Olswang halves 2014 trainee intake after cancelling 2013 scheme
Olswang has cut its trainee solicitor numbers by 50 per cent for 2014 and 2015 after cancelling its 2013 graduate recruitment programme in a shock move earlier this year.
Following the revival of its recruitment drive, the top 20 law firm has dropped the number of trainees it takes on annually from 24 to 12.
For its 2014 intake, the firm is also opening up one slot for the Acculaw pilot scheme, a business that will recruit its own trainees and second them to firms (20 September 2011).
A spokesperson for Olswang said: “Along with our competitors, we’ve seen a change in client demands and this has resulted in a change in our resourcing requirements, particularly at trainee level.
“We want to ensure that our trainees get consistently excellent experience and on-the-job training during their training contracts, in addition to the required formal training, and we feel that a smaller trainee body will allow us to ensure this consistently as the legal market continues to change.”
Elsewhere, the firm’s formal vacation scheme will be open to first-year law student applications for the first time after the programme was suspended in February (8 February 2011).
The programme was traditionally aimed at penultimate year law students and final year non-law students.
“We’ve always received a high level of interest from first year law students wanting to undertake work experience at the firm,” the spokesperson added. “We’ll therefore be offering placements to first year law students during the first week of our spring and summer work placement schemes in 2012.”
Readers' comments (6)
Mr Scum | 2-Nov-2011 4:41 pm
So long as the PEP stays above £500k, who cares?
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Anonymous | 2-Nov-2011 5:14 pm
So. Anyone still think Olswang isn't headed down the pan?
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Anonymous | 4-Nov-2011 4:00 pm
Olswang is holed below the water line and the bildge pump now seems to be failing too.
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Anonymous | 4-Nov-2011 4:19 pm
Anonymous | 2-Nov-2011 5:14 pm:
Me! I'm a barrister who has worked with them for nearly 10 years and they have some great work and some great people. David Stewart runs a tight ship and no doubt he and his partners think that more flexibility at trainee level is a good thing. I agree but of course we shall wait and see...
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Anonymous | 4-Nov-2011 5:03 pm
Perhaps it signals a desire to develop trainees properly. I am sure that there will always be enough paralegals to assist, and possibly they are more profitable (again meaning that more can go on training trainees).
no point training a large body of trainees if the right work isn't there because there isn't the turnover of nq-2pq solicitors. They don't pay city money, so perhaps better experience makes up for it.
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KP | 3-Jan-2013 5:52 pm
Definitely heading there. For 2013 - they are only taking on 2 trainees
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