Wragges makes London pledge with trainee recruitment plan

Wragge & Co will recruit its first trainees in London, signalling the Birmingham firm's commitment to the City, which now generates an astonishing 80 per cent of the firm's turnover.

Five trainees are being recruited to start in September 2010 and March 2011, adding to the 25 recruits for the flagship Birmingham office.

"Five years ago we wouldn't have been able to satisfy the training contract [need for contentious and non-contentious seats]," said the firm's managing partner Quentin Poole.

The London office, which opened seven years ago, now has 158 members of staff, including 20 partners and 82 lawyers permanently based there.

Around 60 per cent of the Birmingham-based partners frequently spend time there, emphasising the firm's fluid approach to both its workforce and its client base.

The high proportion of institutional investors based in the City means that around 80 per cent of Wragges' work comes out of London and the South East. However, around 80 per cent of work is actually carried out in the Birmingham.

Poole played down the role of geography in the firm's overall picture. "I work two days a week in London and two days in Birmingham." he said. "Geography for us is far more about cost base than markets. Markets are London-driven."