NQ retention rates bounce back at SNR Denton
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SNR Denton’s retention rate for trainees due to qualify in Spring 2011 is set to improve massively on last year’s figure with the firm hoping to achieve a rate of 79 per cent.
The top 20 firm confirmed that it has 11 vacancies for 14 final seat trainee solicitors marking a dramatic turnaround from Spring 2010 when it shed a whopping 86 per cent of its newly qualified lawyers.
Denton reacted to the poor 14 per cent spring retention rate by reassuring trainees due to qualify last autumn that it hoped to retain 80 per cent of trainees. Graduate recruitment partner Jeremy Cape said: “Rather than seeing it as a turnaround, we’re back on trend with what we usually expect to be offering,”
“We’re very happy to be in a position to offer jobs to the vast majority of our qualifiers, seeking always to raise the standards at every level across the firm.”
CMS Cameron McKenna was the first firm to reveal its statistics for Spring 2011 qualifiers (26 November 2010 ), with a drop in its NQ retention rate for London-based trainees to just over 60 per cent, with 30 trainees competing for just 19 jobs.
Elsewhere, Hogan Lovells also revealed a significant drop from previous retention rates in 2010, tumbling to 66 per cent, compared to the previous Spring’s 81 per cent, (17 December 2010).
The results arrive despite improved results from most firms in August and September 2010, with magic circle firms Allen & Overy and Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer, for instance, reporting NQ retention rates of 80 per cent and 89 per cent respectively.
Other firms boasted over 90 per cent retention rates for Autumn 2010 qualifiers included White & Case, Baker & McKenzie, Slaughter and May and Shearman & Sterling.
