Freshfields injects new blood into interview panel

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has radically overhauled its interview panel following the appointment of corporate rainmaker Mark Rawlinson as its new trainee recruitment partner.

In a bid to reinvigorate the magic circle firms UK trainee recruitment programme Rawlinson has signed up 14 partners who will each commit to a minimum of 100 hours interviewing candidates and liaising with universities during the next year.

Rawlinson, meanwhile, will spend around 500 hours per year on graduate recruitment activities and plans to continue fee earning.

Weve always had a very high ratio of acceptances from potential trainees to whom we make offers, he said. This has eroded a little, and as a firm were very keen to improve our competitive position. Ive therefore been revamping our interview panel to give it a fresher feel, balanced by some experienced hands. Im really confident this group of partners will really be able to get across what Freshfields is really about.

The partners who represent Freshfields major practice areas, including corporate, finance, dispute resolution, employment, real estate and IP/IT, are: John Blain, Gillian Eastwood, Chris Forsyth, Kathleen Healy, Andrew Hutchings, Simon Johnson, Emma Kendall, Marcus MacKenzie, Flora McLean, Alex Mitchell, Raj Parker, Nigel Rawding, Ben Spiers and Claire Wills.

The partners on the panel hail from the universities of Bristol, Cambridge, Liverpool, Nottingham, Oxford, Sheffield, Southampton and York.

Rawlinson added: I think the quality of the panel speaks volumes for the importance current partners place on trainee recruitment its the future of the firm.