Retention Rates

CC reveals improved March retention rate with 94% of NQs taking jobs

By Pui-Guan Man | January 23, 2014

Clifford Chance (CC) has become the latest magic circle firm to reveal its spring retention rate, announcing it will keep on 94% of its March 2014 intake of newly qualified (NQ) lawyers. The magic circle firm has offered roles to 45 of 48 potential NQs, with all of them accepting positions.

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BLP and Ashurst confirm 80%-plus spring trainee retention rates

By Anna Reynolds | January 16, 2014

Ashurst and Berwin Leighton Paisner have announced their trainee retention rates for the first intake of 2014, with both firms keeping on more than 80% of qualifying lawyers.

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A&O posts 84% retention rate for spring 2014 NQ intake

By Pui-Guan Man | December 13, 2013

Allen & Overy (A&O) has become the first major law firm to post retention rates for its spring 2014 intake, with the firm set to keep on 84% of its newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers. The magic circle firm has offered roles to 42 of 45 trainees that applied to qualify, out of a total intake of 49, marking a 93% offer rate. Of these, one chose not to accept a position.

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Bonus season – the pros of treating junior lawyers fairly, if not equally

By Charlotte Edmond | December 5, 2013

Back in May, Legal Week tallied up the number of law firm jobs placed at risk of redundancy over the previous 12 months. The figure reached was a rather shocking 1,300, including some 750 jobs that had actually been cut at that point. Since then, the number of firms announcing redundancy programmes has slowed dramatically, although not completely. Several firms including DWF, Taylor Wessing and Bond Dickinson have made cuts – particularly following mergers and back office outsourcing deals.

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International Edition

Bonus season – the pros of treating junior lawyers fairly, if not equally

By Charlotte Edmond | December 5, 2013

Back in May, Legal Week tallied up the number of law firm jobs placed at risk of redundancy over the previous 12 months. The figure reached was a rather shocking 1,300, including some 750 jobs that had actually been cut at that point. Since then, the number of firms announcing redundancy programmes has slowed dramatically, although not completely. Several firms including DWF, Taylor Wessing and Bond Dickinson have made cuts – particularly following mergers and back office outsourcing deals.

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NQ intake at London offices of top US firms dips by 6%

By Alex Newman | November 28, 2013

The intake of newly qualified lawyers (NQs) at the largest US and international firms in the UK fell by 6% in the last year, highlighting the continued uncertainty for lawyers at the junior end of the profession. Just a handful of firms in the group of 21 surveyed by Legal Week posted year-on-year increases in the number of NQs who were offered and accepted a training contract. These included Mayer Brown, Shearman & Sterling, McDermott Will & Emery and Sidley Austin. Sidley Austin, alongside Paul Hastings and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom were the only firms to retain 100% of their intake. The research also highlighted the sizeable impact US and international firms have had on the graduate recruitment market, with Reed Smith, Dentons and Baker & McKenzie each taking on at least 25 NQs in 2013.

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Trainee retention rates at UK top 10's HK bases remain high as firms continue to invest in Asia

By Elizabeth Broomhall in Hong Kong | November 14, 2013

Trainee retention rates at the Hong Kong offices of the UK's top 10 law firms have remained broadly static on last year as firms continue to invest in Asian markets, despite a comparatively uncertain year for the local economy. Ninety percent (55 out of 62) of newly qualified lawyers (NQs) at the UK's top firms in Hong Kong were offered jobs this September, all of whom accepted, according to research by Legal Week.

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Hearts and minds: law firms must engage their staff to avoid fragmented cultures

By Legal Week | October 10, 2013

We're living in uncertain times, and the legal industry is facing complex challenges. Clients are becoming more demanding, and competition to win and retain them has intensified. Mergers and acquisitions, globalisation and the rise of the virtual law firm can lead to fragmented cultures. Alongside this, you have the frustration of junior lawyers and associates facing a longer wait for partnership, and evidence that many firms are shrinking the relative size of their equity partnerships.

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Belt-tightening takes its toll as newly qualified recruits dip 6%

By Pui-Guan Man | September 19, 2013

The number of newly qualified (NQ) lawyers accepting roles at the UK's top 20 law firms has fallen 6% year-on-year as the effects of the uncertain market continue to be felt at the lower end of the profession. In total 672 NQs took up roles at the top 20 firms this year, a drop of 6.3% on the autumn 2012 qualifying round, in which 717 lawyers were recruited, according to research by Legal Week. The trend reflects a broader dip in the number of qualifying lawyers this year, with cutbacks in firms' graduate recruitment during the worst of the downturn now playing out further down the line. There was a total of 825 qualifying lawyers across the group this autumn, down 7% from last year's figure of 887, with firms including Eversheds, Herbert Smith Freehills and Simmons & Simmons all seeing a decrease in the number of NQs coming through the ranks this year.

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Eversheds and Clydes announce retention rates for autumn intakes

By Pui-Guan Man | September 10, 2013

Eversheds and Clyde & Co have become the latest UK top 50 firms to confirm their autumn trainee retention rates for 2013, following a clutch of announcements in recent weeks. Eversheds is keeping on 84% of its newly qualified (NQ) lawyers this autumn after offering 40 of its 45 qualifiers a role at the firm, with 38 accepting. The percentage is flat on last autumn's round, when the firm retained the same proportion of NQs.

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