Locke Lord to take on first London trainees after 2012 City launch

Partner Paula Howard, who was instrumental in the London launch, said that the firm had been interviewing candidates in recent weeks and that trainees would be recruited in September 2013 or before. Salaries have not yet been decided, though an HR team is currently considering the matter.

Locke Lord had considered recruiting trainees from failed firm Dewey & LeBoeuf last summer but decided against that strategy. The US giant filed for bankruptcy in May 2012, leaving its trainee intake without jobs in the wake of one of the biggest American law firm collapses.

Commenting on why the firm has decided to recruit trainees now, Howard said: “The office is substantially larger than than it was, even last summer. With teams and departments becoming more established there are two reasons for taking on trainees: the assistance they bring and the fact that we like to bring on young talent.”

There are already three paralegals working at the firm who will continue their roles.

The Houston firm, which specialises in energy, insurance and insolvency, launched in London at the beginning of 2012. It took seven partners and two consultants from Salans, soon to merge with SNR Denton, in a single raid in November 2011. These partners formed the majority of its London office at the time of its launch.

Fellow US firm White & Case revealed an 86 per cent retention rate for its March qualifiers last week, offering 13 places to 14 trainees (17 January 2013).