Firms reveal how many of their qualifying trainees have secured NQ roles this autumn
updated on 18 July 2017
A host of firms have revealed their autumn trainee retention figures – meaning the number of trainees who secure permanent positions at the firm once they qualify as solicitors.
- Multinational firm Fieldfisher has announced that it is keeping on all 13 of its cohort of September qualifiers, giving the firm a 100% retention rate.
- Magic circle firm Slaughter and May has kept on 30 of its 32 trainees set to qualify this autumn – a retention rate of 91%.
- International firm Ashurst has given roles to 19 of its 20 autumn qualifiers, meaning the firm’s retention rate for its current cohort of final-seat trainees is 95%.
- Leading corporate firm Shearman & Sterling offered NQ roles to 13 of its 15 qualifying trainees. All the positions offered were accepted, so the firm’s retention rate is 87%.
- Global firm Mayer Brown has kept on eight of its 11 autumn qualifying trainees for a 73% retention rate.
- National firm Blake Morgan retained eight out of nine – or 88% - of its qualifiers.
Firms publish their retention figures every year to be pored over by prospective candidates and the legal press, as retention statistics are one indicator of whether or not a firm is a good place to train. However, we at LCN believe that while they are important, firms’ trainee retention rates are not the be all and end all that they are often made out to be for a number of reasons, explained in the article linked to above. So be sure to take these figures into account when weighing up firms, but don’t make the mistake of beginning and ending your research into a firm simply by looking at its retention figures for the last couple of years.
