Weil Gotshal to up UK trainee intake by 55 per cent

The US law firm has announced its plans to increase its number of trainees from between nine and 10, to a maximum of 14 annually.

Human resources officer Lucy Greaves said: “Despite these difficult financial times the London office continues to grow and expand across all departments. We’ve therefore made the decision to increase our trainee intake to between 12 and 14 per year, this will be effective from September 2013.”

In order to bolster its numbers the firm has reopened interviews for successful 2013 training contract applications, in addition to the launch of its 2014 applications process.

The news comes after Weil upped its salaries for London-based newly qualified (NQ) solicitors for 2011. The firm’s NQs saw their pay packets jump by 8 per cent from £90,000 to £97,000. Last year NQ salaries rose to £90,000 from £85,000 (25 July 2011).

Lawyers with one year’s post-qualification experience (PQE) also saw an increase, with their pay moving from between £90,000-£95,950 to £100,000. Those with two years’ PQE saw an average increase of 10 per cent.