Clifford Chance (CC) and Allen & Overy (A&O) have followed Linklaters’ lead in raising their trainee grants by 40%, throwing down the gauntlet to leading London rivals fighting to attract the brightest student lawyers.

The changes, announced internally at CC yesterday (13 September) and earlier this month at A&O, see the firms raise Legal Practice Course (LPC) maintenance grants to £7,000 per year from the current figure of £5,000 in London and Oxford and £4,500 elsewhere.