my team, we have the perfect environment and culture.