Clarke Willmott scraps 2012 training programme
Clarke Willmott has put its trainee recruitment on hold, informing law students that it is not taking applications for its September 2012 intake.
Chief executive Stephen Rosser told The Lawyer that the deadline set for the end of this month is no longer applicable.
“We’re a new board, so we need to make sure that the planning and recruitment process is right for our requirements,” he said.
“We’re not planning any deferrals; I’m deferring the start of this process.”
He said that the firm expected to come to a decision on how many people it would require for the September 2012 start date by the end of September this year.
Rosser also confirmed that there would be “no change” to either the 2010 or 2011 intake groups, when the firm anticipates hiring 11 and eight trainees respectively, while the summer vacation scheme that Clarke Willmott launched in 2008 (20 May 2008) is “continuing as normal” and is “very popular and full”.
Readers' comments (6)
Mark Haliwell | 29-Jul-2010 9:50 pm
This isn't looking good, is it!!!!!????
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Loonylawyer | 30-Jul-2010 9:03 am
When taken overall, Clarke Willmott's actions are predictable. Family and Crime have been hit extremely hard and will face even greater slices from the knife in the future. We are in difficult times and the light at the end of the tunnel becomes even more dim!
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David Wormley | 30-Jul-2010 10:04 am
I don't see how a new board wanting to readdress its outgoings and strategies after a weak period for the firm and the market in general is such a bad sign.
Sure, it'll be frustrating for those who have applied/were intending to apply to have to wait a few months longer, but it's not catastrophic.
Of course, what this does mean is that those applicants will not be able to apply until they will likely have heard from their other chosen firms, which could in turn affect the quality of the 2010 CW intake.
I suppose we'll have to wait and see.
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looneelawyer | 30-Jul-2010 1:13 pm
To the above...Clare Willmott don't even practise crime!
I think they suffered as they have a strong focus in the midlands on house building and construction type clients- which havn't done too well in the global recession.
At least there is some hope for those who don't manage to secure 2012 training contracts to re-apply a bit later on- although im not too sure the quality will be gr8 for CW
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Harry the Dog | 1-Aug-2010 12:34 pm
Tough times, but that's just a fact. It will all change again and then nobody will remember.
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Anonymous | 12-Aug-2010 2:17 pm
This is a further example that the current legal business models (solicitor firms) does not adapt to changing economic climates’. Consequently, either they impose massive job cuts, freeze pay and recruitment, or go to the wall!!
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